Riding the Bus

Will Rhymes bats in a continuation game Tuesday night against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

By: Mike McCann

Minor league baseball players don’t always get the perks the major leaguers do. The major leaguers stay in five-star hotels and ride charter planes. Minor leaguers often stay in run-of-the-mill hotels and ride the bus.

Syracuse Chiefs infielder Will Rhymes has ridden the bus for a long time. Rhymes is a journeyman minor leaguer. The Detroit Tigers drafted Rhymes in 2005, and he’s been in the minors, for at least a portion of every season since then. Still, Rhymes knows he’s not the only one who has served a lot of time in the minors.

“There’s a lot of guys here with a lot more time (in the minors) than I have,” Rhymes said after losing the first game of a doubleheader between the Chiefs and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. “In the baseball world, seniority goes on major league service time.”

Rhymes has seniority over most, having been in the minors for the majority of eight seasons. He's also performed in that time, hitting over a .300 batting average four times in that time span. And while he’s currently hitting at a .286 clip in 2013, he’s mainly done it without an everyday position.

The necessary role

The life of a utility infielder can be difficult. One game you’re on the lineup card at second base, the next game you’re at third, every once in a while you serve as the designated hitter. Rhymes has played 65 games at second base, 15 games at third, and served as the DH a handful of times. Rhymes is a second basemen by trade, so it comes natural to him. But third base is a little different.

“I’ll take my ground balls, kind of depending on where I’m playing; I try to get some ground balls every day at different positions, but I’ll concentrate on third especially if I’m playing there,” Rhymes said. “Second is what I played growing up, so I don’t really have to pay too much attention when I’m playing there.”

But defense is only one aspect of serving as a utility man. When a player has to go through different routines, it can affect his whole day, and a lot of times can have an effect on his hitting.

“Sometimes I think maybe (playing different positions) does (affect your hitting),” Rhymes said. “But as the last few years have gone on…I think I’ve got a little more used to it and maybe adjusted a little better so it hasn’t affected my offense.”

Will Rhymes answers questions after Tuesday's continuation game 

Rhymes has had the time to perfect the craft, spending the majority of his career in the minors. His offense has remained consistent.

Rhymes’ career average in the minors is .288. With a little less than a month remaining on the Chiefs’ schedule, there is still time for Rhymes to raise that number.

Steroid link

Rhymes is one of many players who has been affected by the recent Biogenesis performance enhancing drugs scandal in baseball. On Tuesday, Rhymes gave an example of just how the PED scandal has affected the Chiefs.

“…that (continuation) game we were playing, the reason we were in extra innings is because (Fernando) Martinez hit a homer, so it has a ripple effect,” Rhymes said.

Fernando Martinez was one of the players suspended for links to Biogenesis. The Biogensis scandal has affected Rhymes on a personal level, as well.

Before playing with the Chiefs, Rhymes was with the Detroit Tigers, an organization that had shortstop Jhonny Peralta suspended for 50 games for links to Biogenesis. Peralta played on the same infield Rhymes played on, and got a roster spot Rhymes did not. It’s the league, Rhymes said, that needs to fix the process. 

“To me, it’s a total joke,” Rhymes said. “…Obviously the system isn’t working.”

The jump back

While it may be near the end of the season for the Chiefs, it may not be the end of the season for Rhymes. There’s always the potential that if Rhymes continues to perform, he could be called up to the Washington Nationals, the Chiefs’ major league club. 

If Rhymes does get the call, it will mark the third time he’s been called up to the majors in his career. And it’ll likely be a plane he’ll travel on, not the bus.