TOT - Why, Yes, Rafael Furcal is Definitely 16

Looking back at Furcal's career 27 years to the day he signed with the Braves

Transaction of Today...November 9, 1995 - The Atlanta Braves signed Rafael Furcal as an amateur free agent.

As the Braves enter the offseason wondering what they will do at shortstop, over 25 years ago today, they made a signing that would later give them a six-year starter at the position. Of course, they didn't know about it at the time. For that matter, they didn't even know the age of the player they signed.

On October 24, 1977 - we’re pretty sure this time - Rafael Furcal was born in Loma de Cabrera in the Dominican Republic. That means he was 18 when he signed with the Braves on this day in 1995, but the Braves were damn convinced he was 16. Mainly because his documents said he was. But those documents, especially at the time, had a tendency to not exactly be 100% factual. In fact, they rarely were.

We'll get back to Furcal's age shortly. Furcal would debut in 1997, skipping the DSL, and heading straight to the Gulf Coast League. He wouldn't impress many at the time, but turned a ton of heads with Danville the following summer. The middle infielder with the rocket arm hit .328/.412/.313 for the D-Braves, swiping an impressive 60 bases in 66 games. Officially, he had just 15 doubles, but any single or walk was essentially a double for Furcal.

His 1998 was a tease. It pushed him to the #60 spot in the Baseball America Top 100. His 1999 season, on the other hand, was one for the ages. He'd play for Macon and then Myrtle Beach. In 126 games, Furcal hit .322 with a .392 OBP. Notably, he swiped 96 bases. For a little bit of context, the 2022 Atlanta Braves stole 87 bases as a team! Different times and all, but that's ridiculous.

Furcal's play would not only push him to the #8 spot in the 2000 Baseball America Top 100, it also landed him a spot on the 1999 World roster for the Futures Game. Furcal started at second base, picking up a pair of singles, and scoring on one of Alfonso Soriano's two home runs in a 7-0 win for the World team.

In 2000, Furcal wasn't supposed to be in the mix to start the season. Sure, maybe at some point during the year, but the Braves were returning Walt Weiss and just brought in Quilvio Veras. They also had Keith Lockhart and Ozzie Guillen to help out. Furcal came to camp as a non-roster invitee with #78 on the back of his jersey. Surely, the Braves weren't going to keep the 20-year-old with NO games above A-ball.

Two things, though. I mean, yeah, he wasn't 20, but Furcal also wasn't a normal player. Guillen got the boot and Furcal was brought north and given the #1.

The plan was for Furcal to rotate behind the veterans. It was a similar approach to how the Braves brought Andruw Jones along in 1997. Not a full-time starter, but regular playing time for sure. Of the Braves first 24 games, Furcal played in 18 and started 11. But then Weiss went down to injury for a few weeks in May. Furcal showed he could handle the full-time gig.

An injury of his own cost Furcal a couple of weeks in June and a reaggravation led to him missing more time in early July. And then there was a DUI on June 10. When he didn't get dinged with underage drinking, some were a little curious. When a report from HBO Real Sports later said Furcal was two years older than he said he was, it didn't help. But the story got somewhat buried when, just as he got back into the lineup, Veras got hurt in the first game after the All-Star Break and the playing time situation was clear - Furcal wasn't going anywhere. Without Veras around, Furcal also took over the top spot in the order every day, becoming a big weapon for the Braves. When Weiss played, Furcal moved to second. When Lockhart got in the lineup, Furcal moved back to short. But wherever he played, he was a significant weapon for the Braves.

When the season ended, Furcal had played in 131 games and hit .295/.394/.482 with 20 doubles and 40 steals. While he'd struggle in the playoffs, going 1-for-11 in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Cardinals, the successful season would conclude with 25 of 32 potential first-place votes for the Rookie of the Year as he breezed to the victory over Rick Ankiel.

An injury-filled 2001 followed and 2002 would be another letdown as the strikeouts exploded for Furcal. Prior to the 2002 season, Furcal also finally came clean about his age. Well, kind of. He still didn't get the date right, but hey, he was only ten months off, not years off. Furcal said he had been advised to lie about his age in order to attract more attention - which was common prior to 9/11. With Visas becoming far more strict, players would find it far more difficult to lie anymore about their age in order to add value.

