Geovany Miranda wanted to play every day; Saw seven pro seasons, made AAA

Geovany Miranda was eager playing infield for the short-season Eugene Emeralds in July 1990.

The Panama-native was on his third season of professional baseball. And he knew what he needed to improve, that was to play, according to The Eugene Register-Guard.

"I want to play baseball," Miranda told The Register-Guard that July. "I want to play every day. I do not want to rest."

Baseball is what brought Miranda to the United States, signed by the Royals as an undrafted free agent in 1988.

Years later, long after his playing career was over, it was baseball Miranda turned to stay in the United States.

Miranda's first stop with the Royals was in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He played there his first two professional seasons. He hit .231 his first season there and .311 his second.

He moved to single-A Appleton in 1990, getting into 55 games there, but hitting only .227. By mid-year, he moved back to Eugene, hitting .338 the rest of the way.

Miranda returned to Appleton full time in 1991, hitting .236, with 28 stolen bases. He started 1992 at high-A Baseball City, but moved quickly to the White Sox system.

With the White Sox, Miranda stayed in the Florida State League, at Sarasota. The next year, he played between Sarasota, single-A Hickory and he got his first look at AA, at Birmingham.

His final year as a player came in 1994. Miranda played 55 games at high-A Prince William. He also got his only 16 games at AAA, at Nashville.

From there, Miranda became a scout for the Blue Jays in his native Panama. By 2001, he was back in the U.S. coaching in the minors. By 2002, Miranda settled in Charleston, W.V.

Miranda settled in Charleston, co-founding a baseball program called West Virginia Team USA, The Charleston Gazette wrote. But he wasn't an American citizen. By June 2010, he and his family were in danger of being sent back to Panama, pinning his hopes of a new visa on his experience in the game.

"The greater Charleston valley ... is in great need of trainers and teachers for all sports, especially baseball and girls softball," John Wilcox, West Virginia Team USA owner wrote in a letter supporting Miranda staying in the U.S., according to The Gazette. "The market for individual and team instruction is huge and Mr. Miranda's expertise has surpassed our expectations."

• Eugene Register-Guard, July 11, 1990: Miranda: The Ems' best?
• Charleston Gazette, June 21, 2010: Baseball could keep Charleston man in country

More: The 1990 Appleton Foxes

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 857/880 - 97.4%
Players/Coaches Featured: 868
Made the Majors: 593 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 275-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160 

Wilfredo Cordero had ability enough for 14 ML seasons

Wilfredo Cordero was still a few years away from the majors in 1988. At the age of 16, he was still a few years away from a lot of things.

But the Expos saw big things for their young Puerto Rican prospect, according to The Houston Chronicle.

"He has so much athletic ability about him," team assistant director of scouting Frank Wren told The Chronicle that September. "He's got great physical tools, good hands, a good arm, he's big and strong and he handles the ball away very well."

Cordero ended up making Montreal less than four years later, at the age of 20. He didn't stop playing in the majors until 2005, seeing time in 14 big league seasons and making an All-Star team.

Cordero was signed by the Expos in 1988 as an amateur free agent out of his native Puerto Rico, playing his first year at short-season Jamestown.

Cordero got a look at AA Jacksonville in 1989, then made AAA Indianapolis in 1991. It was then in July 1992 that Cordero made his debut in Montreal.

Cordero made Montreal in a season where he saw a series of injuries, and contracted Chicken Pox, according to The Montreal Gazette. But Cordero came back to get into 45 games with the Expos, and hit .302.

In 1993, Cordero played the entire season with the Expos, hitting .248, with 10 home runs. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, Cordero hit .294, with 15 home runs. In early July, Cordero was named to the All-Star team and hit is first major league grand slam to help the Expos into first place, all in the same day, according to The New York Times.

Cordero stayed with the Expos through 1995, when he was traded for 1996 to the Red Sox. His time with the Red Sox, though, turned out to be rocky.

His first season with the team was limited to just 59 games. Then, in June 1997, came domestic abuse allegations. He missed 11 games, finally returning after going to counseling, The Associated Press wrote. On the season, he hit .281, with 18 home runs in 140 games.

By spring 1998, the Red Sox released him. He then signed with the White Sox, looking for a chance to get his reputation back from his off-field problems.

"I recognize that I've made mistakes and have worked hard to change," Cordero said in a statement after signing with Chicago, according to news services. "With the support of Chicago's fans and the White Sox, I see this as a tremendous chance to redeem myself and my reputation."

Cordero ended up hitting .267 that year in 96 games for the White Sox. By 2001, Cordero was with the Indians, getting into 89 games and hitting .250.

In one May 2001 game, Cordero tied a game with a ninth-inning, two-run home run.

"The best thing about the hit was that we won the ballgame, and that feels great," Cordero told reporters afterward. "I am just trying to contribute as much as I can and it feels good when you make a play that helps you win."

Cordero went on to play into 2005, returning to the team that originally signed him, the Expos, in 2002. He played his last games in 2005, with the relocated Expos, the Nationals.

By 2007, Cordero was working as an instructor. That July, he stopped in to teach young players in Monticello, NY. Asked by The Times Herald Record of Middletown about the greatest moment of his career, Cordero looked back to the beginning, his major league debut back in 1992.

"It is like a dream," he told Times Herald Record. "After all this hard work - I made it. Once you're there, all the real work begins because you don't want to go down to the minors."

