For the next week or two

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For the next week or two, this should be my last regular post. My mother, who always shared my love of baseball and the Chicago Cubs, passed away today at the age of 68. I hope to be writing about the game we both loved again soon. -Steve, The Greatest 21 Days - 12/20/11

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Kevin Rinaldi saw pros over two seasons, made single-A

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Brevard Community College's Kevin Rinaldi got the win in this March 1989 game, despite one of his weaknesses - the first inning, according to Florida Today . Rinaldi went six innings, giving up five runs in the process, but still got the 8-5 victory, Florida Today wrote . "If he ever gets out of the first inning, he usually does a good job," Brevard head coach Ernie Rosseau told Florida Today . "He just has trouble in that first inning." Rinaldi went on to turn pro later that year. His pro career lasted two seasons. He topped out at single-A. Rinaldi's career began that year, signed by the Astros as an undrafted free agent out of Brevard Community College. At Brevard, he struck out six while giving up five hits in a February win, then struck out 11 in another that month. Shortly after, Florida Today featured Rinaldi in a brief spotlight. In it, he counted his career goal as making the majors. He also identified Paul Molitor as a relative, though not how...
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Interview Part 3: Tom Gamboa, Strange Deal

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Brooklyn Cyclones manager Tom Gamboa in Troy, NY in August 2014. Gamboa served as Royals first base coach in 2002 when he was attacked in Chicago. (G21D Photo) Part 1: Accomplished Something | Part 2: Common Good Part 3: Strange Deal | Part 4: Truly Passionate Part 5: Player Stories One second Tom Gamboa was standing in the first base coaching box preparing to coach the ninth inning at Chicago's new Comiskey Park. The next second the 54-year-old was on the ground. He was knocked there near the end of this September 2002 game by a crazed father and son who had jumped onto the field from the stands. But Gamboa didn't know that at the time. All he knew was that he was on the ground being attacked. "I remember it like an out-of-body experience," Gamboa recalled to The Greatest 21 Days recently, "lying on the ground wondering who are these people? What are they doing on the field? And why are they swinging at me?" In an instant, Gamboa had ...
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Walter Roy, Rookie Roommate - 2349

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Read the March 2015 interview: Walter Roy, Gung-Ho The first couple roommates for Javier Lopez didn't work out . Then he moved in with Walter Roy , and another teammate. The group was rounded out by Roy's wife. The two were at rookie Pulaski that year and the move for Lopez forced the Puerto Rican-native out of his comfort zone, Lopez wrote years later in his book "Behind the Plate. " "I had to learn English living with them," Lopez wrote . "Walter's wife was there, too. She was a very sweet lady, and she talked to me all the time, taught me a lot." Lopez went on from there to a major league career that spanned 15 seasons. Roy's career ended the next year at single-A Burlington . Roy's career began in 1989, signed by the Braves as an undrafted free agent out of Saginaw Valley State University and Mott Community College. At Pulaski, the pitcher Roy got into 14 games, starting two. He went 2-1, with a 2.12 ERA . He also struc...
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Features from the 1990 minor league sets (By Date)

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What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here by the date published, newest first.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added Dec. 1 ,  2024 Features in order of when the y appeared: February 2025  -  Doug Bair  did his job in major leagues over 15 seasons , 2/23/25  -  Nick Belmonte  played, managed, broadcast Florida games , 2/22/25  -  Mark Brewer  amassed coaching experience over long career , 2/21/25  -  Dan Shwam  had long independent league managerial career , 2/15/25  -  Jim Schifman  dreamed of pros, made it for eight games , 2/11/25  -  Steve Keighley  worked to hit over 4 seasons, made high-A , 2/9/25  -  Jim Doyle  helped Sal...
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A to Z: 1990 Minor League Players, Baseball Profiles

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What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here alphabetically.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added Dec. 1, 2024 List of 1990 minor league players featured, in alphabetical order: Total: 4,457 A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z A  -  Bill Abare  got big hit at Dunedin, saw three pro seasons , 10/31/13  -  Glenn Abbott  saw bigs over decade, later turned coach , 7/27/14  -  Kurt Abbott 's first ML hit went for homer, saw 9 seasons , 3/22/15  -  Kyle Abbott  saw time in four major league seasons, Japan , 10/4/17  -  Paul Abbott  returned from injuries, made 11 ML seasons , 5/23/11...
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1990 CMC Pre-Rookie Set

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Features of each member of the 1990 CMC Pre-Rookie Set. Click the names to read about the players. Features were posted from 2010 to 2012. Cards Featured in the 1990 CMC set: 880 Players/Coaches Featured: 891 Number Who Made the Majors: 608 Never Made the Majors: 283 5+ Seasons in the Majors: 271 10+ Seasons in the Minors: 163 1990 CMC Pre-Rookie Set 1 - Stan Belinda , No Comparison, 9/22/11 2 - Gordon Dillard , Reasonable Success, 5/1/11 3 - Terry Collins , Life in Baseball, 2/7/12 4 - Mark Huismann , Way To Break In, 7/28/10 5 - Hugh Kemp , Big Story, 10/24/10, Interview 6 - Scott Medvin , Best Shot, 3/9/11 7 - Vicente Palacios , He Did, 9/8/11 8 - Rick Reed , Another Chance, 12/19/10 9 - Mark Ross , Got to Stay, 7/8/11 10 - Dorn Taylor , As Good, 6/21/12 11 - Mike York , New Start, 10/21/11 12 - Jeff Richardson , Family Man, 1/27/11 13 - Dann Bilardello , Big Moment, 6/24/10, Interview 14 - Tom Prince , Clean Hit, 4/2/10 15 - Danny Sheaffer , Uniform t...
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Henry Mercedes moved past language problems to make bigs over five seasons

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Henry Mercedes signed with the Athletics as a catcher out of his native Dominican Republic. He immediately ran into difficulties, according to The Associated Press . That's because the catcher Mercedes didn't know English, The AP wrote . "I wanted to return to my country," Mercedes told The AP in July 1996. "I think there are a lot of players that went through the same situation." Mercedes eventually got over those language issues. He also went on to a long career as a pro . That career included time in five major league seasons. Mercedes was originally signed by the Athletics in 1987. He first hit the field in the United States in 1988, playing in the rookie Arizona League. He made single-A Madison and Modesto in 1989. For 1990, he played most of the year at Madison. He played the rest, 12 games, at AAA Tacoma . He hit .224 overall on the year. He debuted in Oakland in April 1992. He got into nine games for Oakland, picking up four hits in f...
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