Jim Essian, Risk-Taker - 99

Speaking to the Charlotte-area Rock Hill Herald in December 1988, Jim Essian explained his managerial style as one where his team runs.

In his first three years managing with the Cubs organization, Essian's teams led the league in stolen bases, he told The Herald, doing it, he also noted, with players who possessed speed.

"But," Essian told The Herald, "you could characterize my team as being one that continuously forces the defense to make a play. We bunt a lot. I believe in dropping that little ball down there and forcing that guy to make a good play to get you out."

Essian took that risk-taking style to AA Charlotte in 1989, his third season at AA with the Cubs. He went on to make AAA Iowa as manager in 1990. Then, in 1991, he took that style to Chicago, taking the helm of the big league Cubs.

Essian returned to the majors with the Cubs, having been in the bigs for parts of 12 seasons as a player in the 1970s and 1980s. The catcher played his last big league game in 1984, then embarked on his managerial career.

In 1985, Essian took the helm of the old Miami Marlins, the independent Florida State League entrant. Essian also played, getting into 28 games.


He joined the Cubs organization in 1986, managing at single-A Winston-Salem. He made AA for the first time in 1987, at AA Pittsfield. He stayed at Pittsfield two seasons. In 1987, he took his Pittsfield Cubs to the Eastern League playoffs. From July on, his AA Cubs were 36 games over .500.

At Charlotte in 1989, Essian took his Knights to a 68-75 record. His team also recorded 169 stolen bases, and even a few baskets. The Herald wrote in May about Essian's preference to get the team onto a basketball court when it rained.

That fall, Essian got back onto the field himself, as a member of the Senior Professional Baseball Association.

He returned to the manager's office for 1990 and moved up to AAA Iowa. He started 1991 back at Iowa, before being named manager of the Cubs in May, after Don Zimmer was fired.

After Essian first game, which turned into his first win, Cubs first baseman Mark Grace praised his new manager. Grace was one of 15 members of the team who had played for Essian in the minors, The Chicago Tribune wrote.

"He's very encouraging," Grace told The Tribune. "He's almost a cheerleader-type. He wants us to know he's behind us."

The Tribune also noted Essian's penchant for risk taking days later, noting he'd called a game-winning squeeze bunt on a 3-2 count and occasionally allowing better hitters to swing on a 3-0 count.

Essian managed out the season, going 59-63. He did not return for another one, let go in October.

"I had a tremendous experience (managing the Cubs last year)," Essian told The Tribune in January 1992. "I hope it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

Essian remained with the Cubs for 1992, but served as a scout. Essian returned to managing in 1996 at AA Norwich with the Yankees, but he never got back to the majors.

Read about Jim Essian's playing career: Jim Essian, Game-Winner

• Rock Hill Herald, Dec. 15, 1988: Reggie once gave Jim Essian a ride to mound
• Rock Hill Herald, May 2, 1989: Knights work out - on basketball court
• Chicago Tribune, May 23, 1991: Essian, Named by Cubs Wins in debut
• Chicago Tribune, May 26, 1991: So Far, Essian Getting 'A' In Philosophy
• Chicago Tribune, Jan. 5, 1992: Cub Scout Essian Will Be Prepared If Opportunity To Manage Arises

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 730/880 - 83.0%
Players/Coaches Featured: 741
Made the Majors: 501 - 68%-X
Never Made the Majors:240-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 219
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 144

Jim Essian, Game-Winner - Playing Days

It was something everyone dreamed about, Jim Essian told The Associated Press. And it happened to Essian. Finally.

"Fifteen years of pro ball and it's the first time I ever won a game in the ninth inning," Essian told The AP hitting a game-winning home run in April 1984. "I guess I was a little slow in circling the bases, but I was excited and I enjoyed it."

Essian was in his 12th season with time in the majors that year. It was also his last as a player. But, in a career that began in 1969, signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent, Essian's career in baseball would continue as a manager in the minors. He would also return to the majors, as the manager of the Cubs.

Essian got into his first games as a pro in 1970, joining the Phillies out of Troy High School in Illinois. He split that first year between rookie Pulaski and single-A Spartanburg.

Essian made AA Reading in 1972, returning there for 1973. He then jumped directly to Philadelphia in September, getting into two games, three at bats and no hits.

Essian returned to Philadelphia for 17 games in 1974, then two in 1975. He got his first regular major league time in 1976 with the White Sox, getting into 78 games and hitting .246.

In 1977, Essian hit his first major league home run. He also hit nine more. In August, the catcher sold a play at the plate getting Ranger runner Bump Wills out. Essian, though, admitted to The AP later, "If they had a replay, it might show Wills was safe."

Essian stayed with the White Sox for those two seasons, before joining the Athletics after a trade. He got his most major league time that first year with Oakland, 126 games.

