Josh Rutledge

Joshua Alan Rutledge (born April 21, 1989) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies and Boston Red Sox between 2012 and 2017.

Josh Rutledge
Rutledge with the Colorado Rockies in 2013
Infielder
Born: (1989-04-21) April 21, 1989
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 13, 2012, for the Colorado Rockies
Last MLB appearance
June 21, 2017, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average.258
Home runs20
Runs batted in111
Teams

Amateur career

Rutledge attended Cullman High School, where he was a four-year starter on the baseball team. In 2006, he had a batting average of .436 with five home runs and 33 runs batted in (RBIs). Cullman was the runner-up in the Class 5A state championship. In 2007, his senior season, Rutledge hit .454 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI, and he helped his team win the state championship. The Birmingham News and the Alabama Sports Writers Association named him the Class 5A Player of the Year.[1]

Ruledge enrolled at the University of Alabama and played shortstop for the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team. In 2008, as a freshman, he started 61 games and led the team in batting average (.369), hits (99), runs scored (62), and stolen bases (16). He became the second freshman to ever lead the team in hitting.[1] From March 26 to May 10, he had a 28-game hitting streak, the third-longest in school history. In 30 SEC games, he batted .406, and his 56 hits led the league. The following season, Rutledge batted .305 with five home runs and 44 RBIs. He was named to the All-SEC first team.[1]

In 2008 and 2009, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.[2]

Professional career

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies selected Rutledge in the third round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft, and he signed with the team on June 25.[3] That season, he played 11 games for the Northwest League's Tri-City Dust Devils. The following season, he played for the Modesto Nuts of the California League. He batted .348 with 9 home runs and 71 RBI and was named the league's player of the week twice.[4][5] Rutledge was then moved up to the Tulsa Drillers of the Class AA Texas League in 2012. He hit .308 with 13 home runs and 35 RBI.[4]

Rutledge was called up to the major league Rockies in 2012 to play shortstop while Troy Tulowitzki was injured. Rutledge made his MLB debut on July 13. In his first 145 at bats, he batted .345 with 24 extra base hits. Towards the end of the season, he injured his quadriceps and batted .197 in September. He finished his first major league season with a .274 batting average, 8 home runs, and 37 RBI.[3][6][7] A natural shortstop, Rutledge began playing other infield positions in 2014.[8]

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On December 11, 2014, the Rockies traded Rutledge to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Jairo Díaz.[9] Rutledge spent half of the season in Triple-A with the Salt Lake City Bees, hitting .286 with 6 home runs and 34 RBI in 81 games before being traded to the Boston Red Sox in July 2015.

Boston Red Sox

On July 27, 2015, the Angels traded Rutledge to the Boston Red Sox for Shane Victorino and $3.8M in cash considerations.[10] He was designated for assignment on November 30.[11] The Red Sox selected his contract from Triple-A Pawtucket in April 2016 after an injury to Pablo Sandoval.[12] Rutledge injured his knee in June and was placed on the 15-day disabled list.[13] On July 14, the team moved Rutledge to the 60-day DL.[14]

Second stint with the Rockies

On November 4, 2016, Rutledge elected free agency after declining an outright assignment to Triple-A.[15] He signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies on November 23.[16]

Second stint with the Red Sox

On December 8, 2016, the Red Sox selected Rutledge from the Rockies with the 26th pick of the Rule 5 draft.[17]

San Francisco Giants

On December 21, 2017, Rutledge signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants.[18] He was released on June 27, 2018.

Rutledge retired following the conclusion of the 2018 season.

Personal life

Rutledge was born to Tony and Cheryl Rutledge in Cullman, Alabama, on April 21, 1989. In 2013, he married Laura McKeeman (who took Rutledge's name upon marriage), a reporter and host for ESPN and the SEC Network. On October 2, 2019, his wife gave birth to a daughter. On May 25, 2023, they had their second child and first son Jack.

See also

References
  1. "Player Bio: Josh Rutledge" Archived March 8, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. rolltide.com. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  2. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. "Josh Rutledge Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  4. "Josh Rutledge Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  5. "Josh Rutledge" Archived March 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. colorado.rockies.mlb.com. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  6. Renck, Troy E. "Offseason work has Rockies' Josh Rutledge ready to challenge for starting job". denverpost.com. January 27, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  7. "Josh Rutledge". espn.go.com. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  8. Edes, Gordon (August 6, 2015). "Josh Rutledge, a 'Bama man, tries to make his place in Boston". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  9. "Rockies trade Josh Rutledge to Angels for reliever Jairo Diaz". December 10, 2014.
  10. Edes, Gordon (July 27, 2015). "Red Sox trade 2013 hero Shane Victorino to Angels". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  11. Mastrodonato, Jason (April 24, 2016). "Farrell: Josh Rutledge 'became a different hitter' since Red Sox acquired him". Boston Herald. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  12. Galanis, Sam (April 24, 2016). "Pablo Sandoval Placed On Disabled List By Red Sox With Shoulder Strain". New England Sports Network. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  13. Mastrodonato, Jason (June 17, 2016). "Josh Rutledge to the DL, Red Sox mull roster options". Boston Herald. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  14. Lauber, Scott (July 14, 2016). "Red Sox get lefty Drew Pomeranz, send Anderson Espinoza to Padres". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  15. "Josh Rutledge: Heads to free agency Friday". cbssports.com. November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  16. Todd, Jeff (November 23, 2016). "Minor MLB Transactions: 11/23/16". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  17. "2016 Rule 5 Draft results". MLB.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  18. Adams, Steve (December 22, 2017). "Minor MLB Transactions: 12/22/17". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
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