Tuffy Rhodes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tuffy Rhodes |
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| Outfielder | |||
| Born: August 21, 1968 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
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| Professional debut | |||
| MLB: August 7, 1990, for the Houston Astros | |||
| NPB: March 30, 1996, for the Kintetsu Buffaloes | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| MLB: June 8, 1995, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| NPB: November 5, 2009, for the Orix Buffaloes | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .224 | ||
| Home runs | 13 | ||
| Runs batted in | 44 | ||
| NPB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .286 | ||
| Home runs | 464 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,269 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Karl Derrick "Tuffy" Rhodes (born August 21, 1968) is a retired American professional baseball player. He played for six years in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States. He also played for thirteen years in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan. Rhodes is the player with the most home runs in NPB who was born outside of Japan. He ranks 13th overall with 464 home runs in Japan. In 2001, he hit 55 home runs. This tied the NPB record for most home runs in a single season. That record was first set by Sadaharu Oh in 1964.
About Tuffy Rhodes
Rhodes was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He got the nickname "Tuffy" when he was a child. This was because he was very serious about playing baseball. He went to Western Hills High School in Cincinnati.
Playing in the Major Leagues
Before playing in Japan, Tuffy Rhodes was a center fielder. He played for the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Red Sox. His time in MLB was from 1990 to 1995.
During his MLB career, Rhodes had a batting average of .224. He hit 13 home runs and had 44 runs batted in (RBI). He also scored 74 runs and stole 14 stolen bases. He played in 225 games.
In 1993, he hit a home run in extra innings. This helped the Iowa Cubs win the American Association championship. In 1994, Rhodes played his best season with the Chicago Cubs. He became the first player in the National League to hit three home runs on opening day. He hit them against Dwight Gooden at Wrigley Field. In that game, Rhodes also made history by hitting home runs in his first three times at bat in a season.
After the 1995 season, Rhodes became a free agent. He then signed with the Kintetsu Buffaloes in Japan's Pacific League.
Playing in Japan
In the 2001 season, Tuffy Rhodes hit his 55th home run. This tied the Japanese League's single-season home run record. The record was set by Sadaharu Oh in 1964. For the rest of that season, opposing pitchers often gave Rhodes intentional walks. This meant they purposely threw balls outside the strike zone. They did this to stop him from breaking Oh's record. The current record is 60 home runs, set by Wladimir Balentien in 2013. The next year, Alex Cabrera also tied the 55-homer record. Rhodes hit 288 home runs for the Buffaloes over eight seasons.
Rhodes played for the Buffaloes on eight one-year contracts. He wanted a contract for multiple years, but the team did not agree. He later learned that the team was being sold. This made it hard for them to offer a multi-year deal.
After leaving Kintetsu, Rhodes signed a two-year deal with the Yomiuri Giants in 2004. They are part of Japan's Central League. His first year with the Giants was good. However, his second year was difficult. He left the team in the middle of the 2005 season due to an injury. He was then released by the team.
In 2006, Rhodes tried to return to MLB with the Cincinnati Reds. But he was released during spring training. He did not play baseball for the rest of that season.
After spending time with his family, he returned to Japan in 2007. He signed a one-year contract with the Orix Buffaloes. After 10 seasons in NPB, Rhodes reached an important milestone. He became only the second foreign player to play long enough to be counted as a Japanese player for team rosters. This means teams did not have to count him against their limit for foreign players. Tai-Yuan Kuo was the first to achieve this. Later, Alex Ramírez and Alex Cabrera also reached this status.
Rhodes started the 2007 season very well. He hit a home run in his first game. In the next game, he hit two more home runs in a row. His manager, Terry Collins, said Rhodes still had a powerful bat. The Buffaloes finished last in 2007. But Rhodes had a great comeback season. He batted .291, hit 42 home runs, and had 96 RBI.
In the next season, 2008, Rhodes teamed up with another powerful foreign-born player, Alex Cabrera. Rhodes hit 40 home runs and had 118 RBI. Together, Cabrera and Rhodes were nicknamed "Caburo." They hit 76 home runs and had 222 RBI combined. Rhodes' 118 RBI led the league. The Buffaloes had a surprising season, finishing second in the Pacific League. They made their first playoff appearance since their 1996 Japan Series victory. However, their success did not last. The Buffaloes were quickly defeated in the first round of the playoffs. They lost to Yu Darvish and the more experienced Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. Rhodes played one more season with Orix. He then retired from baseball at the end of the 2009 season.
See also
- American expatriate baseball players in Japan