In 1979, Essian got into 98 games, hitting .243. He then hit .232 for Oakland in 1980. Moving back to the White Sox for 1981, Essian got into just 27 games. In 1982, with Seattle, Essian got into 48 games.

With the Mariners, Essian also hit three home runs, one in a May game. He also knocked in four runs, and broke out of a personal hitting skid.

"It's not that I'm doing things wrong physically, but when I'm in a slump my biggest problem is getting mentally prepared," Essian told UPI afterward. "When I'm in a slump, I don't take advantage of mistakes."

Essian played two more seasons, 48 games with the Indians in 1983 and 63 final games with the Athletics.

Essian's managerial career started the next season, down in the single-A Florida State League in Miami.

Read about Jim Essian's managerial career: Jim Essian, Risk-Taker

• Rochester Sentinel, Associated Press, Aug. 5, 1977: 'We were robbed,' says Texas boss
• Spokane Chronicle, UPI, May 11, 1982: Essian jumps on Tribe mistakes
  
• Lakeland Ledger, Associated Press, April 15, 1984: A's 4, Angels 3

Juan Gonzalez, Contract Hitter - 167

Juan Gonzalez hadn't won an MVP award yet, but, by then end of the 1993 season, he had completed his second-consecutive season with more than 40 home runs and third-consecutive topping 100 RBIs.

So, when the Rangers announced in February 1994 that they'd signed Gonzalez to a long-term deal - five years, $30 million - Rangers president Tom Schieffer could be excused for being a little excited.

"This kid is going to be in the Hall of Fame, and if anybody is worthy of it, he is," Schieffer told The Associated Press after the signing. "We have our fourth-place hitter for the next seven years. Now, all we have to do is make sure he stays healthy."

For most of that deal Gonzalez did exactly what Schieffer hoped. He won one MVP, then a second. He helped the Rangers to the playoffs in three separate seasons.

But it was another contract offer, one that Gonzalez didn't accept, that symbolized what should have been the second half of Gonzalez' career.

Offered an eight-year, $140 million contract after a trade to the Tigers for 2000, Gonzalez turned it down. That second half hardly amounted to five seasons, Gonzalez saw his career unspectactularly end on a one swing in 2005.

It ended with Gonzalez followed by injuries and later alleged links to steroid use, steroid allegations Gonzalez would flatly deny.

Gonzalez' career began in 1986, signed by the Rangers out of his native Puerto Rico. After starting in the rookie Gulf Coast League that year, Gonzalez eventually reached AA Tulsa by 1989, then AAA Oklahoma City in 1990.

In 1989, though, Gonzalez jumped directly to Texas in September, getting into 24 games, hitting .150 with one home run. He returned for another 25 games in 1990, hitting .289 in 90 at bats.

Then, in 1991, Gonzalez became a regular in Arlington. He hit .264, with 27 home runs. He also became a fan favorite, The AP wrote.

"I thought I was ready last year, but I tried to have patience and now I'm very happy," Gonzalez told The AP that May.

Gonzalez followed that campaign with his first two 40-plus home run campaigns. In 1993, he also hit .310, garnered his first All Star selection and came in fourth in the MVP balloting. That June, he even recorded 8 RBIs in a single game.

His home run total dipped to 19 in the strike-shortened 1994 season, but Gonzalez returned for 27 in 1995 and then a career-high 47 in 1996. His 1996 season was also the one where he won his first of two MVP awards, hitting .314 and leading the Rangers to the playoffs.

Gonzalez continued his hitting in the Division Series against the Yankees, hitting five more home runs. But Gonzalez' Rangers lost 3 games to 1.

"This was a very emotional series for myself," Gonzalez told The New York Times after the series loss. "This series for myself, I'm hitting a lot. Five home runs in four games, a lot of r.b.i. and we don't score. We lost. We lost."

Gonzalez ended up hitting more than 40 home runs in three-consecutive seasons. In his second MVP campaign, in 1998, Gonzalez hit 47 home runs and knocked in 157 runs.

By the end of the 1999 season, Gonzalez had hit 39 or more home runs in six of the past eight seasons. He knocked in more than 100 runs in seven of the past nine seasons.

After all that, the Rangers traded him to the Tigers that December in a 10-player deal. Going into the spring, the Tigers looked to lock Gonzalez up long-term, with the 8-year, $140 million offer. But Gonzalez turned them down.

"It's a big question for me, a big decision," Gonzalez told The Times in May. "It's a good organization, and it's treated me so great. They have good fans, a great tradition. But it's a big decision, I want to wait ... maybe after the All-Star break, maybe at the end of the year."

By those benchmarks, though, Gonzalez' value had dipped significantly. By the end of the year, he'd hit .289 with 22 home runs in just 115 games.

Gonzalez had a brief comeback in 2001 with the Indians, hitting .325 with 35 home runs and 140 RBIs. His last four seasons, 2002 to 2005, consisted of 70 games, 82 games, 33 games and 1 game, each season shortened by injury.

