Antonio Linares, Couldn't Wait - 2503

Antonio Linares' defense was good, he told The Spartanburg Herald-Journal in 1989. It was at the plate where he needed to improve.

"I handle the curve all right, but my main problem is with men on bases," Linares told The Herald-Journal. "I can't wait for the ball. I just swing at any pitch. I need to swing to just put the ball in play."

Linares spoke to The Herald-Journal in his second professional season, just 19 years old. But he apparently never got to correct those problems or others. He ended up playing just one more professional season, never making it out of single-A.

Linares' professional career began in 1987, signed by the Phillies as an undrafted free agent out of his native Dominican Republic.

Linares didn't make it to the field, though, until 1988, playing at rookie Martinsville. At Martinsville as an 18-year-old, Linares got into 43 games, hitting .284. He also hit four home runs and knocked in 23.

For 1989, Linares moved to single-A Spartanburg. In 101 games on the year, the outfielder hit .245, knocking in 27.

Linares stayed at Spartanburg for 1990, getting into 72 games and hitting .268. In one April game, he doubled and scored. He then picked up two hits in another April game. But it was Linares' final professional season, his career ending at season's end, short of the majors.

• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, June 11, 1989: Spartanburg is new home for Linares

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 939
Made the Majors: 617 - 65.7%
Never Made Majors: 322-34.3%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Mike Sullivan, Lesson Learned - 2490

Mike Sullivan led the Spartanburg Phillies in saves in June 1990. This, though, wasn't a save situation.

Coming on in the ninth inning with a six-run lead, Sullivan proceeded to finish out the game by narrowing down that win to three runs. It was an outing that concerned Sullivan's manager Mel Roberts, according to The Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

"I'm not disappointed that they came back," Roberts told The Herald-Journal. "But I hope it's a lesson learned. We've got to close the door a little tighter."

Sullivan learned that lesson in his second professional season. He went on to play in seven seasons as a pro, but he never learned enough to make the majors.

Sullivan's career began in 1989, taken by the Phillies in the 11th round of the draft, out of North Lake Community College in Texas.

With the Phillies, Sullivan started at short-season Batavia. In 24 outings there, Sullivan posted a 2.96 ERA with five saves.

He moved to single-A Spartanburg and high-A Clearwater for 1990, getting 35 outings between them and a 3.55 ERA. He picked up his second save for Spartanburg in late-April. Overall, he saved eight for them and three more at Clearwater.

Sullivan spent 1991 full-time at Clearwater, picking up 11 saves, one a two strikeout, rally ending outing that August. Sullivan then made AA Reading in 1992, splitting time that year with Clearwater.

Sullivan's time at Reading in 1992 marked the first of four seasons where Sullivan played at AA, but he never got higher.

He got 31 outings for Reading in 1993, then played between Reading and AA New Britain with the Red Sox for 1994. He picked up a win in relief for New Britain in June 1994, walking two but ending the 1-0 victory.

Sullivan, though, played in just one more season, 15 outings with the Red Sox in 1995 at AA Trenton, ending his career.

• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, June 4, 1990: Taylor introduces himself

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 938
Made the Majors: 617 - 65.8%
Never Made Majors: 321-34.2%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Matt Stevens, Some Excitement - 2489

Matt Stevens could afford to joke. After all, he did get out of the jam.

The jam was a leadoff double in the ninth, as Stevens tried to secure a 3-2 Reading win. A warning-tracker, pop up and strikeout and Stevens had the save and Reading had that May 1992 win, according to The Reading Eagle.

"I just wanted to get a little excitement in the game," Stevens joked to The Eagle after the game.

Stevens picked up that save, and that excitement, in his fifth season as a pro. That same year, Stevens got his first look at AAA Scranton. Stevens, though, never got his chance at Philadelphia, or the majors. He played just two more seasons.

A native of Glens Falls, NY, Stevens' career began in 1989, taken by Philadelphia in the 29th round of the draft, out of LeMoyne College in Syracuse.

Stevens started off at short-season Batavia, posting a 1.97 ERA in 16 outings. For 1990, Stevens appeared to move up quickly, starting at single-A Spartanburg, moving to high-A Clearwater and ending at AA Reading.

Between the three levels in 1990, Stevens posted a 2.32 ERA, picking up seven saves. He picked up one of those saves in April with Spartanburg, throwing three hitless innings.

Stevens then split 1991 between Clearwater and Reading, with a 0.91 ERA in 38 outings at Clearwater and a 3.57 ERA in 25 outings at Reading.

For 1992, Stevens played much of the year back at Reading, earning Phillies minor league Pitcher of the Month honors that May. He also got nine outings up at AAA Scranton, giving up nine earned runs in 13 innings of work.

Stevens then moved to the Twins, playing 1993 at AAA Portland and 1994 at AAA Salt Lake. Stevens, though, never saw Minnesota. He played just one more season, seven games back at Salt Lake and the rest of the season for his hometown independent team, ending his career.

• Reading Eagle, May 2, 1992: Reading Phils hold off Mets

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 937
Made the Majors: 617 - 65.8%
Never Made Majors: 320-34.2%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Robert Gaddy picked up a breaking ball, extended career to eight pro seasons; Made AAA

Robert Gaddy tried to explain to The Reading Eagle in 1993 his early success on the year.

