JAWS and the 2025 Corridor of Fame Poll: Troy Tulowitzki

The next article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing take a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2025 Corridor of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this yr’s poll, and different candidates within the sequence, use the device above; an introduction to JAWS might be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule, see right here. All WAR figures seek advice from the Baseball Reference model until in any other case indicated.

Along with his mixture of a strong bat, good vary, positive arms, the occasional spectacular leap, and a robust and correct arm, Troy Tulowitzki had the first attributes of a Corridor of Fame shortstop, like Nomar Garciaparra earlier than him. He debuted within the majors simply 15 months after being chosen with the seventh decide of the 2005 draft, and helped the Rockies attain the World Sequence for the primary time following a stellar rookie season. By the point he completed his age-30 season, he’d made 5 All-Star groups, received two Gold Gloves, and signed the eighth-largest contract in baseball to that time. The face of the Rockies’ franchise appeared properly on his approach to Cooperstown, however like Garciaparra — whose quantity he wore as an novice — Tulowitzki battled a seemingly limitless sequence of accidents till he might take it no extra. He by no means topped his rookie whole of 155 video games, performed in simply 71 from his age-32 season onward, and retired at 34, leaving us to marvel what may need been.

Even with charge stats that have been inflated by enjoying in Coors Discipline, Tulowitzki’s 121 OPS+ through the 2007–16 span ranked second amongst all shortstops behind solely Hanley Ramirez (130). His 95 Defensive Runs Saved throughout that span ranked third, and regardless of enjoying in nearly 74% of his group’s video games attributable to a slew of accidents, his 44.0 WAR for that decade ranks eleventh within the majors, and first amongst shortstops, 10.4 WAR forward of Ramirez.

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Troy Trevor Tulowitzki was born on October 10, 1984 in Santa Clara, California to Michelle Honeycutt and Ken Tulowitzki; the couple would later separate. His father labored as deliveryman for a calibration lab and coached his son’s groups from Little League — the place he was a ball-hogging shortstop — up till highschool. In 1997, when Troy was 12, he led his Sunnyvale group to the Little League West Regional finals. Although he grew up an A’s fan, Tulowitzki idolized Garciaparra and the nice shortstops corresponding to Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez who established that larger males might thrive on the place. He wore Garciaparra’s no. 5 by his novice days earlier than switching to Jeter’s no. 2 as an expert.

At Fremont Excessive Faculty, Tulowitzki made varsity in every of his 4 seasons, lettered twice in basketball, and was his faculty’s Athlete of the Yr as a senior. On the diamond, he pitched along with enjoying shortstop; throughout his junior yr, he went 15-1 and hit .536. Twice he earned second-team All-State honors. Undrafted and calmly recruited out of highschool, he weighed scholarship provides from a handful of California colleges, together with UC Irvine, Santa Clara College, Cal State Northridge, and San Jose State. He selected Lengthy Seashore State, which had a gap after its prime shortstop didn’t qualify academically.

In his three years as a Dirtbag, Tulowitzki made two all-Huge West groups (second group in 2003, first in ’04), earned varied All-American honors, and in 2004 was the beginning shortstop for the U.S. collegiate nationwide group, which he helped to a gold medal within the World College Baseball Championship. He drew comparisons to Lengthy Seashore State alum Bobby Crosby, one other 6-foot-3 shortstop who grew to become a first-round decide by the A’s in 2001, and roomed with future main leaguers John Bowker and Evan Longoria.

Although Tulowitzki missed 20 video games within the spring of his junior yr attributable to a damaged hamate, Baseball America raved concerning the 6-foot-3, 205-pound shortstop forward of the 2005 draft: “He performs with distinctive depth and an unmatched ardour for the sport… He has no holes in his sport and all his instruments are near large league-ready. He’s a prime defender who has adjusted properly to the pace of the sport. He has an above-average arm and good footwork, in contrast to as a freshman when he relied on his uncooked arm power… He now tasks to hit 25-30 homers a yr within the large leagues.”

The Rockies selected Tulowitzki with the seventh decide of a draft that on the time was considered remarkably deep, with Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, Jeff Clement, Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun and Ricky Romero chosen forward of him, and Andrew McCutchen, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Colby Rasmus amongst these chosen later within the spherical. In 2008, Sports activities Illustrated’s Tom Verducci wrote that the 2005 group was “prone to eclipse the best in baseball historical past: 1985, when Barry Bonds, Barry Larkin, Rafael Palmeiro, Will Clark, B.J. Surhoff, Pete Incaviglia and Gregg Jefferies have been among the many first 22 picks.” Trying into the long run is difficult.

