Bobby Leon Scales (born October 4, 1977) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

. A

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers, although there are some exceptions. Characteristics Right-han ...

who throws

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

, Scales played for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and was selected by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

in the 14th round (442nd overall) of the

1999 Major League Baseball Draft The 1999 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1,474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections Supplemental fir ...

on June 11, 1999. While at Michigan, he played for the

Corvallis Knights The Corvallis Knights, founded as the Aloha Knights, are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Corvallis, Oregon. Founded in 1990 in Beaverton by Dan and his brother Joe Segel, the Knights moved to Corvallis from Gresham in 2007. They ...

in the

West Coast League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCB ...

, an independent summer collegiate league. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

and the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture ...

Playing career

Minor league career

Within three years of being drafted by the Padres organization, Scales was discouraged from lack of play and even planned to quit; but infield coach Tony Franklin talked him into staying. That same season when

Bernie Castro Bernabel "Bernie" Castro (born July 14, 1979) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played two major league seasons, one each with the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles. Career The New York Yankees signed Castro as an in ...

, the top prospect starting ahead of Scales got injured, he finally got his chance to start. Signed by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

to a minor league contract on January 11, 2006, Scales played the 2006 season with the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the S ...

. The

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

organization signed him to a minor league contract on December 20, 2006, and invited him to participate in the Red Sox' 2007

Spring Training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. In , Scales played for the Chicago Cubs organization and became a free agent at the end of the season. In January , he re-signed with the Cubs.

Major league career

He was called up to the Cubs major league team on May 4, 2009, after

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

Carlos Zambrano Carlos Alberto Zambrano Matos (born June 1, 1981), nicknamed "Big Z" or "El Toro", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2001 to 2012 for the Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins. Zambrano ...

was put on the 15-Day

Disabled List In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

. He made his Major League debut, starting at

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

, at the age of 31 on May 5 against the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, a game in which he recorded his first Major League hit against

Tim Lincecum Timothy Leroy Lincecum ( ; born June 15, 1984), nicknamed "the Freak", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the San Francisco Giants. A two-time Cy Young Award ...

, winner of the 2008 National League

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

. He scored his first Major League run later that inning when Sean Marshall singled. On May 8, 2009, Scales hit his first Major League triple off of

Dave Bush David Thomas Bush (born November 9, 1979) is an American professional baseball coach and former pitcher who is the current assistant pitching coach for the Texas Rangers. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Milwa ...

. On May 12, 2009, Scales hit his first major league home run off of Edwin Moreno of the

. On May 14, to further his case to stay in the bigs, Scales hit two doubles while driving in four runs in the Cubs' win over the Padres. He recorded a six-game hit streak immediately after being called up, but that streak was lost on May 16. However, that same game, he scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. On May 27, Aaron Miles was placed on the DL, and the team needed someone who could play backup shortstop and Scales was sent down to AAA Iowa Cubs. The next day, May 28, Scales was recalled from AAA Iowa because

Ryan Freel Ryan Paul Freel (March 8, 1976 – December 22, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A utility player, Freel played second base, third base, and all three outfield positions in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, Chica ...

was placed on the disabled list. Scales then went on to hit a pinch hit home run in the bottom of the 8th off Dodgers pitcher Randy Wolf.

Japan

Scales signed with the

in Japan on June 27, 2011.

Return to Cubs

On January 27, 2012, Scales signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.

New York Mets

After leaving the Cubs, Scales signed a minor league contract with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

on April 1. On May 12 he was released by the Mets.

Japan again

After his departure from the Mets organization he signed with the

Post-playing career

On November 9, 2012, Scales was hired to be the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

' director of player development. Scales was hired by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

to be the organization's assistant fielding coordinator in 2019. In 2023 Scales was hired as a part-time analyst for road games on the

Detroit Tigers Radio Network The Detroit Tigers Radio Network is an American radio network composed of 49 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Detroit Tigers, a professional baseball team in Major League Baseball (MLB). Detroit's WXYT-FM (97.1 ...

Personal life

Bobby's wife Monica has a doctorate in health communication. In 2005 Scales was named the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

Community Player of the Year which highlighted the time and effort he put into helping the greater Portland community. He also is a substitute teacher at Milton High School in

Milton, Georgia Milton is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States, located about 30 miles (48 km) north of downtown Atlanta. Incorporated on December 1, 2006, the population was 41,296 as of the 2020 census. Milton is one of the wealthiest cities in ...

during the offseason.Batting Around with Bobby Scales
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scales, Bobby 1977 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs players Detroit Tigers announcers Fort Wayne Wizards players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Idaho Falls Braves players Iowa Cubs players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball broadcasters Michigan Wolverines baseball players Mobile BayBears players Orix Buffaloes players Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Beavers players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Baseball players from Southfield, Michigan