Some guys just look like ball players. Others...not so much. At 5'6", Rafael Belliard wasn't exactly an overwhelming presence at the plate or in the field. But he somehow managed to appear in the majors in Belliard first came up with the Bucs in 1982, and would receive a cup of coffee each season until finally sticking with the team in 1986. He saw regular playing time for the Bucs between '86-'88, before leaving for Atlanta in 1991. Despite the Braves dominance throughout the 90's, they somehow retained Belliard in a utility infield role through 1998.
17 different seasons, putting up a whopping .259 slugging percentage.
In short (no pun intended), the guy with a lower slugging percentage than Carlos Zambrano by a cool hundred and thirty points spent the entire decade of the 90's playing for contenders. It's a strange, strange world.
I just had an exchange with Cervin Up Cards talking about Delmon Young. I think he has been to the playoffs something like 8 straight years. His entire career has been worth 2.4 WAR in that time. I said that Mike Trout has put that up in 6 weeks. It is amazing how some guys fall through the cracks.
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