Chris Hammond had fun in two ML shutouts; Saw 14 ML seasons as starter, reliever

One shutout can make a pitcher feel good. Two can make him feel that much better.

That was the case for Chris Hammond, pitcher on the 1994 Marlins. The hurler on a team one year removed from expansion shut out the Phillies that May, then came back and pitched eight shutout innings against the Pirates.

"This is the best I've ever felt," Hammond told The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I've got five pitches I can throw for strikes. Going up there (on the mound) has started to become a lot of fun."

Hammond was having fun in his fifth major league season. And he would continue to have fun in the majors through 14 big league seasons.

Hammond's career began in 1986, taken by the Reds in the sixth round of the January draft out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Hammond played that first year between the rookie Gulf Coast League and single-A Tampa. He made AA Chattanooga in 1988 and AAA Nashville in 1989.

He debuted with Cincinnati in July 1990, going 0 for 2 in three starts. He also gave up eight earned runs in 11.1 innings. He returned in 1991 for another 18 starts, going 7-7, with a 4.06 ERA.

Hammond started 1991 with a three-game personal winning streak. He then lost five straight. He broke that streak with a game where he walked five, but still got the win, The Associated Press wrote.

"It would bother anybody," Hammond told The AP of the losing streak. "But then again, there were some games during that streak when I didn't walk many hitters and I didn't win, so I guess things even out eventually."

Hammond stayed with the Reds through 1992. He was traded to the expansion Marlins in March 1993, in time for the expansion team to start its first season. With the Marlins, Hammond went 11-12 his first year, and 4-4 in 1994.

In May 1995, Hammond helped himself at the plate, the pitcher hitting a grand slam. Though he couldn't help himself on the mound, going only four innings, The Sun-Sentinel wrote.

In late July 1995, though, Hammond went seven shutout innings for the win. On the year, Hammond went 9-6, with a 3.80 ERA.

He stayed with the Marlins through 1996, then returned in 1998, after spending a season with the Red Sox.

He then retired, but came out of retirement for 2001. He pitched through 2006, also getting a chance to pitch in the 2003 World Series with the Yankees, against his old team, the Marlins.

That second year out of retirement, Hammond played for the Braves, getting into 76 innings and posting a sub-1 ERA of 0.95. He was the third pitcher since 1900 to do that, The Sun-Sentinel wrote.

His final year came in 2006, with Hammond returning to the Reds. He got into 29 games, with an ERA of 6.91.

Hammond went into that final year knowing he'd have a bullpen role, but was fine with whatever role they'd give him.

"Just pitch when the phone rings and your name is called," Hammond told MLB.com. "I'll be prepared to pitch, hopefully from the sixth inning on."

• Toledo Blade, Associated Press, June 14, 1991: Hammond credits his success to luck
• Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, May 11, 1994: Hammond Handcuffs Pirates
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, May 30, 1995: Marlins, Hammond Finds Their Hitting Shoes
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Oct. 22, 2003: Lefty Turns It Around And Returns
• MLB.com, Dec. 20, 2005: Hammond returns to solidify bullpen

More: 1990 Nashville Sounds

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 525/880 - 59.7%
Players/Coaches Featured: 536 
Made the Majors: 357 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:179-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 150-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Carl Nichols, High Pressure - 613

The Greatest 21 Days caught up with Carl Nichols in February 2014. Read the interview: Carl Nichols, Different World

The pressure was high and Carl Nichols delivered.

The pinch hitter smacked a single to right, breaking up a tie game in the seventh inning Aug. 2, 1990, in a game Nichols' Astros went on to win 3-1.

"When you hit in key spots it makes you concentrate more," Nichols told The Associated Press after the game. "It's making me a better hitter because I concentrate better when the pressure is on."

But those pressure situations in major league games would be few for Nichols. Nichols was in his fifth season with major league playing time that year, he was also in the season where he saw his most time, all of 32 games.

Nichols' career began in 1980, taken in the fourth round of the draft, out of Compton, Ca. He played that year at rookie league Bluefield, hitting .212 in 37 games.

He made single-A Hagerstown and Miami in 1981, but he didn't make AA, at Charlotte, until 1985. By then, he'd made stops in the Tigers and Angels systems, before returning to the Orioles.

Nichols made his major league debut in 1986, after a second year at AA Charlotte. He got into five games with Baltimore that September, getting five at bats and no hits.

Nichols got into another 13 games for Baltimore in 1987, getting a total of eight hits in 21 at bats. He got into 18 more games in 1988. Nichols also found himself with the Orioles in 1988, during the team's record-setting losing streak to open the season.

Nichols ended the game in which Baltimore set the losing streak record at 14. It was a fly out to right on a night where temperatures were in the 40s. Nichols, a catcher, had also spent time in the bullpen.

"All I was thinking about at the plate," Nichols told The New York Times afterward, "was to keep warm - it had been very, very cold in the bullpen and the wind was howling - and also to try to hit the ball some place."