The early success included a 19-inning streak of scoreless innings in early May, and a 0.42 ERA.

"In years past, I really haven't had a breaking ball," Gaddy told The Eagle. "This year, I've got a slider that I can throw any count. I'll throw it 3-2 on anybody. That's really given me a lot of confidence."

Gaddy had that early success in his fifth professional season. Later that year, that success would lead to Gaddy's first time at AAA. Gaddy's career, though, extended just two more seasons. He would never have enough success to make the majors.

Gaddy's career began in 1989, taken by the Phillies in the 41st round of the draft, out of the University of Tennessee.

Gaddy started that year at short-season Batavia, serving mostly as a starter. He made single-A Spartanburg for 1990, going 9-7 in 30 outings, 19 starts. He also picked up a two-inning save in an April outing.

For 1991, Gaddy moved to high-A Clearwater, and got his first look at Reading. Between the two, he got 44 outings and a 2.95 ERA. That April, with Clearwater, Gaddy even had a hand in a no-hitter against Baseball City.

Gaddy played 1992 back between Clearwater and Reading, then 1993 between Reading and AAA Scranton. For 1993, Gaddy also tried his hand again at starting, getting 11 starts on the year. That August, with Reading, he went 8.2 innings in one start, giving up just two hits in a 1-0 win.

For 1994, Gaddy moved full time to Scranton, he also moved full time back to starting. In 25 starts for Scranton that year, Gaddy went 9-12, with a 3.59 ERA.

For 1995, though, Gaddy started off slowly. In two starts, he went just four innings, according to The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. His manager Mike Quade wasn't sure what was going on.

"I don't think anybody can sit back and figure out what went wrong, what the problem is, except that it's early," Quade told The Times Leader. "We just have to get back to where he was last year, and at least we have something to get back to."

Gaddy, though, couldn't recover. He ended up getting 17 starts, finishing with an ERA of 6.28, ending his professional career, without making the majors. A native of Pensacola, Fl., Gaddy is recorded as coming out of retirement for five starts for his hometown independent team in 2002, finally ending his career for good.

• Reading Eagle, May 12, 1993: 'Gator' chewing up EL hitters
• Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, May 1, 1995: Disaster Comes Early

More: 1990 Spartanburg Phillies

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 936
Made the Majors: 617 - 65.9%
Never Made Majors: 319-34.1%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Gil Valencia, His Shot - 2506

It took Gil Valencia a while, but he finally signed.

After being taken by the Phillies as the 65th pick in the 1988 draft, Valencia first declined and went off to college. Then, the next May, Valencia signed, choosing to try his hand with Philadelphia and the team's rookie camp in Florida, according to The Los Angeles Times.

"I'm dying to go down there, see the talent and take my shot," Valencia told The Times that May. "It was an offer that really appealed to me."

Valencia did take his shot, but it didn't end up as he hoped. His shot ended up lasting just two seasons, getting to single-A, but no higher.

Valencia's pro career began that May, when he signed with the Phillies out of Oxnard College. He'd been drafted by Philadelphia out of Camarillo High in California.

Soon, Valencia was playing professionally at rookie Martinsville. In 47 games, he hit .287 with 13 RBI.

Down the stretch, though, Valencia showed some spark, riding an 18-game hitting streak to season's end, and posting an August batting average of .364, according to The Philadelphia Daily News. It was enough for Valencia to win organization minor league Player of the Month honors.

For 1990, Valencia moved to single-A Spartanburg, playing 37 games there and another 26 at short-season Batavia. Between the two, though, he hit just .164. In early April, though, Valencia started a late Spartanburg rally with a single.

But it was Valencia's final year as a pro, his shot not working out.

Back in college, though, in 1988, Valencia's father, also Gil Valencia, told The Times of his son's desire to eventually try his hand at the pros.

"Baseball," the father told The Times, "is what he wants to do."

• Los Angeles Times, July 24, 1988: Valencia Gets Big Kick Out of Odd Shrine Duty
• Los Angeles Times, May 10, 1989: Oxnard's Valencia Decides to Cast Lot With Phillies
• Philadelphia Daily News, Sept. 12, 1989: Mets Address Frustrations In Pregame Meeting

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 935
Made the Majors: 617 - 66.0%
Never Made Majors: 318-34.0%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

John Escobar, Bald Power - 2497

John Escobar was credited by The Reading Eagle in 1993 with putting a name to the team's sudden success.

The name came as a result of Escobar and teammates looked to take matters into their own hands and end a six-game losing streak, doing so by getting out the clippers and shaving their heads.

"Bald power," Escobar told The Eagle after a Reading 8-2 win. "It works."

While the move worked for the R-Phils in that June game, it didn't work for Escobar, at least not long term. Escobar was in his sixth professional season that year, having first made AA Reading the previous year. Escobar, though, wouldn't make it higher, his 1993 campaign turning out to be his last.

Escobar's career began in 1988, signed by the Phillies as an undrafted free agent out of his native Venezuela.

Escobar started that year at rookie Martinsville, getting into 43 games and hitting .216. He moved to short-season Batavia for 1989, getting into 60 games, but hitting just .197.