• Houston Chronicle, Sept. 4, 1988: Youngest pro player at 16, Cordero looks to majors
• Philadelphia Daily News, wire services, March 24, 1998: Karros Needs Surgery
• USAToday, ticker, May 16, 2001: Indians vs. Rangers
• Middletown Times Herald Record, July 4, 2007: Former major-leaguer Wil Cordero shares baseball knowledge with kids at camp in Sullivan County

More: The 1990 Jacksonville Expos

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 857/880 - 97.4%
Players/Coaches Featured: 868
Made the Majors: 593 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 275-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160

Larry Shikles, Different Pitches - 255

Larry Shikles hung a slider to a Clearwater Phillie the Phillie hit it out, Shikles explained to The Lakeland Ledger after that April 1987 game.

After that, Shikles saw a change in his approach, though he still recorded the win, he told The Ledger.

"After the home run," Shikles told The Ledger, "I started to try to over-throw and I started to get behind and used my fast ball more. Earlier, when I was ahead of a hitter, I used my slider and curve more."

Shikles was in his second season using his different pitches as a pro. He went on to use his fast ball, slider and curve in a total of eight seasons. But he never did get to use them in the majors.

Shikles' career began in 1986, signed by the Red Sox as an undrafted free agent out of Western Kentucky University.

Shikles started that year at single-A Greensboro, going 12-10, with a 4.74 ERA. He moved to single-A Winter Haven in 1987, going 12-11 there, with a 3.63.

For 1988, Shikles made AA New Britain, splitting time between starting and relieving and keeping his ERA below 4 at 3.53.

He then returned to New Britain for 1989, getting a one-game look that year at AAA Pawtucket.

Shikles then played his next three seasons at Pawtucket, going from starting to relieving his first two seasons, then returning to mostly start in 1992. In April 1991, Shikles came into a game in relief and set down 11-straight batters in a Pawtucket win.

By the end of 1992, though, Shikles was ready to move on from the Red Sox. He hadn't made Boston, despite a season that year where he went 13-8, with a 3.56 ERA in 23 starts.

"I felt like I really had a strong season," Shikles told The Bowling Green Daily News after becoming a free agent. "The only thing I didn't accomplish is making the big leagues."

Shikles then tried his hand in the Athletics organization. But the results were the same. He spent the year at AAA Tacoma, starting 21 games and relieving in 17. But he didn't see Oakland.

Shikles then left the game, becoming a financial consultant in his native Missouri, where he remains for 2012.

• Lakeland Ledger, April 24, 1987: Sox top Phillies
• Bowling Green Daily News, Nov. 1, 1992: Larry Shikles

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 857/880 - 97.4%
Players/Coaches Featured: 868
Made the Majors: 593 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 275-32%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160 

Ray Lankford, Some Kind - 114

In one September 1991 game, Ray Lankford single-handedly won the contest, knocking in the Cardinals' only runs and cutting down the potential game-tying run for the final out, The Associated Press wrote.

The next night he just went out and hit for the cycle.

"He's had some kind of 24-hour period," Cardinals manager Joe Torre told The AP after the second game.

Lankford was completing his first full season in the majors that year, a season where he came in third in the Rookie of the Year voting. He went on to have some kind of career, becoming a regular in the Cardinal outfield for a decade and seeing time in 14 total big league seasons.

Lankford's career began in 1987, taken by the Cardinals in the third round of the draft, out of Modesto Junior College.

Lankford started at rookie Johnson City, making AA Arkansas in 1989, then AAA Louisville in 1990. In August 1990, Lankford debuted in St. Louis.

In 39 games for the Cardinals that year, Lankford hit .286. He returned for all of 1991, getting into 151 games, hitting .251 and stealing 44.

In 1992, Lankford hit .293, with 20 home runs and 42 stolen bases. In August 1992, Lankford knocked in the game-winning run off the Phillies' Mitch Williams in the 10th inning.

"Lankford doesn't scare," Torre told reporters afterward of the showdown. "You may get him out, but he doesn't give."

Lankford stayed with the Cardinals into 2001. Along the way, he hit .306 in 1999 and 31 home runs each in 1997 and 1998. In 1997, Lankford also made the All-Star team. That April, he also won a five-year contract extension worth $34 million.

By 2001, though, Lankford's relationship with the Cardinals had deteriorated with his batting average. He hit .253 in 2000 and, by August 2001, he was hitting just .235. He was then traded to the Padres.

By 2004, though, Lankford was back in St. Louis, to close out his career where it began. He got into 92 final games that year, hitting .255. In his final official at bat, Lankford hit a home run, the 238th of his career.

"It might be my last regular-season game, period," Lankford told The AP afterward. "I thought about all of that. It was great just to go up there and hear the fans cheering for me."

• Southeast Missourian, Associated Press, Sept. 15, 1991: Lankford leads Cardinals past Mets
• Reading Eagle, news services, Aug. 12, 1992: Sliding Phils fall to Cards
• ESPN.com, Associated Press, Oct. 3, 2004: Lankford homers, maybe for final time

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 856/880 - 97.2%
Players/Coaches Featured: 867
Made the Majors: 593 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160

Jim Weaver, His Strength - 444

Jim Weaver wasn't surprised the Twins didn't protect him for the winter draft, he told The Associated Press in spring 1985.

The career minor leaguer hadn't played well the previous year at AAA Toledo, he was only hitting .230 and he wasn't playing every day.