By 1989, Nichols' nephew was starting to get noticed. Nichols' nephew was Ray Lankford. Nichols, himself, was just trying to get back from what turned out to be a bad 1988 season, not only for his team, but for himself.

Nichols got just nine hits in 47 at bats. At AAA Rochester, Nichols hit just .228. He worked that winter to get his hitting stroke back.

"I've been hitting since early November, four to five days a week," Nichols told The Modesto Bee in February 1989. "I feel like that part of my game is back. Hopefully, I'll get the opportunity to prove it."

Nichols, though, was traded in March to the Astros. He got into just eight games with Houston that year. Then came 1990, and the most games he'd see in the majors, those 32 with the Astros. He hit .204.

Twenty more games for the Astros in 1991 and Nichols' major league career was over. He continued playing on the independent circuit, though, through 1997.

Nichols more recently has worked with Major League Baseball's Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities through the Los Angeles Urban Youth Academy. In 2009, Nichols' academy team made it to the RBI World Series in Florida. Nichols told MLB.com his took a different approach with his team.

"At the Academy, we focus more on instruction," Nichols told MLB.com. "We do more than games. Other guys, they just go out and play and play and play. They don't do any instruction. Teaching things, that's what's going to make them better."

The Greatest 21 Days caught up with Carl Nichols in February 2014. Read the interview: Carl Nichols, Different World 

• New York Times, April 21, 1988: Orioles Go From Bad to Worst
• Modesto Bee, Feb. 16, 1989: Family affair
• Albany Herald, Associated Press, Aug. 3, 1990: Gullickson Handcuffs Braves
• MLB.com, Aug. 6, 2009: LA brings swagger to RBI World Series

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 524/880 - 59.6%
Players/Coaches Featured: 535 
Made the Majors: 356 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:179-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 149-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Jose Bautista worked on location over 9 major league seasons

In the middle of his first major league season, one where pitcher Jose Bautista went 6-15 for the 1988 Orioles, was a veritable gem.

On July 5, Bautista took the mound in Chicago against the White Sox and gave up just five hits for a complete-game, 5-1 win.

"Location, that's what I was thinking about tonight," Bautista told The Associated Press after the game. "I threw my fork ball for strikes. But, more important, I went nine innings. I felt great, strong."

Bautista had just been drafted the previous off-season out of the Mets' organization, after spending seven seasons there without making Queens. But that year in 1988 marked the first of nine seasons in which Bautista would see time in the majors, including a 10-3 season with the Cubs in 1993.

And he's continuing in baseball into 2011, as a pitching coach in the system of those same White Sox he beat back in 1988, with the single-A Kannapolis Intimidators.

Jose Joaquin Bautista's career began in 1981, signed by the Mets out of his native Dominican Republic. He played that year at rookie-league Kingsport, moved to single-A Columbia in 1984 then AA Jackson in 1986.

But he didn't make the majors with the Mets, the Orioles selecting him in the Rule 5 draft for 1988. With the Orioles that year, Bautista posted an ERA of 4.30 to go along with that 6-15 record. He also started 25 games.

For 1989, he started 10 games, getting into five more in relief. In June, he went six innings against Oakland for the win, but was demoted. The Orioles needed a rested arm, but Bautista was frustrated nonetheless, The Baltimore Sun wrote.

For 1990, Bautista got into another 20 games with the Orioles, with an ERA of 4.05. In 1991, though, it was just five games, giving up 10 earned runs in 5.1 innings.

He didn't make it back to the majors until 1993, with the Cubs. That year, he got into 58 contests, starting seven. His ERA was sub-3, at 2.82.

Bautista got his first win May 30, his first in three seasons. By the end of June, Bautista had strung together three good starts, The Chicago Tribune wrote. Cubs manager Jim Lefebvre liked what he saw.

"He pitched great," Lefebvre told The Tribune after Bautista gave up 12 hits, but kept the damage to three runs. "He gave up some hits, but he didn't give up runs. He kept us in the ballgame, and that's all you ask a pitcher to do. He battled his rear end off."

Bautista stayed with the Cubs through 1994, going 4-5 that second year in 58 relief appearances. He signed for 1995 with the Giants. His ERA that year, though, ballooned to 6.44.

He had one last good year, in 1996 with the Giants. In 37 outings, Bautista posted an ERA of 3.36. His year, though, was cut short in September by an aneurysm in a shoulder and a blood clot, The Associated Press wrote.

He came back for 1997, his final year in the majors, Bautista got into 32 games between Detroit and St. Louis, posting an ERA of 6.66 between them. Bautista stayed in the minors through 1999, going through four separate systems. He is also recorded as playing in Mexico in 2000.

He has since begun a career as a minor league pitching coach. He's served in that position with Burlington, Idaho Falls, Bristol and, for 2011, Kannapolis.

In 2007, as pitching coach for the rookie Burlington Royals, Bautista commended his pitching staff for staying focused in a late August run, according to The Burlington Times News.

"The last week has been real (strong)," Bautista told The Times News. "The most important thing is that they're throwing a lot of strikes."

• Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, Associated Press, July 6, 1988: Bautista wins on five-hitter
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Baltimore Sun, June 19, 1989: Bautista Angry About Demotion
• Chicago Tribune, June 28, 1993: Cubs Set To Make A Move-Or Several
• Burlington Times News, Aug. 26, 2007: Royals string together success while preparing to wrap up season

More: 1990 Rochester Red Wings

1990 CMC Tally

Cards Featured: 523/880 - 59.4%
Players/Coaches Featured: 534

Made the Majors: 355 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:179-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 148-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Al Pacheco helped HS to state title game; Played two pro seasons

Al Pacheco's Opa-Locka Monsignor Pace High School was one win away from the Florida state championship game and, while Pacheco started off slow on the mound that hot day, he got them there, The Orlando Sentinel wrote.

Pacheco didn't pick up a strike out until the fourth inning. But that strike out signaled Opa-Locka's birth in the championship, Opa-Locka coach John Messina told The Sentinel.

"Once the fourth inning came and Al struck out two batters, I knew we had them,'' Messina told The Sentinel.

Pacheco went on to play college ball at the University of Miami and Florida International University and pro ball in the Cardinals organization.

But, after being taken by St. Louis in the 27th round of the draft, Pacheco's professional career turned out to be a brief one. He played in just two seasons and never got above high-A.

Pacheco's career, though, as many do, had roots in high school. By early May 1985, Pacheco was 9-4. He was already University of Miami bound.

His work was also well known to his opponents. That April 30, Pacheco went up against rival pitcher Joe Blasucci. Neither gave up an earned run, but Pacheco's Pace got the win.

"I knew (Pacheco) would throw good," Blasucci told The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "so I just went out there to throw strikes."

That next April, Pacheco, serving as a reliever, recorded his first collegiate victory. He worked 1.1 innings, giving up one hit and no runs, The Miami News wrote. By 1988, the junior Pacheco was working on his strikeouts, setting down five of the seven batters he faced in an early March game, The Sun-Sentinel wrote.

For his senior year, though, Pacheco transferred to Florida International University. It was from there that the Cardinals selected Pacheco.

Pacheco played his first professional season at rookie league Johnson City. Turned starter, he went 3-36, with a 3.57 ERA in 13 starts.

In his second, and what would turn out to be his final professional season, Pacheco got 22 outings, 18 of them starts, at single-A Savannah. He went 8-6, with a 3.90 ERA.

He also made high-A St. Petersburg, going 0-3 in four starts and a relief appearance. He gave up 14 earned runs in 10.2 innings of work. He didn't return for 1991.

Back in 1985, Pacheco's Pace High School went on to win the state championship. Helping get them there was Pacheco's pitching in that hot game May 9.

"It was so hot today that I didn't want to take a chance of throwing too much in the bullpen before the game,'' Pacheco told The Sentinel. ''It took me three innings to get loose. It wasn't until about the fourth inning that I really started feeling good out there.''

• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, May 1, 1985: Pace Tips South Broward With Help Of Unearned Run
  
• Orlando Sentinel, May 10, 1985: Pace Rolls Into AAA Final, 6-0
• Orlando Sentinel, May 10, 1985: Pacheco, Pace Provide Raffa With Dream Come True
• Miami News, April 30, 1986: It's a first for Hurricanes' Pacheco

More: The 1990 Savannah Cardinals

1990 CMC Tally

Cards Featured: 522/880 - 59.3%
Players/Coaches Featured: 533

Made the Majors: 354 - 66%
Never Made the Majors:179-34%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 147
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Geronimo Berroa got two-game ML record, saw 11 bigs seasons

It was a season in which Geronimo Berroa hit the most home runs of his major league career, 36. It was also a season where Berroa got himself into the record books.

Berroa hit six of those home runs in just two separate games, three in each. He was the 10th player to hit three home runs in a game twice in a season, The Associated Press wrote.

Berroa's explanation was a simple one: "I just swing hard, that's all."

Berroa had hit home runs before. Nearly a decade earlier, at AA Knoxville, he hit another 36. But at the major league level, he didn't see success until he hit 13 in 1994, then upped that to 22 in 1995.

By the time his career was over, Berroa had hit a total of 101 in the majors, in a career that spanned parts of 11 seasons.

Also, years after his career was over, came accusations that those home runs were not natural. In a 2006 affidavit, unsealed in December 2007, disgraced pitcher Jason Grimsley accused Berroa, among others, of using steroids. A response from Berroa to the accusations, though, could not be found by The Greatest 21 Days.

Berroa's career began years before that big home run year. It began in 1983, signed by the Blue Jays out of his native Dominican Republic. He didn't make AA until 1987, hitting those 36 home runs at Knoxville. He'd hit 21 the previous year at single-A Ventura County.

He made AAA for the first time in 1988 at Syracuse, hitting .280, but only eight home runs. Taken by the Braves that winter in the Rule 5 draft, Berroa made the big league club out of spring training and stayed with them through the year.