His last injury, a torn hamstring, came on his only at bat of the 2005 season, his final one in the majors.

By the end of 2007 Gonzales had been accused of steroid ties twice, first by one-time teammate Jose Canseco in Canseco's landmark 2005 book "Juiced" and then in December 2007, when Gonzalez' name appeared in The Mitchell Report, tied to bag with steroids found in October 2001 at the Toronto airport.

In spring 2008, Gonzalez made one last comeback attempt, with the Cardinals. He also denied ever using steroids.

"I'm clear," Gonzalez told The AP that spring. "I've never tested positive. I don't have a problem. I will continue with my head up and try the best inside the lines. I never used it."

Gonzalez didn't make the Cardinals in 2008. In 2011, he made his first Hall of Fame ballot, getting 5.2 percent of the vote, barely over the minimum to remain on. In 2012, he dropped below that minimum, 4 percent. He also dropped off the ballot.

• Kentucky New Era, Associated Press, May 18, 1991: Rangers' fans adore Gonzalez
  
• Nashua Telegraph, Associated Press, Feb. 5, 1994: Rangers, Gonzalez come to terms
• New York Times, Oct. 6, 1996: Gonzalez' Big Series Turns Into a Footnote
• Victoria Advocate, Associated Press, May 31, 2000: Gonzalez harbors no ill will
• USA Today, Feb. 8, 2007: At 37, Juan Gonzalez is still searching for one more shot at the major leagues
• USA Today, Feb. 19, 2008: Gonzalez looking for a comeback with the Cardinals
• Juiced, Jose Canseco, 2005: Page 133
• The Mitchell Report, 2007: Pages 95-99

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 729/880 - 82.8%
Players/Coaches Featured: 740
Made the Majors: 500 - 68%-X
Never Made the Majors:240-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 219-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 144

Juan Bell got more seasoning, then saw bigs over 7 seasons

Going into 1989, the Orioles had options in their infield other than Juan Bell. The option the team chose for Bell was more time in the minors.

"Bell is going to be a fine player," Orioles GM Roland Hemond told The Associated Press that March, "but can use a little more seasoning. There's no need to rush him, especially with (Craig) Worthington doing so well."

The Orioles didn't rush Bell. He spent the season at AAA Rochester, hitting .262. He did make the majors in September, but for only eight games.

Bell, though, never became the fine player that Hemond predicted. He ended up playing in seven big league seasons, 329 games, his career batting average ending at .212.

Bell's career began in 1984, signed by the Dodgers out of his native Dominican Republic. Bell is the younger brother of slugger George Bell.

Bell played his first two seasons in the rookie Gulf Coast League, moving to single-A Bakersfield in 1987. He split 1988 between AA San Antonio and AAA Albuquerque. Between the two levels in 1988, Bell hit .290 with 13 home runs.

That December, the Dodgers sent Bell and two others to the Orioles in exchange for Eddie Murray.

"I am a young guy and I feel I work the most I can to be a real good baseball player," Bell told The AP after the trade. "I think I can hit in the big leagues. I just have to keep working hard."

After his season at Rochester, Bell got his eight games in Baltimore. In four at bats, he didn't get a hit. It was almost a repeat in 1990. Another season at Rochester, then two at bats in Baltimore without a hit.

Bell finally got his first big league hit in 1991. He got 36 of them spread out over 209 at bats and 100 games. It amounted to a .172 average.

By August 1992, though, Bell was with the Phillies, sent over in a trade. He was also portrayed in The Philadelphia Inquirer as already trying to salvage a once-promising career.

"I'm a better defensive player now," Bell told The Inquirer. "Now, I pay more attention out there to who's hitting, what pitch is being thrown, who the runner is. I've also been attacking the ball more rather than letting it come to me."

Bell hit .204 in 46 games with Philadelphia. He split 1993 between the Phillies and the Brewers. Between them, he played the most games in a season, 115. But he still hit just .228.

Bell then played 38 games for Montreal in 1994, then 17 for the Red Sox in 1995, ending his big league career. He is credited with continuing to play into 2000, playing in Taiwan in 1997 and in Mexico in 2000.

• Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, Associated Press, Dec. 9, 1988: Orioles' Bell eager to start on budding big-league career
  
• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Associated Press, March 21, 1989: Baltimore's big experiment on hold
• Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 14, 1992: Bell Getting Chance To Prove His Career Is Not A Washout

More: 1990 Rochester Red Wings 

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 728/880 - 82.7%
Players/Coaches Featured: 739
Made the Majors: 499 - 68%-X
Never Made the Majors:240-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 218-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 144

Dick Scott, Most Enjoyable - 601

Working as the Blue Jays director of player development in 2009, Dick Scott believed the toughest parts of his job were the budgets, and the business side, he told his hometown Bangor Daily News.

