Mickey Morandini, Reckless Abandon - 606

Originally published Oct. 11, 2010

Mickey Morandini had turned down two offers from pro ball by September 1987, opting to stay at Indiana for another year.

It was a choice that obviously pleased Indiana head baseball coach Bob Morgan, and Morgan saw big things for the young infielder.

"What Mickey needs to do once he signs a contract," Morgan told The Pittsburgh Press, "is to go out and do what he's done all along. He has to hit in the top 10 of his league, steal bases and play with reckless abandon. I think he can be up there in three or four years."

The next year, Morandini signed with the Phillies, taken in the fifth round of the draft. He also made his major league debut on the low end of Morgan's time table, just over three years later on Sept. 1, 1990.

Morandini, a member of the 1988 Olympic team, made his debut in pro ball the next year, in 1989, playing that year at single-A Spartanburg and Clearwater and AA Reading. For 1990, he earned the jump to AAA Scranton, hitting .260 with 16 stolen bases and getting that call-up to Philadelphia.

He played 25 games for the Phillies that year, swiping three bases and hitting .241. He returned for another 98 games in 1991, hitting .249 and stealing 13.

His average increased a little for 1992, to .265. But, at season's end, it wasn't Morandini's hitting that people were talking about, it was his fielding. On Sept. 20, Morandini became the first National Leaguer in 65 years to get an unassisted triple play - catching the line drive, doubling off the runner at second and tagging out the runner from first.

"It really happened so fast. It didn't hit me until I got to the dugout," Morandini told reporters later. "Then I realized I'd done something few people have done."

In 1993, Morandini was a member of the National League Champion Phillies, helping them get there in the NLCS with a two-run triple and his fielding. The fielding was especially important in an NLCS with late-inning pitching difficulties.

"I was glad to be playing in those games," Morandini told reporters. "It's much easier to be out there and have some control over what's happening."

Morandini stayed with the Phillies through 1997, hitting .292 in 1994 and .295 his final year. In 1995, the year of his All Star appearance, Morandini got five hits in one June game. In 1996, Morandini slid home with the game-winner past the Dodgers' Tom Prince.

By 1998, Morandini was with the Cubs, taking over at second base where Cubs great Ryne Sandberg left off.

"I'm a line-drive, ground-ball hitter," Morandini told The Chicago Tribune that March. "When I first came up I hit a lot of lazy ground balls, but now I hit the ball on the line more, and that's why my offense has improved steadily over the years."

Morandini played two seasons with the Cubs then returned to the Phillies for 2000, finishing out the year and his career with Toronto.

His playing career over, Morandini took on the job of high school baseball coach at Valparaiso High in Indiana. He returned to Phillies camp in spring 2009 as a special instructor, eying a full-time professional coaching job in the future, just not until his children are grown.

Morandini told MLB.com in 2008, he was focusing on using his experience to work with his high school players.

"I wasn't the strongest or the fastest," Morandini told MLB.com. "I kind of had to work harder than everybody else. That's what I'm trying to instill in these kids - repetition and hard work."

• The Pittsburgh Press, Sept. 6, 1987: Morandini turns down Pirates ... Twice, Part 2
• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Associated Press, Sept. 21, 1992: Morandini makes history
• Spokane Spokesman-Review, Knight-Ridder, Oct. 13, 1993: Phils stop the chop, Part 2
• Chicago Tribune, March 15, 1998: Morandini Dreams Big
• MLB.com, Aug. 21, 2008: Where are they now? Mickey Morandini
• MLB.com, Feb. 26, 2009: Morandini in camp as special instructor

Ramon Sambo, More Hits - 503

Originally published Dec. 3, 2010

Ramon Sambo's days in 1984 saw him getting more hits and his manager was taking notice. Hitting .370, Sambo was leading the league in hitting, The Spartanburg Herald-Journal wrote that June.

Spartanburg Suns manager Jay Ward had overseen Sambo's progress the previous year at short-season Bend. Now, managing single-A Spartanburg, Ward told The Herald-Journal he saw positive changes in the young outfielder.

"His position at the plate and with the bat is where it needs to be. He's more confident and consistent," Ward told The Herald-Journal. "It only takes him one swing to get back in the groove, whereas last year he would go through a long period where he wasn't swinging right."