Rockies common supervisor Dan O’Dowd known as the number of Tulowitzki “a franchise-changing” second, and signed his prime decide with a $2.3 million bonus. Tulowitzki moved shortly by the minors. He started his skilled profession at Excessive-A Modesto, the place he hit .266/.343/.457 with 4 homers in 22 video games however missed time attributable to a torn quadriceps. At Double-A Tulsa in 2006, he hit .291/.370/.473 with 13 homers in 104 video games, primarily whereas batting leadoff, a way of educating him to be extra selective along with his strategy. “He’s gifted however one of the best factor about him is how arduous he works,” Tulsa supervisor Stu Cole instructed Baseball America. “He has the work ethic the place he’s all the time making an attempt to get higher.”

The Rockies known as up Tulowitzki in late August, after simply 126 minor league video games. His main league debut was nothing to write down house about: on August 30, 2006, he went 0-for-4 towards the Mets, with starter David Williams putting him out twice and reliever Guillermo Mota as soon as. He beat out an infield hit towards Oliver Pérez the subsequent day, had a 4-for-4 day with a stroll towards the Dodgers on September 3, and hit his first homer towards the Padres’ Woody Williams on September 4. Although he hit simply .240/.318/.292, he was so spectacular within the Arizona Fall League after the season that Baseball America named him the league’s prime prospect.

The 2006 Rockies went 76-86, a nine-game enchancment over ’05 however their sixth straight dropping season and eighth out of 9. In 14 seasons of existence to that time, that they had completed above .500 simply 4 instances, by no means with greater than 83 wins; their lone playoff look got here after going 77-67 (.535) within the lockout-shortened 1995 season. That modified in 2007, with Tulowitzki, left fielder Matt Holliday, and first baseman Todd Helton main the best way. After beating out Clint Barmes for the beginning job, Tulowitzki hit .291/.359/.479 (109 OPS+) with 24 homers, an off-the-charts 31 DRS, and 6.8 WAR, the final of which ranked fifth within the league. The Rockies have been a good 76-72 as of September 15, 4 1/2 video games again within the Wild Card race, however with a 13-1 run they tied the Padres for the Wild Card spot on the ultimate scheduled day of the common season, forcing a tiebreaker sport. In a 13-inning thriller, Tulowitzki went 4-for-7 with two doubles and a triple, and got here up large within the decisive rally. His RBI double off Trevor Hoffman within the backside of the thirteenth trimmed San Diego’s result in 8-7, and he got here round to attain the tying run on Holliday’s triple. The Rockies received when Jamey Carroll’s sacrifice fly despatched Holliday house, although the decision on the play on the plate will without end be disputed.

With that, the Rockies received the Wild Card spot, then swept the Phillies within the Division Sequence and the Diamondbacks within the NLCS earlier than being swept by the Purple Sox within the World Sequence. Tulowitzki hit simply .195/.267/.341 within the postseason, with a Division Sequence Sport 2 solo homer off Kyle Kendrick ranking as his prime spotlight.

After the season, Tulowitzki completed as runner-up within the NL Rookie of the Yr voting behind Braun, who hit 34 homers and slugged an NL-high .634 however was so dreadful on protection that he completed with simply 2.0 WAR.

Conscious that that they had a franchise cornerstone on their arms, the Rockies locked up the 23-year-old Tulowitkzi during his group management years and the primary yr of his potential free company with a six-year, $31 million extension in January 2008. However although he collected three hits towards the Cardinals in an Opening Day win, he didn’t even make it out of April unscathed. He strained his left quad on April 29 and missed 51 days, then one other 15 in July after slicing open his proper palm when his maple bat shattered after he pounded it towards the bottom in frustration. He wanted 16 stitches for “a silly harm that I might have prevented.” Between the 2 accidents, he hit simply .166/.246/.298 within the first half whereas the Rockies went 39-57. Although he collected 5 hits towards the Dodgers in his return to the lineup, and hit .327/.389/.469 within the second half, he completed with simply eight homers, an 85 OPS+, and 0.8 WAR.

Beginning with an Opening Day homer off the Diamondbacks’ Brandon Webb, and two extra within the 2009 season’s first 4 days, Tulowitzki rebounded in spectacular style, hitting .297/.377/.552 (131 OPS+) with 32 homers, 20 steals, 13 DRS and 6.5 WAR, a efficiency that positioned him fifth within the NL MVP voting. The Rockies started the season simply 18-28, however with bench coach Jim Tracy taking up for fired supervisor Clint Hurdle in late Might, they set a franchise document with 92 wins, and claimed one other Wild Card spot, although they have been ousted by the Phillies in a four-game Division Sequence.