Berroa got into 81 games that year for Atlanta, hitting .265, with just two home runs. Over the next four seasons, though, Berroa got into just 34 total major league games, for the Braves, Reds and Marlins. He didn't play in the majors at all in 1991.

For 1994, he signed with the Athletics. He also started to become somebody. He hit .306 in 96 games for Oakland, also hitting those 13 home runs. He hit .278 in 1995, then .290 in 1996.

He had his first three home run game in May 1996, at Yankee Stadium. The New York Times noted that Yankee Stadium wasn't particularly conducive to right-handed hitting.

"Who said that?" Berroa responded to that notion to The Times. "You see the ball good here."

By 1997, Berroa was seen as a piece the Orioles needed to make their run, traded there in late June. He also helped the Orioles to the playoffs and to the ALCS. In the clinching game of the ALDS, Berroa hit a home run off Randy Johnson.

"It's hard on any player to get traded in the middle of the season," Berroa told The Baltimore Sun after the Orioles won their spot in the ALCS. "But if I was still with Oakland, I'd be home [in the Dominican Republic] now. This sure beats that."

Berroa's effectiveness, though, slipped after that. In 1998, he played 72 games for the Indians and the Tigers. He got just one home run. In 1999, he played just 22 games for the Blue Jays, hitting just one home run again, what turned out to be his last.

He played one final season in 2000 with the Dodgers, getting into only 22 games. He suffered a broken foot, fouling a ball off it. He never made it back.

Though a response to the steroid accusations couldn't be found, Berroa was out two months later, being honored for his play in the Caribbean Confederation Winter Leagues.

"This is such an honor to be here," Berroa told MLB.com. "I played hard every time I was out there and now I'm enjoying the fruits of my labor."

• New York Times, May 23, 1996: Berroa the Yankee Slayer Has a Night to Savor
  
• Deseret News, Associated Press, Aug. 13, 1996: McGwire, Berroa pound Twins into submission
• Baltimore Sun, Oct. 6, 1997: Berroa's stock soars against R. Johnson
• ESPN.com, Associated Press, Dec. 21, 2007: Contrary to report, Clemens, Pettitte not named in Grimsley affidavit
• MLB.com, Feb. 4, 2008: Notes: Ortiz' papi steals show

More: The 1990 Richmond Braves

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 521/880 - 59.2%
Players/Coaches Featured: 532
Made the Majors: 354 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:178-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 147-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Jose Mota, Special Day - 516

Dennis Rasmussen met Jose Mota on a rehabilitation assignment to AAA Las Vegas. They met again in the majors, Jose Mota called up in May 1991 as the Padres' newest second baseman, The Los Angeles Times wrote.

Mota's new friend took him under his wing, Mota told The Times.

"When I came here, he said, 'Jose, I saw you play in Las Vegas. Don't change,' " Mota told The Times. " 'I was there with you for four weeks. Don't think this game has to change when you come up here.' "

While Mota took Rasmussen's advice, his stay in the majors was a brief one. He played 17 games for the Padres that year, then two more five seasons later with the Royals, marking the extent of his major league career.

Mota's career in baseball, though, has continued, in the announcing booth of the Angels as both a Spanish language and English language broadcaster.

Mota's career began in 1985, taken in the second round of the draft by the White Sox. Mota's career also began as the son of former big leaguer Manny Mota. His brother Andy Mota also played.

Jose Mota, with his brothers spent time with their father at Dodger Stadium. That's also where Jose Mota learned to switch hit, The Times wrote.

"I used to spend five straight innings hitting nonstop in that cage every day of the summer," Jose Mota told The Times in August 1990. "My dad would take a glance at me once in a while."

Mota spent that first year largely at short-season Niagara Falls, but he also got a quick look at AAA Buffalo. At Buffalo, Mota got five hits in 18 at bats.

He spent the next year in the Rangers system, traded there in the off-season. Between AA Tulsa and AAA Oklahoma City, Mota hit .295. He arrived in the Dodgers system, his father's old team, in 1987, staying there through 1988.

Mota finally arrived with the team that would bring him to the majors, the Padres, in 1989, after passing through the system of another team, the Athletics. Mota played at AAA Las Vegas in 1990, then got his call to San Diego in 1991.

Mota was hitting .309 at Las Vegas when he was called, The Times wrote.

"It's a special day for me," Mota told The Times of his call up, "but I don't want to get caught up in the rah-rah thing. I want to help this club, and I think I can."

But Mota got just 17 games with the Padres, getting eight hits in 36 at bats. His final game came June 14.

Mota didn't get another opportunity until 1996. In the meantime, he played in the Royals system at AAA. He played at Omaha for five consecutive seasons. He finally got called back to the majors in 1996. He got into two games, his final major league game coming June 2.

Mota, though, still believed he could get back.

"I still believe in myself," Mota told The Times in August 1996. "I'm still hoping I can get a break if a job opens in the big leagues. I'm trying to stay positive about it. Being in the minor leagues doesn't discourage me, but I don't want to be around just for the heck of it."