"The most enjoyable part of the job is working with the players," Scott told The Daily News, "being around and involved either in Toronto with the major leaguers and talking to [Blue Jays manager] Cito Gaston or brand-new guys in the farm leagues and seeing them develop."

Those players Scott was trying to develop, Scott was trying to get to the same place he got to, the majors. Scott, though, was trying to get them there for longer than he was there.

Scott made the majors in 1989 with Oakland, in his ninth season as a pro, for all of three games. He got two at bats, one RBI and no hits.

Scott's career in baseball began in 1981, taken by the Yankees in the 17th round of the draft, out of Ellsworth High School.

Scott started in the rookie Gulf Coast League, hitting .235 in 48 games. He moved to single-A Fort Lauderdale in 1982. he even got five games at AAA Columbus.

Scott, though, didn't make it above single-A for any extended period of time until 1985, at AA Albany-Colonie. There, Scott hit .214 with four home runs. Scott also helped Albany to the playoffs, but the playoff run was brief.

"That's what happens in the playoffs," Scott told The Schenectady Gazette. "A best-of-five or best-of-three playoff is tough. It's a situation where anything can happen and a hot team can win it all."

Scott got 58 games at AAA Columbus in 1986 and 51 in 1987. By 1988, Scott was back at Albany. For 1989, Scott signed with Oakland, the team that brought him to the majors.

Scott started at AAA Tacoma. Then, in May, Scott got his call up. He got into his first game May 19. He grounded out, but he also knocked in a run. In all, over his three games, Scott went 0 for 2. His final game came May 29.

Scott played out that year at Tacoma. He also played 21 games the next year back at AAA, also serving as a coach.

Scott has since gone on to be a manager in the minors, managing from rookie ball in Arizona to AA at Huntsville.

By 2001, Scott was the Blue Jays' director of player development. By 2011, and into 2012, Scott was Mets minor league field director. With the Mets in 2011, Scott was tasked with improving a minor league system ranked 20th overall, according to The Portland Press-Herald.

"We've got some work to do," Scott told The Press-Herald. But "I'm happy here. It's going to be good."

• Schenectady Gazette, Sept. 6, 1985: All in All, A Very Good Year
  
• Bangor Daily News, May 27, 2009: Baseball consumes Hall inductee Scott
• Portland Press-Herald, May 1, 2011: On Baseball: Valdes' return to Hadlock brings back fond memories

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 727/880 - 82.6%
Players/Coaches Featured: 738
Made the Majors: 498 - 68%-X
Never Made the Majors:240-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 217
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 144

Ed Whited, Good Athlete - 293

Rider University baseball coach Sonny Pittaro had an explanation for Ed Whited's success there.

By the time his stint at Rider was over, Whited owned a host of school records, from career hits and home runs to total bases, according to The Bangor Daily News.

"I just think he's a good athlete who is strong," Pittaro told The Daily News in May 1986. "When he gets a pitch he wants, he can drive it. He has very good power."

With his college career behind him, Whited joined the Astros after that June's draft, selected by Houston in the 18th round.

And, while his career was a brief one, all of five seasons, Whited did make the majors. He made it with the Braves in 1989, getting into all of 36 games.

Whited started with the Astros at short-season Auburn. The infielder got into 61 games, hitting .292.

He moved to single-A Asheville in 1987, hitting .323 in 128 games. He also hit 28 home runs. One of those home runs was a first-inning grand slam in a May game. He went on to get two other hits in that 11-5 win at Charleston.

"We came in here struggling; we were pretty flat," Whited told The Charleston News and Courier after that game. "We had lost a couple at home, and then a couple here. It was just a matter of relaxing."

Whited made AA Greenville in 1988, making the Southern League All-Star team. He then AAA Richmond in 1989. In July 1989, Whited made Atlanta.

He got his first hit July 9, in his fifth game. He got his first home run July 25, in his 11th. Overall, Whited picked up 12 hits in 74 at bats, for a .162 record.

Whited's final outing came Oct. 1. He didn't make it back. Whited played in just one more season, back at AAA Richmond. He hit .248, ending his career.

• Bangor Daily News, May 23, 1986: Ed Whited holds most of Rider's offensive records
• Charleston News and Courier, May 21, 1987: Tourists Topple 'Bows

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 726/880 - 82.5%
Players/Coaches Featured: 737
Made the Majors: 497 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:240-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 217
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 144

Moe Drabowsky, Psychological Rewards - 175

Speaking to his hometown paper in 1992, longtime baseball man Moe Drabowsky said he didn't think coaching could be as enjoyable as playing.

"But," Drabowsky told The Hartford Courant, "it has been great. You get to know these kids, and experience their pleasures in the game, share in their disappointments. There are great psychological rewards."

Drabowsky spoke to The Courant having been involved in baseball in some form or another for more than 35 years. He'd spent 17 seasons in the majors as a player. He'd spent several years since as a coach in both the majors and the minors.