For 1990, Escobar arrived at single-A Spartanburg, increasing his average to .232 and knocking in 31 over 126 contests. Escobar knocked in one of those runs with a mid-April single. In July, he put together a seven-game hitting streak, picking up three hits and an RBI in the seventh game.

Escobar moved to high-A Clearwater for 1991, posting the best batting average of his career, .265. He then moved up to AA Reading for 1992, his average dropping to .237.

In May 1992, Escobar knocked a bases-loaded double. In July, Escobar picked up an RBI with a bases-loaded walk.

Escobar returned to Reading for 1993, but hit just .193 in 65 games, finishing out his professional career short of the majors.

• Reading Eagle, June 8, 1993: Reading trims London

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 934
Made the Majors: 617 - 66.1%
Never Made Majors: 317-33.9%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Matt Current played 4 pro seasons, became proud youth coach

Matt Current's Butler County Bombers took the 2005 tournament opener, the Bombers putting up 10 to their opponent's 8. The team, though, lost the next two, bowing out of the contest.

Current, though, still thought highly of his team. After all, this was a team of 10-year-olds.

"We left everything we had on the field today," Current said, according to the Bombers' Web site, "and I couldn't be more proud."

Current was speaking as an experienced youth coach from his native Middletown, Ohio. Current was also speaking as someone whose baseball career stretched back further, playing professionally for four seasons. Current, though, never got to speak as a major leaguer, making it to high-A, but no higher.

Current's professional career began in 1988, taken by the Phillies in the 22nd round of the draft, out of Middletown High School in Ohio.

Current's Phillies career began at rookie Martinsville, getting into 19 games that first campaign. Current, though, hit just .109. For 1989, he returned to Martinsville, getting into 33 games and improving his average to .288.

Current moved up for 1990, hitting single-A Spartanburg. He ended up hitting .211, knocking in 14 in 68 games that year. That July, though, Current knocked in a game-winner with a 14th-inning single.

Current's final year came in 1991, at high-A Clearwater. Current only got into 22 games there, hitting .271.

Current has since returned to his hometown, serving as a youth coach with the Bombers, listed in 2012 as team president and coach for the 9U and 17U teams.

• ButlerCountyBombers.com, April 17, 2005: 10U Bombers Impressive in Carlisle

More: The 1990 Spartanburg Phillies

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 933
Made the Majors: 617 - 66.1%
Never Made Majors: 316-33.9%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Kelly Paris, New Lease - Special

Read the story behind this post

It was the day after Christmas 1986 and Kelly Paris was driving. Soon, he was driving into a ravine, admitting later he'd been drinking prior to the accident, according to The Los Angeles Times.

It was an accident that nearly cost Paris his life, according to The Times. It was also an accident that he thanked God happened, and that he survived to learn from it.

"I've made a lot of changes in my life," Paris told The Times in August 1988. "I realized for one I'm an alcoholic and that I had to cut that out of my life."

Paris spoke to The Times on the occasion of his return to the major leagues, his first return since that 1986 accident.

Before the accident, Paris had seen time in four major league campaigns, 78 total games. He hadn't hit a major league home run. During his 1988 return, though, Paris played in just 14 total games. He also hit his only three home runs.

Paris' career began back in 1975, taken by the Cardinals in the second round of the draft, out of Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Ca.

He started in the rookie Gulf Coast League, making single-A St. Petersburg in 1977. He first saw AA Arkansas in 1980, then AAA Springfield in 1981.

In September 1982, is eighth season as a pro, Paris made his debut in the majors, in St. Louis. With the Cardinals, Paris got into 12 games, picking up three hits in 29 at bats.

He then returned to the majors in 1983, with the Reds, sent there in a trade. He ended up getting into 56 games for Cincinnati that year, hitting .250. After a year back in the minors in 1984, Paris picked up five games each in 1985 and 1986 with the Orioles.

Then came Paris' accident the day after Christmas 1986. The resulting injuries left him out of baseball for all of 1987. Paris returned to the field for 1988, signing with the White Sox and playing at AAA Vancouver. He hit .284 in 89 games there.  It was enough to earn his last trip to the majors that August.

The accident, the near-death experience, also changed his outlook on life, he told The Chicago Tribune upon his return to the majors.

"Now I wake up every morning sober and can smell the roses," Paris told The Tribune. "I got a new lease on life, and now I've got a new lease on baseball."

Paris' lease, though, was a short one, with an injury on the field, a broken elbow suffered in a collision, ending it and his major league career.

Paris worked to get back, but ended up playing two more seasons in the minors, ending his career for good.

Paris went on to serve as a coach for some American Legion teams, as well as an assistant coach with a high school. In 1994, he was named head coach for Montclair Prep in California.

In March 1995, as Paris steered clear of that spring's troubles, Paris received praise for his work as both a coach and instructor.

"Kelly is an excellent instructor, not so much because he played major league baseball but because he genuinely likes kids and they like him," Mike Dow, an official at the complex where Paris served as an instructor, told The Times. "He has built his business through hard work and it has been a great boost to our program."