"See, that's not my strength," Weaver told The AP as he worked to make the Tigers and debut in the majors. "I've always been an every day ballplayer."

Weaver did make the Tigers out of spring 1985, and he stayed up for nearly two months. But he hardly played. Over his two months with the team, he only got into 12 games, eight plate appearances and one hit, a double. By June, he was back with the Twins.

Weaver went on to play a total of 11 seasons as a pro. He would only make the majors twice more, seeing action in just 19 more big league contests.

Weaver's career began in 1980, taken by the Twins in the second round of the 1980 draft, out of Florida State University. Weaver signed with the Twins, forgoing his senior year.

With the Twins, Weaver began at AA Orlando, hitting just .212 in 58 games. He then played much of the next year at single-A Visalia, upping his average there to .283.

Twins farm director Jim Rantz told Weaver's hometown Sarasota Journal that June that the team saw big things for Weaver going forward.

"There's an adjustment coming into pro ball," told The Sarasota Journal. "One of the biggest is going from aluminum bats to wooden bats. Playing every day is another. But we have high hopes for him. He has a lot of ability."

Weaver, though, never saw Minnesota. He played 1982 back at Visalia, then 1983 at Orlando. He then played much of 1984 at AAA Toledo, hitting .230 there.

Going into 1984, Weaver hoped he would make Minnesota, telling The Journal he knew he still needed more maturing, but he was nearly ready.

"And I know one thing - I still love to play baseball as much as ever," Weaver told The Journal in March 1984. "I play with enthusiasm. I love running and throwing. It means as much to me to throw a guy out as it does to hit a home run."

After being drafted by the Tigers, and spending the first two months of 1985 in Detroit, Weaver returned to the Twins and Toledo. By August, he was in the Indians system, send there in the Bert Blyleven-Jay Bell deal.

Weaver next saw the majors in 1987, with the Mariners. He got into seven games there, six plate appearances, no hits.

Weaver then saw his last time in the bigs in 1989, with the Giants. He got another 12 games with the team, but 20 total at bats. He picked up four final hits, three of those doubles, ending his big league career.

Weaver played one more season in the minors, his 11th as a pro, back with the Mariners at AAA Calgary, without seeing Seattle, ending his professional career.

• Sarasota Journal, June 3, 1981: Weaver starting to gel after rocky beginning, Part 2
• Sarasota Journal, March 18, 1984: Weaver Loves Baseball, Eyes Major Leagues 
• Owosso Argus-Press, Associated Press, March 30, 1985: Tigers Make Pirates Walk The Plank, 18-3

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 856/880 - 97.2%
Players/Coaches Featured: 867
Made the Majors: 593 - 68%-X
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160 

Eddie Zosky, Confidence Builder - 812

Eddie Zosky told himself to drive the ball up the middle, Zosky told reporters later in a wire account. Or maybe he should hit it to the right side.

What he ended up doing in this September 1991 game, was hit it to center for a single and his first two major league RBIs.

"It was the first time I didn't look back to see if they were going to put in a pinch hitter," Zosky, his big league career barely two weeks old, told reporters in the wire account. "I felt like I was going to be hitting and they let me. It was a real confidence builder."

Zosky took that confidence and ended up playing in five different big league seasons. His big league time in those seasons, though, would be limited. The 18 games he saw with the Blue Jays in 1991 would be the most he would see in any one campaign.

Zosky's career began in 1989, taken by the Blue Jays in the first round of the draft, 19th pick overall, out of California State University Fresno.

Zosky started at AA Knoxville, hitting .221 in 56 games. He returned to Knoxville for 1990, then hit AAA Syracuse in 1991.

Going into 1991, Zosky was thought to be a candidate for the Toronto starting shortstop spot, according to The Boston Globe. Instead, though, Zosky was sent to AAA Syracuse.

"I just had a lot of negative thoughts," Zosky told The Globe of his 1991 spring. "They were saying in the papers that I had a chance to win the job, and I kept thinking to myself, 'Don't blow it. Don't make an error, don't throw this ball away.' And you can't play that way."

Zosky did make Toronto that year, but it wasn't until that September. In 18 games for the Blue Jays, Zosky hit just .148, getting just those two RBIs.

Zosky returned to the Blue Jays for 1992, but again not until September. This time, he got two hits in seven at bats.

Zosky didn't make it back to the majors until 1995, after a trade to the Marlins. Along the way, he had an abbreviated 1993, having bone chips removed from his shoulder early in the year. He played 1994 completely at Syracuse.

With the Marlins in 1995, Zosky got into six games, picking up one hit. He then saw eight games with the Brewers in 1999 and four games with Houston in 2000, rounding out his big league career.

In spring 1998, a year that Zosky spent entirely at AAA with the Brewers, Zosky kept his sense of humor. He kept even after becoming the first Brewer to get hit by a pitch in an inter-squad game, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"He apologized right away," Zosky told The Journal Sentinel of the offending pitcher Jeff Juden. "I was going to charge the mound, but then he apologized, so everything was OK."

• Savannah News-Press, wire reports, Sept. 15, 1991: Candiotti Takes Command as Jays Clip A's
• Baltimore Sun, Boston Globe, Sept. 26, 1991: Blue Jays' Lee now loves playing shortstop, but questions linger
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb. 19, 1998: Nilsson hampered by sore knee, Part 2

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 855/880 - 97.2%
Players/Coaches Featured: 866
Made the Majors: 592 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160 

Pat Kelly, How Good - 525

It was Pat Kelly's first managerial stint in the Carolina League in 2010, with Lynchburg. But he was still familiar with the league, and minor league baseball.

