Draft:Tim Gradoville

This may take 2 months or more, since drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 1,729 pending submissions waiting for review.

Draft:Tim Gradoville



Tim Gradoville
Catcher
Born: (1980-01-30) January 30, 1980 (age 46)
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Bats: right
Throws: right

Timothy Robert Gradoville (born January 30, 1980) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played in the Philadelphia Phillies organization from 2002 to 2009[1]. He is best known as a phantom major league ballplayer, having spent time on the Philadelphia Phillies' active roster in September 2006 without appearing in a Major League Baseball game.

Early Life and Amateur Career

Gradoville was born in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and moved as a young child to the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, attending Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colorado. He later enrolled at Creighton University, where he played baseball for the Bluejays. While he started as a redshirt freshman walk-on athlete[2], during the tenure of his collegiate career, he established himself as one of the program's top defensive catchers and earned recognition for both his athletic and academic achievements. In 2002, he was named to the Verizon Academic All-District VII First Team and the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team[3] and also selected as an honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference catcher.

As a junior in 2002, Gradoville batted .282 in 52 games, recording 48 hits, 22 runs scored, 10 doubles, and 12 stolen bases. Creighton head coach Jack Dahm described him as one of the program's hardest-working players[4] and among the top defensive catchers in the Midwest.[2]

Professional Career

Philadelphia Phillies Organization

The Philadelphia Phillies selected Gradoville in the 37th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft with the 1,109th overall pick. Following the draft, he signed with the organization and began his professional career in the Phillies' farm system.[5]

Over the next several seasons, Gradoville played for the Gulf Coast League Phillies, Lakewood BlueClaws, Clearwater Threshers, Reading Phillies, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, Ottawa Lynx, and Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He reached the Triple-A level in 2005 and spent portions of multiple seasons between Double-A and Triple-A.[6] He became widely known as a strong defensive backup catcher[7], stating, "That's one of my strengths... It's a challenge to me when a guy goes. I always want to make a good throw."[8] Over eight minor league seasons, Gradoville appeared in 398 games and compiled a .210 batting average with 247 hits, 9 home runs, 92 runs batted in, and 37 stolen bases.[9] He reached the Triple-A level with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Ottawa, and Lehigh Valley.[10] After the 2006 season, he was ranked the best defensive catcher in the Phillies system by Baseball America.[11]

One of the most productive years of his career came in 2006 with the Reading Phillies. Despite missing time after suffering a broken jaw when struck by a pitch[12], Gradoville batted .261 and led Eastern League catchers by throwing out 52.9 percent of attempted base stealers.[13] During the 2006 season he received the Eugene L. Shirk Community Service Award, an annual honor presented by the Reading Phillies[14]. He was also the team's Gold Glove award honoree in 2007. [15]

Major League Call-Up and Phantom Ballplayer Status

Gradoville's season with Double-A Reading had ended when he received word that the Phillies were promoting him to the major league roster.[16] He had been discussed as a possible Triple-A postseason addition, but instead was told he was going to the major leagues.[17]

The promotion came as Philadelphia sought additional catching depth during a playoff race while Mike Lieberthal was dealing with back spasms[18]. Gradoville joined the Phillies for a 10-game road trip through Miami, Atlanta, and Houston, while Chris Coste and Carlos Ruiz split playing time behind the plate and Lieberthal recovered.[19] Gradoville did not appear in a game during his time with Philadelphia. As the National League Wild Card race intensified and Lieberthal returned to action, the Phillies determined that they no longer needed to carry four catchers. On September 23, 2006, Gradoville was sent outright to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and removed from the roster.[20]

Gradoville later said that he understood the circumstances that kept him out of the lineup[21], noting that the Phillies were in a close playoff race and that he was unlikely to receive “a token start or a token at-bat.” Although he never appeared in a Major League game, he described the experience positively. “I was there. I was really close. And those were the best two weeks of my playing career,” he said.[19]

Coaching

In 2009, Gradoville served as the Bullpen Catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies[22] and retired from professional baseball after the season.[23]

Phantom Ballplayer Recognition

In 2026, the Philadelphia Phillies honored Gradoville during Toyota Phillies Alumni Weekend[24]. He threw out the first pitch with fellow Phillies phantom ballplayers, Tim Lahey, Jeff Singer, and Will Toffey[25] who were honored as former players who reached the major leagues, wore a Phillies uniform, were active on the club's roster, but never appeared in a regular-season Major League Baseball game[23]. The club described the ceremony as being inspired by the Moonlight Graham storyline from Field of Dreams movie in advance of the MLB at Field of Dreams game between the Phillies and Minnesota Twins on August 13th.

