Darrell MacMillan drew notice in high school; Played two pro seasons

Boise Hawks designated hitter Darrell MacMillan helped extend the Boise lead in this lite-June 1989 game, and hit the team's first home run of the year, The Idaho Statesman wrote.

MacMillan hit it, he told The Statesman, while guessing a different pitch.

"He set me up. He threw me a change-up and I was way out in front," MacMillan told The Statesman of the opposing reliever. "I thought he'd throw another one, so I told myself to stay back and wait on it. But he came in with a fastball and I just threw my hands at it."

MacMillan hit that home run in his first season as a pro. He went on to see just one more campaign. He topped out at short-season.

MacMillan's career began that year, signed by co-op Boise as a free agent out of Kennesaw State University in Georgia. He went there out of St. Charles High School in Illinois. MacMillan was also credited as Darryll MacMillan.

At St. Charles, MacMillan drew notice as a senior as The Chicago Tribune wrote about him and his play.

"I'd like to play the game until the day I die," the catcher MacMillan told The Tribune then. "I love being a part of every play. You get tired catching, but you never get bored. It is the spot on the field."

After going through Illinois State and Kennesaw State, MacMillan started at short-season Boise in 1989. He got into 49 games and hit .253, with two home runs.

He then moved to co-op Erie for 1990. He saw 38 games there and hit .261, with another two home runs. That season proved his last as a pro.

• Chicago Tribune, May 27, 1983: Who is that masked man?
• Idaho Statesman, June 28, 1989: Hawks

More: The 1990 Erie Sailors

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,232
Made the Majors:1,385-32.7%
Never Made Majors:2,847-67.3%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:562
10+ Seasons in the Minors:345

Al Stacey had big game for Geneva in 1989; Saw two pro seasons

Al Stacey had a big night for the Geneva Cubs in this August 1989 contest, The Elmira Star-Gazette wrote.

Stacey, the team's designated hitter, knocked four hits and scored twice in the 3-1 win, The Star-Gazette wrote.

Stacey had that game in his first season as a pro. He went on to play in just one more. He played both campaigns at short-season.

Stacey's career began that year in 1989, taken by the Cubs in the 31st round of the previous year's draft out of Cleveland State.

Stacey started with the Cubs at short-season Geneva. He got into 71 games and hit .248. He knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly in a June game.

He moved to co-op Erie for 1990. He saw 47 games that year and hit .309. That season marked his last as a pro.

Stacey later spent time as a high school coach and, in 2022, he was one of several coaches to participate in a coaching clinic in Elyria, west of Cleveland.

• Elmira Star-Gazette, Aug. 26, 1989: Geneva quiets Pioneer bats

More: The 1990 Erie Sailors

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,231
Made the Majors:1,385-32.7%
Never Made Majors:2,846-67.3%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:562
10+ Seasons in the Minors:345

Stan Cook proved patient in first pro season; Career spanned two seasons

Boise Hawk Stan Cook walked three times in this early 1989 game. He scored three times, too, The Idaho Statesman wrote.

The three runs Cook scored proved emblematic of the 7-3 Boise victory, The Statesman wrote.

"They weren't throwing the pitches we were looking for, so we were patient," Cook told The Statesman.

That season marked Cook's first season as a pro. While he proved patient in that game, the pros didn't prove patient with Cook. He played in just one more campaign. He topped out at short-season.

Cook's career began in 1989, signed by co-op Boise as a free agent out of Walters State Community College in Tennessee and Western Kentucky.

Cook came from a baseball loving family. His father named him after his favorite player, Stan Musial.

With Boise, Cook was credited with three catches in a July game that robbed hits in a July game. In another game that month, he knocked in a game-winner on a single.

"We're not stopping," Cook told The Statesman after the game-winner. "We'll keep playing the way we've been playing ... try to stay close and come up with something to win it in the end."

Cook hit .241 overall for Boise in 1989 in 65 games. He then moved to co-op short-season Erie for 1990. He saw 70 games and hit .255. That season with Erie marked his last as a pro.

Cook soon settled in Georgia and his sons, Case Cook (Missouri) and Cole Cook (North Carolina State), both went on to play college football.

• Idaho Statesman, June 19, 1989: Hawks win first series in a walk over Spokane, 7-3
• Idaho Statesman, July 10, 1989: Hot Hawks win fifth in a row
• GoPack.com, July 12, 2016: Pack unlocked, Volume 3

More: The 1990 Erie Sailors

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,230
Made the Majors:1,385-32.7%
Never Made Majors:2,845-67.3%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:562
10+ Seasons in the Minors:345

Brian Golden geared up for baseball in college by swimming; Saw five pro campaigns

Gettysburg College athlete Brian Golden played two sports in his college years. He played baseball - and he swam on the Gettysburg swimming team, The Gettysburg Times wrote in February 1987.

For Golden, one sport as supporting the other, he told The Times.

"One of the big reasons I have stayed with the sport (swimming) is for the conditioning," Golden told The Times. "It gets me geared up for the baseball season."

Golden eventually got geared up enough to turn pro. His pro career saw five seasons. He topped out at short-season.

Golden's career began in 1988, taken by the Cardinals in the 34th round of the draft out of Gettysburg.

At Gettysburg, Golden struck out 15 as a freshman in an April 1985 win. He went 19-11 in his college career, with a 2.94 ERA. 

After the draft, Golden didn't immediately hear of his selection that Friday, he told The Times. 