The player Kelly had spent a summer in the league back in 1979, with Kinston. The player and later manager Kelly in 2010 was also nearing four decades spent in the game's lower levels.

"That was what minor league baseball was 30 years ago," Kelly told North Carolina's Jacksonville Daily News in April 2010, recounting the changes in minor league parks over that time. "Now, with the improvements to the stadiums, I think our players don't realize how good they've got it."

Kelly's job, though, hasn't been necessarily to get them to realize how good those stadiums have become. His job over the his three decades as a minor league manager has been got get those players to realize their true potential, and see them off to the major leagues.

It was a potential that the player Kelly realized just once, in a late-May 1980 call up to the Blue Jays, a call up that saw him play in just three games. Years later, Kelly would see the majors again, for a brief stint as Reds bench coach in Cincinnati.

Kelly's career began back in 1973, taken by the Angels in the third round of the draft, out of Santa Maria High School in California.

Kelly started at rookie Idaho Falls, making AA El Paso in his fifth season. He moved to the Blue Jays system for 1978 in a trade, seeing AAA for the first time with an abbreviated season at Syracuse.

After that return to single-A at Kinston in 1979, the catcher returned to Syracuse to start 1980, then made Toronto by the end of May.

In three total outings with the Blue Jays, Kelly picked up two hits in seven at bats. Kelly then returned to Syracuse, then played just one more full season before starting his coaching career.

After player-coaching stints, Kelly got his first managerial job by 1986, at Charleston, S.C., serving as a coach at that year's South Atlantic League All-Star game.

The new manager saw his Rainbows come back from a close loss to win a July game by a 10-2 score, getting helped by a couple early double plays, according to The Charleston News and Courier.

"Those double plays early were really important," Kelly told The News and Courier after the game. "They helped the confidence of our infielders, especially after last night."

Kelly moved to AA Wichita for 1988, then AAA Las Vegas for 1990. By 1995, he was managing in the Expos system, at AA Harrisburg.

In 1996, in Kelly's second season managing Harrisburg, one of his players was a young Vladimir Guerrero.

"The thing that amazes you about Guerrero is that he can contribute in all facets of the game," Kelly told The New London Day after an August game where Guerrero did just that.

Over the next decade, Kelly moved to the Blue Jays, Braves and then Reds systems, spending time as a manager at AAA down to rookie ball, as a scout and, in 2007, spending time as a bench coach in Cincinnati. For 2011 and 2012, Kelly served as manager at rookie Billings.

In 2012, Kelly saw another player off to the major leagues. This time, though, it was as a father. Kelly's son Casey Kelly made his debut with the Padres in August 2012.

"I don't know what my blood-pressure was …," the father told The Billings Gazette, "you just want him to do well."

• Charleston News and Courier, July 13, 1986: Rainbows tee off on Florence for 10-2 win
• New London Day, Aug. 22, 1996: Maeda no help for Navigators 
• Jacksonville Daily News, April 29, 2010: Hillcats skipper recalls old CL
• Billings Gazette, Aug. 28, 2012: Mustangs blow 6-run lead, recover to beat Brewers

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 855/880 - 97.2%
Players/Coaches Featured: 866
Made the Majors: 592 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160

Dave Pavlas, That Feeling - 81

Called on to get the final out - and save - Dave Pavlas gave up a single to load the bases in this August 1996 game against the Athletics, The Hartford Courant wrote.

Then, facing Oakland's Jason Giambi, Pavlas threw three pitches for three strikes, setting Giambi down and picking up his first-career save.

"It seemed like there were a million fans," Pavlas told The Courant afterward. "It felt like I better get him out or I would have to check my car on the way out. That's a load off my mind. I was so excited afterwards I couldn't remember my name or where my locker was. I want to keep that feeling."

It was a feeling for Pavlas that was likely similar to the feeling six years earlier, when he picked up his first major league win, an accomplishment, Pavlas told The Chicago Tribune, that ranked "right up there with being born."

It was also a feeling that was likely a world away from the one he'd felt just a year earlier, in 1995, getting called back to the majors for the first time in four seasons. That was also his first time back since he played that spring, in replacement ball.

Pavlas' career began in 1984, signed by the Cubs as an amateur free agent out of Rice University in Texas.

He played his first game in 1985, for single-A Peoria, going 8-3 in 15 starts. Pavlas made AA Pittsfield in 1987, before being traded mid-year to the Rangers and sent to AA Tulsa.

Pavlas first made AAA Oklahoma City in 1988, returning there for 1989 and going just 2-14 in 21 starts.

For 1990, Pavlas returned to the Cubs. He also made the majors. Pavlas was called up to Chicago in late-August. He then got into 13 games in relief, picking up two wins. He picked up that first win Sept. 8, going two scoreless innings.

Pavlas returned to the Cubs for 1991, but got into just a single game with Chicago. In one inning July 26, Pavlas gave up two earned runs.

Then came three full seasons away from the majors. He played back at Iowa. He played in Mexico, Taiwan and Italy. Then, he returned to affiliated ball spring 1995, as a replacement Yankee.

Pavlas made it back to the majors by July, with the Yankees, but his reception was cold, according to The Victoria Advocate.

