MLBTradeRumors reports that the Dodgers have signed Mike MacDougal.

You do remember Mike MacDougal, right? He was the skyscraper that every once in a while would throw a strike or two in relief for the Kansas City Royals back in about 2003 or something. MacDougal's has been an exceptionally interesting baseball career. He saved 27 games for the Royals in 2003, took a (figurative) year off, saved 21 in 2005, pitching fairly well but not great both seasons. Then he pitched VERY well for the White Sox in 2006, but got hurt, pitched in the minors a little. And then for the next four years, including 2009 when he popped up on the Washington Nationals and inexplicably saved 20 games despite his sparkling 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, he made extended appearances in both Triple-A ball and the major leagues every year. That's kind of been his niche: the first Triple-A bullpen arm to get called up when one of the major league relievers gets hurt. To all appearances it would seem he will fill that same role for the Dodgers. I mean, it doesn't look like they should bring him up before about four or five other Triple-A guys, but just based on his track record and Ned Colletti's fondness for Proven Veterans™, that's what my money says.

But I honestly did not expect to ever see Mike MacDougal in the major leagues again. I base this on my own personal sighting of him, when he appeared in Altoona with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators, threw a straight fastball that went in no planned direction at about 93 MPH, and got lit up like a Christmas tree. I figured that was the last I would hear of him; I was flabbergasted to see him pitching for the Cardinals later that season. 17 appearances, in fact. Baseball managers like guys that have had success in the major leagues in years past, and prefer them over guys that are having success in the minor leagues now. That continues to fascinate me.

Anyway, what follows below this paragraph is what I wrote on my now-defunct Altoona Curve blog the night I watched what I presumed was the last of Mike MacDougal. Yet here he is, still around, still likely going to pitch plenty in the major leagues in 2011.

In the 7th inning, the few proud faithful remaining in Blair County Ballpark, myself included, saw a ghost.

It started when the Senators sent in a new pitcher to start the 7th. I looked at him and chuckled; the fellow was tall and gangly, skinny, all knees and elbows, as they say. I watched him warm up; long motion, slings the ball, throws very hard and all over the place.

I grabbed my program, looked him up. I couldn't believe my eyes: Mike MacDougal is still alive!

Believe it or not, Mike MacDougal was an All-Star, once. He pitched for the Royals, and picked up a few saves, and there was this rule that at least one player from every team had to be on the All-Star team, and... yeah. That's pretty much how it played out. But you and I can never take that away from Mike MacDougal: he didn't merely pitch in the Show. Mike MacDougal was a major league All-Star. The little 'All-Star' banner is strung across his page on baseball-reference.com, and will remain there until the Earth crashes into the Sun, long after he and I and you are all dead.

And so, after Altoona kicked him around for a little bit and--Royals fans will not be at all surprised at this next part--took a few walks, after Miles Durham came up with the bases loaded and decided, hey, I'm going for the grand slam here, swung and whiffed on two fastballs, then shrugged and took four straight balls to ring up another RBI, and Mike MacDougal walked off the field, head down, shoulders slumped, resigned to his fate, I couldn't help but feel a little sad.

It's easy to point out Mike MacDougal, in the major leagues, wasn't very good. That's true. But for 15 minutes there he was a star, dammit, and now that 15 minutes is long over, even the memory of it slowly smoldering to ashes in all minds but his own. And there's something sad about seeing a man's 15 minutes end, walking off a mound in front of 400 fans out in Nowhere, Pennsylvania.

It's funny how you never know. It turns out that MacDougal was trying to work his way back from an injury, and that was just an Evil Mike MacDougal appearance, and Good Mike MacDougal still shows up often enough to keep the composite hanging around the major leagues. So I tip my cap to you, Mike. Yours was a fun career to watch.

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