Although he performed simply 122 video games in 2010 and 143 in ’11 attributable to accidents, Tulowitzki was excellent when he was out there, and kind of matched his numbers from ’09 in each seasons. He hit 27 homers with a 138 OPS+ and 6.7 WAR (third within the league) in 2010 regardless of dropping practically six weeks to a hamate fracture in his left wrist, then adopted up with 30 homers, a 131 OPS+, and 6.2 WAR (fourth within the league) in ’11. He received Gold Gloves and made the NL All-Star group in each campaigns, and was voted into the beginning lineup within the latter yr. He made a little bit of noise within the MVP voting as properly, ending fifth once more in 2010 (two spots behind teammate Carlos González), and eighth in ’11.

In between these two seasons, the Rockies added one other seven years and $134 million to the 26-year-old shortstop’s current deal. “I can’t wait to be right here my whole profession,” mentioned Tulowitzki of the ensuing 10-year, $157.75 million contract, the eighth-largest in baseball historical past to that time. He spoke of a chat with O’Dowd and proprietor Dick Monfort:

“I mentioned it positively is a risk I wish to be right here my complete profession, however there’s quite a lot of issues that need to work out, corresponding to cash, corresponding to a dedication to profitable,” Tulowitzki mentioned. “And all of the solutions I acquired from the start stayed on a straight line. They by no means veered off. And so they offered me.”

Regardless of that dedication to profitable, the Rockies declined to 83-79 in 2010, 73-89 in ’11, and 64-98 in ’12, a season wherein Tulowitzki was restricted to 47 video games attributable to a left groin pressure that required surgical procedure after he reinjured it whereas on a rehab project. Although he tried to rehab in August and September, he “was unable to clear psychological and bodily hurdles throughout rehab video games in Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Colorado Springs,” in accordance to the Denver Publish, and by no means made it again to the lineup.

The litany of accidents continued even whereas Tulowitzki carried out at a celebrity degree. He totaled 10.7 WAR in simply 217 video games (7.4 per 150 video games) whereas being voted to start out the All-Star Sport in each 2013 and ’14. He misplaced 4 weeks in mid-2013 after breaking a rib whereas diving for a ball, however the extra crushing blow got here the subsequent yr. Within the June 2 version of Sports activities Illustrated, Ben Reiter wrote about Tulowitzki’s determined try to remain wholesome and the extent to which the Rockies’ excessive altitude residence affected the physiology of the group’s gamers:

Tulowitzki grew to become satisfied that the supply of not less than a few of his maladies was the identical factor that, for 22 years now, has brought on baseballs to journey farther at Coors Discipline than in every other ballpark: Denver’s mile-high altitude. “You hear guys on the bases say, ‘My physique looks like crap right now,’” Tulowitzki says. “I’ll say, man, attempt to play 81 video games right here. It’s recognized: You play in Colorado, you’re going to be additional sore. There have been instances after I had slight pulls right here and there that I performed by, but it surely wasn’t the neatest factor to do. I simply ran it on the market each day till it broke.”

By this level Tulowitki had taken an excessive strategy to vitamin, forgoing desserts and touring with a private assistant to inventory his resort room with the suitable meals. Moreover, he put in a hyperbaric chamber on the primary ground of his home, the place he slept nightly:

What Tulowitzki wanted to do was to focus maniacally on a every day routine that he has designed not simply to maintain him on the sector — he believes that his giant stature, for a shortstop, has contributed to his breakdowns — however to function every night time at nothing wanting his peak. It includes hours of scripted exercises, stretching, video examine, ice baths, hydration and a hyperbaric chamber.

The unorthodox routine appeared to be working on the time, as Tulowitzki was within the midst of what was shaping as much as be his greatest marketing campaign (.340/.432/.603, 170 OPS+, 25 HR, 5.7 WAR) when he strained a left hip flexor whereas operating out a groundball on July 19. 4 weeks later, he underwent season-ending surgical procedure to restore a torn labrum in his left hip, which docs believed was contributing to his ongoing leg accidents: “Since struggling a torn left quadriceps early in 2008, Tulowitzki, 29, has been compensating for left leg muscle tissues that haven’t fired correctly since,” wrote MLB.com’s Thomas Harding.

