Dave Eiland, Part of the Game - 202

Dave Eiland was in a forgiving mood, especially after seeing the Yankees bullpen fail to hold what would have been his first major league win.

Eiland went seven innings in that August 1988 contest, leaving with a 5-1 lead. Eiland's Yankees lost 6-5.

"It's happened to me before," Eiland told The New York Times. "That could have been me out there. It's part of the game. It happens."

Eiland went on to see time in 10 major league seasons, starting 70 big league games. But wins would be at a premium, he would only pick up 12.

Eiland, though, would go on to oversee many more wins, as pitching coach for the team that first brought him to the majors, the Yankees. Eiland's three season stint there also included overseeing a world title.

Eiland's career began in 1987, taken by the Yankees in the seventh round out of the University of Florida. He split that first year between short-season Oneonta and single-A Fort Lauderdale.

In his second season, Eiland hit AA Albany, AAA Columbus and got that first start in the Bronx. With the Yankees that year, Eiland got three starts and no decisions. His second and third starts were less successful, totaling 5.2 innings and eight runs given up.

Eiland returned for six more starts in 1989, getting his first win against three losses. Eiland got five starts in 1990, going 1-2. That September, Eiland got another hard-luck no decision, throwing 8.1 innings of shutout ball. The Yankees, though, couldn't score either.

''You can't pitch any better than he pitched,'' Yankee manager Stump Merrill told The Times after that September 1990 outing.

In 1991, Eiland got into 18 games, 13 starts. He also went 2-5, with a 5.33 ERA. He was also released that next off-season, signing with the Padres for 1992.

Eiland got seven starts for the Padres that year, going 0-2, with a 5.67 ERA. He also got one home run, in is first major league at bat that April. "I couldn't believe it," Eiland told reporters of the home run. "Strange things happen."

Nine more starts for the Padres in 1993 and Eiland was back to the minors until 1995. That year, back with the Yankees, Eiland got a single start and three relief appearances.

Then came two more seasons back in the minors. In 1998, Eiland returned to the majors, in a single start for Tampa Bay. That he didn't get more opportunities that year, upset Eiland, according to The Orlando Sentinel. He went 13-5 at AAA Durham with a 2.99 ERA.

"I think I've been labeled by some people,'' Eiland told The Sentinel. "You reach a certain age and everyone thinks you stop improving and you can't do the job."

Eiland, though, didn't do well in that one start, giving up six earned runs in 2.2 innings. It also came against the Yankees. In 1999 Eiland got more time, 15 starts, the most of his major league career.

Going into that year, Eiland also got some screen time, serving as a pitching double for Kevin Costner in the movie For the Love of the Game, The Sentinel wrote.

Eiland finished out his big league career in 2000, with 17 appearances, 10 starts. He went 2-3, with a 7.24 ERA for the Devil Rays.

Eiland's post-playing career began by 2003, back with the Yankees. He coached that year in the Gulf Coast League, moving to short-season Staten Island for 2004. He hit AA Trenton in 2005, AAA Scranton in 2007 and arrived back in the Bronx in 2008. Eiland stayed through 2010, when he was dismissed.

"Dave spent his entire coaching career with the Yankees organization, and there is little doubt the impact he had on a great number of pitchers during his tenure," Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters in a statement after Eiland's dismissal.

"He was a passionate and knowledgeable pitching coach on the major league level," Girardi added in the statement, "and he played a valuable role in our team's achievements in recent years. I wish him continued success moving forward as his baseball career continues to evolve."

• New York Times, Aug. 4, 1988: Eiland's Debut Is Ruined As Righetti Blows Lead
• New York Times, Sept. 11, 1990: Eiland's Effort Is Wasted
• Reading Eagle, news services, April 12, 1992: First at-bat memorable for Padres hurler Eiland
• Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 26, 1998: Former Team Pounds Tampa Bay's Eiland
• Orlando Sentinel, March 19, 1999: Costner Turns To Eiland
• ESPN.com, Oct. 26, 2010: Yankees fire Dave Eiland

1990 CMC Tally

Cards Featured: 578/880 - 65.7%
Players/Coaches Featured: 589

Made the Majors: 396 - 67%
Never Made the Majors:193-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 171
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 124

Darren Reed, Resulting Injury - 376

Called into Mets manager Bud Harrelson's office at the close of spring training 1991, Darren Reed thought he was being told he'd made the team. Instead, he'd been traded, to the Expos, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel wrote.

The news from Harrelson came with a bit of optimism for the outfielder who'd gotten just 26 big league games in his seven seasons as a pro.

"Bud told me that I'd be a fifth outfielder," Reed told The Sun-Sentinel, "and I would get a lot of playing time."

That optimism soon came to an abrupt end. Days after the trade, Reed took an Alejandro Pena fastball off his left hand. The resulting injury put him out for the year, and left a plate in his wrist.

Reed made it back for 1992, getting into 56 games for the Expos and the Twins, but that and the 26 games he played for the Mets in 1990, proved to be the extent of his big league playing time.


