Jeff Reboulet

[Al from SoDak]

Jeffrey Allen Reboulet was born April 30, 1964, in Dayton, Ohio. Jeff came from a baseball family. His older brother, Jim, played minor league baseball in the Cardinals organization.

Jeff first played college baseball at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois. He is one of 88 players from Triton to play professional baseball. Of course, one of the others is the late, great Kirby Puckett. From there, Jeff went on to Louisiana State University. After his senior season, the Twins drafted Reboulet in the tenth round of the 1986 draft.

Reboulet debuted as a 28-year-old on May 12, 1992. His first hit came in his fourth game. Jeff’s numbers that rookie season were .190/.311/.277. He played second, third, shortstop, and all three outfield spots. This versatility would be his calling card which allowed him to stick at the Major League level.

The next four years would see similar usage and action. He never played more than 109 games with the Twins and never had more than 283 plate appearances. His best season with the bat was probably 1995 when his OPS+ was 101. He hit .292/.373/.398 with a career-high four home runs. Baseball Reference calculates his WAR that season at 2.6 which was also a career high.

Like so many other Twins of that era, Reboulet moved on after 1996. His final numbers in five seasons with the Twins ended at .248/.335/.324. He had nine home runs and exactly 100 RBI.

Jeff moved on to three years with the Orioles, one with the Royals, two seasons with the Dodgers, then one final season with the Pirates. He was consistent. His seasons with those four teams look awfully similar to his time in Minnesota. His offense was nothing special, but his defensive ability and flexibility allowed him to play until his age 39 season.

Reboulet’s career statistics were .240/.332/.318 with 20 home runs and 202 RBI. His OPS+ was less than ideal at 72, but he did amass 10.0 war.

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