On December 19, 2008, the Los Angeles Dodgers re-signed Rafael Furcal to a three-year, $30 million contract.
Prior to Furcal agreeing to terms with the Dodgers, Atlanta Braves president John Schuerholz thought he had an agreement in place to sign the 31-year-old infielder earlier in the week.
Schuerholz described the contract negotiations for Furcal as dishonest and said his team would never deal with the Wasserman Media Group again.
Furcal began his MLB career with the Braves in 2000 and spent six seasons with them. He won National League Rookie of the Year honors and was an All-Star in 2003.
Rather than go back to his original team, Furcal returned to the Dodgers, whom he initially joined on a three-year, $39 million contract during the 2005 offseason .
Furcal’s first season with L.A. was successful but he endured what was arguably his worst campaign the following year. He bounced back in 2008, but only played in 36 games due to a back injury that sidelined him for most of the season.
Furcal enjoyed better results during his second contract with the Dodgers as he was selected to his second All-Star team in 2010. However, Furcal did not play out the entirety of the deal as he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals at the deadline in 2011.
The talented shortstop went on to win a World Series title with the Cardinals that year and was selected to his final All-Star Game in 2012 before missing the entire 2013 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Furcal returned to the Majors in 2014 as a member of the Miami Marlins but only appeared in nine games and retired the following year after a brief stint with Kansas City Royals.
In parts of six seasons with the Dodgers, Furcal hit .283/.351/.406 with 122 doubles, 27 doubles, 44 home runs, 228 RBI and 109 stolen bases across 617 games.
Mookie Betts tied Rafael Furcal’s L.A. Dodgers record
During the Dodgers’ matchup against the Washington Nationals on May 25, 2022, Mookie Betts tied Rafael Furcal for the L.A. franchise record of consecutive games with a run scored at 12. Betts tied Furcal’s Dodgers record with a solo home run in the second inning.
Betts did not break the record, however, as he struck out in a pinch-hit appearance the following game. The six-time All-Star returned to the starting lineup on May 26 and went 3-for-5 with a double and three runs scored.
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