Reed's career began in 1984, taken by the Yankees in the third round of the June secondary draft out of Ventura College in California. Reed played that first year at short-season Oneonta, hitting single-A Fort Lauderdale in 1985. He hit AA Albany-Colonie in 1986.

In 1987, Reed returned to Albany, getting a look at AAA Columbus. Between them, he hit .321, with 26 home runs. Then he was traded.

In December, the Yankees sent Reed to the Mets in a five-player deal that sent Rafael Santana to the Yankees. It was a trade The Boss hesitated to make, The New York Times wrote, fearing Reed might become a slugger for his new team.

Reed's new team, though, ended up being AAA Tidewater. In 1988, he hit just .241, with nine home runs. He hit .268 there in 1989, with just four home runs. In 1990, he hit .265, his home run total increasing back to 17.

He also finally debuted in Queens in May, then returned for August and September. In 26 games, 39 at bats, Reed hit just .205, with one home run.

Part of his big league stint, though, was simply sitting on the bench. Back at Tidewater in June, Reed told The Newport News Daily Press he was happy to be playing again. But it still wasn't the majors.

"I want to play and I want to put up some good numbers here," Reed told The Daily Press. "But I've also been here for awhile. I'm at the point where I might not mind going up and sitting."

Going into 1991, though, Reed made his big for a more permanent spot on the Mets roster. He also made clear that he would choose free agency if he were sent back down to the minors again, The Times wrote.

"I don't blame him," Mets coach Mike Cubbage told The Times. "When we got him, he was one of the youngest kids we had in spring training in 1988. But he's probably made more progress in his total game as anyone else in the organization over the last three years. He's a total package. I'm sure there are lots of teams that could use him."

Then came the trade to the Expos, and the pitch that broke his hand.

Out all of 1991, Reed returned to play 42 games for Montreal in 1992, hitting .173. Traded to the Twins for September, Reed got into 14 final games, hitting .182 in 33 at bats.

That November, Reed returned to the Mets. But he couldn't return to the majors.

Missing all of 1993 due to another injury, Reed returned for parts of three more seasons in the minors, including a stint in replacement ball in spring 1995 with the Braves. His career finally ended in 1996, with 54 games in the independent Northern League, with the Duluth-Superior Dukes.

• New York Times, Dec. 13, 1987: Glasnost For Mets, Yankees
• Newport News Daily Press, June 15, 1990: Torrid Reed Triggers Tides' 7-2 Triumph
• New York Times, March 21, 1991: For Reed, Steady Steps to Be A Met
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, April 3, 1991: Mets Deal Spring Phenom Reed To Expos
• New York Times, April 5, 1991: Reed's Wrist Is Fractured
• New York Times, Nov. 19, 1992: Trade by Mets Puts Reed Back Where He Started

1990 CMC TallyCards Featured: 578/880 - 65.7%
Players/Coaches Featured: 589Made the Majors: 396 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:193-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 171
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 124

Travis Fryman, Blue Collar - 395

Speaking of new Tiger Travis Fryman, Detroit manager Sparky Anderson told The Associated Press in August 1990 that Fryman reminded him of another Tiger, Alan Trammell.

Trammell had the talent and he used that to be a great ballplayer, Anderson told The AP.

"He's going to hit 20 homers," Anderson told The AP of Fryman. "There's no stopping him from that, with his strength and fast hands."

Before Fryman's career was out, after 13 seasons in the majors, Fryman would hit 20 home runs or more seven times. He also made five All-Star teams, won a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove.

The Gold Glove came in 2000, at third base, a position Fryman moved to early in his career from shortstop. The move was necessitated as the Tigers' shortstop position, aside from injuries, was already taken by the player Fryman reminded Anderson of, Alan Trammell.

Fryman's career began in 1987, taken by the Tigers in the first round out of high school in Pensacola, Fl. He played that year at rookie Bristol, hit AA London in 1989 and then AAA Toledo and Detroit in 1990.

Fryman debuted in Detroit July 7, going on to get into 66 games for the Tigers. He hit .297, with nine home runs. Fryman returned to Detroit for all of 1991, hitting .259, along with his first 20 home run season, hitting 21 and knocking in 91 runs.

He hit another 20 home runs in 1992, while knocking in another 96 runs. He also picked up his first All-Star nod. He also received praise later that month from Tiger brass for his hitting, and his work ethic.

"Travis Fryman is an example of what hard work can do," Tigers VP for player development and procurement Joe McDonald told The AP. "Travis simply made himself into a good hitter."

After another All-Star season in 1993, the Tigers moved to lock Fryman up long term, Tigers GM Jerry Walker telling The AP that Fryman was "one of the game's legitimate young superstars."

That 1993 season saw Fryman hit .300, with 22 home runs and 97 RBIs. With the new contract, came the expectations. Fryman, though, told The Orlando Sentinel he looked forward to the next game, not necessarily the next year.