"This was going to be a last-ditch effort," Pavlas told The Advocate of him playing that spring. "The circumstances couldn't have been any better even though I knew I was going to tick people off. I knew if I went to minor league camp, I wasn't going to impress anybody."

Pavlas got into four games that year for the Yankees, then returned for 16 more regular season games for the 1996 World Champion Yankees, ending his major league career. He continued on in the minors, though, through 2001, even playing a season in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants, but he never got called back to the bigs.

At the close of his pro career, in February 2002, Pavlas recounted his early expectations to The Advocate, the ones he had after being first signed by the Cubs as a free agent back in 1984.

"I figured I would last a couple of years," Pavlas told The Advocate in 2002, "but I was going to give it a shot. I kept thinking this would be my last year and now, 18 years later, it's finally a reality."

• Chicago Tribune, Sept. 9, 1990: Grace Homer, Relievers Save Win For Cubs
• Victoria Advocate, July 16, 1995: Cold shoulder treatment overshadows Pavlas' return
• Hartford Courant, Aug. 25, 1996: Whitehurst Makes Quick Contribution
• Victoria Advocate, Feb. 14, 2002: Pavlas enjoyed pro career

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 855/880 - 97.2%
Players/Coaches Featured: 866
Made the Majors: 592 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160

Rick Luecken, His Role - 656

The Braves had just returned home from a West Coast swing and reliever Rick Luecken chose that as the time to go to manager Bobby Cox and question his role with the team, the story went, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Those who over heard the ensuing 4 a.m. conversation remembered it as one-sided, according to the story relayed at a 2011 luncheon where Cox was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame, according to The Journal-Constitution.

"You know what that [bullpen] phone rings and I tell you to warm up?" Cox was recalled as saying at the luncheon, according to The Journal-Constitution. "That’s your role."

Luecken had been with the Braves in Atlanta for much of the year, getting into 35 games to that point in early September. After that, though, he got just two more outings, the second after being picked up off waivers by the Blue Jays.

Luecken came back for just one more season, five outings played at AAA, and his nine-season pro career was done.

Luecken's career began in 1983, signed by the Mariners as a 27th-round pick out of Texas A&M University. For Luecken, his college time didn't improve his draft status. Out of Spring Woods High School in Texas, the Giants had taken him in the 1979 draft in the first round, 18th overall.

With the Mariners, Luecken started at short-season Bellingham, going 5-4 in 12 starts. He made AA Chattanooga in 1984, then AAA Calgary in 1985. In May 1985, he went six innings in one game, giving up two runs. He ended up going 4-8 in 14 starts.

Luecken returned to Chattanooga for 1986. For 1987, though, he moved to the Royals system in a five-player deal.

Luecken stayed three seasons in the Royals system, making Kansas City for 19 outings in 1989. He went 2-1 for the Royals, with a 3.42 ERA. That December, Luecken made another move in a trade, arriving with the Braves.

The trade done, Luecken's new manager Cox praised the right-hander to The Associated Press.

"Luecken has developed into a good relief pitcher," Cox told The AP, "and has a definite chance to help us right away."

Luecken then made the Braves the next year, getting those 36 outings, putting up a 5.77 ERA. That September, less than two weeks after he met with Cox, Luecken was taken off waivers by the Blue Jays, pitching his final big league outing for them.

Five more outings with the Cubs at AAA Iowa in 1991 and Luecken's career was over, with 56 total outings in the majors over two seasons.

• Lawrence Journal-World, Associated Press, Dec. 16, 1989: Royals swap pitching for Perry
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Aug. 12, 2011: Bobby Cox loved his players but wasn't keen on role-playing

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 855/880 - 97.2%
Players/Coaches Featured: 866
Made the Majors: 592 - 68%-X
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160 

Dave Masters, Long Shot - 77

In his eighth pro season, Dave Masters looked to make his first jump to the majors in 1992. And he pitched well enough in one spring game to get noticed, according to The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

In one spring outing, Masters pitched to 13 Padres batters, getting 12 of them out.

"He was a long shot before the game," Giants manager Roger Craig told reporters after the game, according to The Sun-Sentinel, "but not now."

Masters, though, didn't end up making it that year, or any year. A former first-round pick, Masters played that year back at AAA and just one more year after that.

Master's career began in 1985, taken by the Cubs as the 24th overall selection in that year's draft, out of the University of California, Berkeley.

Masters played his first two seasons at single-A Winston-Salem, going just 1-11 his first year there and 8-9 his second.

Masters made AA Pittsfield in 1987, then AAA Iowa in 1988. With Iowa in 1988, Masters went 14-8, with a 5.22 ERA. But he didn't see Chicago.

Starting out 1989, though, Masters got injured. He then had to face the possibility of being without the game, and never making the majors, according to The New York Times.

"I don't know anyone in the minors who isn't really scraping financially just to exist," Masters told The Times, as he went back to school while still keeping his playing career alive. "You always keep hoping you'll get called up to the majors. But you can go from prospect to suspect almost overnight."

On the field, Masters started just four games at Iowa in 1989. He returned for 1990, hoping his injury was behind him. The Cubs, too, hoped that, according to The Chicago Tribune.

"Dave knows that this is a critical year as far as the future of Dave Masters is concerned," Cubs minor league director Bill Harford told The Tribune. "He's a bright kid, and I think he's maturing a little bit. I hope that the problems he's had in the past, both physical and mental, are behind him and that we can go forward."

Masters started the year back at Iowa. By mid-year, though, he was with the Expos, at AA Jacksonville.

