Miguel Batista Still Plays Baseball

Despite having been stuck at replacement level or worse since 2007, Miguel Batista keeps finding work. The soon-to-be 42-year-old right-handed hurler signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies yesterday, and if he manages to make the team, it’ll be his 19th season in the majors. That kind of longevity is rare, so even if Batista hasn’t been very useful in a while, you have to commend him on his perseverance.

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The Rockies, a team that has never exactly been known for their pitching quality, may even wind up getting some innings out of Batista, but he should be used strictly in a mop-up capacity at this point in his career. Although he still features good velocity (his average fastball was clocked at 91.5 in 2012) he walks too many batters and often gets hit — hard. Last season, worked just over 50 innings for the Mets and Braves, and the 1.73 WHIP is a testament to his issues with putting far, far too many base runners on.

It’s only a matter of time before Batista is forced into retirement (it may be this year, in fact), but on the bright side, he’s always got his poetry skills to fall back on once his playing days are finally over.

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