Eckstein-like Rhymes has big dreams

Subject: Eckstein-like Rhymes has big dreams Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:07 am

TIGERS' OFF-SEASON
Eckstein-like Rhymes has big dreams

BY JON PAUL MOROSI • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • November 16, 2008

MESA, Ariz. -- He reminds me a little of David Eckstein.

It is a stock response, dispensed by scouts and teammates alike, when asked about Tigers prospect Will Rhymes.

What does it mean? Well, it could be a way to declare one's admiration for Rhymes' pesky, energetic, endearing style of play. It also may be a polite way of saying, I'm not sure he's going to be a big leaguer, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he will prove me wrong.

The comparison to Eckstein -- the diminutive infielder who tormented the Tigers for the Cardinals in the 2006 World Series -- can be made at first sight. Rhymes, touted as 5-feet-9 in the Tigers' media guide, admits to standing an inch or two shorter than that. He weighs 155 pounds and has the wiry strength of a college wrestler.

Eckstein, 5-7, 177, has achieved much more in baseball than many scouts predicted. Even after a disappointing 2008 season with the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks, he owns a .284 career batting average and two World Series rings.

Consider the numbers.

In four minor league seasons, primarily as a second baseman, Rhymes has hit .292 with 13 homers and 184 RBIs.

In four minor league seasons, primarily as a second baseman, Eckstein batted .294 with 17 homers and 188 RBIs.

Here's one more number to keep in mind: 26. That was Eckstein's age when he debuted with the Angels in 2001.

Rhymes will turn 26 on April 1 -- less than one week before the Tigers open their season in Toronto.

It's too early to predict whether Rhymes will make the Tigers' Opening Day roster, but he has helped his cause by batting .297 in 22 games for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League.

With every opposite-field single, every hang-in-there double-play turn, every sprint to first base on a routine grounder, Rhymes resembles one of the great overachievers in recent baseball history.

"If I could be that guy, I'd be pretty happy about that," Rhymes said of Eckstein. "He's a guy I have a lot of respect for. He's a solid player all around. To be compared to him would be an honor, really.

"I'm definitely not a guy who you're going to see play one game and be impressed with. But I do the little things. Over the course of the year, you might end up saying, 'Wow, he can actually hit.' "

By the end of high school, Rhymes was primarily concerned with "using baseball to get into a good school." He chose William & Mary, became an all-conference player there and managed some hits in his encounters with an Old Dominion right-hander named Justin Verlander.

After his junior year, he gained recognition by hitting .308 with a wooden bat in the Cape Cod League. Following his senior season, the Tigers selected him in the 27th round of the 2005 amateur draft.

Perhaps because of his size, Rhymes has had to prove himself at every level in the farm system. He spent most of this year at Double-A Erie, where he batted .306, before earning a call-up to Triple-A Toledo for the season's final six games.

Rhymes' fiery disposition can be evident during a rough day at the plate -- "I've been known to go through a few helmets a year," he said, smiling -- and he has an unyielding desire to succeed. And Rhymes thinks his size has helped his baseball career.

"I don't feel like it restricts me in any way," he said. "I'm not sure what I'd do better if I was bigger. I might have more power, but I feel like it might actually have the opposite effect in terms of athleticism and playing defense."

Twin brother could play, too

For a time, there was doubt as to whether Will Rhymes was the best baseball player in his family.

In fact, there was doubt as to whether he was the best player in his family born on April 1, 1983.

Jonathan Rhymes, Will's twin, was another little player who did the little things. The brothers developed their competitive streak from an early age, thanks in part to the talent surrounding them in Houston. Will played on a middle school basketball team with Charlotte Bobcats forward/center Emeka Okafor, and their graduating class at Lamar High included Jeff Niemann, a future first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays.

"Going into college, Jonathan was a better all-around player than William," their father, Keith Rhymes, said in a telephone interview last week. "But William's always been able to hit."

Though undersized, Jonathan was a sound defensive catcher and also played the outfield. He enrolled at University of Richmond before transferring after his freshman year. His next stop: William & Mary.

Together again, the brothers shared apartments, houses and countless hours during three years in Williamsburg, Va. On the field, they catalyzed the Tribe's offense. It was not uncommon for Jonathan, a right-handed batter, and Will, a left-hander, to follow one another in the lineup.