Sambo was in his third season playing professionally. He went on to play 10 seasons, generally hitting well, and running well. Sambo's hitting was enough for him to make AAA, but not the majors.

Signed by the Phillies for 1982 out of his native Dominican Republic, Sambo began his career at rookie league Helena. He hit .333 in 19 games. At Bend the next year, Sambo hit .262 and stole 20 bases.

His hot start at Spartanburg cooled off, hitting .300 on the year. But he also sped up, swiping 57 bases. He also made the South Atlantic League All-Star team, not for the last time.

By 1986, Sambo was with the Reds system, playing at AA Vermont, stealing 28. Moving back down to high-A Tampa for 1987, Sambo stole 60, then, in 1988, at single-A Cedar Rapids, he stole 98. But his average also dropped to .253.

He spent a season with the Milwaukee system in 1989, and he was a player the Brewers looked highly upon. He hit .322 with another 47 stolen bases at AA El Paso.

"He has got great speed," the El Paso general manager told The Milwaukee Journal that August. "He's the kind of guy that, if he gets on, we're going to score some runs."

"The guy has great potential," the GM added later.

Despite the high marks, Sambo moved on to the White Sox for 1990. He also saw his first time at AAA. Playing at Vancouver, Sambo hit just .250 and stole 30. Sambo played 1991 with the Angels at AA Midland.

Sambo went on to a career as a coach and a manager, including several years in the Pittsburgh system, including a stint as a Pittsburgh batting practice pitcher. More recently, time in the Orioles system. For 2013, Sambo served as hitting coach for the Orioles' rookie Gulf Coast League team.

Sambo joined the Orioles system in 2007, serving as the Gulf Coast team's hitting coach. The next year he was at single-A Delmarva. He also made it back to the South Atlantic League All-Star team, this time as a manager.

That July, speaking to The Delmarva Daily Times, Sambo attempted to explain a run drought that ended on a 3-1 victory.

"Some days you are not getting more hits than other days," Sambo told The Daily Times, "and the guys have been hitting the ball hard. It's tough luck sometimes."

• Spartanburg Herald-Journal, June 4, 1984: Sambo Anxious To Play Again
• Milwaukee Journal, Aug. 17, 1989: Diablos' outfielder fast becoming a hit
• Delmarva Daily Times, Anthony Spaulding, July 10, 2008: Shorebirds and runs reunite (pdf)

Kelly Heath, Drawing Comparisons - 605

Originally published Nov. 7, 2010

Kelly Heath replaced the Royals' second baseman Frank White in the bottom of the sixth, Kansas City already down 6-0.

By the time the inning was out, the Royals were down 8-0, but Heath took part in his first major league double play, serving as the second-base pivot to the action.

It was the start of Heath's major league career, a career that, unknown to anyone at the time, would end all of three innings later, Heath getting a single turn at bat.

While his major league career would end with that one game and one at bat, Heath's professional career continued for another eight seasons, finally ending after his 1990 campaign and 14 total seasons playing professionally.

His brief major league career and lengthy minor league one would be enough for Heath to draw comparisons to two late-80s baseball move icons. Heath could be compared to Field of Dreams' Moonlight Graham for his single at-bat. And he could also stand up next to Bull Durham's Crash Davis, for a professional career that spanned 14 seasons with that one, brief, call up to The Show.

In fact, he actually kind of did stand up next to Bull Durham's Crash Davis. Heath was actually in the movie, credited as a "core baseball player."

Heath's career began in 1977, taken by the Royals in the seventh round of the draft out of Louisburg College. And, while other draftees went to rookie ball, the 19-year-old Heath was sent straight to single-A Daytona Beach.

At Daytona, Heath hit two home runs and had a .232 average. But he had what The Daytona Beach News-Journal called the key hit in a July game with a two-run double. Aside from hitting, Heath was seen as providing defense.

"The addition of Frank McCann at third and young Kelly Heath at short has improved the left side of the infield," Royals farm director John Schuerholz told The News Journal that July, adding later, "Kelly Heath is very young. He'll mature from a playing standpoint and he's helping this club."

Heath made AA Jacksonville in 1978, hitting a better .268, and hit AAA Omaha in 1980. Heath played half that season at Omaha and then, aside from that brief time with Kansas City in 1982, the next decade at AAA.

