Dewayne Wise has been at this baseball thing since he graduated from high school back in 1997. I doubt he's ever done anything other than play baseball for a living. If I were Wise, I'd find success in that.
It's been 15 years since Dewayne Wise started playing pro ball for Cincinnati's Rookie League affiliate in Billings, MT. Since then he's made more minor league stops than I'm sure he can remember. I wonder what his favorite minor league city is? Maybe it was Burlington, IA or Rome, GA. Dunedin, FL had to be the spot for a 23 year old minor league baseball player. You can't forget Wilkes Barre, PA either!
Not only has Dewayne Wise made his rounds in the minor's, he's also climbed from the single A level to the major leagues, FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES!
Upon joining the Blue Jays, Braves and the Reds organizations he's been assigned to single A and rose to the majors for each team. He's progressed through the Blue Jay's farm system twice! Once as a 22 year old and again at 33 (I'd of said fuck it the second time).
His most memorable and longest major league stint came with Chicago in 2008 and 2009. Wise played a major part in 2008 when the White Sox won the central division. After a ho hum 2009, Chicago released Wise and he began the journey again.
Dewayne Wise would have played out the cliched Bull Durham career if he hadn't made the greatest catch in White Sox history. South Siders can still picture themselves there.
Late innings, perfect game, well driven ball to the gap in left center. Wise closing on it like an anti-ballistic missile. The leap, the grab, the bobble. Ball held aloft in a clinched left fist. The film strip is burned across my baseball cornea.
The miracle perfect game saving catch is immortalized at Comiskey II on the wall in left center as "The Catch". Dewayne Wise, the most improbable of players, is the owner of a iconic major league moment.
I figured Dewayne Wise had retired sometime ago until this summer. There he was as a hated Yankee, pitching, yes pitching, against the White Sox on June 30th. After he sat down the two batters he faced I decided Dewayne Wise must of had the oddest major league career in the last 10 years.
Then we brought him back.
Released by the Yankees on July 30th, the White Sox let out a collective "swipe" and brought the South Carolina native home to Chicago.
The results have been positive. Wise again plays an intrigal part of a division leading White Sox club. At worst he's a good luck charm. Why would the White Sox not want this guy around. Everything he touches turns in to perfection. For us they do at least. All those other franchises must not know how to use him properly. The White Sox are just able to get those historic plays out of Dewayne Wise.
So far as a member of the Pale Hose, Wise has posted a solid .361/.361/.639 in 36 plate appearances.
I was going to post an advance sabermetric stat here to prove a point. Even simpler, Dewayne Wise has committed just 7 errors in 10 major league seasons. Sure, he's a spot outfielder, that's still impressive.
(Quick number for you stat geeks anyways. Wise has posted a +55 Rdrs/yr in the outfield this year, meaning Wise saves you about 55 runs every 135 games while playing outfield. Admittedly, I'm skewing the data intentionally to prove my point that Wise is a badass)
It's like Back to the Future around Comiskey II this summer. Just like in 2008 the White Sox are on the way to a division title behind a resurgent Dewayne Wise. A little help from Adam Dunn and Chris Sale won't hurt either.
