Mostly because I'm curious like a cat (I have a couple of friends who call me whiskers), I googled Tanyon Sturtze today. And found out he's still been in the major leagues. Kind of.
A little bit of back story. Tanyon Sturze was one of my favorite players (again, kind of) ever. He's a Worcester, Massachusetts native, right near where I grew up. He went to my high school's so called rival and then attended Quinsigamond Community College, which is famous for being the place I always teased my Dad I'd go to college. Once in the majors he middled for a while until becoming the ace of the Devil Rays for 2 years from 2001-2002 (11-12 year one, 4-18 the second). But then he was a Yankee, and so my love for him left.
Well today I searched his name and found two tidbits.
One - That he was drafted by the Athletics in 1990 and therefore has had almost a 20 year career in professional baseball (wow).
And Two - Last year, after originally being almost cut by the Dodgers and then finally actually designated for assignment by them, came back to work as their third bullpen catcher/sort of bullpen coach.
I know he was loyal to Joe Torre and that's got to get you something, but three bullpen catchers seems a little bit excessive. However, Sturtze did have a positive effect on Jonathan Broxton in his one stint as a non active rostered Dodger. So that's something nice to tack on to that nearly 20 year long resume.
Designated For Assignment Doesn't Always Mean You Leave the Team
