Despite Arias’ shaky defensive play early in his pro career — he led the Southern League with 42 errors at short in 1990 — the native New Yorker developed into a valuable utilityman for the Marlins and Phillies. (Arias, the last player remaining from the Marlins’ original roster, was released two months after the club’s 1997 World Series victory.) In 1999 he saw the most action of his big-league career, filling in as the Phillies’ full-time shortstop in June when Desi Relaford faltered. Although Arias averaged over twenty stolen bases a year in the minors, he never swiped more than two bases in any major-league season.
