Jacob Alan Rhame (born March 16, 1993) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Early life and amateur career

Rhame was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to Lee and Rachelle Rhame, one of two children and their only son. Rhame attended John H. Guyer High School in

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

, and committed to the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

. In his freshman year with the

Oklahoma Sooners baseball Oklahoma Sooners baseball is the NCAA Division I collegiate baseball team of the University of Oklahoma (OU) based in Norman, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Baseball tradition is long and storied, with two national championships in 1951 and 1994, alo ...

team, Rhame gained , lost velocity on his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

and posted a 7.20

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). He was cut from the team and transferred to

Grayson County College Grayson College is a public community college in Grayson County, Texas. The main campus is in Denison and it has branch campuses in Denison (west extension, at the site of the old Perrin Air Force Base) and Van Alstyne (south campus). Histo ...

. Rhame had signed on to transfer to the

Texas State Bobcats The Texas State Bobcats are the sports teams that represent Texas State University. Currently, they compete in the Sun Belt Conference in NCAA Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision for football). The Bobcat has been the mascot of Texas State Univ ...

for the 2014 college baseball season.

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

The

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

selected Rhame in the sixth round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. He signed with the Dodgers and made his professional debut with the

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitcher ...

. In 2014, Rhame played for the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...

. He appeared in 51 games and had a 2.01 ERA, 90

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

and nine saves over 67 innings. Rhame was assigned to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League to start the 2015 season. He was later promoted to the AA Tulsa Drillers, where he was 3–3 with a 3.06 ERA in 39 games. The Dodgers invited him to major league spring training in 2016 and assigned him to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ba ...

to start the season. He was 1–7 with a 3.29 ERA in 54 appearances and recorded seven saves. The Dodgers added him to their 40-man roster after the season. He appeared in 54 games for Oklahoma City and was 1–7 with a 3.29 ERA.

New York Mets

On August 20, 2017, the Dodgers sent Rhame to the

as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in the trade that sent

Curtis Granderson Curtis Granderson Jr. (born March 16, 1981), nicknamed the "Grandyman", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Ange ...

to the Dodgers. The Mets promoted Rhame to the major leagues on September 1. Rhame made his Major League debut on September 2, 2017 in a scoreless outing against the Houston Astros at

Minute Maid Park Minute Maid Park is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 as the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros. It has a seating capacity of 41,168, which includes 5,197 club seats and 63 ...

. On March 25, 2018, the Mets announced that Rhame had made the Opening Day roster. On April 23, 2019, Rhame threw a pitch over the head of

Rhys Hoskins Rhys Dean Hoskins ( ; born March 17, 1993), is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hoskins played college baseball for the Sacramento State Hornets. He was drafted by the ...

, causing both benches to clear. Two days later, Rhame received a 2-game suspension. On August 13, 2019, Rhame underwent ulnar nerve transposition surgery, ending his season.

Los Angeles Angels

On July 8, 2020, Rhame was claimed off waivers by the

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

. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Rhame became a free agent on November 2.

San Diego Padres

On December 14, 2020, Rhame signed a minor league contract with 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 (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

organization. On April 28, 2021, Rhame was released by the Padres.

Cleburne Railroaders

On August 23, 2021, Rhame signed with the

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays i ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. Rhame started for Cleburne that day, surrendering 5 runs in 1.1 innings pitched, and was released by the team the next day.

References

External links

Oklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhame, Jacob 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Atlanta Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Oklahoma Sooners baseball players Grayson Vikings baseball players Ogden Raptors players Great Lakes Loons players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Tulsa Drillers players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Las Vegas 51s players Syracuse Mets players Anchorage Bucs players Cleburne Railroaders players