By late-1991, Masters was with the Giants, at AAA Phoenix, having started that year at AAA Indianapolis. He then played those two more years in the Giants organization, missing that spring 1992 shot at the majors, ending his career without making the bigs.

• New York Times, July 6, 1989: Game Over, Athlete Hits The Books
• Chicago Tribune, March 14, 1990: Cub Farmhand Works On A Masters' Degree 
• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, March 15, 1992: Taking Schotts: Cheap Owner Worries Larkin

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 854/880 - 97.1%
Players/Coaches Featured: 865
Made the Majors: 591 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160

Manny Hernandez, Few Minutes - 356

Manny Hernandez sat in the visitors locker room before his major league debut at Dodger Stadium and stared at the clock. It seemed like the minutes to his first start just wouldn't pass, he told The Houston Chronicle later.

But what were a few minutes compared to how long it took for him to get there?

"My dream came true tonight," Hernandez told The Chronicle. "I've spent seven years waiting for this night. I never got discouraged though. I kept working hard, no matter where I was sent, to realize my dream."

And with that waiting, Hernandez was ready for that debut, throwing 5.2 innings of three-hit ball, giving up a single run.

Hernandez went on pitch in nine games for the Astros that year and, in a career that spanned 13 professional seasons, he would see time in two more big league campaigns.

Hernandez' career began in 1978, signed by the Astros as a free agent out of his native Dominican Republic.

Hernandez played his first two seasons in the rookie Gulf Coast League, posting a combined record of 7-2 in 20 outings. He played his next three seasons at single-A Daytona Beach. His final year there, he went 10-3, with a 2.99 ERA.

For 1984, Hernandez made the jump to AAA Tucson, where he would play for the next five seasons.

It was in 1986 that Hernandez made the jump to Houston, debuting June 5 with that 5.2-inning effort. Despite giving up just a single run, Hernandez ended up taking the loss.

In his second start, a week later, Hernandez again went 5.2 innings while giving up a single run. This time, he got the win.

After the win, Hernandez thought back to surgery he'd had on his shoulder a year before, and how he'd made it back, according to UPI.

"A year ago, the major leagues seemed a million miles away," Hernandez told UPI. "I'm so happy."

But there were still lessons to learn. In his third start, Hernandez gave up a two-run single to the opposing pitcher. Hernandez went six innings, giving up five runs, though two were earned.


"(Hernandez) has got to remember to bear down and get the pitcher out," Hernandez' manager Hal Lanier told The Associated Press later. "It cost him two runs."

In nine total outings for the Astros that year, four starts, Hernandez went 2-3, with a 3.90 ERA. He returned to Houston for six more outings, three starts, going 0-4.

After a season spent back at Tucson, Hernandez signed with the Twins at AAA Portland, then was sent mid-1989 to the Mets. With the Mets in September 1989, Hernandez got his final time in the majors, a single inning of work.

Hernandez played two more seasons in the minors, at AAA Tidewater and with the Brewers at AAA Denver, ending his career after 13 seasons and with 16 total outings in the majors.

• Houston Chronicle, June 6, 1986: Honeycutt, Howell limit Astros to 2 hits in 1-0 Dodger win
• Lodi News-Sentinel, UPI, June 13, 1986: Giants fall to Astros
• Williamson Daily News, Associated Press, June 18, 1986: Reds come from behind to edge Astros

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 854/880 - 97.1%
Players/Coaches Featured: 865
Made the Majors: 591 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160 

Terry Taylor, That Mistake - 432

Terry Taylor delivered the pitch in this September 1988 game and Danny Tartabull took advantage.

He took advantage by hitting a grand slam.

"With the bases loaded, I'm just trying to keep the ball in the middle of the field so we can score some runs," Tartabull told The Associated Press afterward. "When a pitcher makes a mistake though, I'll hit it out."

While this Sept. 20 outing was just his fifth, in a professional career that lasted a decade, Taylor ended up making that mistake in a big league game that turned out to be his last.

Taylor made it to that point in his seventh season as a pro. Taylor turned pro in 1982, taken by the Mariners in the fourth round of the draft, out of Crestview High School in Florida.

He started at short-season Bellingham, going 6-4 in 14 starts. Taylor moved to single-A Wausau in 1983 and then single-A Salinas in 1984.

Taylor made AA Chattanooga in 1985, but went just 4-15 in 28 starts. He returned to AA for 1986, righting that record to 12-8.

In spring 1987, Taylor got some playing time for the Mariners, giving up a home run to Andre Dawson. Starting the year, Taylor got his first look at AAA, at Calgary. In 23 starts, Taylor went 10-3.

For 1988, Taylor returned to Calgary, going 11-9, with a 5.64 ERA. In August, he got his call to Seattle.

Taylor debuted Aug. 19, going 7.1 innings, giving up just two earned runs. Over five total starts, though, Taylor went 23 innings, giving up 16 earned runs.

Taylor returned for spring 1989, but arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder delayed his season until July. He ended up getting just 10 starts that year, none in Seattle.

Taylor played just two more seasons. He played 1990 back at Calgary, going 0-7 in 25 outings. With the Royals at AA Memphis in 1991, Taylor got just six final starts, ending his career without returning to the majors.

In 2012, Taylor returned to his old high school, to be inducted into the Crestview Hall of Fame.

