Chad Silver, Wonderful Adventure - 18

Playing for Athletes in Action on a Moscow trip in 1989, Chad Silver met and befriended a young Soviet player named Andre Tselikovsky, according to Scripps Howard News Service.

Tselikovsky had big baseball dreams and Silver helped him at least pursue them. Silver helped make a trip to the United States and Silver's Carson-Newman College team possible, the news service wrote.

"Everybody likes him," Silver told Scripps Howard of Tselikovsky. "It's a wonderful adventure. I can't believe I'm involved in such an experience. (Andre) is the most highly motivated person I've ever met. I enjoy baseball a lot, but he's really hooked."

While Tselikovsky never realized his dream of playing in the pros, Silver did realize his, though briefly. Silver went on from Carson-Newman to play in the Phillies system. His career consisted of a single season.

Silver's career began and ended in 1990, taken by the Phillies in the 42nd round of the draft out of Carson-Newman in Tennessee. Silver is also credited as Chadwick Silvers.

At Carson-Newman, Silver hit a two-run double in an April 1987 game. He later won second-team all-conference honors in 1990.

Carson-Newman's baseball complex, the Silver Diamond Baseball Complex, is named for Silver's parents, whose donations helped build it. On the dedication day in May 1990, Silver hit a home run, according to the school.

Silver played his season with the Phillies at rookie Princeton. In 47 games, he hit .234. He knocked in eight and stole four bases. Those numbers marked the extent of his career.

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 4, 1990: Soviets Didn't Invent Baseball, But One Is Chasing The Dream

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 2,698
Made the Majors:1,031-38.2%
Never Made Majors:1,667-61.8%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 426
10+ Seasons in the Minors:263

Dean Borrelli, Many Stories - 164

Also read the 2016 interview: Dean Borrelli, Confidence Lifted

Originally published Feb. 23, 2014

Alex Borrelli excelled at sports in high school, just like her father Dean Borrelli did years earlier, according to The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune.

She attributed her success in part to her dad, and his eight years as a pro player, according to The Eagle-Tribune.

"There are so many stories he brings up to encourage me," Alex Borrelli told The Eagle-Tribune in 2011. "If I'm having trouble with my confidence, then he'll tell me this story about this teammate who he had, for example."

Her father made it as high as AAA, playing mostly in the Athletics system. He never made the majors, but he has gone on to a career as a high school coach and youth instructor.

Dean Borrelli's career began in 1988, taken by the Athletics in the 22nd round of the draft, out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Borrelli started with the short-season Southern Oregon Athletics. The catcher hit .200 over 43 games.

He moved to single-A Madison in 1989, also getting time at AA Huntsville. Between the two, though, Borrelli got into just 25 games. He hit .153, with one home run. That home run came in a May game, proving the difference in a Madison win.

Borrelli played 1990 between high-A Modesto and AA Huntsville. He also got playing time, 79 games, hitting .212.

He stayed at Huntsville for 1992, then moved to AAA Tacoma for 1993 and 1994. In a May 1994 game against Salt Lake, Borrelli picked up two hits in the same inning.

Borrelli played one more season with the Rangers, getting 54 games at AAA Oklahoma City. That April, Borrelli subbed in for Ivan Rodriguez in a pre-season game.

Borrelli soon returned to Massachusetts and New Hampshire, becoming a Little League coach and instructor. Borrelli is the owner of Play Ball in Salem, NH.

In 2013, Borrelli's Little League team played for the state championship, coming back for the win, according to The Manchester Union Leader.

"That's a real good example of our team being resilient," Borrelli told The Union-Leader. "The kids contained their emotions and were aggressive on the bases. Hats off to them."

Also read the 2016 interview: Dean Borrelli, Confidence Lifted

• Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, Feb. 8, 2011: Like father, like daughter
• Manchester Union Leader, July 20, 2013: Salem hangs on to win LL championship series owner 

Terrell Smith, Another Sport - 19

The Stanhope-Elmore Mustangs remained quiet for much of this first part of this November 1987 game, that is until Mustang quarterback Terrell Smith dropped back to pass, according to The Anniston Star.

Smith connected on the third-quarter pass for a 75-yard touchdown, The Star wrote. Smith threw another three-yard pass later for a second touchdown, but it wasn't enough.

Smith went on from Stanhope-Elmore to turn pro in another sport, baseball. But his career there, for Smith, likely wasn't enough. Assigned to rookie ball, Smith's pro career lasted all of five games. He picked up a single pro hit.

Smith's career began and ended in 1990, taken by the Phillies in the 27th round of the draft out of Stanhope-Elmore in Alabama. Smith is also credited as Terry Smith.

As a senior at Stanhope, Smith won all-state honors in football as a quarterback. But it was in baseball that he signed. He signed with the Phillies shortly after being drafted.