Drabowsky's playing days ended in 1972, having earned a reputation as a top pitcher in the emerging field of relieving. He played for nine organizations over 17 seasons. His most famous relief appearance came in Game 1 of the 1966 World Series, 6.2 innings of one-hit ball, picking up the win.

Out of the game, Drabowsky returned in 1976 to model new White Sox uniforms, the ones with the shorts. The White Sox were the final team he played for. In 1984, Drabowsky continued in another area for which he is known, practical jokes. He put a live snake in a bread basket at a Baltimore luncheon.

It was relief work that got him back to the majors for 1986. Drabowsky then served as one half of a new approach to pitching coaches. Drabowsky served as relievers coach.

"There's a lot of nonproductivity in the bullpen," Drabowsky told The Chicago Tribune before accepting the position in October 1985. "I can tell you there are great brats in Milwaukee, and the best fried chicken is in Chicago. And, from my years, a lot of guys play cards."

The experiment, though, didn't last long. A poor start in 1996 had Drabowsky gone by May.

Drabowsky caught on elsewhere in the White Sox system. By 1989, he was pitching coach at AAA Vancouver, watching over pitchers like Tom Drees. Drees that year, threw three no-hitters at Vancouver. Despite the no-hitters, Drabowsky told The Associated Press Drees needed to show more consistency.

By 1994, Drabowsky was back in the majors, with the Cubs as pitching coach. By 1996, he was minor league pitching coordinator for the Orioles.

Drabowsky passed away in 2006 at the age of 70. In his obituary, The AP quoted him from 1987, talking about the differences between pitchers when he pitched and then. He also referenced his history of practical jokes.

"Players seem to be more serious now," The AP quoted Drabowsky as saying. "I would tend to believe they don't have as much fun. You don't find the same kind of characters in the game today. Egos are a big factor. And the guys are making so much money."

For Moe Drabowsky's playing career, go to Moe Drabowsky, Two Sides

• Chicago Tribune, Oct. 6, 1985: LaRussa Delays His Decision On Future With Sox
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Associated Press, Aug. 18, 1989: Minor leaguer hurls third no-hitter
• Hartford Courant, May 10, 1992: To Drabowsky's Relief, It Gets Better
• ESPN.com, Associated Press, June 12, 2006: Prankster pitcher Moe Drabowsky dies at age 70

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 725/880 - 82.4%
Players/Coaches Featured: 736
Made the Majors: 496 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:240-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 217
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 144

Moe Drabowsky, Two Sides - Playing Days

Called in from the bullpen in the third inning, Moe Drabowsky proceeded to give the performance of his life.

Drabowsky proceeded to finish out the game, going a full 6.2 innings. He gave up a single hit, no runs, struck out 11 and picked up the win.

He also did it all in Game 1 of the 1966 World Series.

"You go in there and give it the best you've got," Drabowsky told reporters after the win, the first of the Orioles' series sweep. "I wasn't nervous, but ever since I got here, I was kind of waiting for the butterflies to set in. But they haven't."

It was an outing that perhaps merged the two sides of Drabowsky's career, the starting side and the relief side. Drabowsky started his major league career a decade earlier, as a starter. In 1966, though, Drabowsky started his last game, turning reliever full-time.

But there was yet another side to Drabowsky, the prankster side. It was that, when Drabowsky passed away in 2006 at the age of 70, that were his legend. That legend often surfaced through putting snakes in various places, having fun on the bullpen phone, or even going with the standard hot foot.

Drabowsky's career began in 1956, signed by the Cubs out of Trinity College in Connecticut. Once signed, Drabowsky jumped directly to Chicago, getting into nine games that year, starting seven. He posted an ERA of 2.47.

His contract also allowed him to return to school in September, to finish his degree, according to The Associated Press. Coming back for 1957, Drabowsky thought big: 20-win big. "It's good to set a target and I want to set a good one," Drabowsky told The AP that March.

Drabowsky ended up going 13-15 on the year, with a 3.53 ERA. In 1958, Drabowsky went 9-11, with a 4.51 ERA. One of those wins, though, was a one-hitter.

Drabowsky stayed with the Cubs through 1960. For 1961, he was traded to the Braves in a four-player deal. In his final year with the Cubs, Drabowsky got his first significant time in relief.

From 1961 to 1965, Drabowsky went back and forth. In 1963, with Kansas City, he mainly started, getting 22 starts. He got 21 starts the next year. After arriving with Baltimore for 1966, though, Drabowsky started three games, the final three starts of his career.

Drabowsky got into 41 other games in relief that year, posting a 2.81 ERA. That wasn't counting that one big relief outing for Baltimore in October.

He returned with an even better ERA in 43 1967 outings, 1.60. He was still sub-2 in 1968, with 45 outings and a 1.91 ERA. Drabowsky played four more seasons, even returning to the World Series in 1970, again with the Orioles. He gave up one earned run in 3.1 innings then.