• Junction City Daily Union, Associated Press, Sept. 21, 1988: Mariners rally to defeat Kansas City

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 854/880 - 97.1%
Players/Coaches Featured: 865
Made the Majors: 591 - 68%-X
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160 

Jimmy Williams, Its Fullest - 562

Jimmy Williams was all set to go to the University of Alabama, The Newport News Daily Press wrote years later.

Then the Dodgers came calling, taking him in the 10th round, offering a $28,000 signing bonus, which Williams accepted, The Daily Press wrote.

"Growing up, we never had a lot of money," Williams told The Daily Press. "The scout who signed me said, `You won't be in the minors for long. You'll be in the majors in three years.' Guess he lied."

Williams spoke to The Daily Press 12 years after he signed. He had yet to make the majors. And, in a career that saw time in 18 professional seasons, he never would.

Williams' professional career began back in 1984, when he accepted that offer from the Dodgers.

Williams started that year in rookie ball, making single-A Vero Beach in 1986. After moving to the Twins system for 1987, Williams first made AA in 1989, at Orlando.

Williams also got 16 games in 1989 at AAA Portland, posting a 4.18 ERA in 23.2 innings of work. Williams returned to Portland for all of 1990, posting a 5.04 ERA and never made Minnesota.

The longtime reliever turned starter for 1991, moving to the Giants system at AAA Phoenix. He went 7-9 in 28 starts.

After going through the Cubs and Expos systems, Williams arrived with the Mets for 1995. He went 11-4 at AAA Norfolk before moving late-season to the Orioles and Rochester.

Williams is credited as playing in Japan in 1997, then one more season in affiliated ball in 1998. Williams, though, continued playing in independent ball into 2003.

In 2002, he continued playing, to honor his mother, who passed away the year before.

"My mother always said," Williams told The Camden Courier-Post in May 2002, "'You have a God-given talent, you have to use it to its fullest.' I'm here because I want to play, and more so, my mother wants me to play.''

Williams played his last games as a pro in 2003, in Mexico, ending his 18-season professional career.

• Newport News Daily Press, Aug. 13, 1995: A Study In Perseverance
• Camden Courier-Post, May 19, 2002: With every save, Williams points to the sky

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 853/880 - 96.9%
Players/Coaches Featured: 864
Made the Majors: 590 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160  

Jim Adduci got majors chances over four seasons, three clubs

Jim Adduci made the Brewers out of spring training in 1988, but he hardly saw any action. By late-May, Adduci had been in all of nine appearances, getting four at bats, The Milwaukee Sentinel wrote.

Then Adduci's manager Tom Trebelhorn thought he'd try something different and give Adduci a start, at designated hitter.

"He deserves a chance now to see if he can be a good left-handed bat for us," Trebelhorn told The Sentinel. "It could have been a mistake on my part not to play him more. We'll find out."

Adduci ended up going 2 for 4 that game. He also ended up having the best season of his four with time in the bigs, seeing time in a total of 44 contests for the Brewers, knocking in 15 and getting his only home run.

Adduci's career began in 1980, taken the Cardinals in the seventh round of the draft out of Southern Illinois University.

Adduci started at rookie Johnson City, first making AA Arkansas in 1981. He then made AAA Louisville in 1983, then major league St. Louis that September.

As a late-season call-up in 1983 saw Adduci get into 10 games, with 20 at bats. Adduci, though, got just one hit.

Adduci didn't return to the majors until 1986, with the Brewers. He was traded there for 1985 in a five-player deal. After just three games with Milwaukee that year, Adduci made the jump to Japan in 1987, playing for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales.

He returned stateside for 1988, getting into those 44 games with the Brewers. In the midst of that slow start, Adduci told The Sentinel he realized it was a different role, one that was difficult to get used to.

"But I'm not taking it for granted," Adduci told The Sentinel, "because I wanted a long time to get to the big leagues. I'd rather be here than playing every day at Denver."

Adduci moved to the Phillies for 1989, playing at AAA Scranton. In late June, Adduci told The Philadelphia Inquirer he was just happy to still be playing.

"But I don't have any false notions or pretenses that I'll be back in the big leagues," Adduci told The Inquirer. "I really try not to dwell on those kind of things. I've been around baseball long enough to know that that's really not the best thing to sit around and do."

Adduci, though, did get back to the majors. In late July, he made it to Philadelphia for 13 final big league games. One more season spent at AAA Scranton and Adduci's career was done.

Now, Adduci's son James Adduci is trying to go where his father went. The younger Adduci, though, has taken a little longer, and, in 2012, he was still trying to get there, having played seven seasons in the minors and getting to AAA, but not yet to the majors. 

• Milwaukee Sentinel, May 16, 1988: Adduci is Brewers' lonely man on team
• Milwaukee Sentinel, May 28, 1988: Brewers notes
• Philadelphia Inquirer, July 1, 1989: Veteran Barons Are Winning Fans But Losing Games
• Chicago Tribune, Feb. 11, 2010: Adduci hopes to follow in major league father's footsteps

More: The 1990 Scranton-Wilkes Barre Red Barons

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 853/880 - 96.9%
Players/Coaches Featured: 864
Made the Majors: 590 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160

Bo Kennedy, Not Here - 770

Bo Kennedy first made AA Birmingham in 1990, his fifth season as a pro. He made it there after a season where he posted an ERA barely over 3 at single-A Sarasota.

That compared to an ERA that first year at Birmingham of 4.73.