• Los Angeles Times, Aug. 5, 1988: The Liberation of Paris
• Los Angeles Times, Aug. 8, 1988: Kelly Paris Springs to the Occasion
• Chicago Tribune, Aug. 8, 1988: Paris Helps Sox Get It Together
• Los Angeles Times, March 26, 1995: As Montclair Prep Coach, Paris Is Happy With His Investment

Story Hidden in a Library Book

Library books are full of stories. One book, though, had an extra one, and the story found its way to me.

This story comes from a baseball card of Kelly Paris, his card from the 1989 ProCards set, when he played for the AAA Vancouver Canadians. The card came toward the end of his 16-season professional career.

Paris actually played in 1990, the year that is the focus of this blog, but he is only recorded as playing in Mexico. That means he was not included in the 1990 CMC or ProCards sets and he wouldn't have been featured here.

The way this card came to me, though, put Paris on my list. The story uncovered during my research, was just a bonus.

The card found its way to me by way of a good friend of ours, someone my wife met through roller derby. Her and her husband came over Christmas Eve Eve to share in our tradition of watching the finest Christmas movie ever made, Die Hard. Just fills me with the Christmas spirit every time.

Anyway, we also exchanged small gifts, my wife and I and my wife's friend and her husband. My wife gave them some canned pickles and jellies she made. My wife's friend gave us some ornaments she made.

The one she made for me was cool enough. She ended up taking quotes from my two favorite baseball movies, Bull Durham and Field of Dreams, fixing them to a regular ball ornament and putting a baseball on it. Very cool idea.

But she also threw in a bookmark, something she found in a book she bought at a library sale, an Upstate New York library sale.

The bookmark was this Kelly Paris card. Not only was it a baseball card, but it was a minor league baseball card. Neither she nor her husband are baseball fans. But she knew I was. So she saved it and passed it along to me.

I then did what I do when I get a card of a player I never heard of, I looked him up. What came out was a great story, one that starts with personal troubles, troubles that nearly killed the player and maybe others.

But the story also goes on to see the player recover, face those troubles, return to the majors - and hit the only three home runs of his major league career.

It's a story of life intersecting with baseball. And one that I wouldn't normally have researched, except that his card ended up finding it way to me, after it became a story tucked inside a library book, a story that took the form of a bookmark.

Read the story of Kelly Paris

Paul Fletcher, Pretty Amazing - 2483

Paul Fletcher made his major league debut in 1993, in Philadelphia for the Phillies.

It was Fletcher's sixth season as a pro. Years later, Fletcher tried to relay to The Jackson Herald the feeling of the moment.

"It was a feeling I can't describe," Fletcher told The Herald in 2012. "Curt Schilling had started the game. The energy of 42,000 fans is pretty amazing."

That outing ended up being Fletcher's only major league outing of 1993. Fletcher, though, returned to the majors two seasons later, ending up seeing playing time in three total major league campaigns.

Fletcher's career began in 1988, taken by the Phillies in the 40th round of the draft, out of West Virginia State.

Fletcher started with the Phillies at rookie Martinsville, going 1-3 in 14 starts. He made single-A Spartanburg in 1990, then AA Reading in 1991. He got his first brief look at AAA Scranton in 1992.

Working full time at Scranton for 1993, Fletcher also got his brief, one-outing debut with Philadelphia. Fletcher ended up getting just one out in that July appearance, his only one in the majors that year.

For 1994, it was back to Scranton for the season. In late May, Fletcher pitched a complete-game shutout, breaking a personal losing streak, all in front of his family, according to The Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader.

"I kind of guess they're my good luck charm," Fletcher told The Times-Leader after the game.

Fletcher didn't see Philadelphia that year. He didn't return until August of the next year, 1995. That July, Fletcher was riding a run of 24 appearances where he gave up just four earned runs, according to The Times-Leader.

"He's pitching now the way he pitched the last four, five weeks of the year last year," Scranton manager Mike Quade told The Times-Leader. "The key for him is to maintain that for the rest of the year."

For Fletcher, it got him back to the majors. By Aug. 8, he was back with the Phillies. Over 10 appearances through the end of the year, Fletcher gave up eight earned runs in 13.1 innings of work.

For 1996, Fletcher signed with the Athletics. He also got one last appearance in the majors. That August, he got into one game for Oakland, giving up three earned runs in 1.1 innings of work, finishing out his major league career.

Two more seasons back at AAA and Fletcher's professional career was over with 12 total major league appearances.

• Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, May 31, 1994: Good Luck Charms
• Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, July 23, 1995: Rehabbing Phils are one cure for Barons' ERA 
• Jackson Herald, June 7, 2012: MOV Hall of Fame honors Fletcher

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 932
Made the Majors: 617 - 66.2%-X
Never Made Majors: 315-33.8%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Tom Hardgrove, Great Approach - 2498

The pitch was a change-up, but it was the pitch Tom Hardgrove wanted, he told The Nevada Daily Mail in 1987.

Whatever the pitch was, Hardgrove ended up depositing it over the wall, picking up his 23rd home run on the season, and his share of the collegiate league's season home run record.

"I knew it was gone when I hit it," Hardgrove told The Daily Mail that July. "It felt real good."