Going to spring training with the Expos in 1997 and getting another AAA offer, Mota finally retired, The Times wrote.

Mota soon found himself in another baseball career, announcing. By 2002, Mota joined the Angels as the Spanish radio announcer. More recently, he's served as the English language analyst.

In 2007, Mota worked on the All-Star Game telecast, interviewing players in the American League dugout.

"This is a great honor," Mota told MLB.com. "The All-Star Game has great meaning, especially being in San Francisco, where my dad started his career with the Giants."

• Los Angeles Times, Aug. 12, 1990: Growing Up True Blue
• Los Angeles Times, May 25, 1991: Padres Fall to Houston in the Ninth
• Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1991: Mota's Skills Paying Off in Major-League Trial
• Los Angeles Times, June 6, 1991: Jose Mota's Roundabout Road Makes Stop in San Diego
• Los Angeles Times, Aug. 13, 1996: Still Hoping
• Los Angeles Times, June 10, 1997: Major League Quest Ends for Jose Mota
• MLB.com, July 5, 2007: Notes: Cabrera may get All-Star spot
• MLB.com: Angels Broadcasters

1990 CMC TallyCards Featured: 520/880 - 59.1%
Players/Coaches Featured: 531Made the Majors: 353 - 67%
Never Made the Majors:178-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 146
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Steve Adkins' major league career spanned five games

Steve Adkins thought he did well the previous year. He'd picked up 15 wins at AAA Columbus, then picked up another win and a six-inning bid for a no-hitter with the big club in the Bronx.

So, in spring 1991, when he was quickly sent to minor league camp, Adkins believed the Yankees hadn't given him a fair shot. He didn't think they would ever give him a shot.

"The best way to make the rotation here is to be traded, make the rotation somewhere else and come back here as a free agent," Adkins told The South Florida Sun-Sentinel after the demotion. "If you have a bad game and aren't making $2 million a year, you can't pitch in the big leagues."

Adkins did eventually get traded, that June to the Cubs. But Adkins never got back to the Yankees, or made the majors, again.

Adkins' career began in 1986, taken by the Yankees in the 15th round of the draft, out of the University of Pennsylvania. He played that first year at short-season Oneonta, going 8-2 in 14 outings.

He played 1987 largely at single-A Prince William, then hit AA Albany-Colonie in 1989. In 16 starts at Albany, Atkins went 12-1, with a 2.07 ERA. The New York Times noted that Atkins struck out 14 in one early July 1989 outing.

"If Adkins gets his knuckle curve over, Adkins can pitch anywhere," Albany pitching coach Russ Meyer told The Times.

The next year, at Columbus, Adkins did as well. He went 15-7, with a 2.90 ERA. He also got a September call up to the majors.

Adkins debuted Sept. 12. He didn't give up a hit, but he did give up eight walks and he was pulled before the second inning was out. His knuckleball just wasn't working.

Two weeks later, though, Adkins had a more legitimate no-hit bid. He went six innings against the Brewers, before giving up a hit to Greg Vaughn.

"I really wasn't upset because I made a bad pitch and he hit it hard," Adkins told The Associated Press. "It wasn't a little squibber through the infield. There was a little relief."

Adkins' last outing came Oct. 3, against Detroit. This time, he gave up seven hits. He also gave up seven earned runs. One of those hits was Cecil Fielder's 50th home run of the year. Adkins finished with five starts and a 1-2 record. His ERA was 6.38.

While Adkins hoped for his shot to return to the majors in 1991, he didn't get it. He started at AAA Columbus, then moved to AAA Iowa after his mid-season trade. He stayed at Iowa through 1992, posting a 6.13 ERA that year with a 7-13 record.

He moved to the White Sox and Blue Jays systems in 1993, then the Orioles system in 1994. But he never got back to the majors.

• New York Times, July 26, 1989: The Yankees Who Are Virtually Unbeatable
• New York Times, Sept. 13, 1990: Wild Debut For a Yank
• Norwalk Hour, Associated Press, Sept. 29, 1990: Adkins nearly hurls no-hitter
• Gadsden Times, Associated Press, Oct. 4, 1990: Fielder finishes with 51 home runs
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 21, 1991: Yanks' Adkins Demoted, Says He Wants Trade

More: The 1990 Columbus Clippers

1990 CMC Tally

Cards Featured: 520/880 - 59.1%
Players/Coaches Featured: 531 
Made the Majors: 353 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:178-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 146
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Johnny Guzman made majors maybe too early, saw 7 ML games

The Oakland Athletics added some veterans to its pitching staff for 1992, Oakland general manager Sandy Alderson told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram that March.

The aim, Alderson told The Star-Telegram, was to protect younger pitchers in the Oakland system from being rushed.

"We don't want to be in position where we have to rush anybody," Alderson told The Star-Telegram. We saw enough of that last year (when youngsters Bruce Walton, Johnny Guzman and John Briscoe were force-fed because of injuries) that we don't want to see it again."