With the Phillies at Princeton, Smith got into just those five games. In 10 at bats, 13 plate appearances, he recorded that one hit, two RBI and one stolen base. Those numbers mark the extent of his professional baseball career.

• Anniston Star, Nov. 7, 1987: High School Football

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 2,697
Made the Majors:1,031-38.2%
Never Made Majors:1,666-61.8%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 426
10+ Seasons in the Minors:263

Brad Hassinger, Awesome Experience - 11

Brad Hassinger looked back on his professional baseball career years later to his hometown Sunbury Daily Item.

Hassinger played five seasons as a pro, for six different minor league teams. He made AA. He didn't make the majors.

"The minors are a tough life, but a great life," Hassinger told The Daily Item. "I've done something that a lot of people will not do. I got to play winter ball in Hawaii, play in the minors for a few years. It was an awesome experience."

Hassinger took the occasion to reminisce on his induction into his local Elizabethtown College athletics hall of fame in 2009.

Hassinger's career in baseball began in 1990, signed by the Phillies as an undrafted free agent out of Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

At Elizabethtown, he won 21 games, struck out 217 and completed 15 contests, all among the top 10 in their categories at the time of his hall induction.

He played June 1988 in a summer league game with Quakertown. In one game, he threw a complete game and struck out nine, according to The Allentown Morning Call.

"I had close to 100 strikeouts this year, so I guess I'm a power pitcher," Hassinger told The Morning Call afterward. "But I don't try for strikeouts - I just go out there to throw strikes."

Hassinger started with the Phillies in 1990 at rookie Princeton. He got into 13 games, going 7-4, with a 2.18 ERA. That September, he pitched at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, at a "young-timer's game."

Hassinger played 1991 at single-A Spartanburg. He went 8-8, with a 3.20 ERA. He then split 1992 between Spartanburg and high-A Clearwater.

He then started 1993 at AA Reading, but quickly moved to the Braves in a trade for former Cy Young winner Mark Davis. Hassinger played the rest of that year at AA Greenville and high-A Durham. Overall, he went 7-2, with a 2.11 ERA.

Hassinger returned to Greenville for 1994. He went 3-8 over 42 largely relief outings. In late-August, he got ejected from a game after hitting a batter post-warning. That outing, though, ended up being one of his last as his career ended at season's close.

• Allentown Morning Call, June 6, 1988: Blazers Continue Winning Ways
• Sunbury Daily Item, June 6, 2009: Pitcher follows road less traveled

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 2,696
Made the Majors:1,031-38.3%
Never Made Majors:1,665-61.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 426
10+ Seasons in the Minors:263

Carlos Pulido, Got Back - 20

Originally published Oct. 18, 2014

Carlos Pulido had been to the majors before. He was just happy to return this time, he told reporters.

"I was having a great year in Triple-A," Pulido said, according to ESPN.com. "I knew if something would happen, I'd be back."

What made Pulido's return noteworthy was exactly how long it had been since his first look at the bigs.

For Pulido, it had been nearly a decade since he last stepped foot in a big league clubhouse, just over nine years to be exact.

Pulido made his return in August 2003. He'd last been to the majors in August 1994, pitching for the Twins just before the strike. In between, he played in the minors, Japan and Mexico. Then, finally, he played again in Minnesota.

Pulido's career began in 1989, signed by the Twins as a free agent out of his native Venezuela.

Pulido started with the Twins in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He moved to single-A Kenosha in 1990, then high-A Visalia in 1991.

Pulido got his first regular time at AA in 1992 at Orlando. Used mostly as a reliever to that point, Pulido picked up a win in his first start of the year that August. He hit AAA Portland in 1993.

Then, in 1994, he made Minnesota. He stayed in the majors the entire shortened season, getting into 19 games and starting 14 of them. He went 3-7, with a 5.98 ERA.

In May 1994, Pulido picked up his first big league win by going eight innings against the Royals, according to The Associated Press.

"He was throwing the fastball in and the screwball away," Pulido's catcher that game Derek Parks told The AP afterward. "Basically it was all fastball and screwball. He was strong. He was still strong in the eighth inning "

Pulido then started working to get back. He played 1995 back at AAA for the Twins, then 1996 between AA and AAA for the Cubs.

He then went through the Expos and Mets systems before arriving in independent ball. It was in 2000 that Paulido made it to Japan.

Playing for Orix that year, Pulido got into 42 games, starting 13. He went 7-4, with a 5.26 ERA. He then returned for 11 more outings with Orix in 2001.

After as season in Mexico, Pulido returned to the Twins system for 2003. In 25 starts at Rochester that year, he went 12-5, with a 3.56 ERA.

Called up to the Twins that August, Pulido got into seven games, starting one. He gave up seven earned in 15.2 innings. He then rounded out his major league career with six more relief appearances in 2004.

