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Wilmington Blue Rocks

Rocks Welcome MLB Veteran Rafael Furcal to the Riverfront

May 8, 2015 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


WILMINGTON, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks are happy to announce that three-time Major League All-Star Rafael Furcal is set to join the team on Friday. Furcal, 37, signed a free agent deal with the Kansas City Royals twice during this offseason. Since being signed as an amateur free agent by the Atlanta Braves in 1996, Furcal has never suited up for an American League organization before signing with Kansas City.

Furcal is in the process of working his way back from a torn hamstring, which is why he stayed in Surprise, Arizona for extended Spring Training. The last time he made an appearance in a Major League game was last season with the Miami Marlins, where he batted .171 in just nine appearances. His last foray in Advanced-A also came last year for the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League. In 11 games at Advanced-A in 2014, Furcal batted .316 with a homer and an RBI. This will not be his first time in the Carolina League, however. Furcal previously spent time in the CL as a member of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (then the Braves Advanced-A affiliate) in 1999. He hit .293 in 43 Carolina League games before being called-up to Double-A Greenville, his last stop before reaching the MLB in 2000.

He made his Major League debut for the Braves on April 4 of that year, and has spent parts of 14 seasons at the highest level, playing most of his career for either the Braves or the Los Angeles Dodgers. During his time in the majors, the Dominican native compiled a slash line of .281/.346/.402. He has totaled 113 homeruns, 587 RBIs, and 314 stolen bases. He also ranked in the top 10 in the National League in stolen bases five times and his 314 steals are good for 151st on the all-time list.

In 2000, Furcal won the National League Rookie of the Year award after batting .295 in 131 games. He also posted the highest on-base percentage of his Big League career (.396) thanks, in part, to 73 walks that season. Furcal went on to make the National League All-Star team three times. His first appearance in the Mid-Summer Classic came in 2003 as a reserve. He ended up pinch-hitting for starting shortstop Edgar Renteria, and went 1-for-3 while scoring a run in the NL's 7-6 loss to the American League squad. Furcal went on to make the team again in 2010 and 2012, with his lone All-Star start coming in his last appearance.

Furcal also enjoys extensive postseason experience. His team reached the playoffs in nine of his 14 Major League campaigns. Despite first reaching October in his rookie season, Furcal had not experienced winning a playoff series until the Dodgers captured their National League Divisional Series over the Chicago Cubs in 2006. In 2011, Furcal finally reached baseball-nirvana as he was a part of the St. Louis Cardinals team that won it all that year. Furcal went 5-for-28 with a run scored and an RBI in that World Series against the Texas Rangers. He is a career .227 hitter in the playoffs with a .306 on-base percentage.

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