It's been a full and frenetic few weeks for Jake Rogers, a catcher for the — well, who knows by the time we're off the air today? Mr. Rogers recently changed his neighborhood — and his teams — four times in 21 days. That's a major league record, though perhaps not the kind a player seeks.
He told Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, "it's been…a whirlwind, to say the least."
Rogers had been with the Detroit Tigers since 2017, beloved by fans and teammates for his positive attitude and sculpted mustache. But his batting average drooped this season. On July 29, the Tigers blew a lead against the Baltimore Orioles and lost in extra innings. Late that night, Rogers was told the team had to let him go. He flew to his home in Dallas, and was signed the next day by the Baltimore Orioles. They must have seen something they liked.
Rogers appeared in just 3 games with Baltimore, where he reportedly had to borrow catching gear from a teammate. Just before the Aug. 3 trade deadline hit, he was told he'd been traded to the Boston Red Sox.
So Jake Rogers flew to Boston — flight crews must have known by then if he preferred pretzels or a Stroopwafel — and played the last few innings of a 13-inning game against the Chicago White Sox. He also brought home a run with a sacrifice fly.
But the Red Sox were mostly waiting for another catcher they had just acquired to return from an injury. And so after just three games with them, the team put Rogers on waivers, where he could be claimed by another team.
And he soon was — by the Chicago White Sox. Red Sox, White Sox, Rogers didn't have time to rinse his own socks back in Dallas before joining the White Sox on their road trip…which, it turned out, was to Detroit. The stadium where his saga began.
I wonder if over the last few weeks Jake Rogers has asked himself, "Do I need to change my mouthwash? My cologne? Is it something I said?" Or have managers told him as they let him go, time and again, "It's not you, Jake. It's us."
His former home crowd in Detroit gave Jake Rogers a standing ovation as he stepped up to the plate in his 4th uniform in 21 days. And just last night, he hit a home run to win the game for his new team, the White Sox. Maybe there ought to be a special Most Valuable Player award for the people in our lives who are there when they're needed most.
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