Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

Be sure and check out the revisited Bob Zupcic feature from February 2011: Bob Zupcic, Good Opportunity Bub Zupcic rounded the bases Sept. 20, 1991, having hit his first major league home run in a rout of the Yankees. He was met on the basepaths by an excited fan and Zupcic went with it. "He was there," Zupcic said in the New York Times story on the game, "so I gave him a high-five." Bob Zupcic didn't hit many major league home runs, he hit seven in parts of four major league seasons, but the few he did hit were memorable. Aside from the high-five to the fan, that first home run came on the tail end of back-to-back shots , the first hit by fellow 1990 CMC setter Phil Plantier. They were also hit on the first to pitches thrown by another fellow CMC setter Dave Eiland. Two other Zupcic home runs in 1992 were grand slams , both proving the difference in the ball games. Zupcic debuted with the Red Sox as a September call up in 1991. That break not only got him in...

Having just been cut from AAA Tucson in 1991, Rocky Childress began contemplating life without baseball. The California-native's plans included returning to Bend, Ore., where he'd met his wife playing for the rookie league Bend Phillies in 1981, and becoming a plumber, according to The Arizona Daily Star . "The only thing I'm bummed out about," Childress told The Star , "is that I had a good year last year, and I didn't get picked up. I want one last chance. If I fail, fine. But I haven't failed yet." Childress spoke at the end of a decade-long pro-baseball career , one that began after being taken by the Phillies in the 21st round in 1980 and being sent to the rookie league Helena Phillies, then Bend in 1981 and Spartanburg in the South Atlantic League in 1982. It was with Spartanburg that Childress figured into the start of one 11-year-old fan's autograph collection, as featured in a 1999 article on that fan . He made AAA Portl...

Check out the revisited Steve Lankard feature: Steve Lankard, His Personality, 5/30/11 Drafted out of Long Beach State in the 20th round by the Rangers in 1985, Steve Lankard made it to AAA Oklahoma City by 1989. In a feature story that July, Lankard told the Los Angeles Times about life in the minor leagues, and, the ultimate goal of making the majors. "No way am I going to quit," Lankard told The Times . "I can taste it now." Sometimes, quitting isn't the issue. The relief pitcher threw in 10 games for the 89ers that year, posting a 7.41 ERA. By the time 1990 came around, Lankard didn't do much better . In 26.1 innings, he posted a 5.13 ERA, not the mark a team wants in a relief pitcher and sometime closer. Lankard made AA in 1988, having spent time as a closer at lower levels, sometimes not working out so well. In 1987, he took the loss in one July game, giving up three runs in the ninth to the Marlins, the old Florida State League Miami Marlins, Lank...

Just as in spring training, expectations with Trevor Wilson changed rapidly. In spring training, the expectation was that he would make the Giants' rotation. According to the Houston Chronicle , he pitched himself back to the minors. Called up May 30 after a Rick Reuschel injury, Wilson quickly moved expectations the other way. In his second start of the year, his fourth appearance, Wilson not only made it to the ninth inning in that June 13 game , he made it to the ninth inning with a no-hitter. Only a fifth-inning wild pitch on strike three stood between him and a perfect game. Then the Padres' Mike Pagliarulo put one in left-center, ending the no-hit bid. "I didn't really expect to throw a no hitter," Wilson said in the Associated Press story on the completed one-hitter, "so when it didn't happen, it's not like a big panic. I really wanted to get it, but I guess I'll have to settle for a one-hitter." Wilson had been with the Giants sys...

Check out Mike Cook revisited, May 13, 2011: Sights Set A first-round draft pick for the Angels only a year before, Mike Cook quickly found himself in Anaheim. The Angels, according to the Los Angeles Times , were well into a new strategy, one where they nurtured young talent instead of letting it linger with free agent signings. For Cook, that meant the jump from AA, and his then 4-6 record at Midland, to pitching in the major leagues. "He's going to be a big league pitcher some day," Angels Manager Gene Mauch told the paper . "Why not find out now?" Mauch soon found out . In three innings of work, Cook gave up five hits and five runs, The Times noted. The rest of his major league career went in a similar direction. From 1986 to 1989, Cook appeared in only 39 major league contests, starting two games. In 1988, he appeared in only three games, but posting his best ERA still, it was just under 5, at 4.91. The Charleston, SC, product, Cook's high school care...