Hardgrove went on to play at Texas Christian University, and play well enough to get drafted by the Phillies. But Hardgrove couldn't transfer that home run success he saw at Nevada to the pros, his career lasting just two seasons, hitting just 18 total home runs over that time.

Hardgrove's professional career began in 1989, with the Fort Worth-native taken by the Phillies in the 12th round out of TCU.

During that summer in Nevada in 1987, Hardgrove helped himself get to that home run record by once hitting three home runs in one four-game stretch. After that June show, Nevada manager Sam Riggleman praised his young hitter to The Daily Mail.

"He's been outstanding," Riggleman told The Daily Mail of Hardgrove. "It's mainly because he has a great approach to what he's doing. He's simply a good offensive player."

With the Phillies, Hardgrove started at rookie Martinsville, getting into 61 games. He ended up hitting 13 home runs in that time, knocking in 45. He also hit .286.

For 1990, Hardgrove moved to single-A Spartanburg, but he couldn't keep up that hitting. In one early contest, he went 0 for 3 with a walk and run scored.

On the year, Hardgrove hit just .205, with five home runs, knocking in 47. That year ended up being Hardgrove's final year as a pro, his career ending after just two seasons.

• Nevada Daily Mail, June 18, 1987: Solid pitching helps Griffons win three out of four
• Nevada Daily Mail, July 20, 1987: Griffons shatter two records in 1987 home finale

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 931
Made the Majors: 616 - 66.2%
Never Made Majors: 315-33.8%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Chris Limbach, Best Pitch - 2488

Chris Limbach came on to close out the eighth. He ended up staying on, striking out the side in the ninth and picking up his first save.

"I figured if I gave up a hit in the ninth, I was coming out," Limbach told The Spartanburg Herald-Journal after that May 1990 contest. "I was getting behind in the count, but I came with my curve, which is my best pitch. I wasn't going to get beat on fastballs."

Limbach was in his fifth professional season that year in 1990, but he had yet to reach higher than single-A. He went on to make AA Reading the next year, his sixth as a pro. But, in a career that spanned eight seasons, Limbach would never make the majors.

Limbach's career began in 1986, taken by the Phillies in the 21st round of the draft, out of Warren Central High School in Indianapolis. With Warren Central, Limbach helped his team to a 29-2 record and a top ranking his senior year.

With the Phillies, Limbach started at short-season Bend, getting into 19 games, mostly in relief, posting a 3.89 ERA. He returned to Bend for another 41 outings in 1987, posting a 3.70 ERA.

In August 1987, Limbach went 3.1 scoreless relief innings, picking up a win. By September, Limbach had the Northwest League's record for number of appearances, and the team's Most Valuable Pitcher award.

"Limbach could win a ball game for a pitcher, and everybody in the league knew it," Bend manager Mel Roberts told The Bend Bulletin after the award announcement. "Teams knew if they wanted to get us, they'd have to do it before the seventh inning."

From there, Limbach moved to single-A Clearwater, getting into 43 outings, posting a 2.81 ERA. He then ran into a shortened 1989 campaign, and spent 1990 at single-A Spartanburg.

He didn't make AA until 1991, with 18 outings at Reading. He also got 39 outings that year back at Clearwater, picking up six saves, picking up his sixth in June.

Limbach, though, had just two more seasons. He played 1992 completely at Reading, posting a 3.14 ERA. That year was his last with the Phillies. He ended up playing as his last as a pro in 1993, with the Royals at AA Memphis.

• Bend Bulletin, Sept. 3, 1987: Maasberg, Limbach head of class
• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, May 10, 1990: Spartanburg blanks Fayetteville, 1-0

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 930
Made the Majors: 616 - 66.2%
Never Made Majors: 314-33.8%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164 

Ricky Jones, Common Dream - 2509

Ricky Jones called the group a diverse one, and a hungry one, according to The Athens Banner-Herald.

Jones was speaking in 2005 of his new group of college players, as he served as a coach with the collegiate league Athens Pirates, in Athens, Ga., welcoming in a new season.

"They all want to get better, and they all have that same dream (of professional baseball)," Jones told The Banner-Herald that June. "It is a common dream with guys this age."

For Jones, it was a dream he realized for nine total seasons. He even made the majors, for all of 16 games as a September call-up with the Orioles in 1986.

Jones' professional career began in 1980, taken by the Orioles in the 15th round, a product of the University of West Georgia and Chipola College.

Jones started out at rookie Bluefield, hitting .276 in 59 games. He then jumped to AA Charlotte for 1981, hitting .261, with 11 home runs.

For 1982, Jones had made it all the way to AAA Rochester, but hit .230. Though he moved up quickly to Rochester, he didn't make Baltimore for four more seasons.

He played 1983 back at Rochester, then a shortened 1984 largely back there. For 1985, he took a step back to AA Charlotte, hitting .280 there.

For 1986, though, Jones returned to Rochester. In September, he made Baltimore. In 16 total games for the Orioles down the stretch, Jones picked up six hits in 33 at bats.

In the Sept. 12 game, Jones gave the Orioles an early lead with a run-scoring, two-out double. He also picked up an RBI in an October game. In all, he knocked in four during his major league stint.

