Eric Ladell DuBose is a Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 who is currently a free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

. He bats and throws left-handed

Left-handed

Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...

 and attended Mississippi State University

Mississippi State University

The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...

.

After tossing just 6 innings in 4 games in , his first official year, DuBose looked to be a minor leaguer for good. However, luckily for him, when the Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 needed a spot starter

Starting pitcher

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

 for a game against the Royals

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

 in May , they recalled DuBose from Triple-A Ottawa

Ottawa Lynx

The Ottawa Lynx were a minor league baseball team that formerly competed in the Triple-A International League from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over the team's 15 seasons, it was the Triple-A Minor League affiliate of the Montreal Expos , Baltimore...

 and he did not disappoint, tossing 6 innings of 3-hit, 2-run ball. DuBose spent most of 2003 in the bullpen

Bullpen

In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...

, though he was made a full-time starter in September. DuBose finished '03 with a 3-6 record and 3.79 ERA in 17 games.

Unfortunately for the Orioles' organization, DuBose took a step back as a full-time starter in , compiling a 6.39 ERA in 14 games while allowing 12 home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s. In the struggles continued - DuBose was ineffectual in 15 games, walking

Base on balls

A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

 more batters than he struck out

Strike Out

Strike Out, , North American Harness racing championStrike Out was born in 1969 at Castleton Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, and is by Bret Hanover out of the mare Golden Miss....

. After signing a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies

Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...

 before the start of the season, DuBose was released on May 15, 2007.

DuBose signed with the Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

 in late May, 2007, spending the season with the Buffalo Bisons

Buffalo Bisons

The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...

 of the International League

International League

The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...

. For the season, he played for the independent Bridgeport Bluefish

Bridgeport Bluefish

The Bridgeport Bluefish is an American professional baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They are a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...

 of the Atlantic League

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball

The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball is a professional, independent baseball organization located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, especially the greater metropolitan areas of the Northeast megalopolis. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League...

 before his contract was purchased by the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 3, 2008; he was assigned to Double-A Jacksonville

Jacksonville Suns

The Jacksonville Suns are a minor league baseball team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The team is currently a member of the Southern League and is the class Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins Major League Baseball team...

. On August 27, he was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas

Las Vegas 51s

The Las Vegas 51s, formerly known as the Las Vegas Stars, are a minor league baseball team. They are the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. They play at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team competes in the Pacific Coast League...

 and became a free agent at the end of the season.

DuBose was responsible for one of the sporting world's more memorable quotes in 2005. When pulled over for erratic driving by Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 police in March, DuBose was naturally asked to recite the alphabet

Alphabet

An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...

. "I'm from Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

," DuBose reportedly quipped, "and they have a different alphabet." http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/kblackistone/stories/123105dnspoblackistone.216d5d1d.htmlhttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2002218896_chat25.html

External links

• Player Career Statistics at The Baseball Cube