Pete Rowe, Fair Shot - 2737

When Dunedin starting catcher Brian Milner went down with an injury in 1979, backup Pete Rowe got his opportunity to step in, according to The St. Petersburg Times.

Rowe then was in his third season as a pro and he was hoping his play that year might get him noticed, The Times wrote.

"All anyone wants is a fair shot," Rowe told The Times. "If you don't do well after that, then you deserve what you get. If Milner was healthy, I could have been backing up. I am lucky. I got this chance to show what I could do."

Over 94 games that year, Rowe ended up hitting .255. He also got noticed enough to spend the next season at AA Knoxville. He never got higher.

Rowe's career began in 1977, taken by the Blue Jays in the 11th round of the draft, out of Oregon State.

At Oregon State in 1976, Rowe hit .338 as a junior, knocked in 38 and won the honor as his team's top player, according to The Eugene Register-Guard.

As a senior the next March, Rowe hit a game-winning three-run home run. He also was named to the Pacific 8's All-Northern Division team all four years he was there.

With the Blue Jays, Rowe started at short-season Utica, hitting .267 over 67 games. He then moved to single-A Dunedin for 1978. Over 80 games, he hit .224.

He then returned to Dunedin for 1979, doubling and scoring in a late-August game. In one stretch that year, he hit over .300, and hit three home runs in a week, according to The Times.

From Dunedin, Rowe moved to AA Knoxville for 1980. He hit .277, but it was his final season with the Blue Jays. After not being recorded as playing in 1992, Rowe returned with the Pirates for 1982, hitting between single-A Alexandria and AA Buffalo, hitting .286.

Rowe got just one more season, 46 games between Alexandria and AA Lynn in 1983. He singled and scored in an August game, but it was his final season as a pro. He returned seven years later, coaching at independent Salinas, but it was his only recorded season as a coach.

• Eugene Register-Guard, May 27, 1976: Rowe honored as top player at Oregon State
  
• St. Petersburg Times, Aug. 7, 1979: No one can stop Jays' Pete Rowe

1990 CMC-Pro Cards Tally
Players/Coaches Featured:1,384
Made the Majors: 729 - 52.7%
Never Made Majors: 655-47.3%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 319
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 187