Drabowsky finished with 154 total career starts, to 589 total appearances.

With Kansas City in 1965, Drabowsky also dispensed advice, to a young Catfish Hunter, after a slow Hunter start - and the accompanying headlines - in 1965 left Hunter low.

"Then Moe Drabowsky said something that brought me around," Hunter told The AP in spring 1966, "He said 'you have to realize you can be a hero one day and a bum the next. It's better not to read anything about yourself."

Drabowsky's hero time came that fall, with the Orioles in the World Series.

A feature on Drabowsky's post-playing career is coming this evening.

• Milwaukee Sentinel, Associated Press, March 6, 1957: Cubs' Moe Sets Sights On 20 Wins
• St. Petersburg Times, April 1, 1966: A's Happy They Hooked 'Catfish'
  
• Milwaukee Sentinel, wire services, Oct. 6, 1966: Moe 'Balances' Books
• ESPN.com, Associated Press, June 12, 2006: Prankster pitcher Moe Drabowsky dies at age 70
  

Howard Hilton, Legitimate Chance - 106

Howard Hilton faced two problems in his career, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The first problem was standard one: Hilton wanted to make the majors and then stick there. The second problem: His weight. The 6-foot-3, 247-pound right-hander knew he needed to work on that, too, The Times wrote.

"I've thrown the ball well enough to get a legitimate chance at the big leagues," Hilton told The Times in July 1990. "But they are selling a product out there and want a person to look like a ballplayer. That's why I have to lose weight."

Hilton made the majors for the first time that April. But his stay was brief, just two relief appearances. Whether he lost that weight or not, he never returned.

Hilton's battles began in 1985, taken by the Cardinals in the 22nd round of the draft, out of the University of Arkansas.

Hilton was selected by the Cardinals as his Razorbacks made a run in the College World Series, falling short of the championship. Hilton went six shutout innings in the elimination game, but he and his teammates allowed Texas back into the game to lose in extras.

Hilton started his pro career at short-season Erie. There, he went 3-7, mainly in relief work. He also picked up seven saves.

He moved to single-A St. Petersburg in 1986, then single-A Springfield in 1987. He made it back to Arkansas for 1988, with the Cardinals' AA club. He then spent 1989 at AAA Louisville.

At Louisville, Hilton went 12-5, with a 3.74 ERA in 70 total relief appearances. By early July, Hilton's 10 relief wins even led the league in total wins.

Going into 1990, Hilton made the St. Louis squad, debuting April 9. He went four outs, giving up two hits and a walk in his first outing. In his second outing, two days later, Hilton went five outs, giving up no hits and two walks.

It was the extent of his major league career, two outings, an 0.00 ERA. He returned to Louisville, getting 56 outings there, with an ERA of 3.60.

By 1991, Hilton was in the Padres system, pitching at AA Wichita. His career ended in 1992, splitting time between Wichita and high-A High Desert.

Hilton passed away in July 2011 at the age of 47.

• Los Angeles Times, July 22, 1990: Hungry for Career in Majors
• Ventura County Star, July 12, 2011: Former Hueneme High standout passes away

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 724/880 - 82.3%
Players/Coaches Featured: 735
Made the Majors: 495 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:240-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 217
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 144

Bob Skinner, Much Pride - 627

Previous Phillies manager Gene Mauch was fired for benching a star player. Now, just one year later, that same player, Richie Allen, had the latest Phillies manager on the way out, The Associated Press wrote.

The latest manager, Bob Skinner, resigned that August, feeling team executives were undermining him when it came to Allen, The AP wrote.

"But I have too much pride," Skinner told The AP. "I'm a winner, and I want to be with a winner, and you can't win this way."

Skinner was in just his third season as a manager and third season after retiring as a player, having played in 12 seasons in the majors.

His post-playing career as a manager and coach, though, would continue for another two decades. He would even later serve as a scout.

Skinner's managerial career began in 1967, with the Phillies' AAA team in San Diego. He returned for 1968, moving up to the top job in Philadelphia mid-year. Skinner went 48-59 his first partial season with the Phillies and 44-64 his second.

By 1970, Skinner was back in San Diego, this time serving as hitting coach for the major league Padres. He stayed there through 1973.

By 1974, Skinner was back with the team that first signed him, the Pirates. It was also the one on which Skinner helped to a World Series win in 1960.

Skinner returned to the Padres by 1977, then is credit as serving as hitting coach for the Angels in 1978. In 1979, Skinner served as hitting coach on the team as it returned to the World Series.

Coming off a Game 5 win in the 1979 World Series, Skinner worked with his players, making sure they were ready for Game 6. Skinner, though, noted to UPI he didn't have to do much.

"These guys know what they have to do," Skinner told UPI. "They knew what they had to do yesterday."

Pirates hitters came through with four runs apiece in games 6 and 7, taking the series.

