Tracking the springs of Rule 5 picks Travis Blackley and Lincoln Holdzkom has made me think back to other Phils that were Rule 5 picks. Recently there was Fabio Castro (who we acquired midseason in a trade), Shane Victorino (we offered him back to the Dodgers, but they passed...idiots!), and then way back in the early 90's to Dave Hollins. We actually selected Hollins in '89 from the Padres, while the Phils sat through a horrible rookie showing from him during the '90 season- .184 batting average over 72 games. Dave fit right in with the rest of the 1990 Phillies though, because they all left a bad taste in your mouth like eating a urinal cake (the cake part is misleading). After his horrific rookie campaign which was really a year of protection on the 25-man MLB roster that he should have spent in the minors instead, he came back with authority and posted a .298 average while playing himself into a starting 3rd base role for the '92 season. Hollins went on to place 20th in the NL MVP vote in '92 and play an integral part of the fabled '93 teams success while also being named to the All Star team. After that he suffered some injuries and was really never the same player again, eventually getting traded to the BoSox midway through '95.
From 1995 on his career was a whirlwind, being shipped from city to city. In '96 he began the season with the Twins and was later traded to Seattle for David Ortiz (yes the Big Papi David Ortiz). From 1997-98 he stayed put with the Angels then went on north of the border to Toronto in '99, took a season off in 2000, came back with the Indians in 2001, and ended with the Phils who signed the washed-up shell of Dave Hollins for a final hurrah in 2002. During spring training of '02, he was bitten by a spider (believed to be a brown recluse) which aggravated his diabetes and he only was able to collect 17 at bats that final season posting an ugly .118 average. Hollins career line: 983 games, 578 runs, 870 hits, 166 doubles, 112 homeruns, 482 rbi, 47 sb, .260 avg., and a .778 OPS over 12 seasons. He played predominantly 3rd base, but saw time at 1st base too. He was also a switch hitter that mashed lefties like they were a red potato. Hollins' nickname was "Head", which was bestowed upon him by John Kruk because of his psycho tendencies. Of note, he's Jason Weitzel of BeerLeaguer's, favorite player.
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Spring Fling:
*A representative from Random House Publishing contacted me and they're sending me a copy of Chris Coste's new book The 33-Year-Old Rookie for free.
* Kris Benson threw 57 pitches over 4 inning in a minor league game yesterday, bettering his chances at helping the Phils sooner rather than later.
*Scott Boras sob story Kyle Lohse finally signed yesterday with the Cardinals for 1 year and slightly over $4 million...should have taken the bigger contract Patty G offered you, schmuck!
*I've never mistaken Cole Hamels as the definition of "healthy", so the fact that he's battling flu symptoms is not a surprise to me. Let's just hope this flu doesn't turn into a busted arm.
*The Phils finally turned in a W after 9 innings yesterday, beating the Reds 10-7. It was an ugly win though, as Moyer got rocked for 4 runs over 5 innings.
From 1995 on his career was a whirlwind, being shipped from city to city. In '96 he began the season with the Twins and was later traded to Seattle for David Ortiz (yes the Big Papi David Ortiz). From 1997-98 he stayed put with the Angels then went on north of the border to Toronto in '99, took a season off in 2000, came back with the Indians in 2001, and ended with the Phils who signed the washed-up shell of Dave Hollins for a final hurrah in 2002. During spring training of '02, he was bitten by a spider (believed to be a brown recluse) which aggravated his diabetes and he only was able to collect 17 at bats that final season posting an ugly .118 average. Hollins career line: 983 games, 578 runs, 870 hits, 166 doubles, 112 homeruns, 482 rbi, 47 sb, .260 avg., and a .778 OPS over 12 seasons. He played predominantly 3rd base, but saw time at 1st base too. He was also a switch hitter that mashed lefties like they were a red potato. Hollins' nickname was "Head", which was bestowed upon him by John Kruk because of his psycho tendencies. Of note, he's Jason Weitzel of BeerLeaguer's, favorite player.
___________________________________
Spring Fling:
*A representative from Random House Publishing contacted me and they're sending me a copy of Chris Coste's new book The 33-Year-Old Rookie for free.
* Kris Benson threw 57 pitches over 4 inning in a minor league game yesterday, bettering his chances at helping the Phils sooner rather than later.
*Scott Boras sob story Kyle Lohse finally signed yesterday with the Cardinals for 1 year and slightly over $4 million...should have taken the bigger contract Patty G offered you, schmuck!
*I've never mistaken Cole Hamels as the definition of "healthy", so the fact that he's battling flu symptoms is not a surprise to me. Let's just hope this flu doesn't turn into a busted arm.
*The Phils finally turned in a W after 9 innings yesterday, beating the Reds 10-7. It was an ugly win though, as Moyer got rocked for 4 runs over 5 innings.
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