References

  1. ^ "Tim Gradoville Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2026-08-06.
  2. ^ a b White, Rob (March 28, 2001). "Gradoville makes most out of injuries". Omaha World Herald. p. 27.
  3. ^ "Creighton's Tim Gradoville Drafted In 37th Round By Philadelphia". Creighton University Athletics. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
  4. ^ Pivovar, Steven (May 3, 2002). "Catcher helps put Jays back in hunt". p. 26.
  5. ^ "Phillies draft Jays' Gradoville". Omaha World-Herald. 2002-06-06. p. 27. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  6. ^ "Tim Gradoville Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
  7. ^ Drago, Mike (May 1, 2006). "Gradoville Steals Spotlight as R-Phils Down Senators".
  8. ^ Drago, Mike (May 8, 2005). "Win or lose, R-Phils can have a productive year". The Reading Eagle. p. 22.
  9. ^ "Tim Gradoville Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
  10. ^ "Tim Gradoville Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
  11. ^ Scott, Don (2007-05-17). "Gradoville can't wait to catch on in majors again". The Daily News. p. 18.
  12. ^ "Reading looks to better days". Reading Eagle. 2006-06-06. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
  13. ^ Drago, Mike (July 12, 2007). "Reading Phillies On Deck". p. 16.
  14. ^ "King Hits The Disabled List". OurSports Central. 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
  15. ^ Drago, Mike (August 26, 2007). "Jacobs, Key Earn Top Honors". The Reading Eagle.
  16. ^ "Ex-Creighton player joins Philadelphia". Omaha World-Herald. 2006-09-07. p. 20. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  17. ^ "Mathieson's elbow may need surgery". The Reading Eagle. September 7, 2006. p. 17.
  18. ^ Zolecki, Todd. "Leiberthal is out with bad back". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  19. ^ a b Bastian, Jordan (2013-03-19). "Jeroloman out to shed 'phantom ballplayer' label". MLB.com. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
  20. ^ "Transaction Analysis: September 22-28, 2006". Baseball Prospectus. 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
  21. ^ "Oh, So Close: Tim Gradoville and Roe Skidmore on Planes, Trains, Buses and Ballparks". Apple. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
  22. ^ Philadelphia Phillies (April 2009). Philadelphia Phillies 2009 Media Guide. p. 38.
  23. ^ a b "Phillies host former players in ode to Moonlight Graham from Field of Dreams". www.mlb.com. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  24. ^ "Utley to be inducted into Phillies Wall of Fame this weekend". MLB.com. Retrieved 2026-08-04.
  25. ^ "Former players who never had a big league moment throw 'Field of Dreams'-inspired first pitch". www.audacy.com. Retrieved 2026-08-10.

Category:Baseball Category:Creighton Bluejays baseball players Category:Baseball players Category:Ottawa (minor league baseball) players Category:Lakewood BlueClaws players Category:Regis Jesuit High School alumni Category:Reading Phillies players Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Category:1980 births Category:Living people

Content Disclaimer

Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.

  1. The information displayed on this website is sourced in part or in whole from Wikipedia and has been adapted for the purpose of restating it. We strive to provide accurate and relevant information, however:
  2. There is no guarantee of absolute accuracy. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative project that can be edited by anyone, so information is subject to change.
  3. It is not intended to constitute professional advice. The content displayed is for informational and educational purposes only. For important decisions (e.g., medical, legal, or financial), please consult a professional.
  4. Content copyright. Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). This means that content may be reused with appropriate attribution and shared under a similar license.
  5. Responsible use. Any risk arising from the use of information from this website is entirely the responsibility of the user.