After that run, Jones returned to the minors for 1987, to AA Charlotte. Soon, he was with the Twins, at AAA Portland. Jones, though, never returned to the majors. He played one more season at Portland, ending his playing career.

Jones then finished out his professional career with a stint as a coach in the Phillies organization, at single-A Spartanburg.

• Athens Banner-Herald, June 1, 2005: Jones, Pirates ready to raid the SCBL

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 929
Made the Majors: 616 - 66.4%
Never Made Majors: 313-33.6%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164 

Greg Gunderson, Gameday Decision - 2487

Greg Gunderson's star pitcher Mark Mulder did just that, starred on the mound.

But, when the Michigan State hurler wasn't pitching, the team tried to work him into the game in other ways, in the field, Gunderson told The Minnesota Daily in 1998.

"It's kind of a gameday decision," Gunderson, the school's assistant coach, told The Daily. "We see who is pitching."

Mulder would go on to a major league career that spanned nine seasons, and saw Gunderson follow to assist after injuries popped up. 

Gunderson's time at Michigan State came after his own professional career, one far less successful than Mulder's. Gunderson's professional career lasted just two seasons, never getting above high-A.

Gunderson's career began in 1988, signed by the Phillies as a free agent out of the University of Cincinnati. He then is recorded first getting on the field during the season in 1989, at short-season Batavia.

At Batavia, Gunderson got into 13 relief appearances, posting a 3.28 ERA. For 1990, he moved to single-A Spartanburg, getting into 38 games there, with a 2.06 ERA. That July, Gunderson even earned organization Pitcher of the Month honors, with a 0.48 ERA on the month.

From that Spartanburg ERA, Gunderson moved up to high-A Clearwater. In 10 outings there, though, Gunderson's ERA jumped to 7.80. It was also Gunderson's final year as a pro.

Gunderson then returned to Cincinnati as a volunteer coach. He also coached in the Arizona Summer Collegiate League, then served as an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky, according to his Michigan State profile.

By 1998, Gunderson was assistant coach at Michigan State, watching over Mulder. Years later, in 2009, as Mulder tried to make it back for another season after injury, it was Gunderson who worked with him to try and get Mulder back.

In 2001, as Mulder had his breakout season with the Athletics, it was Gunderson who was credited with pointing Mulder in the right direction in college, getting Mulder into the summer Cape Cod League in 1997, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

"That's kind of when," Gunderson told The Chronicle, "Mark figured out he was as good as anybody else."

• Reading Eagle, Aug. 8, 1990: Tomlin debut makes a case for Double-A
• Minnesota Daily, May 1, 1998: Baseball team looks
• San Francisco Chronicle, June 12, 2001: A's new ace stays calm in every storm
• MSUSpartans.com: Greg Gunderson 

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 928
Made the Majors: 616 - 66.4%
Never Made Majors: 312-33.6%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Tom Marsh, Goose Bumps - 2495

For Tom Marsh, this day couldn't have come at a better time.

He'd started the day, in his rookie season, with a sub-.200 average. Three hits - one of them his first career major league grand slam - and that average jumped as much as his confidence.

"I was just on the radio, and they played a replay of the slam for me," Marsh told The Philadelphia Inquirer after that September 1992 contest. "I got goose bumps. I'd been trying to keep my confidence up, but it's hard when you're struggling."

Marsh debuted with the Phillies that year in his fifth professional season. He went on to see time in two more, last playing in the major leagues in 1995.

Marsh's career began in 1988, taken by the Phillies in the 16th round of the draft, out of the University of Toledo.

Marsh started at short-season Batavia, hitting single-A Spartanburg in 1989, then AA Reading in 1990. He first made AAA Scranton in 1992, then, that June, debuted in Philadelphia.

"Simply unbelievable," Marsh told The Philadelphia Daily News that June of his debut with the big league Phillies. "I can't even describe the feeling. It's just a lot of intensity, a lot of emotion."

Marsh ended up getting into 42 games for the Phillies that year, his batting average settling in at exactly .200. He hit two home runs and knocked in 16.

For 1993, Marsh returned to the minors, spending the year back at Scranton. For 1994, though, Marsh was back in the majors, getting eight games. The next year, he returned to his 1992 form, getting a final 43 games in Philadelphia.

In that 1995 season, Marsh hit .294, with three home runs and 15 RBIs. He then finished out his career with two more seasons in the minors.

In one June 1995 game, though, Marsh hit two of his three home runs on the year in the same game. After he hit the home runs, he told The Associated Press he hit them for the team he wanted to hit them for.

"It was discouraging at times," Marsh told The AP of his time back and forth from the minors. But I love this team. I started with the Phillies and I want to play with the Phillies. I know there are other teams out there. But I don't want to leave. I love it here."

• Philadelphia Daily News, June 8, 1992: Combs Wins 3rd In Row
• Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 24, 1992: Phils Slug Cubs
• Norwalk Hour, Associated Press, June 22, 1995: Journeyman outfielder sinks Mets in Marshland

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 927
Made the Majors: 616 - 66.5%-X
Never Made Majors: 311-33.5%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164 

Eulogio Perez, Scored Easily - 2500

The Savannah Cardinal misplayed the ball and Eulogio Perez raced home, scoring easily in this April 1990 contest.