He played two more seasons in Mexico, ending his playing career. He then is credited with serving as pitching coach in 2007 at short-season Spokane.

• Fort Scott Tribune, Associated Press, May 11, 1994: Twins hand Royals second straight loss
  
• ESPN.com, wire services, Aug. 23, 2003: Nine years later, Pulido gets another chance with Twins

Mate Borgogno, Every Day - U1

Read the December 2014 interview: Mate Borgogno, The Rest

Originally published Jan. 25, 2013
A Southern California-native, Mate Borgogno started his collegiate career far from home, in Nebraska, with the idea being Borgogno starting, The Los Angeles Times wrote.

Borgogno played a year, and did well, but he soon returned to California and Cal State Fullerton. The reasoning was simple, Borgogno told The Times in May 1990.

"Scouts don't see you play every day in the Midwest," Borgogno told The Times, "and I'm the kind of guy you need to see every day, because I'm not a big, strong, first-round type."

The scouts did get a look at Borgogno, enough for him to get selected in the next month's draft. For Borgogno, though, those looks didn't result in a long professional career. His career lasted just two seasons, never making it above single-A.

Borgogno's pro career began that year, taken by the Giants in the 18th round of the draft out of Fullerton.

Borgogno went to Nebraska and Fullerton out of Nogales High in California. As a 17-year-old there, Borgogno earned mention among the top 25 high school players in the country by Collegiate Baseball magazine, The Times wrote.

"Mate is your typical ballplayer. His life revolves around the game," Borgogno's Nogales coach John Romano told The Times in 1987, talking up the young infielder. "And because he's so talented, he does come across as cocky, but it's not intentional. It's a little out of shyness. He's a nice person."

With the Giants, Borgogno started at short-season Everett, getting into 31 games there, hitting just .198. He also got 10 games up at single-A Clinton, getting three hits in 25 at bats.

Borgogno returned to Clinton for 1991, hitting .226 in 36 games. Those games were his last games as a pro. His pro time was also marked by misspellings of his name, spelled Matt Borgogno and Mate Borgono.

Borgogno went on to stay in baseball, becoming a coach in high school at La Habra High in California. Along the way, Borgogno's teams won four league championships. He stayed on there until 2008, leaving to spend more time with his family.

During his time as coach, it was Borgogno who was talking up his own players. One such player, Kyle Ballard, Borgogno credited with helping the team go 65-25, the team winning two of those league titles, according to The Times.

"That's just a huge turnaround," Borgogno told The Times. "I would say a large portion of it is attributable to him."

Read the December 2014 interview: Mate Borgogno, The Rest

• Los Angeles Times, May 21, 1987: Shortstop One of 'Best Ever' at Nogales
• Los Angeles Times, May 25, 1990: Borgogno Kicks the Error Habit
• Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2000: La Habra's Ballard Is a Blue-Chipper

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 2,695
Made the Majors:1,031-38.3%
Never Made Majors:1,664-61.7%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 426
10+ Seasons in the Minors:263

Tim Nedin, That Pitch - 16

Originally published Oct. 8, 2014

Tim Nedin had four pitches in his bag of tricks at Florida State. He had a fastball, slider, change up and a knucklecurve, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The knucklecurve, though, was his focus in 1989, according to The Times.

"I live and die with that pitch," Nedin told The Times that June as Nedin's team played in the College World Series. "It's one of those pitches you either have it that day or you don't."

Nedin ended up having it enough to turn pro that month, selected by the Twins in the 21st round of the draft.

But Nedin only threw those pitches well enough to get four seasons as a pro. He never made the majors.

Nedin went to Florida State after first attending the College of the Canyons in California. There, Nedin had success, but he also had a poor outing in May 1988. He gave up nine runs in four innings, according to The Times.

"I felt pretty good, but I just couldn't hit the spots," Nedin told The Times after that game. "But they hit some good pitches."

At Florida State, Nedin went five innings, giving up two hits, in a March outing. He then picked up a complete game win in an April 1989 game.

That February, Nedin went seven innings of relief giving up just one earned.

With the Twins, Nedin started at rookie Elizabethton. In 14 outings, seven starts, he went 6-2, with a 1.58 ERA. He also saved two.

He moved to single-A Kenosha for 1990 and ended up going just 3-13 in 27 outings, 22 starts. He had a 3.39 ERA. That August, though, Nedin threw a gem. He threw a seven-inning no-hitter against Burlington.

Nedin played 1991 at high-A Visalia, but he only got 12 starts. He went 1-5, with a 3.98 ERA. In 1992, he got just a single, four-inning start at high-A Fort Myers. He gave up just two hits and no runs, ending his career.

• Los Angeles Times, May 21, 1988: First-Round Debacle Puts Canyons in Need of a Quick Fix Today
• Los Angeles Times, June 9, 1989: Versatile Role Suits Nedin at Florida State