| Pokey Reese | |
|---|---|
| Second baseman / Shortstop | |
| Born: June 10, 1973 Columbia, South Carolina |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 1, 1997 for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 2004 for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .248 |
| Hits | 704 |
| Stolen bases | 144 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Calvin "Pokey" Reese, Jr. (born June 10, 1973), is an American retired professional baseball infielder. Reese is a two-time National League Gold Glove Award winner and played with the Cincinnati Reds (1997-2001), Pittsburgh Pirates (2002-2003), and Boston Red Sox (2004). He batted and threw right-handed.
Reese was born in Columbia, South Carolina and began his career in with the Toledo Mud Hens of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 1991. The next season, Reese moved up to Single-A when he joined the Charleston Wheelers of the South Atlantic League in 1992.
He advanced to the Reds in 1997 and played with the team through 2001, winning two Gold Glove Awards along the way.
Following the 2001 season, Reese spent time on four different teams in the span of about 45 days. On December 18, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies. The next day, he was traded to the Red Sox for first baseman Scott Hatteberg, but 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 2002, he battled Abraham Núñez for playing time. After an injury-riddled season in 2003, Reese turned down a higher-paying deal offered by Pittsburgh to play for the Red Sox.
In 2004, he was a member of Boston's first World Series winning team in 86 years.
On May 8, 2004, at Fenway Park, Reese had the first two-homer 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 of the conventional type over the Green Monster, to snap a 172 at-bat homerless streak dating 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.
On January 5, 2005, he signed with the Seattle Mariners, but never played in a game before being put on the 60-day disabled list and missing the entire season due to injury.
In 2006, Reese signed a one-year deal with the Florida Marlins. His contract was terminated on March 5, 2006, after leaving the club on March 1 and not having direct contact with anyone on the team for over 72 hours.
In 2008, Reese was signed by the Nationals to a minor league contract and played for Triple-A Columbus 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 Single-A Hagerstown, but was quickly sent back up again to Triple-A Columbus. He became a free agent at the end of the season.
After becoming a free agent, Reese retired from professional baseball.
At the plate, Reese was an impatient hitter who struck out more often than he walked, posting a career 0.43 walk-to-strikeout ratio (226-to-531). He did hold his own in clutch situations and he had a little power. On the bases, Reese had above-average speed. A high-percentage base stealer (144-for-170), Reese always looked to take the extra base, but he was not able to get on base consistently (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.
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