Skinner was still with the Pirates in 1985. In April, Skinner was talking clutch hitting to The Pittsburgh Press. Skinner dismissed any talk that there weren't real clutch hitters.

"You're darn right there are clutch hitters, guys who have a way of getting the hit or driving in runs when a team needs them most," Skinner told The Press.

By 1986, he was hitting coach for the Braves. By 1989, Skinner was back in the minors, managing at AAA Tucson. He stayed at Tucson for four seasons.

In 1991, Skinner's Toros won the Pacific Coast League championship. Years later, Skinner recalled that team, the occasion being Tucson losing its AAA team.

"It was a great year, there were a lot of things going on," Skinner told The Tucson Citizen in August 2008. "It was a fun year. . . . It's sad to see them go. There were a lot of good fans. It's a shame and I feel bad."

The Citizen wrote that Skinner that year was still in baseball at the age of 76, serving as a scout for the Astros. Skinner's son Joel Skinner has followed his father into a long baseball career. He most recently served as a bench coach for the Athletics in 2011.
For a feature on Skinner's playing career, go to Bob Skinner, Play Whenever

• Waycross Journal-Herald, Associated Press, Aug. 8, 1969: Bob Skinner Quits As Phils Manager
• Meriden Morning Record and Journal, UPI, Oct. 16, 1979: Tanner absent
• Pittsburgh Press, April 13, 1985: Frobel gets hits in clutch
• Tucson Citizen, Aug. 30, 2008: End of an era: 'Winders wind down

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 723/880 - 82.2%
Players/Coaches Featured: 734
Made the Majors: 494 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:240-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 217
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 144

Bob Skinner, Play Whenever - Playing Days

Bob Skinner spent the night with an ice pack on his thumb and the next day in a whirlpool.

Skinner was trying to shake off the effects of a jammed thumb, one suffered in, of all circumstances, Game 1 of the World Series.

"I'll be able to play whenever Danny (Murtaugh) wants to put me in the lineup," an optimistic Skinner told The AP.

Skinner needed to be optimistic. His Pirates needed all they could get, if they had hope of beating the vaunted Yankees in the 1960 World Series.

And Skinner did return. He returned in time for Game 7, drawing a walk in the bottom of the first and scoring the Pirates' first run on a Rocky Nelson home run.

It was a classic contest the Pirates would go on to win by one run, on a more-famous run scored later in the game, one scored by Bill Mazeroski.

Skinner was in his sixth big league season in 1960, all of them played with the Pirates. He would go on to play in 12 seasons in the majors, the second part of his career seeing him join the Reds, and then the Cardinals.

His playing days done, Skinner would go on to a long post-playing career as a manager and a coach in the majors and the minors. He even spent two seasons in a major league manager's office.

Skinner's career began in 1951, signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent, out of La Jolla, Ca. Skinner started at Class D Mayfield and Class B Waco. He then served two years in the military, returning to the diamond for 1954.

He also returned from the service directly to Pittsburgh. Skinner spent all of 1954 with the Pirates, getting into 132 games and hitting .249. In April, Skinner got hits in six of his first seven games. In his seventh, he went 4 for 4, a home run short of the cycle.

Skinner spent 1955 back down at AA New Orleans, before returning to Pittsburgh for 1956. He hit just .202 for the Pirates that year, but raised that to .305 in 1957 and .321 in 1958. In 1958, Skinner also made his first of two All-Star teams.

He made his second All-Star team in 1960, the year his Pirates defeated the Yankees in the World Series. Skinner hit .273 that year with 15 home runs.

One of Skinner's 1960 home runs came in July, helping the Pirates to a win. Skinner hit a grand slam in the eighth inning, an inside-the-park grand slam.

Skinner stayed with the Pirates into 1963, when he was traded to the Reds. About the trade, Skinner told The AP he believed it made sense.

"The Pirates have a young, good-looking outfielder in Willie Stargell," Skinner told The AP, "and I felt in my own mind they wanted him to play."

Skinner stayed with the Reds for a season, moving to the Cardinals in another trade. With the Cardinals, Skinner returned to the World Series. His playing time, though, was limited to four pinch-hitting appearances, getting two hits, one a double.

Skinner played two more seasons, both with the Cardinals, ending his playing career in 1966.

By 1968, he was a major league manager, with the Phillies.

For Skinner's coaching career, go to: Bob Skinner, Much Pride

• Jeannette News-Dispatch, UPI, July 7, 1960: Bob Skinner's Inside-Park Homer Beats Reds
  
• Schenectady Gazette, Associated Press, Oct. 7, 1960: Murtaugh Prefers Bad Beating
• Sarasota Journal, Associated Press, May 24, 1963: Mets Get Piersall, Reds, Bucs Swap
  

Doug Robertson, Be Realistic - 457

Four years since he last played, Doug Robertson knew his baseball career wasn't going anywhere.

