Switching Around! Players who wore the most team jerseys in the Major League – Part 1
Commercialisation has become a reality in every walk of life, be it education, health or any other field including sports. Professional sportsmen generally have short careers compared to their contemporaries in other fields.
Often specialising in their sports, these players have limited skills in other fields. Therefore, most professional players look to make the most of the playing years at hand.
Just like the rest of the fields, loyalty amongst sportsmen in terms of sticking to one franchise is becoming rare. The situation is no different in baseball. Players look after their best interest, negotiate the best deal they can get and thus, earn the
most they can.
Larger franchises are able to lure new players with great abilities as well as maintain their current players due to greater financial base. However, smaller franchises do not have the luxury more often than not and lose their players to the big fish in
the pond.
Players may not always be changing teams due to monetary reasons. Sometimes they cannot feel at home with certain team or teams or in certain areas. In such situations, players can be quick to move their base, wanting to feel more comfortable.
There are other occasions when talented players are unable to deliver according to the expectations that are kept from them by the teams. In such cases, these players are often traded or fail to stay with a given team when their contract expires.
We shall have a brief look at the players who switched the most teams in their Major League careers for want of better salary or any other reason.
10. Todd Zeile: Born in Van Nuys, California, Todd had a 16-year-long Major League career in which he played for 11 different teams. He was with the St. Louis Cardinals for the first six seasons. He started out as a catcher
but later took various infield roles, mainly that of first and third baseman.
He had a career batting average of .265 and an on-base percentage of .346. He averaged over 69 RBI’s per season and almost 16 home-runs as well, although he had some very productive seasons where he got fair bit more of both. 1993 was the only year where
he broke the 100 RBI’s barrier, getting 103.
After his move from the Cardinals, for Zeile, it was one ball club after another. He mostly played a season for a given club though his 1998 season was split between three different ball clubs. He eventually retired in 2004, in which he had a second stint
with the New York Mets.
9. Rick White: The relief pitcher, born in Springfield, Ohio, played in the Major Leagues for 14 seasons and was a part of 11 different ball clubs. White’s career kicked off in 1994 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a season where
he made his career high six saves.
His stint with the Pirates lasted for two seasons. In his career, he played a total of 613 games in the Major League. He posted a 42-54 win-loss record and posted a 4.45 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He had a total of 16 saves in his career. White was a starting
pitcher in 18 games, all in the first four seasons of his career. He pitched in a total of 858 innings and struck-out 542 batters.
In five seasons during his career, Rick played for more than one teams. His last team was Seattle Mariners with whom he spent a part of the 2007 season. He also represented the Houston Astros in 2007.
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Continued in Part 2
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