Check out the new Steven Bast feature from August 2011: His Dream Sports is full of doctors. In basketball, there was Dr. J in Julius Erving . In baseball, there was Dr. K in Dwight Gooden . There was also the famed doctor of baseballs Gaylord Perry . But none of them actually studied to be a doctor, much less while they were playing. Steven Bast did. During his final season in baseball, 1990, Bast tried to do both , pitch for the Red Sox top farm club and study for the Southern California's top medical school. In the end, he made his choice: He wanted to be a doctor. "I always liked to play the game, but that wasn't ever my dream," Bast told a University of Southern California alumni magazine in 1996. "I just always kinda used baseball as a stepping stone to get to where I wanted to go." Where he wanted to go was the orthopedist's office. Bast was taken by the Red Sox in the fifth round of the 1986 draft, out of USC. While in school, he played summe...

Be sure and check out the revisited Karl Allaire feature from September 2011: Karl Allaire, Journeyman Player Karl Allaire has spent this past off season with his long-time friend Rocco Baldelli. Serving up batting practice, Allaire was playing his part to get Baldelli back on a major league roster after health questions derailed Baldelli's a once promising career. "I definitely think it's worn on him,'' Allaire told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick in January. "He's put up a little bit of a shell. People are always asking him, 'How do you feel? What do you think is going to happen?' It's human nature to just get sick of hearing it. With all the stuff he's been through, it's been a tough ride the last few years.'' It's a feeling that Allaire never experienced himself, trying to get back to the majors. In a nine-season pro career, Allaire never got there for the first time. Allaire was drafted by the Astros in the 17th round of t...

If it looked like Steve Smith and his daughter Allie had an easier time of it in Leg 2, there was apparently a reason. According to a secret scene on CBS.com, the two found a local named Roberto who showed them around the local university, helping them with directions, Internet access and even buying them dinner. The scene is embedded above. "It was awesome, that guy missed a class," Steve told the camera, saying he believed his son would do the same, though not necessarily for the same reasons. "I asked if he had a sinorita, he said 'no time, no time, study, study, study." He said he hoped his son would hear that. The Greatest 21 Days is following Smith's progress on The Amazing Race as he is actually a part of the set. He is currently the third-base coach for the Cleveland Indians, but in 1990, he was the manager of the Oklahoma City 89ers. On the episode itself, Steve and Allie were almost invisible, which can be a good thing. My wife hardly noticed them....

Check out the new Skeeter Barnes feature: Dream Realized, Jan. 6, 2011 A minor league instructor for the Rays, Skeeter Barnes tried to use his own slight stature convey to minor leaguers what was possible. Attending at 5 feet, 10 inches tall, Barnes was no Randy Johnson. The key for shorter players, he relayed to one such player, 5 foot, 8 inch Michael Ross in 2007 was details. "Coach Skeeter Barnes told me that as a little guy I needed to do all the little things and I'll get there, just use my speed," Ross told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph . While it didn't work out for Ross, Barnes parlayed the little things into a playing career that spanned 15 years, touching nine big league seasons. A native of Cincinnati, Barnes was taken by his hometown team in the 16th round in 1978. He hit .368 that year for the Pioneer League's Billings Mustangs. He made it to AAA in 1981 and Cincinnati in 1983. Still a rookie in 1984, Barnes took the first pitch in the bottom of ...

Check out the revisited Wally Ritchie feature from December 2011: Wally Ritchie, Tough Situations Already two-and-a-half years removed from his last appearance in the majors, Wally Ritchie left baseball in 1995 for a career in construction and civil engineering, according to the Los Angeles Times . That lasted two years, then the left-hander was back on the mound, taking one more shot with the independent Western League in Salinas in 1997, then Mission Viejo in 1998. "I'm 32," Ritchie told The Times before the 1998 season, "but being left-handed and getting people out, it does give me another chance. That's one of the reasons we decided to come back. Before I got past the point where I could come back, we thought we'd better go ahead and try." Ritchie broke in with the Phillies a decade earlier, coming into his first game May 1, 1987, pitching an inning and giving up just one hit. He had been drafted by Philadelphia in the fourth round in 1985. Ritchi...

