Hitting The Cutoff Man

The news that Matt Stairs signed a minor league deal with the Padres on Saturday is significant for a reason other than its effect on San Diego’s potential bench production this coming season.

If Stairs makes the Padres during Spring Training, he will tie a major league record.

The veteran left-handed masher would be joining an elite fraternity of players who have stepped on a big league field for 12 different franchises. He’s currently at 11, one short of Mike Morgan and Ron Villone (who is currently a free agent and theoretically could pull into first place by himself if he signs with one of the 18 teams he hasn’t already played for).

There are currently 10 players who have suited up for at least 11 different teams, and it’s almost certainly not a coincidence that all of them started their careers since 1978. With free agency and players staying in better shape, careers last longer and there is a lot more turnover.

But I think it also takes something special to play for this many teams. You have to be good enough to stay in the league a while, but you can’t be so good that teams want to keep you around a long time. These are guys who generally weren’t stars but had some skill or skills that allowed them to maintain some value over a long period of time.

With some help from baseball-reference.com, let’s salute our prestigious 11-franchise club.

The Twelves

Ron Villone, P
1st Team: Seattle, 1995
Last Team: Washington, 2009 (currently a free agent)
Longest Tenure: Two full seasons with Cincinnati, 1999-2000
Stats: 717 G, 1,168 IP, 61-65, 4.73 ERA. 96 ERA+
Comment: Villone has started 93 games but mostly stuck around as a reliever. Lefty relievers seemingly can play forever, and Villone has held left-handed batters to a .241 average.

Mike Morgan, P
1st Team: Oakland, 1978
Last Team: Arizona, 2002
Longest Tenure: Three-plus seasons with Chicago (NL), 1992-95
Stats: 597 G, 2,772.1 IP, 141-186, 4.23 ERA, 97 ERA+
Comment: Morgan came up at 18, was out of the majors in 1980-81 and 1984, and pitched just two games in 1985, but he wound up sticking around long enough to win a World Series with the D-backs in 2001.

The Elevens

Paul Bako, C
1st Team: Detroit, 1998
Last Team: Philadelphia, 2009 (currently a free agent)
Longest Tenure: Two full seasons with Chicago (NL), 2003-04
Stats: 789 G, 2,471 PA, .231/.305/.318, .275 wOBA, 24 HR
Comment: It’s amazing how long backup catchers who can’t hit can stick around. Bako has gotten more than 300 plate appearances in a season only twice and never recorded a .700 OPS, but his defensive reputation is sterling.

Matt Stairs, OF/1B/DH
1st Team: Montreal, 1992
Last Team: Philadelphia, 2009 (but just signed with San Diego)
Longest Tenure: Five seasons with Oakland, 1996-2000
Stats: 1,761 G, 5,839 PA, .264/.358/.481, .360 wOBA, 259 HR
Comment: Stairs isn’t the most athletic guy, but he’s the consummate “professional hitter” who helped the Phillies win a World Series two years ago with his pinch-hitting heroics.

Julian Tavarez, P
1st Team: Cleveland, 1993
Last Team: Washington, 2009 (was released mid-season and hasn’t pitched since)
Longest Tenure: Four seasons with Cleveland, 1993-96
Stats: 828 G, 1,404.1 IP, 88-82, 4.46 ERA, 101 ERA+
Comment: Tavarez has become known as much for his fiery temper and crazy antics as for his pitching. As his baseball-reference.com page sponsor says, “…he’s bats*%# crazy.” Considering that, the frequent movement is not surprising.

Royce Clayton, SS
1st Team: San Francisco, 1991
Last Team: Boston, 2007
Longest Tenure: Five seasons with San Francisco, 1991-95
Stats: 2,108 G, 8,164 PA, .258/.312/.367, .301 wOBA, 110 HR
Comment: Clayton was a better hitter than Bako, but that’s not much of a compliment. Like Bako, he stuck around largely on the strength of his defense.

Kenny Lofton, OF
1st Team: Houston, 1991
Last Team: Cleveland, 2007
Longest Tenure: Five seasons with Cleveland, 1992-96 (spent five other seasons there over two other stints)
Stats: 2,103 G, 9,234 PA, .299/.372/.423, .359 wOBA, 622 SB
Comment: Lofton is easily the best player on this list and was still good in 2007 at age 40, although he couldn’t find a job the next season. He played for nine teams in his last six seasons, getting traded four times.

Rick White, P
1st Team: Pittsburgh, 1994
Last Team: Seattle, 2007
Longest Tenure: Two-plus seasons with Tampa Bay, 1998-2000
Stats: 613 G, 858.2 IP, 42-54, 4.45 ERA, 102 ERA+
Comment: White had a lot of split seasons, playing for two teams in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007. He also seems to have lasted well past his expiration date, as his ERAs his last four years were: 5.78, 5.29, 3.72, 5.15 and 7.79.

Terry Mulholland, P
1st Team: San Francisco, 1986
Last Team: Arizona, 2006
Longest Tenure: Four-plus seasons with Philadelphia, 1989-93
Stats: 685 G, 2,575.2 IP, 124-142, 4.41 ERA, 93 ERA+
Comment: Mulholland had a good run as a starting pitcher in the late 80s and early 90s and then hung on as a swingman for what seemed like forever. Only once in his last 13 seasons did he post a FIP below 4.50, yet he actually STARTED 15 games for the 2004 Twins.

Todd Zeile, 3B/1B/C
1st Team: St. Louis, 1989
Last Team: New York (NL), 2004
Longest Tenure: Six-plus seasons with St. Louis, 1989-95
Stats: 2,158 G, 8,649 PA, .265/.346/.423, .338 wOBA, 253 HR
Comment: Zeile won the 1990 NL Rookie of the Year as a catcher but soon switched to the hot corner. He was basically an average hitter who put up some solid seasons in the late 90s. Zeile managed to log less than 80 games played for five different teams.

Up-and-Comers

Dennys Reyes, LHP, STL, 10 teams, 32 years old
Jose Guillen, OF, KC, 9 teams, 33 years old
Russell Branyan, 1B/DH, free agent, 8 teams, 34 years old
Milton Bradley, OF, SEA, 7 teams, 31 years old