Pokey Reese
| Pokey Reese | ||
|---|---|---|
Runs batted in 271 | | |
| Stolen bases | 144 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
Calvin "Pokey" Reese Jr. (born June 10, 1973) is an American former
Early life
Reese was born in
Career
Reese began his professional career with the
Reese made his major league debut with the Reds in 1997. He played with the team through 2001, winning two Gold Glove Awards along the way.
Following the 2001 season, the Reds traded Reese and Dennys Reyes to the Colorado Rockies for Luke Hudson and Gabe White on December 18.[3] The next day, the Rockies traded him to the Red Sox for first baseman Scott Hatteberg.[4] The Red Sox did not tender him a contract, making him a free agent two days later. On January 30, 2002, he signed with the Pirates.
In 2003, Reese turned down a higher-paying deal from Pittsburgh to play for the Red Sox. On May 8, 2004, at Fenway Park, Reese had the first two-home run game of his career in a Red Sox 9-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Reese hit an inside-the-park home run and one over the Green Monster, to snap a 172 at-bat homerless streak dating back to April 4, 2003. The last Red Sox player to hit a conventional homer and an inside-the-park homer in the same game was Tony Armas on September 24, 1983, at Tiger Stadium.
Reese fielded a ground ball from Rubén Sierra and threw to Doug Mientkiewicz for the final out of the 2004 ALCS, as the Red Sox won their first pennant since 1986. They won the 2004 World Series a week later.
On January 5,
In
In 2008, Reese signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals and played for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers where in two games he strained both hamstrings and was placed on the DL for several weeks. On July 3, 2008, he returned from the disabled list to the Single-A Hagerstown Suns, but was quickly sent back up again to Triple-A Columbus. He became a free agent at the end of the season, after which he retired from professional baseball.
Playing style
At the plate, Reese struck out much more often than he walked, posting a career 0.43 walk-to-strikeout ratio (226-to-531). Reese was a high-percentage base stealer (144-for-170), Reese had a career .307 on-base percentage.
In an eight-year career, Reese was a .248 hitter with 44 home runs and 271 RBI in 856 games.
After retirement
In May 2015, Reese was named the high school baseball coach at his alma mater, Lower Richland High School in Hopkins, South Carolina.[6]
Personal life
Reese was engaged to be married to Tieronay Duckett, a classmate of his at Lower Richland, with whom he had a daughter in November 1992. However, his fiancée died in a car accident in 1993 while on the way to a dry cleaner. Reese also had a son with Rhonda Richardson in September 1992; Richardson would die in childbirth three-and-a-half years later. Reese had a third child, MacKayla Barnes, in 1997.[2]
References
- ^ Stone, Larry (January 5, 2005). "The Seattle Times: Mariners: M's add defensive whiz Reese". Seattletimes.nwsource.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2005. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ a b Finder, Chuck (June 14, 2002). "Reese finds peace in the field with Pirates". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ "Reds trade Reese to Rockies in four-player deal". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 18, 2001. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
- ^ "Red Sox trade Scott Hatteberg to Rockies for Pokey Reese, sign Burkett". New Bedford Standard-Times.
- ^ "'Disappointed' Marlins release Pokey Reese". TribLive. Associated Press. March 5, 2006. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- ^ "Big leaguer Pokey Reese is back in baseball, and back at his alma mater | USA TODAY High School Sports". May 28, 2015.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)