It was part of a 9-1 victory for Perez' Spartanburg Phillies, one of 22 appearances Perez had for the club that year.

Perez was in his third professional season that year with Spartanburg. He would only get one more. He also wouldn't see time above single-A.

Perez' professional career began in 1988, signed by the Phillies as an undrafted free agent out of his native Dominican Republic.

He started at rookie Martinsville, getting into 14 games there, hitting just .176. He then returned there for another 40 games in 1989, hitting .201. Perez also saw time that second campaign at short-season Batavia. He hit .120 there.

In 1990, he started at single-A Spartanburg, getting into 22 games, hitting .187. Perez, though, received praise for his fielding. Roving infield instructor Dave Cash in May counted Perez among an impressive infield, according to The Spartanburg Herald-Journal. By that time, though, Perez was off in Clearwater, working on his hitting.

Perez' hitting, though, never improved. He got into 37 games at short-season Batavia that year, but still hit just .187.

In 1991, what turned out to be his final pro season, Perez returned to Spartanburg, but got into just 14 games, ending his career.

• Savannah News-Press, April 8, 1990: Eight Errors Doom SavCards to Defeat
• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, May 2, 1990: Cash teaching what he learned, Part 2

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 926
Made the Majors: 615 - 66.4%
Never Made Majors: 311-33.6%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Mel Roberts, Got There - 2508

Mel Roberts first embarked on his road to the major leagues back in 1961 as an outfielder in Artesia, NM, in the Class D Sophomore League.

Roberts never got above AA in that playing career and went on to a long career coaching and managing in the minors.

That career stayed in the minors, until 1992, when Roberts finally broke through, named first base coach for the major league Philadelphia Phillies.

"There's no use in being in this game unless you want to be in the big leagues," Roberts told The Spartanburg Herald-Journal at the close of his first major league spring in 1992. "And I'm here."

Roberts remained there for four seasons, following the Phillies to the 1993 World Series. Roberts then stayed in baseball, returning to the minors, up until his passing in 2007, at the age of 64.

Roberts' baseball career began back in 1961, when he was signed by the Dodgers. He stayed in the Dodgers system through 1964, playing that last year between single-A Santa Barbara and single-A Salisbury.

He then returned in 1966 with the Phillies, making AA Reading only briefly in 1970, his final year as a player.

Roberts, though, quickly turned to coaching. By 1980, he was a decade in and a coach with the Phillies at single-A Spartanburg. Late that August, Roberts' team was fighting for a playoff spot, but not hitting in a 5-1 loss.

"We haven't been swinging the bats like we're capable of doing," Roberts told The Herald-Journal afterward. "We've hit a slump at the wrong time. We just have to keep battling and every day hope that it's our night. And tonight sure wasn't our night at all."

By 1987, Roberts was a manager himself, at short-season Bend. He returned to Spartanburg as manager in 1988, staying there through 1991. He then got his appointment as Phillies first base coach in Philadelphia.

Roberts left Spartanburg a major leaguer, but he also left an institution, according to The Herald Journal. In 1988, as he started his first season as manager, the paper described how he'd earlier helped keep baseball in Spartanburg and even helped change out seats in the late 1970s during ballpark renovations.

He eventually earned the title "Mr. Spartanburg Baseball."

Roberts ultimately spent four years as first base coach in Philadelphia, before returning to where he coached the most, the minors. Roberts moved to the Braves organization, coaching much of the next decade at AA Greenville. He also got a season at AAA Richmond.

In 2005, he moved to rookie Danville, serving as hitting coach there. He then continued there until his passing in September 2007.

Back in 1988, as he took over the managerial job at Spartanburg, Roberts spoke to The Herald-Journal about his role as a minor league manager.

"As long as I develop and see progress in my players I know we will win our share," Roberts told The Herald-Journal. "It's such a fine line between winning and developing. You can't develop without winning and you can't win without developing."

• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Aug. 28, 1980: Traders Handed Third Loss In Row
• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, April 6, 1988: Roberts measures success many ways, Part 2
• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, March 29, 1992: Roberts likes life at the top, Part 2
• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Sept. 2, 2007: 'Mr. Spartanburg Baseball,' Mel Roberts, dies at age 64

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 925
Made the Majors: 615 - 66.5%-X
Never Made Majors: 310-33.5%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164

Buzz Capra got in grove over 7 ML seasons, later coached

A new pickup by the Braves for 1974, Buzz Capra soon settled in.

By the end of May, he threw his first complete-game shutout. By the end of June, he'd thrown four.

"Baseball is a funny game, and you can't explain it," Capra told The Associated Press early in that run. "It's just like when any player gets in a groove. I'm in one now, one like I always felt I was capable of getting into. I just hope I can keep it going."

Capra was in his fourth season with time in the majors that year. He went on to see time in seven. Capra also went on to a long post-playing career as a coach in the minors, before more recently becoming a baseball instructor for youth.

Capra's professional career began in 1969, taken by the Mets in the 27th round of the draft, out of Illinois State.

Capra started at single-A Pompano Beach, then made AA Memphis and AAA Tidewater in 1971. Also in 1971, Capra made Flushing.