"If you make a mistake in Double A, the hitters are going to capitalize on it," Kennedy explained to author George Gmelch in Gmelch's 2001 book "Inside Pitch: Life in Professional Baseball." "If it's 2-0 and you throw one down the middle, they are going to hit it hard somewhere. Down in A ball you might get away with it, but not here. Not often."

Kennedy did make the adjustment to AA, the next year, then earning a promotion in the White Sox organization to AAA Vancouver. Kennedy, though, never had a chance to adjust to pitching the next step above that, in the majors.

Kennedy's career began in 1986, taken by the White Sox in the sixth round out of Flat River Central High School in Missouri.

Kennedy played that first year in the rookie Gulf Coast League, going 0-4 in seven starts. He returned to the Gulf Coast League for 1987, but also got 15 games, five starts, at single-A Peninsula.

His first full season at single-A came in 1988. At South Bend, Kennedy went 10-8, with a 3.48 ERA, in 27 starts.

After spending 1989 at single-A Sarasota, posting a 14-7 record, with a 3.01 ERA, Kennedy spent his first of four seasons with time at AA in 1990.

At Birmingham in 1991, Kennedy went 10-3, dropping his ERA to just 2.32 in 15 starts. He also made the Southern League All-Star team in July, but he couldn't play. That's because he got called up to AAA Vancouver, The Chicago Tribune wrote.

Kennedy got 17 outings, five starts, at Vancouver that year. His ERA in those outings was 7.85.

Kennedy played just two more seasons in the minors, one with the White Sox largely back at AA Birmingham, and the second with the Reds. With the Reds, Kennedy played much of the season at AAA Indianapolis, but he never saw Cincinnati.

Kennedy returned for one more spring, spring 1995, ending his career short of the majors.

• Inside Pitch: Life in Professional Baseball, George Gmelch, 2001: Page 78

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 853/880 - 96.9%
Players/Coaches Featured: 864
Made the Majors: 590 - 68%
Never Made the Majors: 274-32%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160 

Jim Lindeman, Hoped For - 392

Jim Lindeman had been in the right place three years earlier, playing a crucial role in the St. Louis Cardinals' 1987 playoff run.

By 1990, though, Lindeman was still trying to secure a regular big league role, injuries and simple bad luck slowing him down, according to The Associated Press. He signed on that spring with the Tigers.

"This is what I was hoping for," Lindeman told The AP after going 3 for 4 in a late-spring game. "It's what I came to camp for. All I can do is show what I can do and hope for the best."

Lindeman made it to Detroit that year, but for just 12 games. It was a continuation of nine-consecutive seasons where Lindeman saw time in the majors. He never did, though, get back to the postseason.

Lindeman's career began in 1983, taken by the Cardinals in the first round of the draft, out of Bradley University in Illinois.

Lindeman played that first season at single-A St. Petersburg, hitting AA Arkansas in 1984, then AAA Louisville in 1986. It was also in 1986 that Lindeman made St. Louis, as a September call-up.

In 19 games for the Cardinals in 1986, Lindeman hit .255, with a home run. He returned to St. Louis in 1987, getting into 75 total games. His 1987 playing time was necessitated by injuries, namely to Cardinals slugger Jack Clark.

Lindeman had his own injures, but was healthy when it counted. Lindeman hit .208, with 8 home runs in the regular season. Once the postseason came, though, Lindeman turned it on. In 11 total games across the NLCS and the World Series, Lindeman hit .321.

Lindeman told The AP his postseason success came with playing time. That built his confidence.

"I'm not going to be out there hitting 900-foot home runs like Jack Clark," Lindeman told The AP. "I'm a line-drive hitter and a doubles hitter. My job is to drive in runs."

Lindeman returned to the Cardinals in 1988, but got into just 17 games, hitting .209. In 1989, he got into 73 contests, but had just 45 at bats. He also hit just .111.

Traded to the Tigers for 1990, Lindeman got into his 12 games in Detroit. For 1991, he moved to the Phillies, getting into 65 games that year and 29 the next. All along, back injuries plagued him.

The injuries were back in 1992. By September, Lindeman was back, but in a pinch-hitting role.

"This was the first time I've been hurt in three years, so I'm just learning how to do this," Lindeman told The Philadelphia Daily News. "It takes a little experience to go around the league and learn how to come off the bench."

Lindeman played in two more seasons, nine games in 1993 for the Astros and 52 for the Mets in 1994, finishing out his big league career. His final major league game came the as the strike began.

Lindeman has since gone into teaching, at Rolling Meadows High School in Illinois. He serves as physical education teacher and varsity baseball coach, according to The Peoria Journal Star.

In 2012, Lindeman's Mustangs pulled out a dramatic win in one tournament game, rallying to a 6-4 win.

"We didn’t quit, they made some errors and we got some hits and pulled out a really good win," Lindeman told The Arlington Heights Daily Herald afterward. "It was fun."

• Schenectady Gazette, Associated Press, Oct. 22, 1987: Confident Lindeman Producing for Cards
• Owosso Argus-Press, Associated Press, April 3, 1990: Tigers trounce Twins as Lindeman shines
• Philadelphia Daily News, Sept. 28, 1992: Farewell Gift To Faithful Few Is A Split
• Arlington Heights Daily Herald, July 17, 2012: Dramatic win for No. 13 seed Rolling Meadows

1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 852/880 - 96.8%
Players/Coaches Featured: 863
Made the Majors: 590 - 68%-X
Never Made the Majors: 273-32%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 265-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 160