But the Braves weren't phased. His manager, Bobby Cox, quipped, "he's maturing."

After two down seasons - plus all the problems with his age - Furcal came to camp like a man on a mission in 2003 and earned a trip to his first All-Star Game, hitting .292/.352/.443 with career highs in doubles (35) and homers (15) and leading the league with 10 triples. While he was still not stealing bases like he formally had, he was finally looking closer to his 2000 self.

But the run was short-lived as all of his numbers fell the following season. Even worse, he got hit with his second DUI and, this time, we finally pin-pointed his actual age (we think). According to his arrest, Furcal was actually born on October 24, 1977 rather than August 24, 1978 as he told everyone just a few years before. Furcal was sentenced to jail, but allowed to play the season out. Furcal's '04 hadn't gone as plan, but he did everything in the playoffs to extend the season, hitting .381/.480/.762. His walk-off homer at Turner Field in Game 2 remains a happy memory for many.

In 2005, Furcal had a Furcalish year. He hit okay, reached double digits in all extra-base hit categories, and even stole 46 bases - likely to improve his stock ahead of free agency. Once again, he disappeared in October, a common theme in every playoff year outside of '04. The Braves definitely had interest in retaining Furcal, but found a quick replacement in Edgar Renteria.

But Furcal and the Braves weren't done.

After hitting .293 with a .782 OPS over three years with the Dodgers over 333 games, Furcal once again hit free agency. His suitors included both his most recent fling, Los Angeles, and his first, Atlanta. Frank Wren really wanted Furcal, which was a little surprising considering the young double-play combo of Kelly Johnson and Yunel Escobar had played quite well for the Braves the previous year. Presumably, someone - likely Johnson - was heading to the outfield.

In what became an offseason of "just missing out," the Braves thought they had Furcal signed in December of 2008. His agent asked Wren to fax over a term sheet. In Wren's eyes, that's essentially a verbal agreement that just needs to be finalized. For Furcal and his agent, they were "sleeping on" the offer. According to Dodgers general manager, Ned Colletti, Furcal's representation had already told him the Dodgers would get the final shot to get an agreement done.

Frank Wren was incensed. He felt Furcal's agent had essentially said, "here's their offer, Dodgers. Can you do better?" Colletti denied explicitly knowing about the offer and also disagreed with Wren's contention that a faxed term sheet is essentially the same as an agreement.

His agent tried to suggest that another reason, beyond money, was that the Braves wanted to move Furcal to second. To which Furcal said, "For me, it's no problem."

The long-and-short of it is that Furcal re-signed with the Dodgers. He'd have a healthy year in '09 - the last time he avoided the IL - before struggling through five years, including one season completely missed. When he was good, he reminded you of the guy who excelled as a 20-something with the Braves. When he was bad, you cursed the injuries that sapped him of his skills.

In 2015, after a failed effort to make the Royals landed him in the minors, Furcal decided it was time to retire. He finished with a lifetime .281 average and 314 steals to go with three All-Star appearances, a Rookie of the Year award, and a 2011 World Series ring with the Cardinals. He hit a lifetime .227 with a .642 OPS in the playoffs.

Furcal was fun to watch. While it always seemed like he should steal more bases, he was often successful when he did. And while people complained that he got homer-happy every time he sent one to the seats, he had the power for awhile to supplement his game. But it was his arm that became his most-defining trait on the field for me. Andrelton Simmons is, of course, the guy with the golden arm in Braves shortstop lore, but Furcal's was ridiculous and perhaps the best arm in baseball for a shortstop when he was a Brave.

While the homer he bashed in the playoffs or the unassisted triple play might be the single moment most remembered from Furcal's tenure as a Brave, for me, it was his ability to bunt for an extra base hit. While he did it a few times, the one I remember the most was at Riverfront Stadium (miss me with that Cinergy Field noise) on August 8, 2000. Furcal put the bat out and bunted it hard beyond the third baseman. He then motored to second for a double and the throw from Dimitri Young, playing left, was wild so Furcal took third. He quickly scored on an Andruw Jones groundout.

I stand firmly in the camp of "never bunt - hit dingers," but bunting for a double is always okay.

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