Capra debuted with the Mets in September 1971, getting into three games, 5.1 innings. He returned to New York for 14 more outings, six starts, posting a 4.58 ERA.

He picked up his third major league win by mid-May. He also picked it up fighting through a downpour.

"A couple times there, I couldn't even see the plate," Capra told The Associated Press after going seven and giving up three earned runs. "The rain was hitting me right in the face - yet I got guys out."

Capra returned to the Mets for another 24 outings, all relief, for 1973. Then, Capra arrived with the Braves for 1974, in a cash deal.


With the Braves that year, Capra got into 39 games, starting 27. He also went 16-8, with a league-leading 2.28 ERA. He also became an All-Star. His run began due to injury, put into the Braves starting rotation in place of hurt teammate Ron Reed.

Capra, though, couldn't match that season. He returned to Atlanta for 12 starts in 1975, going 4-7. He got just five relief outings in 1976, then ended his major league career with 45 outings, 16 starts, with the Braves in 1977.

By 1985, Capra was back with the Mets and he was coaching, serving as pitching coach at short-season Little Falls. He arrived with the Phillies in 1988, coaching at Spartanburg, coaching there nearly continuously through 1993.

He's last recorded as coaching in 2001, with the Mets at high-A Port St. Lucie, though he never made it back to the majors as a coach. More recently, Capra has served as an instructor with the Fox Valley Sports Academy outside of Chicago.

Asked in 2011 by the site CornbeltBaseball.com about the state youth baseball, Capra told the site everything depends on who is handling the kids. He cited his grandson, then 8, already two years into playing.

"It's got to be fun, first of all," Capra told CornbeltBaseball.com. "And as they mature and they nurture and they grow up a little bit more, then they can get a little more serious about more serious about certain things. But I think the primary thing I want my grandson to do is to go out there and play baseball and let it be a fun thing for him."

• St. Petersburg Evening Independent, Associated Press, May 20, 1972: Capra, Weather Wilt Phils
• Washington Observer-Reporter, Associated Press, June 7, 1974: Braves Buzz Capra Is Not Only 'Artist' As Pitcher
• CornbeltBaseball.com, August 2011: CornbeltBaseball Conversations: Buzz Capra (Podcast)

More: The 1990 Spartanburg Phillies

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 924
Made the Majors: 614 - 66.5%
Never Made Majors: 310-33.5%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164 

Dan Welch, Doubled Off - 2507

Dan Welch came to bat for Spartanburg with no score in the fifth and reached on an error.

Welch, though, couldn't turn that error into a run, making it to second in that July 1990 contest, but soon getting doubled off.

Welch was in his second season as a pro that year playing at single-A Spartanburg. He was also in his last year as a pro, his brief pro career ending with the season's end.

Welch's career began in 1989, taken by the Phillies in the 44th round of the draft, out of Christian Brothers University in Memphis. He went to Christian Brothers after graduating from Parkway Central High in Chesterfield, MO.

With the Phillies, Welch started at rookie Martinsville, hitting .311 over 39 games. He also hit four home runs and knocked in 17.

For 1990, Welch moved up to single-A Spartanburg, but he couldn't take his hitting with him. Over 86 games that year, Welch hit just .175. He also hit just three home runs and knocked in 24.

His combined average over the two seasons ended up at .218. At season's end came the end of Welch's career, Welch given his unconditional release. 

• Sumter Item, July 4, 1990: 3-run 7th gives Braves win

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 923
Made the Majors: 614 - 66.5%
Never Made Majors: 309-33.5%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164 

Brian Adams set records in college, played two pro seasons

More than two decades after Brian Adams attended Otero Junior College in Colorado, his name still appears in the Otero baseball record book.

It still appears there nine times.

From that college career, Adams turned pro, taken by the Phillies in the 31st round of the 1989 draft.

For Adams, though, it wasn't enough to get him a long professional career. His professional career lasted just two seasons, only getting him to high-A.

At Otero, Adams played in 1988 and 1989, leading the team in at bats both years, now third and fourth all time for the school.

He scored a still school-record 76 runs in 1989, banged out the two most prolific seasons in terms of hits in school history. He also still holds the school record for RBI by a wide margin, knocking in 101 in 1989. Only one other person has even knocked in more than 66.

Adams ended up hitting .483 for Otero in 1989, the second-best average on record, and had a school-best .990 slugging percentage that year. That slugging percentage came as a result of 28 home runs, also still a school record.

Out of that, Adams joined the Phillies, starting at rookie Martinsville. He played just four games there, then played 20 others up at single-A Spartanburg. Between them, he hit .228.

For 1990, Adams split his time between Spartanburg and high-A Clearwater. At Spartanburg, he hit .220 over 40 games. At Clearwater, Adams hit just .179 in 23 games.

In one June game with Clearwater Adams hit a two-run double to help Clearwater to a 6-1 win. Adams didn't have enough of those hits, though. By season's end, Adams' brief career also ended.

• Otero Junior College: Team Records

More: The 1990 Spartanburg Phillies

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 922
Made the Majors: 614 - 66.6%
Never Made Majors: 308-33.4%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 275
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 164