"That's as far as I get," Fryman told The Sentinel. "To me, being a professional ballplayer is about developing your skills to a point where year in and year out, there are certain things you can count on."

Fryman continued developing those skills with the Tigers through 1997. His final two years with Detroit saw Fryman hit the 100 mark for RBIs each season.

For 1998, Fryman arrived with the Indians, by way of the Diamondbacks. In his first year with the Indians, Fryman hit .287, with a career-high 28 home runs. Starting 1999, Fryman went on an 11-19 run, including a three-run, game-winning home run in the Indians' home opener.

"When I hit it, I knew it had won the game for us," Fryman told reporters afterward. "I'll always remember this. There's nothing like winning on Opening Day in extra innings."

In June 2000, Fryman hit two home runs in one game. After hitting just 10, including that April game-winner, the year before, Fryman hit 22 for the Indians in 2000. He also picked up that Gold Glove.

By 2002, though, shoulder problems and declining numbers led to Fryman's retirement after 13 seasons.

"I've always considered myself a blue-collar type of player and an overachiever," Fryman told reporters after making his announcement. "I only hope that people thought I gave my best effort out there."

Since retiring, Fryman served three seasons as manager of the Indians' short-season club at Mahoning Valley, serving there from 2008 through 2010.

• Owosso Argus-Press, Associated Press, Aug. 24, 1990: Kidding aside, Fryman gets job done
• Gainesville Sun, Associated Press, July 28, 1992: Home not so sweet for Travis Fryman
• Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Associated Press, Nov. 3, 1993: Fryman signs with Tigers for 5 years
• Orlando Sentinel, March 11, 1994: For Tigers' Fryman, The Future Is Now
• CNN.com, Ticker, April 12, 1999: AL Recap (Kansas City-Cleveland)
• CNN.com, Ticker, Aug. 28, 2002: Indians' Fryman announces retirement plans in Detroit

1990 CMC TallyCards Featured: 577/880 - 65.6%
Players/Coaches Featured: 588Made the Majors: 395 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:193-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 171-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 124

Kevin Dean, More Fortunate - 625

Taken first overall by the Expos the year before, the pressure was on Kevin Dean and Dean knew it, Dean told The South Florida Sun-Sentinel in June 1987.

Just 19 years old, Dean was hitting .286 at class-A West Palm Beach.

"They expect a lot out of you, but you can only do so much," Dean told The Sun-Sentinel. "I always have a lot of pressure on me, (but) I'm just like other players. I was just more fortunate to get drafted No.1."

Dean, though, was never fortunate enough to make the majors. He made AAA Indianapolis in 1989, but he never made Montreal or any other big league club.

Dean's career began in 1986, with his selection by the Expos 15th overall out of Hogan High School in Vallejo, Calif.

Dean played that first year in the rookie Gulf Coast League, hitting .309 in 51 games. He also stole 16. At West Palm Beach, Dean hit .288 on the year, with 10 home runs and 24 stolen bases.

In late April, Dean scored three runs, going 2 for 2 in a West Palm Beach win. The next month, he hit a two-run home run to help extend a team winning streak.

Dean moved to AA Jacksonville in 1988, his average dropping to .256. At AAA Indianapolis in 1989, Dean's average dropped further, to .215. By July, he was traded to the Braves, one of three players sent to Atlanta for Zane Smith.

By May 1990, Dean arrived in the Astros system, where he would stay through the end of his career in 1992.

The former top pick split time between the Astros' AA and AAA clubs for much of three seasons. His career ended that year in 1992 with 79 games at AA Jackson and 35 at AAA Tucson.

• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, June 7, 1987: Majors Seem Foreign

1990 CMC TallyCards Featured: 576/880 - 65.5%
Players/Coaches Featured: 587Made the Majors: 394 - 67%
Never Made the Majors:193-33%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 170
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 124

Hipolito Pena, All the Same - 206

Hipolito Pena wasn't nervous for his first major league appearance, he told The Pittsburgh Press after that September 1986 game.

He'd pitched in front of big crowds in his native Dominican Republic, and in spring training. He'd also gotten some advice from the Pirates' minor league pitching coach, Spin Williams, he told The Press.

"Spin Williams told me," Pena told The Press, "minor leagues, big leagues, it's all the same."

For Pena, though, it wasn't exactly the same. Called up from AA Nashua, where he posted a 3.55 ERA on the season. In the majors, Pena gave up eight earned runs in 8.1 innings.

His big league career lasted just two more seasons, 16 appearances each. Pena, though, continued pitching in the minors and independent ball through 1996, his 14th season as a pro.

Pena's career began in 1981, signed by the Brewers as a free agent, out of his native Dominican Republic. He played that first year at rookie Butte, his second at rookie Pikeville.

Pena didn't make AA until that year in 1986, the one where he first made the majors. At Nashua, Pena got into 31 games, 12 of them starts. In his third start in early July, Pena worked five innings, giving up no runs before being lifted for a pinch-hitter.

