rudy!

[this is the twentythird installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, mickey hatcher, dave anderson, don zimmer, rafael landestoy, dave hansen, jose vizcaino, hideo nomo, greg maddux, mike maddux, jon garland, chan ho park, vicente romo, gene mauch, denny lewallyn, von joshua, joe moeller, and dioner navarro.]

you might argue that rudy seanez is really a dodger 'triple dipper'.  you might be right.  but, i am making the rules about these posts, and i am only considering players who have appeared in a big league game as a dodger before leaving the organization and then returning.  that's why guys like denny lewallyn and joe moeller qualify (even though they didn't appear in a game for the other team they were acquired by in between terms with the dodgers) and guys like ted lilly and ron coomer don't count.

seanez, who was acquired from the indians by the dodgers in 1991 in exchange for mike christopher and dennis cook, didn't appear in the bigs for la until 1994.  by then, he had spent time in the rockies' and padres' systems including some time in the majors with the pads.  in fact, seanez was the guy the dodgers sent to the rockies in 1992 for jody reed.

seanez spent 2 seasons in the majors with the dodgers, going 2-4 with 3 saves in 54 innings of work over the 1994 and 1995 seasons.  here's his 1995 topps traded card

seanez spent 1996 in albuquerque with the dodgers' aaa team, and then became a free agent at the end of the season.  he signed with the mets, who traded him to the royals in may of 1997 before he appeared in a game for them.  he didn't pitch for kansas city in the bigs, either.  he finally landed with the braves for the 1998 season, and put together his best years there.  he went 12-6 with 7 saves and a 3.30 era in 125 games for bobby cox from 1998 through 2000 (plus a month of 2001 when he became a braves' double dipper).
fast forward to 2006 and seanez is in boston as evidenced by his 2006 upper deck card

seanez had also pitched for boston in 2003.  in between, he spent time in the cubs organization, and then pitched in the majors for the royals, marlins and padres (for the second time).  the red sox released seanez in august of 2006 and the padres brought him in for a third time (a padres' triple dip!).  as a result, seanez was on the mound in the bottom of the 10th in the 4+1 game and walked kenny lofton before giving up the walk-off homer to nomar.  thanks rudy!

in gratitude, the dodgers brought seanez back to chavez ravine after the '06 season.  he spent 2007 in dodger blue, and was one of their most reliable relievers.  he posted a 6-3 record with one save and a 3.79 era in 73 games.  he was rewarded with a card in upper deck's 2008 set

he re-signed as a free agent in early 2008, but was cut by the dodgers in spring training.  seanez quickly signed with the phillies, and pitched for them during their run to the nl east title.  unfortunately, he was not on the postseason roster.  i am guessing he still got a ring, though.

seasnez finished his big league career with the angels in 2009, although he didn't appear in a game for them.  let's recap - that's a 17 season career in which he appeared in a game for 9 teams and was part of 13 organizations, including multiple stints with the dodgers, royals, braves, padres, and red sox.  and he wasn't even a lefty!

here's to you rudy seanez!