So, in spring 1995, he became a replacement Angel.

"I've got to take care of myself," Robertson told The Los Angeles Times that February "Who am I fooling? Like I'm going to go back to the minor leagues and compete with some 25-year-old? I'm past the development stage."

Robertson got to that point after a seven-season professional career, ending in 1991. It was a career in which Robertson made AAA. But he never made the majors.

Robertson's career began in 1985, taken by the Giants in the third round of the draft out of Cal State Fullerton.

He started at short-season Everett. The right-hander went 4-4 in 13 starts, posting an ERA of 4.43. He picked up one of those wins in July, going seven innings without giving up a run.

Robertson moved to single-A Clinton in 1986. There, he went just 3-10, with a 4.56 ERA. Back at Clinton for 1987, Robertson went 8-12, with a 5.10 ERA.

For 1988, Robertson moved to single-A San Jose. He also moved to the bullpen. In 57 outings, Robertson's ERA plummeted to just 1.26. He also picked up 23 saves In April, Robertson went 2.1 innings in one game without giving up a hit.

With that, he earned a promotion for 1989 to AA Shreveport. His ERA also stayed good, at 3.00 over 52 outings, getting another 25 saves.

That December, Robertson was taken by the Indians in the Rule 5 draft. With the Indians that spring, Robertson gave up five earned runs in one outing, just getting two outs.

Robertson started the season at AAA Colorado Springs, getting 12 saves in 31 outings. But he also had a 5.76 ERA. Robertson moved to the Brewers mid-year, playing at AAA Denver. He got into 21 more outings there, with a 4.44 ERA.

His final season came in 1991, with the Angels at AA Midland. He got 36 outings, with a 4.82 ERA.

Robertson then returned with the Angels for spring 1995. He played out the spring. By the end of March, he was trying not to look forward to the opening of the season. But the strike, and his career, would so end.

"We kept playing through spring training like the strike wasn't going to end, and it hasn't," Doug Robertson told The Times in late March. "It would be real disappointing (not starting the season), but you knew going in that could happen. You have to be realistic about it."

• Los Angeles Times, Feb. 27, 1995: Players Fill In Blanks on the Roster
• Los Angeles Times, March 30, 1995: Replacements So Close to Regular Season, but ...

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 722/880 - 82.1%
Players/Coaches Featured: 733
Made the Majors: 493 - 67%
Never Made the Majors:240-33%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 217
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 144

Wade Taylor, Showed Confidence - 778

Wade Taylor later explained his comment, saying he was simply showing confidence in his abilities, The New York Times wrote.

But, after his first spring outing, one where he got shelled for 10 earned runs, only recording four outs, Taylor was still certain he would make the Yankee rotation for 1992, The Times wrote.

"I look at myself as being real talented," Taylor told reporters, according to The Times. "I feel I'm more talented than the other guys. Eventually that will make the difference."

Whether he was more talented or not, for Taylor, it didn't seem to make a difference. Coming of a rookie season where he started 22 games for the Yankees, Taylor didn't make the Yankees that year. He also didn't make the majors again.

Taylor's career began in 1987, signed by the Mariners as a free agent out of the University of Miami.

Taylor started at short-season Bellingham, going 3-5 in 10 starts. His stay in the Mariners system, though, was brief. For 1988, the Mariners sent him to the Yankees in a five-player deal.

Taylor played 1988 at single-A Fort Lauderdale, then 1989 at single-A Prince William. He made AA Albany-Colonie in 1990 and AAA Columbus that same year. Between Albany and Columbus, Taylor went 12-8 with a 2.51 ERA.

He started 1991 at Columbus. By June, he was in the Bronx. He picked up wins in his first two outings. He picked up a late-July win, going eight innings while giving up one earned run against Oakland. He also won with the help of his defense.

"I was able to throw my breaking ball when I was behind in the count and that's always good," Taylor told The Associated Press. "Four double plays also helps a lot."

By the end of the year, though, Taylor's record stood at 7-12, his ERA at 6.27. In September, he picked up a loss in a game where he made it into the seventh inning, but gave up four earned runs, including two home runs. It was his second-straight tough outing.

"It sure is frustrating," Taylor told The Times after that second game. "I've had my best stuff the last two games and have nothing to show for it."

After his slow spring in 1992, Taylor had an abbreviated season. He only started five games, across three levels of the minors. He then started five more games in 1993 at AAA Columbus, ending his career.

• Toledo Blade, Associated Press, July 21, 1991: Yankees post third straight win as Oakland can't solve rookies
• New York Times, Sept. 12, 1991: Yankees Continue on Road to Nowhere
• New York Times, March 16, 1992: A Lot of Confidence but No Success So Far for Yanks' Taylor

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 721/880 - 81.9%
Players/Coaches Featured: 732
Made the Majors: 493 - 67%-X
Never Made the Majors:239-33%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 217
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 144