After his September call-up in 1986, Pena returned for 16 more outings in 1987. He gave up 13 earned runs in 25.2 innings of work. Pena returned in late July, after being sent back to AAA earlier in the year. The Pirates hoped he would do better upon his return.

"We told him he had underestimated his fastball and thrown too many palmballs," Pirates GM Syd Thrift told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We sent him back down there to correct that, and he did."

Pena pitched his final major league games in 1988 with the Yankees, traded there at the close of spring training. In his 16 games in the Bronx, Pena gave up five earned runs in 14.1 innings of work.

Pena stayed with the Yankees through 1991, playing mostly at AAA Columbus. He played for the Tigers and Mets AAA clubs in 1992, then returned for two final seasons in independent ball at Albany and Adirondack.

• Pittsburgh Press, Sept. 2, 1986: Pirates a dream for some, Part 2
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 28, 1987: Pitching change, Part 2

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 575/880 - 65.3%
Players/Coaches Featured: 586
Made the Majors: 394 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:192-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 170
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 124-X

Greg Smith, Worked Hard - 88

Glenelg High baseball coach Terry Coleman tried in 1993 to put his current player Brian Boteler's work ethic in perspective by referencing one of his players from a decade earlier, Greg Smith, according to The Baltimore Sun.

"Not since we had Greg Smith," Coleman told The Sun, "has anyone worked as hard as Brian."

Smith took that work ethic, working his way through the minor leagues and making the majors for parts of three seasons. Those parts, though, consisted of all of 27 big league games.

Though he was still playing at AAA, by the time Coleman spoke to The Sun in 1993, it had already been two years since what ultimately became Smith's final major league appearance.

Smith's professional career began in 1985, taken by the Cubs in the second round of the draft, directly out of Glenelg High School in Maryland.

Smith started that first season at rookie Wytheville, hitting .235 in 51 games. He moved to single-A Peoria in 1986, staying there for 1987. He hit .270 in his second campaign in Peoria, and .280 in 1988 at single-A Winston-Salem.

At Winston-Salem, Smith, a switch-hitter, was called one of the bright spots on the team by The Chicago Tribune. In 1989, Smith made AA Charlotte. He hit .296 with five home runs. He also earned a September call-up to Chicago.

Smith made Chicago after making the Southern League All-Star team. That May, Smith had two-straight three-hit games, getting noticed by his Charlotte manager Jim Essian, the manager noting to The Rock Hill Herald that Smith "is on fire."

Called up Sept. 1, Smith found himself in the middle of the Cubs' 1989 pennant race. He also found himself getting into just four games. In five at bats, he got two hits and two RBIs. The two RBIs came Sept. 27 at Montreal, the game after the Cubs clinched.

Smith returned to Chicago for 1990, starting with the team in April and not getting back until September. He got into 18 games, nine hits in 44 at bats. In September, Smith drove in three runs in one game, of his total of five on the season.

Mainly a second baseman, Smith soon found himself being looked at by other teams. The Cubs already had a second baseman in Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. In May, the Yankees looked at him. In December, the Dodgers traded for him.

"He is hard-nosed, he is a battler, he runs well," Dodgers VP Fred Claire told The Los Angeles Times after the trade, adding, "Everybody we talk to likes him a lot."

Smith, though, only got into five games with the Dodgers in 1991, ending his big league career. The player sent to the Cubs in the deal, Jose Vizcaino, played through 2006.

Smith continued playing through 1995. He played 1992 with the Tigers at AAA Toledo, 1993 back with the Cubs at AAA Iowa and then 1994 with the Brewers at AAA New Orleans.

Smith finished out his 11-season career in 1995 with stops at the Brewers, Orioles and Reds' AAA clubs.

• Rock Hill Herald, May 17, 1989: Knights bat down Lookouts
• Los Angeles Times, Dec. 15, 1990: Dodgers Trade Vizcaino to Cubs for Top Prospect
• Baltimore Sun, June 9, 1993: Boteler's effort, ability resulted in dream season

1990 CMC TallyCards Featured: 574/880 - 65.2%
Players/Coaches Featured: 585Made the Majors: 393 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:192-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 170
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 123-X

Scott Centala showed he could throw in 6 seasons, AAA

Making the jump from short-season to AA for 1990, Scott Centala pitched well. He also pitched especially well for a pitcher moving from relief into starting, going 11-8 at AA Memphis that year, with a 3.22 ERA.

"I felt like I could throw at this level," Centala told The Memphis Commercial Appeal, according to The Eugene Register-Guard. "It was just a matter of getting an opportunity and taking advantage of it."

Despite the success, and the introduction later to the knuckleball, Centala never got the opportunity to have success in the majors. His affiliated career lasted just four seasons, getting as high as AAA, but never making the majors.

Centala has since continued in a different form of the game, as a coach and instructor of softball.