One of those pitchers, Johnny Guzman, saw his major league debut the previous June at the young age of 20. But, in five relief outings, totaling five innings of work, Guzman gave up five earned runs and 11 hits.

Guzman got just two more major league outings in 1992, marking the end of his brief big league career.

Guzman's professional career began in 1988, signed by the Athletics as a free agent out the Dominican Republic. He played that first year in the Arizona Rookie League. In 16 outings, his ERA of 8.61.

He divided 1989 between a number of teams, short-season Southern Oregon, single-A Madison and Modesto. He also spent time in the Arizona Instructional League, sent back there in May. He was 0-2 with Modesto and he needed to strengthen his arm, The Modesto Bee wrote.

Between Southern Oregon, Modesto and Madison, Guzman went 6-6, with a 3.61 ERA, used largely as a starter.

Guzman split 1990 between Modesto and AA Huntsville. In 29 starts that year, Guzman collected a 2.84 ERA. At Huntsville in June, Guzman got his first win there, going six innings, giving up two hits. In July, Guzman went 6.2 innings, giving up three runs in a loss.

He played 1991 between Huntsville, AAA Tacoma and, more importantly, Oakland. With Tacoma, Guzman went 2-5 with a 6.78 ERA in 17 outings. That ERA took a hit in May when he went 3.2 innings in relief and, hung out to dry with the game already out of control, gave up 12 earned runs.

Still, injuries in the majors led to Guzman's call up in June. In his debut, Guzman gave up a run-scoring single to the only batter he faced. He got his first and, what would turn out to be his only win a couple days later. He again faced just one batter, but got credit for the win.

In late June, Guzman gave up seven hits and three runs to the Red Sox in two innings of work. Guzman spent the rest of the season in the minors.

He returned in 1992, getting two more outings in June, his final two in the majors. In three innings of work, Guzman gave up four earned runs. He gave up those four earned runs against the Twins in two innings June 27. His last outing came the next day, with an inning of work and two more hits given up.

Guzman's career lasted just one more season. He got 20 outings, 16 of them starts, at AAA Tacoma. His ERA that year hit 7.32, marking the end of his career at the age of 22.

• Modesto Bee, May 1, 1989: Sakata at loss after Li'l A's latest loss
  
• Eugene Register-Guard, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 7, 1992: Van Poppel in no hurry to leave farm

More: The 1990 Modesto Athletics

More: The 1990 Huntsville Stars

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 519/880 - 59.0%
Players/Coaches Featured: 530
Made the Majors: 352 - 66%-X
Never Made the Majors:178-34%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 146
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Phil Bryant helped college team to title, saw 5 pro seasons

Lubbock Christian University won the NAIA national championship in 2009, marking the first time the school had won the NAIA World Series since 1983.

Phil Bryant was a member of that 1983 team. He quickly congratulated members of the 2009 squad.

"I'm even more excited for these guys than I anticipated," Bryant told The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal after the win.

Bryant's hand in the Lubbock Christian 1983 title became part of a successful college career, one successful enough for the Rangers to sign him as an undrafted free agent.

His professional career began in 1987, but lasted just four seasons. He made it to AAA, but never made it to the majors.

At Lubbock Christian University, Bryant went 7-4 in that championship year as a freshman. He went 10-0 his second. He also lettered all four years, according to The Avalanche-Journal.

As a pro, Bryant played his first season at single-A Gastonia. There, Bryant went 9-11, with a 5.31 ERA. He got one of his wins in an early April game, going six innings and striking out seven. In late July, Bryant went 5.2 innings, giving up three earned runs, getting a no-decision. One run came on the first pitch he threw, giving up a home run, The Charleston News and Courier wrote.

Bryant moved on to single-A Port Charlotte in 1988, going 4-2 as a reliever in 35 outings. He also posted a 2.41 ERA and earned a trip to AA Tulsa for 1989.

At Tulsa, Bryant went 6-5 in 32 outings. Seven of those outings were starts. His ERA, though, went back up to 5.25.

In 1990, the final year of his four in pro baseball, Bryant spent time at both Tulsa and AAA Oklahoma City. He posted a 3.38 ERA at Tulsa in 19 outings. He then got 14 total outings, nine of them starts, at AAA, posting an ERA of 5.90.

Bryant came back for one more year, half a decade later as Bryant started six games for his independent hometown team the Lubbock Crickets, finally ending his career.

After his 1990 season, though, Bryant started work as a coach, at his old university. He served as pitching coach there from 1991 to 1994, according to The Avalanche-Journal.

Bryant has also spent time coaching high school baseball, at Lubbock Christian High. In 2005, Bryant's team made it to the state tournament on a 29-6 record.

"What I challenged these guys to do today is to play great, regardless of who our opponent is," Bryant told The Avalanche-Journal. "I asked our guys to play great - not good enough, but great. I thought we had some great at-bats today, I thought we made some great pitches and defensively, we played great."