Tulowitzki recovered from surgical procedure in time to start the subsequent season within the lineup, accumulating three hits (two doubles) towards the Brewers on Opening Day and remaining largely wholesome by the season’s first 4 months. Nonetheless, after dropping 96 video games in 2014, the Rockies continued to muddle alongside. On July 27, 2015, they did one thing that had as soon as appeared unthinkable if not unimaginable, buying and selling Tulowitzki (and reliever LaTroy Hawkins) to the Blue Jays in change for pitchers Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman, and Jesus Tinoco plus shortstop José Reyes, with the Blue Jays answerable for the remaining $107.5 million on his contract. Although rumors about doable trades had been swirling because the group misplaced 11 straight video games in Might, Tulowitzki mentioned on the time that he hadn’t requested for a commerce: “No matter occurs on the Rockies’ finish occurs, however for me to take a seat right here and attempt to power my means out of right here, that’s not the case.”

Tulowitzki described himself as “blindsided” by the commerce and notably by the shortage of advance discover earlier than he was pulled from the Rockies’ sport. He joined a group that was simply 50-50 on the time, however the Blue Jays additionally added David Worth, Mark Lowe, and Ben Revere on the deadline in an effort to succeed in the playoffs for the primary time since their 1993 championship. Tulowitzki went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a homer towards the Phillies in his debut. He scuffled thereafter, hitting for simply an 89 OPS+ the remainder of the best way and lacking 18 video games in September attributable to a cracked left scapula, suffered in a collision with heart fielder Kevin Pillar. Even so, the Blue Jays went 43-19 after he was acquired, and received the AL East.

Tulowitzki, who was lower than 100% healed when he returned, went simply 2-for-21 within the group’s Division Sequence win over the Rangers — the one punctuated by José Bautista’s bat flip — however a kind of hits was a three-run homer off Chi Chi González that powered Toronto to a 5-1 win in Sport 3. He hit .304/.304/.522 within the ALCS towards the Royals, with a three-run homer off Johnny Cueto in Sport 3 and a three-run double off Kelvin Herrera in Sport 5 looming giant within the Blue Jays’ two sequence wins.

Tulowitzki helped the Blue Jays win 89 video games and declare a Wild Card spot in 2016 with a stable and relatively full season; he performed 131 video games, lacking three weeks attributable to a proper quad pressure. Although he hit a modest .254/.318/.443 (102 OPS+) with 24 homers, sturdy protection (9 DRS) boosted his worth to three.2 WAR. Whereas he went 0-for-4 within the Wild Card sport versus the Orioles, and 2-for-18 within the ALCS towards Cleveland, he was 6-for-13 with a triple, a homer and 5 RBI towards the Rangers within the Division Sequence rematch, highlighted by a bases-loaded triple off Cole Hamels in Sport 2 and a two-run homer off Yu Darvish in Sport 3.

Sadly, there wasn’t a lot left to his profession, not that anybody knew it on the time. Tulowitzki performed simply 66 video games in 2017, struggling to an 80 OPS+ whereas dropping time to a proper hamstring pressure and an ankle sprain; later in that season, he realized he’d sustained ligament injury within the ankle as properly. He missed all of 2018 after present process surgical procedure in April to take away bone spurs in each heels, although it wasn’t till August {that a} return was dominated out. In November, the Blue Jays grew bored with the limitless cycles of accidents and rehab, releasing Tulowitzki with $38 million to go on his contract.

In January 2019, Tulowtizki signed with the Yankees, who wanted a fill-in at shortstop whereas Didi Gregorius recovered from Tommy John surgical procedure. He made the group out of spring coaching and homered off the Orioles’ Richard Bleier in his second sport, however strained his left calf 4 days later, and re-strained it whereas on a rehab project on Might 1. Even after he agreed to play different positions moreover shortstop for the primary time in his profession as soon as he returned, his stalled progress led the Yankees to ship him house to Southern California in early June to reevaluate his choices. In the end, he determined he’d had sufficient. Upon saying his retirement on July 25, he took a job as a volunteer assistant coach on the College of Texas. He’s presently the Longhorns’ full-time hitting coach.

Although Tulowitzki is considered one of 22 shortstops to build up not less than 40 WAR in his seven greatest seasons — a sturdy indicator of future election to the Corridor of Fame — his early retirement and the lack of practically 5 full seasons to time on the injured listing limits his profession totals. Nonetheless, even along with his absences, he was the sport’s greatest shortstop for a time. When he was wholesome sufficient to play, man, might Tulo play.