When Rob Ducey returned from Japan in 1997, he had difficulty finding a major league organization that wanted him. He finally signing on with Seattle, playing 76 games for them that year. Now working as a scout for the Rays, Ducey is working to make it easier for free agents to showcase their talent major league teams. "It wasn't that I couldn't play anymore, but there was nothing in the system on me," Ducey told MLB.com earlier this month . "I'd played well over there, and still couldn't find a job." Ducey spoke as the organizer of the Professional Free Agent Showcase, designed to do just that, help free agents find teams. Ducey spent parts of 13 seasons in the majors, that season in 1997 was his ninth. A native of Toronto, Ducey was signed by his hometown team in 1984. He made AA in 1986 and AAA then the big club in 1987. He debuted in Toronto on May 1, playing in 34 games for the Blue Jays that summer. He'd be up and down between Toronto an...

Check out the revisited Pedro Sanchez feature from November 2011: Pedro Sanchez, Grand Slam A good bat can make up for a bad glove and a good glove can make up for a bad bat. A bad bat and a bad glove is never a good combination, something Pedro Sanchez learned in 1990 with the Tucson Toros. Sanchez was beginning his sixth season in the Astros system in 1990. He signed with the Astros out of baseball rich San Pedro de Macoris , Dominican Republic. A long list of major leaguers have called San Pedro home, including George Bell , Sammy Sosa , Robinson Cano and free-swinging fellow 1990 CMC setter Jose Offerman . Sanchez began with the Astros in 1985, making steady progress, if nothing else. He moved to short-season Auburn in 1986, Sally League Asheville in 1987 and Florida State League Osceola in 1988. In September of that year, Sanchez helped Osceola to the league championship series, scoring the winning run in extra innings in the deciding game the semifinal series. In 1989, Sanchez...

Back in 2008, I remember hearing stories about the Richmond Braves and their deteriorating stadium. The Braves' AAA franchise was moving out, because Richmond's Diamond just wasn't up to the parent club's standards. It's odd now looking back on that, because, while the team was 500 miles from our home in New York's Capital Region, the move would ultimately upset three teams within just a short drive of us, the last one coming in an announcement just this past week . The Atlanta Braves had long called Richmond, Va., their AAA home. By 1990, they had already been in Richmond for 25 seasons, as evidenced by their barely legible 1990 CMC set logo. By 2008, that season total stood at 43. But, for several years, the parent club had had problems with Richmond's stadium, The Diamond. According to one account , it was considered among the worst in AAA. Another account had it as a decaying eyesore. That's it up there, in a Wikipedia photo submitted from Flickr ....

Check out the revisited Brian Meyer feature from November 2011: Brian Meyer, Hanging Slider Relief pitcher Brian Meye r had spent parts of three seasons in the majors by spring 1991 and now he was being talked about for the coveted closer's job . It was Meyer, Al Osuna and one of the newest Astros, Curt Schilling , up for the job. "I'm satisfied with what we have in the bullpen," Astros manager Art Howe said in a January 1991 article . "We have a ton of arms. But what I'm really concerned about is finding a closer." Osuna had 12 saves for the Astros in 1991; Schilling, a fellow member of the 1990 CMC set, had 8 saves. Meyer had none. In fact, Meyer didn't even make the Astros roster, or any other major league roster again. Meyer first made the Astros as a September call-up in 1988. He pitched in eight games and 12.1 innings that month, giving up only two earned runs. Meyer was taken by the Astros in the 16th round of the 1986 draft, spending that y...

