How many of\u00a0 us \u2013 as baseball fans \u2013 would \u00a0have given anything for even just one at bat in the \u00a0leagues? Or, if we were really lucky, one hit (or one strikeout or one mound win)?\u00a0 Getting our picture on a big-league baseball card \u2013 or our name on a page in The Baseball Encyclopedia<\/em> would have been heaven.<\/p>\n Let’s take a look at the remarkable perseverance and positive attitude that got Lindsey to the big-leagues as a player and what happened once he got there (and beyond).<\/p>\n Lindsey was a signed as a teenager, right out of Hattiesburg (MS) High School, where he played football and baseball.\u00a0 He was a 13th<\/sup> round pick of the Rockies in the 1995 MLB Draft. He got off to a bit of a slow start, with averages ranging from .208 to .275 over his first five seasons \u2013 although the big first baseman did have a solid season in 1998 at Class-A Asheville (.275-14-73 in 126 games).\u00a0 Promoted to High-A Salem the next season (1999), he struggled (.208-4-35 in 75 games), but then turned it around and hit .280-16-88 in 155 games over \u00a0the next two \u00a0seasons (both at Salem).<\/p>\n Lindsey \u00a0was granted free agency after the 2001 season and signed with the Mariners \u2013 who assigned him to High-A San Bernardino, where he showed a solid bat with power,\u00a0 hitting .297-22-93 in in 127 games. That earned him a promotion.\u00a0 In 2003 \u2013 now 26 and in his eighth pro season – he moved up to Double-A (San Antonio), where he had two very solid years:\u00a0 .296-22-93 and .282-19-72.\u00a0 Despite those\u00a0 solid campaigns, Lindsey again found himself as a free agent after the 2004 season. He signed with the Cardinals in October of 2004, was released by St. \u00a0Louis in March 2005. He ended up starting the 2005 season with the New Jersey Jackals of the Independent \u00a0Canadian-American Association – still determined to earn<\/em> <\/strong>that big-league opportunity. That season, he hit .321-9-62 in 56 games and earned a spot on the Can-Am 2005 All Star Team. His performance also earned him a\u00a0 contract (signed that July) from the Marlins\u00a0 \u2013 who assigned him to High-A Jupiter, where Lindsey hit just .219 in 30 games.\u00a0 \u00a0After the 2005 season, he once again found himself a free agent.<\/p>\n Some might have given up the dream, but Lindsey just kept working.\u00a0 In 2006, it was back to New Jersey, where he hit .311-10-41 in 69 games and attracted the attention of the Dodgers, who signed him in January 2007. \u00a0\u00a0The Dodgers sent him to Double-A Jacksonville, where a .286-11-33 line (in 56 games)\u00a0 finally earned him \u2013 at age 30 and in his apparently lucky 13th minor-league season \u2013 a shot at Triple-A ball.\u00a0 One step closer to the dream.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Lindsey continued to improve.\u00a0 In 2007, he hit .333-19-88 in 77 games at Triple-A Las Vegas.\u00a0 He followed that up with .316-26-100 in 133 games at Las Vegas in 2008.\u00a0 He once again displayed average, power and clutch performance – and still no call up. By this time, he was 31-years-old, with 13 minor-league seasons under his belt. The clock was ticking on the dream. In fact, the Dodgers let him get away, as a free-agent signee with the Marlins for a second time. As a Florida farmhand, Lindsey turned in a .251-19-83 season at Triple-A New Orleans in 2009.<\/p>\n The Dodgers must have remembered what they liked about Lindsey, as they resigned him after the 2009 season. In 2010, he found himself at first base for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. At Albuquerque, he continued to impress the Dodgers – and boasted a .353-25-97 line when he was called up in\u00a0 early September.\u00a0 Goal one – making it to the bigs – accomplished.\u00a0 Now,\u00a0 to get that at bat and hit.\u00a0 We’ll get to that in a minute, but first more about Lindsey’s path to Dodger blue.<\/p>\n Over this arduous journey, Lindsey earned a reputation for his perseverance, professionalism, positive attitude, relentless work ethic, passion for the game \u2013 and seemingly never missing smile.<\/p>\n What Kind of Character It Really Takes … A Great Lesson in Never Giving up<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n About a week before John Lindsey’s 2010 call up, the Dodgers’s (then) Farm System Director De Jon Watson said this about Lindsey, \u201cHe is unbelievable for our young guys. He shows what it takes to persevere in this game. He\u2019s a quality human being with a great work ethic and integrity.\u00a0 You want those kinds of people around\u00a0 your young guys that are on their way to the big leagues, so they don\u2019t forget what this game really takes, what kind of character it really takes, what kind of resolve it takes to come in every single day and keep grinding away.\u201d<\/em> 1<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Commenting on Lindsey\u2019s call up, Dodgers\u2019 (then) manager Joe Torre said \u201c That\u2019s a great lesson in never giving up.\u00a0 That\u2019s the simple way to put it \u2026 he\u2019s got this big smile on his face all the time.\u00a0 Very polite, very respectful and just worked at getting himself better.