In his half season at Omaha in 1980, Heath hit .253. In his three remaining seasons there, he was consistent. He hit .240, .238 and .239.

Heath also got invited to spring trainings. In 1980, coming out of his second year in AA, Heath tied one early March contest with a ninth-inning, two-run single. He later hit two doubles in a late March win against Pittsburgh.

Invited to spring training 1982, Heath got two hits in one early March game and three in another. He also lost some playing time a week later, due to a jammed thumb he suffered tagging out a runner, according to wire accounts.

Coming out of spring training, Heath was expected to make the club, at least until another injury, one to teammate Onix Concepcion, healed. Heath played in his one game April 20. Concepcion returned April 29.

Heath returned to Omaha, hitting .238, but picking up on his power. He hit 11 home runs that year and 13 the next. His 10th in 1983 came solo in a July Omaha win. That year in 1983 was his last in the Royals system.

A writer for The Lawrence Journal-World noted in December Heath's 13 home runs led the team. He also got 65 RBIs. But, by then, Heath was tagged as a "no-prospect," and the Royals let him go. He was granted free agency and signed with the Yankees.

Heath spent two seasons with the Yankees at AAA Columbus, his best season coming in 1985 with a .257 average and 18 home runs. He also hit two home runs in a game that year and chased the starter with a third hit, a single.

From there, it was two seasons with the Braves system in Richmond. It was after his second season in Richmond that Heath signed on with the filming of Bull Durham.

From there, it was two seasons in Syracuse, his first one in 1988 resulting in a .310 batting average. His second, however, was short, just 29 games and a .205 average. Heath's final season came in 1990 with the Phillies at AAA Scranton. He hit .237 with seven home runs and he was done.

Heath continued his affiliation with the Phillies after that last playing season. He served as a minor league hitting coach for five seasons, then another season as a minor league manager, according to Baseball Cube.

More recently, he's served as a scout for Oakland and the Reds. With Oakland, he was credited with signing the 2002 No. 1 pick John McCurdy.

But, back to that game in April 1982. Heath came to bat in the top of the seventh, with Hal McRae, two batters ahead of him in the lineup, on first from a Milt Wilcox walk. With Wilcox facing Heath, Heath lined out to center.

In the ninth, with two outs, Heath was two batters away from returning to the batters' box with McRae again facing Wilcox. The game - and Heath's major league career - ended as McRae struck out.

• Daytona Beach News-Journal, July 6, 1977: Islanders Split With St. Pete
• Daytona Beach News-Journal, July 17, 1977: Royals' Farm Director: Losing's A Bad Habit
• Lawrence Journal-World, Dec. 6, 1983: Royals are courting disaster unless new talent is acquired
• Toledo Blade, June 26, 1985: Broersma Stopps Clippers' Rally

Chris Knabenshue, Out There - 611

Originally published May 29, 2012

Chris Knabenshue had three hits in the previous game for the Charleston Rainbows. But his late miscue in the field meant those didn't matter, The Charleston News and Courier wrote.

In this April 1986 game, though, Knabenshoe got one more hit, and one less fielding miscue, going 4-for-4 with a home run in a Charleston win.

"I needed a game like this after last night," Knabenshoe told The News and Courier. "I can't remember the last time I was 4-for-4. That's what I was thinking out there. I don't even know if I've ever been 4-for-4."

Knabenshoe went on to have shots at similar games at AA and AAA, but he never got a shot to have a game like that in the majors. Knabenshoe, however, has since gone on to a career looking for other players who have shots at playing well in the pros, serving as a scout for the Braves.

Knabenshoe's career began in 1985, taken by the Padres in the fifth round of the draft, out of the University of Northern Colorado.

With the Padres, Knabenshoe started at short-season Spokane. There, Knabenshoe hit .279 in 71 games, stealing 10 bases.

That July, Knabenshoe got caught up in a bench-clearing brawl, becoming one of five members of his team to get ejected. Spokane also lost the game, thereby losing the brawl, Knabenshoe told The Spokane Chronicle.

"They did because they won the game," Knabenshoe told The Chronicle. "That's the only thing I feel badly about."

Knabenshoe moved up to AA Wichita in 1987, hitting .309, with 20 stolen bases and 15 home runs. The next year at Wichita, Knabenshoe hit .245, with 16 stolen bases and 16 home runs.