• Charleston News and Courier, July 28, 1987: Rainbows Manufacture Run To Beat Gastonia
  
• Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, May 7, 2002: Graham, Barnett become formidable duo
• Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, May 4, 2005: Easy win sends Eagles to state tourney
• Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, June 2, 2009: Fans, students celebrate NAIA national championship for the second straight year

More: The 1990 Tulsa Drillers

1990 CMC Tally 
Cards Featured: 518/880 - 58.9%
Players/Coaches Featured: 529 
Made the Majors: 351 - 66%
Never Made the Majors:178-34%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 146
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Todd Hall, Endorsement Deal - 747

Todd Hall had his own basic way of breaking in his gloves.

The gloves he got as part of a small minor league endorsement deal with Rawlings, two came each year, Hall recalled to The Lima News in 2009.

"I heard of guys soaking them in shaving cream or hanging them in the shower," Hall told The News. "I put oil on it, put a ball in there, wrapped it up and casually broke it in. I wasn’t going to put a $200 glove soaking in the shower."

While Hall got his endorsement deal gloves in the minors - and got an endorsed glove prominently onto at least one baseball card - he never got an endorsement deal in the majors, or any above AA. His career lasted just five seasons, ending without him making the majors.

Hall's career began in 1986, taken by the White Sox in the 14th round of the draft, out of Bowling Green State University.

He played his first season in the rookie Gulf Coast League. The pitcher went 6-2 there, with a 2.22 ERA. He also struck out 58 in 73 innings of work.

In 1987, Hall moved to single-A Peninsula. He went 8-6, with a 4.26 ERA. He was 3-1, with a 3.38 ERA by mid-May. That's when Hall got a call-up, kind of. The single-A pitcher was called up to pitch in the White Sox-Cubs exhibition game that month.

Hall stayed in single-A for the next two seasons, at single-A Tampa in 1988 and Sarasota in 1989. He posted a 4.15 ERA with Tampa, mainly as a reliever. Returning to starting at Sarasota, Hall went 7-7, with a 3.13 ERA.

Hall picked up one Sarasota win in July, going eight innings, giving up two runs. A week later, he threw a four-hitter in a 7-2 win, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel wrote.

In late August, there was talk a Hall brush-back was something more. But Hall told The Sarasota Herald-Tribune it was nothing more than good pitching.

"You try to work someone who crowds the plate like that," Hall told The Herald-Tribune. "That's what a pitcher does on this level, on any level in the majors."

Hall got just one more year, though, making AA Birmingham in 1990. There, Hall served as a reliever again, with a 4.19 ERA in 33 outings.

• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Aug. 3, 1989: White Sox's Hall Stops Expos 7-2
• Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Aug. 26, 1989: Blosser's Return Big Hit With Fans, Part 2
• Dayton Daily News, March 12, 1995: 1 dream ends, another lives (search archives)
• Lima News, July 18, 2009: The perfect fit

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 517/880 - 58.8%
Players/Coaches Featured: 528
Made the Majors: 351 - 67%
Never Made the Majors:177-33%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 146
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Jerry Goff, Dreamt It - 63

Expos manager Buck Rodgers was looking for a walk or a single from Jerry Goff, The Associated Press wrote.

He instead got a home run, a game-winning home run in that June 1990 contest. It was also Goff's first home run in the majors.

"I wasn't thinking anything," Goff told The AP wrote. "It's not that I haven't dreamt it a million times, hitting a home run in the ninth inning to win a game. It just so happens that this was the day."

The catcher would go on to hit three home runs in 52 games with Montreal that year, the first of six seasons in which he would see time in the majors.

In terms of games played, though, Goff's major league career was already more than half over with the close of his rookie season. Goff's big league career ended in 1996, with a total of 90 games played.

Goff's career has continued in semi-pro ball and youth coaching in his home state of California, all while starting a post-playing career as a firefighter.

Goff's professional career began in 1986, taken by the Mariners in the third round of the draft out of the University of California.

Goff played that first year at short-season Bellingham and the next at single-A Wausau. He made AA Vermont in 1988, then AAA Calgary in 1989. For 1990, he was traded to the Expos for Pat Pacillo.

With the Expos in 1990, Goff started off strong. On April 8, he had eight RBIs. The next month, he got called up to the majors.

In his 52 games for the Expos that year, Goff hit .227, with three home runs. He also couldn't match the RBI total he'd had in AAA, in that single game in April. He got just seven major league RBIs total.

Goff next made the majors in 1992, just three games and three at-bats for the Expos. He didn't get a hit. He signed for 1993 with the Pirates, getting into 14 games with Pittsburgh.

In 1994, he made the Pirates out of spring training, the first time he'd done so. For Goff, it was extra special, the opener was in San Francisco and his grandfather got to see him, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote.

"One of the reasons making the team is so special to me is because it's important to him," Goff told The Post-Gazette.

Goff's stay, though, wasn't long. He was back in the minors by the end of April, getting into just eight games. He got just two hits in 25 at-bats.