Centala's career began in 1989, taken by the Royals in the 15th round of the draft out of Texas A&M. He played that first year at Eugene, getting 27 outings in relief, posting a 2.25 ERA and claiming nine saves.

In late June, Centala picked up a four-out save, getting all four of those outs on strikeouts, impressing manager Paul Kirsch, according to The Spokane Spokesman-Review.

"He hasn't had a bad outing his last four or five times out," Kirsch told The Spokesman-Review after that save.

Making that jump to Memphis and to starting for 1990, Centala struck out 116 in 142.1 innings. One of his 11 wins came in early May, with Centala and two relief pitchers combining for a shutout of Orlando.

Centala made AAA Omaha in 1991, starting 18 games there. He went 6-9, with a 3.58 ERA. In 1992, Centala moved back to AA Memphis, spending time in rookie ball and high-A.

Late in 1992, Centala also learned the knuckleball, but he struggled. By June 1993, Centala was released. Centala finished out his career in the independent Northern League, playing with St. Paul in 1994 and 1995.

By 1997, Centala was with the University of Washington, helping the school's softball team. He rose to the position of co-head coach for 2004. More recently, Centala has served as a consultant to the Diamondbacks and a coach with the Absolute Blast Fastpitch Club of Washington.

In November 2007, Centala praised former student Kelsey Anchors, who signed to play softball at Oklahoma State.

"She's a five-tool player and she's a catalyst," Centala told The Kitsap Sun. "She brings so much to the table."

• Spokane Spokesman-Review, June 28, 1989: Indians hand Emeralds win
  
• Eugene Register-Guard, Memphis Commercial Appeal, June 24, 1990: Others have already made it to major leagues
• Kitsap Sun, Nov. 14, 2007: Signs Point Anchors, Jewett East

More: The 1990 Memphis Chicks

1990 CMC Tally 
Cards Featured: 573/880 - 65.1%
Players/Coaches Featured: 584 
Made the Majors: 392 - 67%
Never Made the Majors:192-33%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 170
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 122

Ray Ripplemeyer made bigs as a player, but made his most impact as bigs coach

Steve Carlton got off to a slow start in 1975, but his pitching coach Ray Rippelmeyer wasn't concerned.

The 30-year-old future Hall of Famer had a record of 1-4 by early May, with a 6.27 ERA. Rippelmeyer told The Associated Press he just thought it was "one of those things."

"He was getting the ball up, but I don't think it was anything that had to do with his motion," Rippelmeyer told The AP. "Mechanically, I think he's sound and we're not discouraged."

Carlton was sound enough to pick up 14 wins the rest of the way, for an overall 1975 record of 15-14. He also brought his ERA back down to 3.56. He won 20 the next season and 23 the season after that, all under Rippelmeyer's watch.

Rippelmeyer served as the Pillies pitching coach through much of the 1970s, after a decade-long career as a player. That playing career saw Rippelmeyer pitch in all of 18 big league contests, one of them starts, and all in 1962 for the Senators.

But it was as a coach that Rippelmeyer had the most impact, serving nine seasons watching over the Phillies pitching staff, later returning to the minors, helping other pitchers make it to the majors.

It was shortly after his playing career ended that Rippelmeyer caught on with the Phillies, as a pitching coach in the minors. He worked in that role in 1968, working with pitchers to avoid breaking a new rule to curb spit balls, The Spartanburg Herald wrote.

By 1970, Rippelmeyer was back in the majors, as the Phillies' big-league pitching coach. His tenure would start with the Phillies at the bottom of the standings. It would end in 1978, after three-straight division championships.

In 1973, Rippelmeyer worked with young Dick Ruthven, signed by the Phillies the previous year. The curve ball that the scouts saw, though, wasn't working for Ruthven in the majors, The AP wrote.

Rippelmeyer's solution was to try and get Ruthven to throw a slider, believing that would help his curve problems, The AP wrote. Ruthven was in his first of 12 big league seasons.

Rippelmeyer made a similar move with Carlton, after Carlton came over from the Cardinals in 1972, he recalled years later. Carlton, though, just needed a coach to encourage the pitch, Rippelmeyer told The St. Louis Suburban Journals in 2009.

"As soon as I saw him throw a slider (in spring training), I told him, 'you're going to throw it now,'" Rippelmeyer recalled to The Journals.

By 1976, the Phillies were winning. That June, Rippelmeyer told UPI the team had an abundance of pitching, six pitchers who could start. "I've never been lucky enough to have this type of staff on any club I've been on," Rippelmeyer told UPI.

The Phillies won 101 games that year, a team record. The team ERA was 3.08. Staying with the Phillies through 1978, Rippelmeyer retired to spend time back home on his farm in Valmeyer, Ill., The Philadelphia Daily News wrote.

By 1988, though, he was back with the club, as a roving pitching coach. He told The Daily News he didn't think the game had changed much in his time away.

