Wednesday, April 27, 2016

This is the story of José, an American who grew up like any other, wanting to be a professional baseball player. He went to Tulane University in the fall of 2005. The baseball world was in turmoil, on its last legs for several years. Major League Baseball had given up and a shining new league had risen in its place: the PEBA. Tulane joined the rest of the USCBA in striking a developmental agreement with this new league.

José did well in his first year with the Jade Breakers. He hit .269/.316/.407 in 40 games, sent four over the outfield wall, and collected 22 RBI. He worked harder in his senior year, raising his line to .276/.335/.429, hitting six homers, and adding two more RBI as Tulane went all the way to the Super Regionals. José then prayed to every god, crossed his fingers, and tuned into the 2008 PEBA amateur draft. He destroyed half his parent’s front room jumping and leaping around as the London Underground GM stepped to the microphone in the third round and uttered those fateful words: “With the 58^th pick overall, London selects José Caballero out of Tulane.”

London sent José to the Maui Stingrays of the Hawaiian League to start his pro career. He thought his .256/.291/.301 in 83 games was respectable. Maui went to the playoffs, but José only got into one game and failed to record a hit in three AB. In 2009, he worked hard all off-season and returned to Maui to play the hot corner, dreaming of a call-up to perhaps Hi-A or even Double-A.

The call never came, and perhaps that affected José. His stats tailed off towards the end. In 70 games, he finished with a line of .240/.289/.303 with just one homer and 23 RBI. His manager gave him a good talking to. José vowed to come back in 2010 and force London to make that call.

Shortly before the start of the 2010 SS-A season, a shock awaited. Wyatt McGuire was drafted in the seventh round and was now Maui’s starting 3B. José dug in but only managed 34 appearances, mostly as defensive relief, and just 22 AB. A line of .318/.375/.364 showed he could still be worth something, but as Maui progressed all the way to the Pacific Pennant, he entered just two games as a defensive replacement and never got to bat.

José was low all winter, but spring brought a phone call. London wanted him to report to Hi-A Dover! His career wasn’t dead! With a spring in his step, he tore up Hi-A over 52 games. “The ball seems as big as a beach ball,” José was quoted in a local newspaper. He hit .348/.423/.504, and it was no surprise that he got the call mid-season to fly up to the Double-A Montréal Les Échassiers. In 61 games there, he hit .276/.301/.362 and clubbed his first two homers since 2009. The following season, he established himself as Montréal’s third baseman, hitting .275/.368/.387 and doubling his home run tally to four, but the next call-up never came.

Now 26, he reported back to Canada in 2013, but after just three games, the phone rang and he was on his way south to the Worcester Saucers of the Global Baseball Brotherhood Triple-A league. One step away from his goal now, José appeared in a career-high 98 games and hit .232/.299/.351 while smacking career highs in homers (9) and RBI (36). He also made 10 appearances in Worcester’s run to the Ambassadors Cup but hit just .088.

Despite the step forward, a poor showing in his first invite to the London spring training camp meant that José was back in Montréal in 2014. Scott Morris had arrived in a trade to steal the Triple-A third baseman’s job. José couldn’t even get the starter’s role in Double-A; Wyatt McGuire now had the role there. José muddled along, making 65 appearances but amassing only 87 AB. A line of .264/.390/.379 spoke of his plate discipline, but when a late call to Worcester came, he managed just one hitless game, although he did get a walk.

In 2015, the 28-year-old José made a brief visit to the Underground’s spring training camp but soon found himself optioned back to Montréal. There he bounced around, logging innings at 2B, 3B, SS, and even at the outfield corners as the organization tried to find a role for him. 59 appearances later, he had accumulated 122 AB with a .287/.370/.344 line. He only whiffed on five occasions but hit no homers and drove in just 15 runs.

José received his third spring training invite this year. It was now or never. After camp, he would be out of options and would have to clear waivers. José’s heart leapt when Morris left camp for the DL – was there to be an opening? Ernesto Burgos stepped up to the plate, and the chance was gone. José headed for waivers convinced that another organization would claim him and he’d have to start the whole process afresh. No one made a claim, though, and he found himself in Worcester as the season started. He kicked his heels for most of April, getting into just one game at second base and failing to hit in three AB.

April 25^th is the date etched on José’s memory. That’s the day José’s career became just a log entry buried deep in the back pages: “London Underground release 3B José Caballero.”  Just like that, José’s career was consigned to the history books. 598 regular season games and 26 post-season appearances, and not one AB in the majors. Nine years as a pro working towards that cup of coffee, that entry in the PEBA player register.

José packed his bag silently and left the clubhouse one last time…