<\/em>\u201d 2<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ______________________________________________________________<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n John Lindsey\u2019s First MLB Appearance (Kind Of)\u00a0 …. and His Final MLB Appearance (Kind Of)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n John Lindsey \u201ckind of\u201d made his first MLB appearance on September 8, 2010 \u2013 as the Dodgers faced the Padres in San Diego. It came in the eighth inning, with the Dodgers trailing San Diego 4-0, with runners on first and second and no outs. Lindsey was called in to pinch hit for left-handed hitting LF \u00a0Scott Podsednik against southpaw Joe Thatcher \u2013 producing that traditionally preferred lefty-right matchup.\u00a0 Finally, Lindsey was coming to the plate in a major-league game \u2013 almost.\u00a0 Padres\u2019 manager Bud Black pulled Thatcher and brought in right-hander Luke Gregerson.\u00a0 Dodgers\u2019 skipper Joe Torre quickly countered, calling Lindsey back to the dugout and sending up\u00a0 lefty-swinging Andre Ethier.\u00a0 So, while Lindsey is officially credited with his first major-league game that day \u2013 he did not appear in the batter’s box, on the basepaths or in the field.<\/em> T<\/strong>o add insult to injury, Ethier grounded into a second-to-first double play on Gregerson\u2019s very first pitch.<\/p>\n Lindsey appeared in ten more games as the season wound down \u2013 primarily as a pinch hitter He did start two games at first base).\u00a0 He got one hit in 12 at bats \u2013 a pinch hit single off the Astros\u2019 Nelson Figueroa on \u00a0September 12.<\/p>\n On September 25, Lindsey got his second (and final) start of the season at first base. In the seventh inning, he was hit on the right hand by a pitch (on a 1-2 count)\u00a0 from the Diamondbacks’ Daniel Hudson.\u00a0 The broken hand ended his season\u00a0 – again kind of<\/em> – and required surgery.<\/p>\n Then on the final day of the season (October 3), Dodgers\u2019 manager Joe Torre chose to honor Lindsey\u2019s attitude and perseverance.\u00a0 He \u201cofficially\u201d called on\u00a0 Lindsey to pinch hit for pitcher Ted Lilly in bottom of the seventh (with the Dodgers leading the Diamondbacks 2-1) \u2013 and then immediately removed him for pinch-hitter Trent Oeltjen (who popped up to the pitcher on a bunt attempt).\u00a0 That would turn out to be the last MLB game of Lindsey’s career.\u00a0 So, i<\/strong>n both his first and late official MLB appearances, he did not \u201cappear\u201d in the batter\u2019s box. on the basepaths or in the field.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n _____________________________________________________<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n While that October 3, 2010 game was Lindsey\u2019s last in the major leagues, it was not his last as a professional. He continued to play\u00a0 for five more years \u2013 taking the field for \u00a0teams in the International League,\u00a0 Canadian-American Association (yes, back to the New Jersey Jackals), Mexican League and Mexican Pacific Winter League.\u00a0 While his MLB record is one single and one hit-by-pitch in 13 plate appearances, overall Lindsey is credited with 21 pro seasons, 2,277 games, 2,291 hits, a .284 average, 377 home runs, 1,536 RBI \u2013 and a never diminished passion for the national pastime.\u00a0 We could all learn a lesson about passion, perseverance and a strong work ethic in pursuing our dreams from major-leaguer John Lindsey.<\/p>\n Back to My Original Search<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Who holds the title of MLB’s oldest rookie?\u00a0 For years, of course, that crown has belonged to Satchel Paige … who debuted for the Cleveland Indians on July 9, 1948\u00a0 (at a reported 42-years and two-days old). But with the recent changes assigning major league status to the Negro Leagues (1920-48), Paige’s major-league debut now came as a 20-year-old with the 1927 Birmingham Black Barons.\u00a0 Your new oldest MLB rookie would be Dominican-born southpaw Diomedes Olivo \u2013 who was 41-years and 227-days of age when he debuted for the Pirates on September 5, 1960.\u00a0 By the time he reached the major leagues, Olivo had\u00a0 pitched in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Columbia. As you might expect, his MLB career was short. He was 5-6, 3.10 in 85 games (one start) over three MLB seasons (1960, 62-63). As a 43-year-old in 1960, he went 5-1, 2.77 with seven saves in 62 games for the Pirates.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Primary Resources:\u00a0<\/em> Baseball-Reference.com; Baseball-Almanac.com; Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball<\/em>, by John Feinstein, Anchor Books, 2014<\/p>\n \n<\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baseballroundtable.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Lindsey1.jpg\")
<\/a>Well, John Lindsey accomplished that dream \u2013 and, in doing it, showed more perseverance than any major leaguer before or since.\u00a0 Lindsey spent 16 seasons and a combination of 1,571 minor-league games, as well as four seasons and 141 games in the Mexican, Dominican and Venezuelan Winter Leagues, before his September 8, 2010 MLB debut with the Dodgers. Lindsey\u2019s was the longest minor-league \u00a0\u201cinternship\u201d ever before an MLB debut. \u00a0In fact, before he put on the Los Angeles uniform, he had he had played in the Rockies, Mariners and Dodgers’ systems, suiting up for the:<\/p>\n\n
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