"But my biggest concern is," Rippelmeyer told The Daily News, "that I always thought a guy had to learn to throw the ball over the plate before you taught him trick pitches. I still think pitching is rather simple: You have to throw the ball over the plate with something on it. Some people try to make it a lot more complicated than it is."

Rippelmeyer's stay with the Phillies that time only lasted one season. By 1989, he was pitching coach with the Reds, at AAA Nashville, staying there through 1990. He later joined the Mets organization at Capitol City.

In 1997, he was pitching coach for AAA Norfolk, telling The Newport News Daily Press that pitcher Juan Acevedo needed to work on his mental approach.

"Right now, that's the only thing keeping him from pitching in the majors," Rippelmeyer told The Daily Press of Acevedo. "Hey, to pitch in the major leagues you have to go out and do it every day. Some days, they aren't going to catch the ball for you. The only thing you can do is go out and throw the ball."

Rippelmeyer stayed with the Mets through 2003. He turned 78 in 2011, back home in Valmeyer.

He passed in September 2022.

Ray Rippelmeyer's playing days: Ray Rippelmeyer, Called In

• Spartanburg Herald, April 4, 1968: There's No Way To Stop Spitter
• Reading Eagle, Associated Press, July 2, 1973: Ruthven Relied On Speed
• Victoria Advocate, Associated Press, May 8, 1975: Carlton Stature OK With Phillies
• Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, UPI, June 3, 1976: Phils' sixth starter beats Cards for 13th straight victory on road
• Philadelphia Daily News, June 25, 1988: Phils Win In Burning Busch
• Newport News Daily Press, May 7, 1997: Healthy, Armed And Dangerous
• St. Louis Suburban Journals, March 10, 2009: 'Rip' sees opposite field HRs in changes

More: The 1990 Nashville Sounds

1990 CMC Tally

Cards Featured: 572/880 - 65.0%
Players/Coaches Featured: 583

Made the Majors: 392 - 67%
Never Made the Majors:191-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 170
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 122

Stan Belinda saw 12 majors seasons, two after MS diagnosis

What began in May 1998 as numbness and tingling in his leg ended months later for pitcher Stan Belinda, with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

Despite that finding though, Belinda continued pitching for parts of two more seasons, continuing a career that spanned 12, pitching in 29 games in 1999 and 56 in 2000.

"I hope some people find inspiration from this," Belinda told The Associated Press going into the 2000 season with Colorado. "My inspiration is my family and God. Unfortunately for me, I got some bad news, but I'm dealing with it and I'm trying to stay upbeat and trying to perform."

By the time he finished out with his final big league appearance in September 2000, Belinda had amassed a total of 585 appearances in the majors, all in relief, a 4.15 career ERA and 79 total saves.

Belinda's on-field performance, though, is perhaps best remembered - or best forgotten, depending on who is talking - for one ill-fated pitch thrown in perhaps the biggest playoff situation there could be: Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series.

Belinda's professional career began in 1986, selected by the Pirates in the 10th round of the draft, out of Allegany College of Maryland. He stayed in single-A through 1988. In 1989, he debuted in AA, in AAA and in the majors.

With the Pirates that first September, Belinda got into eight games, giving up seven earned runs in 10.1 innings of work. He returned to Pittsburgh in May 1990, getting into 55 games, picking up eight saves and an ERA of 3.55.

He got his first save in late June, coming in to the bases loaded with Expos, nobody out, the score 5-3. Belinda recorded three-straight outs.

"I blew a couple save opportunities earlier this season," Belinda told The Associated Press after that game. "I had saves in the minors. I wanted to show the team that I could do it at this level, too."

In 1991, Belinda remained a mainstay in the Pirate bullpen, logging 60 outings, a 3.55 ERA and 16 more saves.

Going into 1992, Belinda looked to be the team's official closer, though Pirate manager Jim Leyland was only ready to commit to late-game situations, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote. The chance was enough for Belinda.

"This year will be, like, if I have it in me, it'll show," Belinda told The Post-Gazette. "I don't mean I'll get 40 saves, but if I save 25, I think it will show I do have the ability to be a dominant closer."

Belinda ended up getting 18 saves that year in 59 outings. Then came the NLCS, and the save he didn't get.

In the ninth inning of Game 7, Belinda came into another bases-loaded situation, nobody out, his team up by two. Allowing one to score on a lineout, Belinda threw a one-out fastball to Francisco Cabrera, a fastball that Cabrera turned into a line-single to left. Two scored, sending the Braves to the World Series and the Pirates to where they've been each succeeding October: home.

By the next spring, Belinda was ready to leave that pitch in the past, if others would only let him.

"People say I must be awful to give up a hit to a guy off the bench," Belinda told The Post-Gazette in February. "I sort of felt like the scapegoat all winter. But nobody brought up the situation I came into. I'm not a high-profile closer. I'm not a miracle worker. But I tried my hardest. I gave a hundred percent."

Belinda also looked forward to the possibility of being the Pirates' full-time closer. He ended up getting 19 saves in 37 outings with the Pirates, before being dealt to the Royals at the deadline.