"Almost inseparable," said Jim Farr, then the baseball coach at William & Mary. "Wherever you saw one, you saw the other. Their personalities were pretty similar, too: gritty, tough, hard-nosed, competitive young men.

"What they lacked in physical attributes, they made up for in tenacity and will to win. They were scrappy."

In time, though, their career paths diverged.

Will's breakout junior season, followed by the big summer on the Cape, vaulted him into consideration for the draft. Even though he earned his degree in biology and pre-medicine -- on time, with honors -- he postponed plans to take the Medical College Admission Test. Baseball beckoned.

Jonathan, meanwhile, pursued his love of music. The brothers had taken violin lessons when they were young, but the demands of playing baseball forced them to stop those studies. During high school, though, Jonathan taught himself how to play the guitar.

After graduating from William & Mary, he moved to Austin, Texas, and spent two years producing an indie rock/folk rock record, called "Errors on Green," but the apparent baseball reference was unintentional.

And when he needed a drummer to round out the ensemble, Jonathan enlisted the help of someone he knew he could trust: his brother.

"Will was a hired gun," said Jonathan, who now works as an assistant at Contradiction Films in Santa Monica, Calif. "He's really good. He didn't study the drums very much, and he hadn't played in a while, but he's got a great ear for music. He did quite a good job under the circumstances."

Even though they spend most of their time on opposite sides of the country -- Will lives in Arlington, Va., in the off-season -- the brothers remain close. ("Each has always been the other's best friend," their father said.) Jonathan said he has never been bitter that his brother continued in baseball but he did not.

"It happened right before my eyes," Jonathan said. "I saw it. I got to watch him turn into the player he became. There was never any disappointment. I always understood why he was going to get the opportunity and I wasn't. I had peaked as a college player."

Will said: "There's nothing like playing with your brother. He helped me out so much. He knew my swing inside and out. If I had the money, I'd put him on the payroll, have him travel with the team and keep me locked in."
Opening Day is a possibility

Jonathan maintains a strong interest in Will's career and generally visits his brother once each season. In 2006, he granted a special request from Matt Walbeck, who was then managing the Class A West Michigan Whitecaps.

Walbeck had heard about Jonathan's musical prowess and wanted him to bring his guitar. Jonathan balked at first, citing the hassle of getting the guitar through airport security.

"Then Will told him, 'I'm hitting .258 -- bring the guitar,' " Keith Rhymes recalled. "So Jonathan took his guitar. Walbeck and he cleared out part of the locker room, brought in the guitars and amps and entertained the team."

It's possible that Jonathan's next baseball trip will be to Detroit. His brother possesses two attributes (speed and left-handed hitting) the Tigers have lacked in recent years.

Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said recently that he views Rhymes as a second baseman. Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg, who has coached Rhymes in the Arizona Fall League this year, agrees.

Placido Polanco is the Tigers' starting second baseman. But what if, like Eckstein, Rhymes can find a way to play a steady shortstop in the major leagues?
Rhymes played 16 games at short for Erie last year. Perhaps he could combine with Ramon Santiago to form a workable platoon at shortstop in 2009, while Cale Iorg -- anointed as shortstop of the future -- gets another year of experience in the minors.

Of course, Rhymes will not be handed a major league job.

Baseball has been good to Will Rhymes, but it has never been easy. And that's fine with him. "It's more satisfying," he said, "to earn your way."

Contact JON PAUL MOROSI at 313-223-4097 or jmorosi@freepress.com. Check out his Tigers blog at www.freep.com/sports

Subject: Re: Eckstein-like Rhymes has big dreams Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:00 am

I'm not holding my breadth on this guy...
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bow

Subject: Re: Eckstein-like Rhymes has big dreams Mon Nov 17, 2008 1:25 pm

I think we could at least platoon him with Santiago until we figure out what he can do on the ML level.
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"We only work three hours a day, so the least we can do is give 100 percent."

Todd Jones

Subject: Re: Eckstein-like Rhymes has big dreams Sun Dec 21, 2008 5:26 am

When Polly goes elsewhere next year we will need a 2nd baseman.....