Jamey Carroll. Does the name sound familiar?
To most Dodger fans, Carroll remains a distant figure for a franchise whose owner is undergoing a bitter divorce, and a team that is fading out of the playoff picture. But Carroll still manages to come out and play his position like it’s the last time he will ever play the game.
The Evansville native signed with the Dodgers during the off-season to provide the Dodgers with a veteran utility player that could play the infield on the starter’s days off.
To me, Jamey Carroll is the MVP of the Dodgers, and deserving of the annual Heart & Hustle Award. They would be even lower in this abyss of a struggling offense, poor bullpen play, and a team that has appeared to call it quits after 162 games if it weren’t for Carroll.
He brings a calm manner to a very complex game, the construction worker with his hard hat and lunch pale as he prepares for another day on the job.
He has received more playing time due to Rafael Furcal’s trip to the disabled list, and has provided the lone flame that remains in a season filled with high expectations. Two straight NL West titles and two straight trips to the NLCS can spoil you, and standing 11 games back of the Padres, the hopes for a third straight golden October seem about as likely as Palestinians and Israelis agreeing to a ceasefire.
The best off-season acquisition the Dodgers made, which you could argue is not that much to say considering the Dodgers remained on an island of their own as other teams picked up free agents. You can thank McCourt for that one.
If the Pacific Ocean represented the free agent class, McCourt and the Dodgers were somewhere in North Dakota.
But along the way, they picked up Carroll. He doesn’t hit home runs, but he will flash you with the glove, and provide a positive energy that seems to be lacking in the Dodger clubhouse.
I think the Dodgers can learn a thing or two from Carroll, whose swagger is unphased under pressure, scrutiny, or the performance of the team. Every day, he is back at it again.
In a game that becomes less and less team-oriented as you reach closer and closer to the professional level, Carroll is the small part of unity, unselfishness and sense of team comraderie that exists in sports today.
Carroll plays on, and Matt Kemp uses his agent to bicker back at a Bill Plaschke column questioning his hustle and play out on the field, yet remains the candidate for the Heart & Hustle Award.
Batting .288 with 0 home runs and 18 RBI’s, Carroll is the Waldo of the Dodgers organization that I was able to find, and one who best exemplifies an athletes with a big heart, and with a lot of hustle.
Time for you to look for Carroll. Where’s Carroll? Better search for him next time you see the Dodgers come out on the field.
He is the MVP of moral character, mental toughness, hustle, and perseverance. Even if the Dodgers continue to struggle to score runs, and slip more and more out of the playoff picture.