Bret Prinz earned a World Series ring in his rookie season with the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks. He went on to play for several other teams in the majors, including the New York Yankees.
This winter, Prinz took a job with the Somerset Patriots. During the first six weeks of the season, he proved over and over again that he did not belong in the Atlantic League. In 16 games for the Patriots, Prinz earned 13 saves. He struck out 19 batters in 16 innings, posting a miniscule 0.56 ERA.
So naturally, he wasn’t still around when the team set came out in early June - he’d already been signed by the Oakland Athletics and assigned to AAA Sacramento. Still, he was nice enough to sign one for me through the mail.
Prinz has not had as much success with the River Cats, but he’s still averaging close to a strikeout per inning and would have a respectable ERA if you took away his disasterous first outing. Hopefully, he’ll continue to pitch well and find his way back to the Major Leagues this year.