Knabenshoe made AAA for the first time in 1989, with Las Vegas, hitting .258, with 18 home runs and no stolen bases.

He moved to the Phillies system for 1990, playing at AAA Scranton. At Scranton, Knabenshoe hit a three-run home run in a July game. Overall, he hit just .237, with 18 home runs and 11 swipes.

Knabenshoe's time with Scranton was his last full year in affiliated ball. In 1991, he was credited with playing for four different teams and organizations, including in Mexico. He is last credited as playing in 1995, with just four games each at AAA Calgary and the Pirates rookie league team.

Knabenshoe has gone on to a career as a scout. More recently, Knabenshoe has focused on the Utah-Colorado-Wyoming region.

• Spokane Chronicle, July 12, 1986: Angels, Indians in brawl, Part 2
• Charleston News and Courier, April 13, 1986: Knabenshoe repays debt for Rainbows

Interview Part 3: Jason Sehorn, Good Time

A still from Jason Sehorn's interception return in the 2001 playoffs against the Eagles (NFL.com)

Part 1: Let's Go | Part 2: Special Things | Part 3: Been There

Back in junior college, Jason Sehorn's football coach said something to him that he found interesting: Watch Barry Sanders.

Sanders was, by then, already one of the greatest running backs in the game, Sehorn recalled his coach Sonny Stubek telling him, but Sanders never celebrated a run or a touchdown.

"Act like you've been there before," Sehorn recalled to The Greatest 21 Days of what his old coach told him.

"I kind of took that approach with everything in life," Sehorn added. "There's no sense in celebrating until it's over. When it's all over, and I'm in the lockerroom with my teammates, now we can celebrate.

"It's second down and I just made a big ol' tackle, there's still third down," Sehorn said. "There's still a chance that something goes wrong here. So, keep it in check - I've always had that even-keeled mentality in life."

Giants Stadium during 2001 Giants-Jets game. (Wikipedia)

From that time at Shasta Junior College, Sehorn took that mentality on to USC and then on to the NFL. In the NFL, Sehorn certainly had enough to celebrate after it was over, helping lead his team to the 2001 Super Bowl.

Sehorn spoke with The Greatest 21 Days by phone recently from Connecticut, where he was readying for his third season as a college football analyst for ESPNU.

Sehorn spoke about his time growing up in California playing multiple sports but not so much in an organized way. He also described how he got into baseball, a game he never played in high school, but got into in American Legion ball on the invitation from some friends, then his brief, single-season baseball career that followed.

Sehorn then talked about his football career, his return to college and his rise to USC and then the New York Giants. From there, he spoke about coming back from injury, and one legendary interception in the 2001 NFL playoffs.

Sehorn's NFL career began in 1994, taken by the Giants in the second round, 59th overall, out of USC.

Having gone from Huntington, W.V., to Redding, Ca., with Shasta and then to Los Angeles with USC, the transition to the big cities wasn't a problem. Also, the expectations from being a second-around pick weren't a problem, Sehorn recalled.

The transition from college to the NFL, though, was a lot tougher, Sehorn recalled.

The Giants lining up on defense in Super Bowl XXXV (Giants.com)

His first year out of college, he hardly played. It took time to figure out the pace of the game, he said.

"It took a little while," Sehorn said. "I'll be honest, that first year was a learning curve. It was a struggle. But, unlike baseball, because I loved it so much, I was willing to work an learn and get better at it."

There were also other aspects of the game that Sehorn needed to learn, especially as a defender.

"I realized that, when I got to the NFL, that it wasn't as much about ability, as it was about knowing where you were supposed to be," Sehorn recalled. "Being in the right place at the right time was far more important than being fast.

"Because," Sehorn added, "if you're fast and in the wrong place, that means you're in the wrong place quickly."

Once he got to training camp that second year second on the depth chart and he just worked his way up, he recalled.

By Week 1, Sehorn was playing. And he was playing in front of more than 80,000 Giants fans at Giants Stadium, recording time n 14 games that year.

The next two years, he played the full season, credited with 83 tackles the first year and 75 the next. He also scored touchdowns in both seasons, intercepting a total of 11 balls between them.

He was a star and a beloved member of the New York Giants. Then came pre-season 1998.

Returning a kickoff in that pre-season contest, Sehorn got hit awkwardly. The result was a torn ACL. Like that, he was gone for the season. And, maybe even his career. Even Sehorn said he wasn't completely sure he could come back.