"Then, as I was taking a shower Saturday morning, my parents came running in like two excited kids, holding a telegram and told me to open it right away," Golden relayed to The Times. "I haven't been able to climb down from cloud nine since then. This is something I have always strived for, just a chance to see what I could do in the pros."

Golden started with the Cardinals at rookie Johnson City. He went 1-2 over 17 outings, three starts. He ended with a 4.57 ERA. 

He took the loss in a June game where he gave up three runs in the first inning, The Johnson City Press wrote. "I got the ball up too much," Golden told The Press of that first inning.

Golden moved to short-season Hamilton for 1989. He went 2-2 there, with a 4.34 ERA over 29 relief outings.

For 1990, he signed with co-op short-season Erie. He saw 20 outings, one start. He went 1-2, with a 7.39 ERA.

Golden is then credited as playing in two more seasons, but not until 1995 and 1996. A native of Pine Bush, N.Y,, he played at two independent New York teams, Sullivan in 1995 and Catskill in 1996 to end his career.

• Gettysburg Times, Feb. 20, 1987: Bullet Brian Golden has fun swimming
• Gettysburg Times, June 6, 1988: Cardinals take Golden in draft
• Johnson City Press, June 24, 1988: Lowe paces Martinsville to win over Cards

More: The 1990 Erie Sailors

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,229
Made the Majors:1,385-32.8%
Never Made Majors:2,844-67.2%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:562
10+ Seasons in the Minors:345

D.J. Floyd proved quite a player in high school; Saw four pro seasons, made single-A

D.J. Floyd served as a catcher and as a pitcher in high school. As a catcher his senior year, he threw out 9 of 11 base runners, The Chino Champion wrote.

"He was quite a player," his high school coach Bob Sheehan told The Champion. "He did the job for us."

Floyd's coach spoke on the occasion of Floyd's selection in the draft. Floyd soon turned pro. He saw four seasons. He topped out at single-A.

Floyd's career began in 1987, taken by the Dodgers in the 14th round of the draft out of Chino High School in California.

Floyd signed within a week of his selection, The Champion wrote.

"I knew they saw me play," Floyd told The Champion of his selection by the Dodgers, "but I really thought I'd be chosen by the Cubs."

Floyd started with the Dodgers in the rookie Gulf Coast League and at rookie Great Falls. He hit .182 over 16 games.

He returned to the Gulf Coast League and played at single-A Vero Beach. He saw 28 games and hit .158.

Floyd played 1989 back at Great Falls. He hit a bases-loaded single in an August game. He saw 20 games in all and hit .182.

For 1990, he moved to co-op Erie. He saw 65 games that year and hit .249. That season marked his last as a pro.

• Chino Champion, June 5, 1987: Blue Crew sets sights on two local stars
• Chino Champion, June 12, 1987: Dodgers waste no time, sign local stars

More: The 1990 Erie Sailors

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,228
Made the Majors:1,385-32.8%
Never Made Majors:2,843-67.2%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:562
10+ Seasons in the Minors:345

Jerry Rizza saw three seasons, then turned accountant without regrets; Made short-season

Jerry Rizza played three pro seasons, then moved on. He turned accountant, and semi-pro player in the New York City area, The North Jersey Herald & News wrote in 1992.

"I packed it in and went searching for a career," Rizza told The Herald & News. "I was done. I had no regrets. The time had come for me to get a real job."

Rizza's playing career spanned those three seasons, with the Athletics and a co-op team. He topped out at short-season.

Rizza's career began in 1988, taken by the Athletics in the 17th round of the draft out of Long Island University. Rizza's was also credited as Gerard Rizza.

Rizza started with the Athletics at short-season Southern Oregon. He saw 14 games on the mound, all in relief. He went 2-2, with a 3.60 ERA.

He then played 1989 in the rookie Arizona League and back at Southern Oregon. He went 3-0 overall, with a 5.24 ERA over 23 relief appearances.

Rizza returned for 1990, at co-op short-season Erie. He saw 18 appearances, one start. He went 0-1, with a 6.38 ERA to end his career.

He then went to semi-pro ball, with the Saddle Brook Colonials of the Metropolitan Baseball League. He threw a seven-inning one-hit shutout in a July 1992 game, losing the no-hitter on a questionable error call, The Herald & News wrote. Rizza took the call in stride.

"I kind of thought it was (a no-hitter)," Rizza told The Herald & News afterward. "Once they put the hit up on the board, I forgot about it."

• North Jersey Herald & News, Aug. 2, 1992: Colonials' Rizza finds his niche
• North Jersey Herald & News, July 31, 1992: One-hitter and one thing for certain...

More: The 1990 Erie Sailors

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,227
Made the Majors:1,385-32.8%
Never Made Majors:2,842-67.2%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:562
10+ Seasons in the Minors:345

The 1990 Erie Sailors, New York-Penn League co-op team

Features on each member of the 1990 Erie Sailors, short-season co-op team in the New York-Penn League, as included in that year's team set.

Erie Sailors (6 - In Progress)

1. Stan Cook proved patient in first pro season; Career spanned two seasons, 10/1/23
2. D.J. Floyd proved quite a player in high school; Saw four pro seasons, made single-A, 9/29/23
3. Brian Golden geared up for baseball in college by swimming; Saw five pro campaigns, 9/30/23
4. Darrell MacMillan drew notice in high school; Played two pro seasons, 10/2/23
5. Jerry Rizza saw three seasons, then turned accountant without regrets; Made short-season, 9/28/23
6. Al Stacey had big game for Geneva in 1989; Saw two pro seasons, 10/1/23