Staying with the Royals through 1994, Belinda worked in relief, but not as a closer. He was the set-up guy. And Belinda was fine with that, he told The AP in March 1994. In fact, he felt like a rookie in the new role.

"I'm really learning how to pitch now," Belinda told The AP. "Before I was just a thrower - here it is. Country Hardball."

By 1995, he was with the Red Sox, getting 63 outings and an ERA of 3.10. By 1997, he was with the Reds, amassing a career-high 84 outings. He also had a 3.71 ERA that year.

Then came that first tingling and numbness in May 1998. It was back by August. By September, he learned the cause. Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, according to The National Institutes of Health.

Back in the clubhouse by the next spring, Belinda talked to The Cincinnati Enquirer about the diagnosis in comparison to that pitch in 1992 that ended the NLCS.

There was no comparison.

"It's your health. It's your life," Belinda told The Enquirer. "That's what you have to take care of first. I knew I'd get back on the mound after a bad hit or losing the game. I knew I was going to get another chance. This, you don't know. That was hard for me to accept mentally. I'm just thanking God now that I am sitting here today."

Belinda got his 29 games for the Reds that season, then his 56 in 2000 between the Rockies and the Braves, ending his career two years after he was diagnosed.

In 2007, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review caught up with members of the 1992 Pirates. Belinda was then living on a farm, near his hometown of State College, Pa. Belinda's brother Mark noted to the paper that his brother's disease will never go away, but, Mark Belinda reported, his brother was doing OK.

• Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, Associated Press, June 25, 1990: Pirates, Mets score victories
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 27, 1992: Stan Belinda is the closest thing to a closer in Bucs' bullpen
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Feb. 23, 1993: Fall guy
• Fort Scott Tribune, Associated Press, March 10, 1994: Belinda comfortable with new set-up role
• Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 17, 1999: Belinda's battle with MS puts baseball in perspective
• Spokane Spokesman-Review, Associated Press, Feb. 22, 2000: Battle on his hands
• Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Oct. 14, 2007: Bummer of '92

More: The 1990 Buffalo Bisons

1990 CMC Tally

Cards Featured: 572/880 - 65.0%
Players/Coaches Featured: 583

Made the Majors: 392 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:191-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 170-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 122

Casey Close saw 5 seasons, AAA, later became top agent

Casey Close was having a season in 1988 that not even he could argue was good.

In his third year as a pro, Close hit AAA Columbus, but the outfielder didn't even hit .200. He did no better back down at AA Albany.

"It's been an extremely frustrating season," Close told The Schenectady Gazette that August after returning to Albany. "After four months you start to wonder if you're losing it. This is a game of recency, what have you done lately. I just want to salvage something out of it."

Despite the poor numbers, it was an assessment that Close would likely never give today. His own career lasted just five seasons, getting three seasons at AAA.

Close has been working with major leaguers ever since, as a player agent, emphasizing the positives of a player's resume and the potential in the player's future, rather than dwelling on the negatives of frustrating seasons.

Close's biggest client is one he has been with since almost the beginning: Derek Jeter. Jeter is a client Close still represents today, along with the likes of Ryan Howard, Derrek Lee and others.

Before he was an agent, though, Close was a player selected by the Yankees in the seventh round of the 1986 draft out of the University of Michigan.

At Michigan, Close won Baseball America's National Player of the Year honors. He hit 46 home runs and scored 190 runs in his Michigan career, still school records, according to AnnArbor.com.

In May 1985, Close both hit and pitched the Wolverines to an NCAA regional win, getting four hits, two of them home runs, all while pitching a complete-game, The Michigan Daily wrote.

With the Yankees, Close started at short-season Oneonta, hitting .245, with three home runs. For 1987, Close made it to AA Albany, hitting .279, with seven home runs.

Then came that frustrating 1988. He got 81 unproductive games at AAA Columbus, then 25 back at Albany. It was his last of three seasons as a player with the Yankees. But his real impact on the organization was yet to come.

Close's playing career finished with two good seasons in the Mariners' organization at AAA Calgary. He hit .330 there in 1989, then .270 in 1990. But he never got called up to Seattle, his career ending after five seasons.

By 1992, Close had begun his new career as a player agent, representing such players as Kent Mercker with the International Management Group.

In 1993, Close met Jeter as the first-round pick was still in single-A. Close has represented the future Hall of Famer ever since.

Shortly after Jeter and the Yankees won the 1996 World Series, Close speculated to The New York Daily News about what lay in store for Jeter financially.

"The possibilities are endless," Close told The Daily News that November. "It is unusual for anyone to captivate the market like this. The telephones have been ringing off the hook nonstop."

That work with Jeter's off-field brand, Close colleague agent Jeff Schwartz told The Sports Business Journal in 2011, has helped protect Jeter's name over the years. Schwartz and Close teamed this year with the firm Excel Sports Management.

