Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

Leo Perez ' season at single-A Beloit in 1988 was a good one. The Brewers farmhand went 10-8 in the Midwest League, starting 17 games. His ERA, though, was sterling, posting a 2.05 mark with 124 strikeouts in 122.2 innings of work. It was enough to get him on the Brewers' 40-man roster going into spring training 1989. But, for Perez, it wasn't enough to get him to the majors. Perez played in four seasons of affiliated ball, never getting above high A . Perez' career began in 1987, signed by the Brewers out of his native Mexico. Perez played that first season at single-A Stockton . He got into two games in relief, giving up four earned runs in 4.1 innings of work. In 1988, he hit single-A Beloit, having that season where he gave up 28 earned runs , including six home runs, in those 122 innings of work. He also had five complete games, tying for the league lead. He also lead the Midwest League in strikeouts, wins and ERA. That season in 1988 also proved...

It wasn't so much his high school play that got Mark Razook a scholarship at Cal-State Fullerton, The Los Angeles Times wrote in 1986. It was Razook's play in American Legion ball, The Times wrote . "If I wasn't playing Legion ball, I wouldn't be where I'm at now," Razook told The Times . "I would've gone to a junior college and tried to get drafted out of there." Instead, he went to Fullerton and was drafted from there, taken by the Mariners in the 16th round of the 1988 draft. Razook's success in American Legion ball and at Fullerton, though, was short-lived. He spent only three seasons in the pros, getting to AA Williamsport , but his career ended before he could get any higher. Razook was taken by the Mariners as his Fullerton team vied for the 1988 College World Series title. Fullerton was eliminated from contention in the second-to-last game by Stanford. In that game, Razook scored his team's first run, but struck...

Taken by the Astros in the second round in 1985, out of high school, Bert Hunter had trouble adjusting to the pros. By 1988, his fourth season, Hunter was still in single-A , at Osceola. He hadn't hit higher than .262. "Wooden bats are the biggest adjustment I've had to make," Hunter told The Orlando Sentinel that June. ''But it's starting to come around. For a while, it was a rude awakening. So was pitching.'' At Osceola that year, though, he would hit .233. He would also play through 1993, marking nine seasons as a pro, never hitting much better. He got brief looks at AAA, but he never got a look at the majors. Hunter's 1991 Line Drive card came in that Target Extreme Repack, the one with the crazy sealed 2007 Topps Update pack. Hunter played 1990 at the Astros' AA team in Columbus. Members of that team made the larger CMC set that year, but Hunter did not. Other, actual members of the CMC set in the pack were Mike Perez, Bob Sebra, ...

Ricky Torres took over for the starter in the third inning. He then went on to eat 6.1 innings for AA Albany-Colonie in that 1988 contest, giving up just four hits and one run . He also picked up the win . "Ricky shut them down after that inning, and that's what a long reliever is supposed to do," Albany-Colonie manager Stump Merrill told The Schenectady Gazette . "If we had to go to the bullpen again, we'd be in trouble for a few days." Torres shut them down that June, one of 19 games Torres got into that year at Albany. He ultimately posted a 3.52 ERA, and he returned to Albany in 1989. Torres ultimately made it to AAA Columbus in 1990, but, in a career that saw time in eight seasons , Torres never made the majors. Torres' career began in 1984, signed by the Yankees that year as an undrafted free agent . He played that first season at single-A Greensboro, going 8-4 as a starter, with a 3.69 ERA. He played 1985 at short-season Oneonta and ...

Sent from one independent team to another, Hut Smith had a brief layoff. Then he helped pitch his new team, the Allentown Ambassadors, to a win in July 1999 . "I'm not a power pitcher, so I knew the layoff wouldn't bother my velocity," Smith told The Allentown Morning Call . "I got a little tired toward the end, but other than that I was hitting my spots." Smith was in his first season of independent ball, going on to pitch in a total of 12 professional seasons. Smith, though, never made the majors, getting as high as AA, but no higher. Smith's 1992 Classic Four Sport card was included in my Target Extreme Value repack, the one where I got that crazy unopened 2007 Topps Update pack . Smith's Classic Four Sport card marks him being drafted by Baltimore 100th overall in 1992. Also included in the pack was another Four Sport card, that of Steve Montgomery . Montgomery went on to have a more successful career, getting taken 83rd overall by St. Louis....

Playing at AAA Las Vegas in 1985, George Hinshaw told The Los Angeles Times in 1985 he was not so fond of the Nevada city, mainly its reputation. "Vegas wasn't built on winners, y' know," Hinshaw told The Times . "I learned my lessons on gambling when I played at Reno. Made $280 every two weeks. It would be foolish to risk losing that." Maybe it was that. Or maybe it was that Hinshaw was in his third full season playing for the AAA Stars, having gotten all of 13 games in San Diego. And, in a career that spanned a decade and got him to Japan, those 13 games would be Hinshaw's only games in the majors. Hinshaw's career began in 1980, taken by the Padres in the 11th round , out of the University of La Verne. He played that first year at short-season Walla Walla , hitting .287, with three home runs. Hinshaw arrived at single-A Reno in 1981, hitting .371, with 25 home runs. He moved to AA Amarillo the next year, hitting .297, with 18 home r...

