In 2003 Gathright hit a combined .334 (142-425) and stole 69 bases in 111 games between Class A Bakersfield and Class AA Orlando.
Coming back from off-season shoulder surgery, Joey started ’04 in the Southern League with the Montgomery Biscuits. He hit .341 in 32 games before a promotion to Triple-A Durham on May 28.
Gathright has continued to swing the bat well hitting .311 in 74 at-bats in the International League. He is the kind of hard-working player that Bulls skipper Bill Evers molds well.
Joey has displayed a top class speed that ranks him among the best in baseball.
With 23 steals this season, he is at the vanguard of a new crop of players who are bringing the baserunning arts back into popularity again.
He is an amiable young man, who is clearly having a blast tearing up whatever league he's in. His easy manner belies a fierce competitiveness that continues to show all the earmarks of a potential career in the bigs.
Joey is also one of the cornerstones of a coming D-Rays revolution. Several of their hot and rising stars, including Gathright, appear on the FAB50 because Pinella and company are making the investment in a turnaround of the club's fortunes.
The recent 12+ game winning streak by the major league club shows signs of life that Gathright and others will be expected to develop.
The Devil Rays club began its life as a showcase for fading great names that local retirees could come out and watch get creamed by their favorite teams. The large number of spring facilities in the area, including the nearby T-Yanks, had the area boasting more Yankees fans than D-Rays fans.
If he continues to develop and show this level of promise, Joey will join former FAB50 alumni at the D-Rays like Rocco Baldelli in a big push to make the club a contender with a national reputation.
Word out of Tampa is that the club is also trying to make longer term deals with their players to keep them in the waters of Tampa Bay and out of the waters of the free agent market.
If Gathright continues on his present course, the Man of Steel will be one of those players that the D-Rays organization wants to keep in their Metropolis.
He enters the FAB50 faster than a speeding bullet at number 12.