"Casey has done a fantastic job navigating the corporate world and determining the right deals to do for him," Schwartz told The Journal, "but also the ones to pass on."

On the negotiation side, Close won Ryan Howard an extension of five-years and $125 million, without Howard being a free agent, The New York Times wrote.

As Jeter's contract ran out with the close of 2010, Close fought for and won a $51 million, three-year deal for Jeter, with a player option for 2014. That was after negotiating Jeter's previous 10-year, $189 million contract in 2001.

While negotiating the most-recent deal, Close didn't have to work hard to emphasize Jeter's positives.

"Clearly, baseball is a business and Derek's impact on the sport's most valuable franchise can’t be overstated," Close told The New York Post. "Moreover, no athlete embodies the spirit of a champion more than Derek Jeter."

• Michigan Daily, May 29, 1985: Michigan just misses in Mississippi
• Schenectady Gazette, Aug. 2, 1988: Close, Maas Make Amends, Help A-C Yankees Rally Past Reading
• New York Daily News, Nov. 10, 1996: New York's Newest Hero, Heartthrob
• New York Post, Nov. 4, 2010: Jeter's camp agrees: Talks with Yankees all business
• New York Times, Nov. 24, 2010: Jeter's Agent Has Low Profile and a Well-Known Task
• AnnArbor.com, Jan. 16, 2011: Johnny Orr, Casey Close headline Michigan's seven inductees into its Hall of Honor
• Sports Business Journal, April 11-17, 2011: MLB agent Close joins Schwartz's NBA firm

More: The 1990 Calgary Cannons

1990 CMC Tally

Cards Featured: 571/880 - 64.9%
Players/Coaches Featured: 582

Made the Majors: 391 - 67%
Never Made the Majors:191-33%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 169
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 122

Royal Clayton pitched well, missed bigs, turned coach

Royal Clayton took a no-hitter into the sixth for the AA Albany-Colonie Yankees in August 1989. The bid didn't work out, but it was a performance his manager Buck Showalter told The Schenectady Gazette showed Clayton's professional approach to the game.

"Royal Clayton is a very well-kept secret," Showalter told The Gazette after that game. "I think he has as good a chance to pitch in the big leagues as anyone here. Just because he doesn't have a trick pitch, or throw 100 miles an hour, some people think he's just another guy."

While Clayton did well in that game, and the year, going 16-4, he didn't get his chance to pitch in the big leagues.

Later, though, he did get to help mold young pitchers to get them to the big leagues, including helping the Diamondbacks' Brandon Webb on his way to the bigs.

Clayton's career began in 1987, taken by the Yankees in the 18th round out of the University of California-Riverside. He played that year at rookie ball, short-season Oneonta and single-A Fort Lauderdale. Between the three levels, he pitched 51.2 innings with an ERA of 4.18.

Going into 1988, Clayton's younger brother and future major leaguer Royce Clayton, still in high school, talked about his relationship with his brother to The Los Angeles Times.

"He's had a tough time in the minors," Royce Clayton told The Times that April. "He's stuck it out even though he hasn't gotten his shot yet. But he's always helped me out and I've always looked up to him."

But that tough time turned a little better that year in 1988. Royal Clayton split the season between Fort Lauderdale and single-A Prince William. He went 9-7, with a 2.07 ERA on the year.

For 1989, Clayton moved to AA Albany-Colonie and did even better. Along with those 16 wins, Clayton posted a 2.98 ERA. He got his 11th win in July, a 6-4 win where he gave up three runs in the ninth inning.

"I'm a ground ball pitcher, and a couple of them got through in the ninth," Clayton told The Gazette. "But if I make a bad pitch, and they hit it, I can't do anything about it."

Clayton returned to Albany for 21 more starts in 1990, going 10-9, with a 3.18 ERA. He also got four starts at AAA Columbus. Clayton returned to Columbus for 1991 and for each year through 1994. He never made the Bronx.

Clayton pitched briefly in 1995 and 1996 in the Giants and Orioles organizations, before ending his playing career in 1997 with independent Lubbock.

He soon became a coach in the Diamondbacks' system. In July 2008, Clayton recalled to ESPN The Magazine watching young Arizona prospect Brandon Webb throw two-seam fastballs at single-A South Bend in 2000.

"That's going to be a good pitch for you," Clayton told Webb, The Magazine wrote. "When we go to spring training next year, we're going to work on that."

• Los Angeles Times, April 28, 1988: Shortstop Has Coaches, Scouts Flipping
• Schenectady Gazette, July 22, 1989: Albany-Colonie Trips Senators for 70th win
• Schenectady Gazette, Aug. 21, 1989: A-C Yankees End Slide; Clayton Stars
• ESPN The Magazine, July 2008: Brandon Webb Is Busy Resting

More: The 1990 Albany Yankees

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 570/880 - 64.8%
Players/Coaches Featured: 581 
Made the Majors: 391 - 67%
Never Made the Majors:190-33%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 169
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 122-X