Check out the revisited Jeff Mutis feature from November 2011: Jeff Mutis, Another Shot The reporter for the Allentown newspaper couldn't resist. Young Pennsylvania Legion pitcher Jeff Mutis had just allowed two hits and stuck out 10 in a 1-0 playoff win, pitching on two days rest. But the reporter was still well within his rights in describing Mutis as getting "raked." He gave that outing after suffering a puncture wound to his right foot before the game - after stepping on a rake. "My foot was swollen and it hurt in the beginning," Mutis told the Sunday Call-Chronicle in July 1984. "My arm is tired but I wanted to finish this game." It was outings like that that got Mutis noticed. A year later, Mutis found himself drafted by the Indians in the 34th round . He didn't sign, instead opting to go to Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. That served to only interest the scouts more. By 1988, Mutis was drafted again by the Indians, this time in the firs...

Check out the revisited Marvin Freeman feature from June 7, 2011: Fine Arm By the time 1994 rolled around, Marvin Freeman had been up to the majors for at least one game each of seven seasons. He had always had promise, but that promise was never realized. It was to the point that an unimpressed Sports Illustrated pegged Freeman, who once apprenticed in a violin shop, a better violin bow maker than ball player. "I was the middle reliever of bow making," Freeman told the magazine . But in 1994, for one all-too-brief of summer, Freeman realized that promise, in, of all places, Denver. He went 10-2 that strike-shortened year, posting a 2.80 ERA. That number would have placed him second in ERA, had he had enough innings to qualify. He still pitched 112.2 innings. Nicknamed "Starvin Marvin" for his lanky frame, Freeman was taken by the Phillies in the second round of the 1984 draft. He made Philadelphia by September 1986, flashing a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings. But he woul...

Steve Smith's big introduction to The Amazing Race audience was as a father wanting to spend time with his daughter. He'd been in baseball for more than three decades. By the time he managed Oklahoma City in 1990 (making him card 171 of the 1990 CMC set), his daughter was 3. Steve Smith, Amazing Manager "In baseball, you're gone seven months of the year," Smith told the camera. "We need something the rest of our lives that we can come back and say 'wow, we actually did that.'" That was the take on Smith through the entire first leg of Amazing Race 16. Bonus clip with Steve and Allie talking about their relationship: But the Amazing Race can be an unforgiving competition. When the pressure's high, tempers can run short. And Race producers aren't shy showing those moments. It makes for good television, but also strains relationships. As we saw earlier , Smith is no stranger to arguments. On the baseball field, he's been suspended multi...

Be sure and check out the revisited Steve Smith post from March 2011: Steve Smith, Did A Lot When you start a project like this, looking at 880 players and coaches from a 20-year-old set, you're bound to see things differently. You start to see set members everywhere. They're managing and coaching teams, they're pitching against each other in the 2004 World Series, they're taking swings at umpires in Dominican league games. Last night, I saw one on The Amazing Race . Seriously. Steve Smith , the sometimes volatile one-time manager of the Oklahoma City 89ers and current third base coach with the Cleveland Indians, is competing on the CBS reality travel show, the same show that happens to be among my favorites, if not my favorite show. For those who aren't fans, the show pits teams of two in a race around the world. The teams have some relationship: relatives, friends and such. Smith is competing with his daughter, Allie. That's them up top, from a CBS slides...

When Olympic curling takes the ice this Tuesday, it will do so with the help of the home of the short-season Athletics-affiliate Vancouver Canadians . According to MiLB.com , the Canadians' Nat Bailey Stadium is being used as a support venue for the curling events being held next door at the new Vancouver Olympic Center. That a Canadian major league-affiliated baseball team could offer any help to anything is remarkable, given the direction Canadian baseball has gone in the past two decades. In 1990, there were no fewer than eight affiliated teams in the minors calling Canada home, a ninth was added three years later. There were the Calgary Cannons , the Edmonton Trappers and the old Vancouver Canadians , all AAA members of the Pacific Coast league and the 1990 CMC set. There were also the AA London (Ontario) Tigers of the Eastern League, also represented in the CMC set. The short-season NY-Penn League had two teams in Ontario, in Welland and St. Catharines . The rookie-level P...