Signing with the Astros for 1995, Goff made Houston for 12 contests, knocking in the winning run in a July 7 contest. That came directly after being called up. "I was thrown right in there. I don't know anybody on the team except a couple of guys from Tucson," Goff told The AP.

His final major league playing time came in 1996, playing a single game. It was not so much notable because it would be his last game, but for the passed balls. The last passed ball marked his sixth of the game and it tied the record.

"It was ugly," Goff told The AP. "After the first one got by, I got a little tentative. It just snowballed from there."

Goff's professional days ended in 1997, playing independent ball in Amarillo. By 2001, Goff was serving as a firefighter, but still playing. He was playing semipro ball for the Novato Knicks in Marin County, Ca, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

In 2008, Goff was coaching in Babe Ruth, taking his team to the state tournament in Eureka, according to The Marin Independent Journal.

"It's such a great experience for the kids," Goff told The Independent Journal. "These are lifelong memories that they're making. To travel all the way up to Eureka, and you stay as long as you keep winning, it doesn't get much better. Twenty years from now when these guys see each other I'll bet that will be one of the topics of the conversation."

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Associated Press, June 27, 1990: Expos topple Cubs
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 4, 1994: 4 Pirates savor first big-league opener
• Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, July 7, 1995: National League Roundup
• Lumberton Robesonian, Associated Press, May 13, 1996: Grace, Goff have memorable days
• San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 3, 2001: For the love of the game
• Marin Independent Journal, July 11, 2008: Novato Babe Ruth squad survives to play in NorCal tourney

1990 CMC TallyCards Featured: 516/880 - 58.6%
Players/Coaches Featured: 527Made the Majors: 351 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:176-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 146-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117

Tim Scott, Didn't Mind - 411

The Greatest 21 Days caught up with Tim Scott in July 2012, read the two-part interview: Tim Scott, Started Throwing

Tim Scott was selected for the all-star game in 1992, but he hoped he wouldn't be there, he told The Los Angeles Times.

His expected excuse? He was in the majors. The AAA contest would go on without him.

"I don't mind that a bit," Scott told The Times. "It was a big honor to make it. I've never made an all-star team before in my eight seasons, but I'll be happy to miss this one."

Scott was in as good a position to enjoy his time in the majors as good as anyone. In those eight seasons, Scott had only made the majors for the first time the year before.

Scott's time in the majors, though, continued through 1997, his playing career through 2002. His career with baseball has also gone on, as the coach for his old high school.

Scott's professional career began in 1984, taken by the Dodgers in the second round of the draft out of Hanford High in California. He spent that first year at rookie league Great Falls, moving to single-A Bakersfield in 1985.

He got his first look at AA in 1987, a two-game stint at San Antonio. He made AAA for the first time in 1990 with 17 relief appearances, posting a 4.20 ERA.

Scott's major league debut came the next June, with the Padres. He'd signed with San Diego the previous off-season. He got two appearances, together totaling a single inning of work, giving up one earned run.

The next year, though, Scott got into more games. He got into 34, with a 5.26 ERA on the year. Some of Scott's worst outings were his early ones, with a 7.36 ERA in his first seven. Coming back in July after a trip to AAA, Scott worked to correct the problem, The Times wrote.

"I don't know if I'm trying to give (major league hitters) too much credit or what," Scott told The Times in July. "From now on, I'm going to go right after them and see what they can do."

In 1993, Scott got into 56 games, he was also traded mid-year to the Expos. Between the two, Scott's ERA improved to 3.01.

Scott stayed with the Expos into 1996, posting a 2.70 ERA in the team's strike-shortened run in 1994. That year in 1996 saw Scott's most playing time. Traded to the Giants, Scott got into 65 games, 20 with his new club.

But, despite that success, Scott suffered from shoulder problems, The Baltimore Sun wrote. Signing with his old team, the Padres, to start the year, he joined the Rockies in late May.

It was with the Rockies that Scott pitched his last game. Placed on waivers, he was claimed by the Mariners. But he suffered a sore elbow, never playing for Seattle, or in the majors, again.

Scott continued playing in the minors, in affiliated and independent ball, through 2002. By August 2002, Scott was serving as a player/coach with independent Solano.

Scott has since returned to his hometown, coaching the high school team that he once played for.

"You don't think about coaching during your playing days," Scott told The Hanford Sentinel in May 2011. "I get a thrill out of seeing the players progress and teaching them to play the right way. The fundamentals to the game don't change from the youth level to the major league level. And if we win, it's just a bonus."

• Los Angeles Times, July 6, 1992: Padres Call Up Scott From Stars
  
• Los Angeles Times, July 10, 1992: It's One All-Star Contest Tim Scott Is Happy to Miss
• Beaver County Times, Associated Press, July 14, 1997: Scott's injury may mean trouble for Colorado
• Hanford Sentinel, May 17, 2011: A family affair

1990 CMC Tally 
Cards Featured: 515/880 - 58.5%
Players/Coaches Featured: 526 
Made the Majors: 350 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:176-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 145-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 117