Eric Rouse - "he quietly, through consistency and perserverance, became one of the greatest Barnstormers in the history of the franchise"
As the only player to survive the itchy trigger finger of Omaha’s current GM, Kyle Stever, during his 6 season (and counting) tenure, Eric Rouse finds himself as, by far (by a factor greater than 3, in fact), the longest tenured Barnstormer on the team’s roster. Through the course of his 14 year career, the now 34 year old veteran has encapsulated everything that is wholesome and good about the sport of baseball. From his graceful transition from a star to a role player to his triumph and perseverance in overcoming adversity to his selflessness in changing positions at times of need (and consistent positivity through the frustration that ensues) to, most recently, his humble acceptance of being replaced by an up a new up and coming star. And all through his journey, he has been a solid on the field contributor, a willing off the field ambassador and the epitome of a team-first individual.
The ballad of Eric Rouse begins in the 1998 amateur draft, in which the speedy contact hitting OFer was selected 8th overall. Of those selected in the first round that year, Rouse has the 3rd highest career VORP at 309.5, trailing only 10th overall Christian Nichols (330.4) and fellow Barnstormer, 15th overall Zach Brown (404.6) while leading such household names as 11th overall Kanzaburo Yamaguchi (271.2) and 22nd overall Bart Hood (292.4). Post-draft, the 18 year old did not linger for long in the minor leagues as he found himself shooting through the ranks to AAA shortly into his first full professional season in 1999. He would then spend the better part of that year and the entirety of the next at that level before making his debut in the 2001 season.
Despite the early warning signs of constant nagging injuries (7 through his first 2.5 professional seasons), Rouse the then #51 prospect in the MBBA entering the 2001 season, exploded on the league in his rookie campaign to the tune of a .356/.400/.483 batting line with 37 SB and a +12.5 ZR in LF while compiling 5.5 WAR – good enough to earn him both a GG in LF and a RotY trophy on his mantle. Needless to say, the sky seemed the limit for the young spark plug at the top of the Omaha lineup, and for the next few seasons he was happy to oblige reaching it – with 5.7, 7.3 (which ranked 3rd league-wide) and 4.2 WAR in the next 3 seasons respectively.
During the 2004 playoffs; however, disaster struck for the rising star in the form of a rupture Achilles tendon. The freshly gut-wrenched Omaha squad went on to be swept by Vancouver in the first round; however, attention quickly turned from to the true loss as the vision of Rouse being carried off the field by the team trainers etched itself into the collective Id of Barnstormer nation – and, to this day, is still widely regarded as the downfall of the team itself (whom would only make the playoffs once more in 2005 before entering a downward spiral lasting until their resurgence in 2011) in the late 2000s. When spring training rolled around, it was clear that this was not the same player. Rouse, to his credit, limped (literally) though the 2005 season while managing to put up a respectable 3.4 WAR in the campaign; however, recurring back-spasms (stemming all the way back to a herniated disc he suffered a mere 1.5 months after being drafted – and exacerbated, doctors say, by the speedster’s chronic favoring of his injured foot) first began rearing their wretched head in August of the season – and carried themselves all the way through a disappointing postseason for the left-handed bat.
Entering the 2006 season, all eyes were firmly fixed on Rouse – and the hot gaze of every single one was hard felt on his shoulder. At times during the 2006 campaign, Rouse looked like a boy among men. Fans looked on in simultaneous disbelief and pity as the once heralded ‘face of the franchise’ put in a 77 OPS+ and 0 WAR on the year – helping his team to their first sub .500 record in half a decade. Things, to say the least, looked bleak for both Rouse and the Barnstormers heading into the ’07 campaign. Reports surfaced that Rouse was working hard to change his approach to the plate. That he was going to begin to focus on taking pitches rather than attempting (and failing) to make contact like he used to. The commentary fell on deaf ears to a downtrodden fanbase; however, in a season that saw Omaha post its worst expected record of the new millennium, Rouse did exactly as promised (increasing his walk rate from .079 through the first 5 years of his career to .105 in 2006) for a resurgent season which saw the corner OFer post a 103 OPS+ and 2.3 WAR.
While reality had set in that he would never be the star he once was again, Rouse had still found a recipe that worked for him to be a useful contributor – and he was determined to maintain it. In the offseason between the 2007 and 2008 seasons, a new management team took over the now-struggling Barnstormer franchise – headlined by the aforementioned Stever at the helm. After assessing the team for half a season, it became imminently obvious that there was a hole in CF (among many, many, many other places) for Omaha moving forward – and the new regime looked to Rouse to fill the hole, despite playing a mere 10 games at CF through the course of his professional career to date. What ensued was a season and a half of some of the worst CF defense a team could imagine, with Rouse compiling a combined -29.3 ZR in 176 games in CF through the remainder of the ’08 and ’09 seasons. To his credit; however, Rouse both persevered to better himself and never let it affect his bat (and, in particular, his newly found approach to the plate) as he continued to post consistent OPS+’s (101 and 102 respectively).
By the start of the 2010 season, Rouse had finally found his comfort zone in CF through immense hard work and it paid off in spades as the rangey OFer managed to post a very respectable +1.6 ZR in 99 games at CF on the season. A mid-season trade for Bailey Lowe allowed Rouse to slide back into his more natural corner OF slot (where he has 3 career GGs), but the episode did wonders for the team’s depth moving forward (as they now had a capable backup CF option in Rouse) and spoke volumes about Eric’s team-first mentality.
In 2011, once again back in the corner OF, Rouse posted his best season since 2005 with a 3.4 WAR as he, among others, carried the Omaha squad to their first division title in the modern era and then all the way to the team’s first WS appearance in team history. For his part, Rouse was a force to be reckoned with in those playoffs with a .971 OPS in 61 ABs. Likewise, the then 31 year old gifted his faithful fans with one of the greatest moments in franchise history – a pinch-hit, walk-off, series-clinching, extra-innings solo HR in game 6 of the LDS vs. Hawaii. Unfortunately for the Barnstormers, they fell just short in the LMS to the Blazers in 6; however, what that team accomplished (and what Rouse contributed to it) will never be forgotten in the great state of Nebraska.
Amongst his many accomplishments throughout his career (RotY, 2 ASGs, 3 GGs), Rouse has also graced the league leaderboards for triples an astounding 12 times (from 2001-2012). Perhaps his greatest accomplishment; however, has been the value he has provided to his team versus the expenditure to keep him. Through his 14 seasons with Omaha, Rouse will have only earned $59.07M. With a 39.6 career WAR, that equates to a mere $1.5M/WAR in value. Likewise, with a current $2M/year contract (ending next year) and a seeming willingness to continue with such an arrangement past that, Rouse could very well end up being amongst the most valuable players (whom played for a long time in the league, of course) in terms of contribution vs. expenditure in league history. Especially considering how – even after he has taken further hits to his ratings – he continues to be amongst the most consistently consistent players in the league (averaging a 103.7 OPS+ from ’07-’13 with a max of 109 and min of 92).
The question, as with any athlete, that begs to be asked (since it is always raised) – is Eric Rouse a HoFer? The answer would, undoubtedly, be a ‘no’ (though until 2006 he certainly seemed on pace). The long-time vet will probably never even grace the ballot. That; however, has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he quietly, through consistency and perserverance, became one of the greatest Barnstormers in the history of the franchise. With continual production, coupled with continual ‘team-friendly’ contracts, you would be hard pressed to find any player across the entirety of the MBBA that has been more valuable to his team than Eric Rouse has been to Omaha. And for that, and more, he deserves a place in the hearts and minds of every member of Barnstormer nation for the rest of their days.