Theo Shaw was like a kid, he told The Chicago Tribune that July in 1985. After a injury-induced try at being a position player, the team doctor told him he didn't have to be a position player anymore. He was ready to pitch again . "I was walking so fast to get to the car that I was running," Shaw told The Tribune . "I couldn't wait to get back here. It's worked out for me and now I'm loving it." Shaw returned to the mound and pitched five more seasons as a pro, part of a career that spanned 11. Though he continued pitching, Shaw never had the opportunity to pitch in the majors. Shaw's career began in 1980, taken by the Royals in the 16th round out of Proviso East High in Illinois. Shaw pitched that first year with the Royals rookie Gulf Coast League team, going 5-7, with a 3.39 ERA. He picked up a win in the fall instructional league that October, giving up three unearned runs over five innings . Shaw split 1981 between single-A Charleston a...

Russ Swan picked up his first major league win in June 1990. He also almost picked up a no-hitter . The Mariners starter got into the eighth inning against the Tigers before giving up the first hit to Cecil Fielder. Seattle ended up winning 5-2 . "I've been really wild and really hurting myself," Swan told The Associated Press afterward. "Tonight, I finally stopped worrying about throwing strikes and just did it." Swan was in his second season in the majors, having picked up two starts the previous August with the Giants. He went on to pitch in six big league campaigns , his last coming in 1994. Swan's professional career began in 1986, taken by the Giants in the ninth round of the draft, out of Texas A&M University. Swan played that year between short-season Everett and single-A Clinton. He went 8-3, with a 2.61 ERA between them. In 1989, Swan hit AA Shreveport for the first time, then AAA Phoenix. Then, in August, big league injuries landed Swan i...

Mets bullpen coach Rick Waits had trouble breathing in one spring 2003 game. Mets trainer Scott Lawrenson quickly recognized what was going on, The New York Daily News wrote . Waits was having a heart attack. And Lawrenson was credited by The Daily News with getting emergency crews there, saving Waits' life. "He had been complaining of some chest pain before," Lawrenson told The Daily News . "It didn't take an awful lot of thinking to figure out what to do." Lawrenson was going into his third year as the Mets' head athletic trainer in 2003. He became the top trainer in the organization , working with the top players in Flushing, having started with the organization back in 1986. Lawrenson served as trainer that first year at rookie Kingsport, joining the Mets as a graduate of Liberty University. Lawrenson moved to the Lynchburg Mets in the Carolina League, then St. Lucie in 1988 and Jackson in 1989. For 1990, Lawrenson became trainer at AAA Tidewater...

Remember with you were a kid and couldn't wait to open all your presents Christmas morning? Well, I think I may have set a record for waiting the longest to open one: 10 months. And, apparently, it was well worth the wait. The present was one of those "extreme value" repacks from Target. That's it in the picture above, in the bottom right of my overall 2010 Christmas haul. I'd pointed it out to my wife as a last-minute gift idea for me. They're cheap and they're fun. Lots of junk wax to find CMC players in. I pointed out that particular repack because of the Mark Grace card on top, one that I'd never seen. I'm a Cubs fan. But I didn't actually open the package until last weekend. I'd gotten other cards to blog about, then other cards came along and then there's just the main blog posts to keep up with. And it's not like a plastic-sealed package is easy to rip open. Well, I finally got around to cutting the thing open this past weeke...

Paul McClellan was just happy to be a part of the Giants' winning streak in 1991, the pitcher helping his team extend the streak to 11 . McClellan recorded the win in the Giants' 8-1 victory over the Reds Aug. 1. He did so by pitching a complete game , giving up just that single run. "Everybody was asking me, what if I lose and kill the winning streak?" McClellan told The Associated Press later. "After the first couple innings I relaxed and we started swinging the bats. Everything worked out great." The Giants winning street didn't last much longer, snapped the next night . McClellan's major league career didn't last much longer, either. His major league career ended with the season's end, McClellan getting 17 total big league outings. McClellan's career began in 1986, taken by the Giants in the first round of the draft out of Sequoia High School in California. McClellan played that first year at short-season Everett , getti...

For Alan Cockrell , the choice was an easy one . The two-sport star at the University of Tennessee, quarterback of the Volunteers football team, signed with the San Francisco Giants in 1984. He simply loved baseball more . "I'll always be a Big Orange fan," Cockrell told reporters after making his decision. "But how many people get to do something they truly love for a living? I'm playing something that's a lot easier on my body and something I truly enjoy." Cockrell showed his love for baseball by playing it professionally for 13 seasons , getting into 1,423 games. Cockrell played all but the final nine - played more than a dozen years after signed with the Giants - in the minors. Cockrell has continued in the game after his playing career ended, as a minor league manager and major league hitting coach. Most recently, Cockrell served as hitting coach for the Mariners in 2010. Cockrell's professional career began that year in 1984, taken ...

David Palmer was pitching well, and hoping for rain . Pitching for the Phillies, Palmer didn't allow a hit to a Cardinal batter until the sixth inning , the only hit he gave up in the 2-0 Philadelphia win. "I was thinking if we could get some rain (after the fifth)," Palmer told The Associated Press , "I'd have another no-hitter." That other no-hitter came four years earlier, with the Expos, the rain-shortened, perfect-game variety. That earlier perfect game is referenced on the back of Palmer's 1988 Score card. The card came in a repack that's been sitting by my desk since a trip to Cooperstown over the summer. The repack consisted solely of 1988 Score cards. I've also got several other regular packs over there that still have yet to be opened. But this Score repack included two CMC set members and two future managers, one of the managers a near-miss CMC set member. Floyd Rayford was in the CMC set as a coach for AAA Scranton. Rayford started ...