A still from the NFL.com video of Jason Sehorn's 2001 playoff interception against the Eagles. (NFL.com)

"You just don't know," Sehorn said. "It was even worse after the surgery. After the surgery. After the surgery, you can't even walk. You're on crutches. You have no muscle, it's all atrophied."

"You tell yourself 'I may not be able to play again. I can't picture myself running, let along walking. So how am I going to play?'" Sehorn added.

Over time, through rehab, he did gain back his strength. For Sehorn, that athletic ability that got him to New York was seemingly gone. And he had to work to get it back.

"Once you tear your ACL, now it's all work. We're talking all work," Sehorn said. "I've never worked so hard in my life as I did after that surgery."

By the time the 1999 season came around, Sehorn was back. Getting back on the field again, Sehorn called the "ultimate thrill."

Sehorn started 10 games that year and 14 the next, helping the Giants to the 2000 playoffs. In those playoffs, against the Eagles, Sehorn made The Interception.

 
Jason Sehorn's 2001 interception

In that NFC divisional playoff game, Sehorn somehow caught a Donovan McNabb-thrown pass, then got up and ran it back for a momentum-changing touchdown.

"It really is one of those things where everything has to work perfectly," Sehorn said. "Shoot, the ball can bounce any way. So, when I tipped it, basically I was lucky that it went straight up.

"You can tip a ball and it can go in any direction," Sehorn said. "It just happened to go straight up, so it worked out for me."

The Giants ended up winning the game, and then going on to the Super Bowl.

Sehorn ended up staying with the Giants two more seasons, before playing one final campaign with the Rams to finish out his career.

Sehorn now lives in the Charlotte area with his wife Angie Harmon and their three daughters. He works as the communications director for a company that owns 105 car dealerships. He also works for ESPN as a college football analyst for ESPNU working Thursday and Saturday night games.

As for how everything turned out, Sehorn said, "you won't find any complaints out of me."

"There were some highs and lows throughout it, but that was just part of life," Sehorn said. "So you deal with them. You deal with the lows, turn them into highs and don't get too high on the highs. Deal with them and have a good time. And I had a good time."

Part 1: Let's Go | Part 2: Special Things | Part 3: Been There

Interview Part 2: Jason Sehorn, Special Things

Bowen Field in Bluefield, Va., in 1983 or 1984. Jason Sehorn played at Bowen in 1990 as a member of the Huntington Cubs. (Vickie Biagini)

Part 1: Let's Go | Part 2: Special Things | Part 3: Good Time

Far from the lights of the National Football League and cities like New York and Dallas, Jason Sehorn played the summer of 1990 in the Appalachian Baseball League, in cities like Kingsport, Tenn., Pulaski, Va. and Bluefield, Va.

In an echo of things to come, there was also a Bristol. But this wasn't the Bristol of ESPN and Connecticut. This was the Bristol of the mountains Virginia and Tennessee.

"You spend time bouncing around from cities like Johnson City, Tenn., Elizabethton, Tenn., just these cool little towns," Sehorn recalled of his time playing for the rookie-level Huntington Cubs.

In Huntington, home of Marshall University, the team drew fans, Sehorn recalled, as many as 3,000 in a night.

That was fun, he said.

"I enjoyed that part of it," Sehorn recalled. "I enjoyed the game, I just realized that it was going to take a lot of work to really be good and, if I was going to put that much work into something, it was going to be football."

Sehorn ultimately did put that work into football. And he eventually played in front of crowds much bigger than 3,000 fans.

Wrigley Field in 1989. Jason Sehorn signed with the Cubs that year and played a season of minor league baseball. (G21D Photo)

Sehorn spoke with The Greatest 21 Days by phone recently from Connecticut, where he was readying for his third season as a college football analyst for ESPNU.

Sehorn spoke about his time growing up in California playing multiple sports but not so much in an organized way. He also described how he got into baseball, a game he never played in high school, but got into in American Legion ball on the invitation from some friends that soon turned into a season in minor league baseball.

Sehorn then talked about his football career, his return to college and his rise from junior college to the University of Southern California and then the New York Giants. From there, he spoke about coming back from injury, and one legendary interception in the 2001 NFL playoffs.

Sehorn started out in college as a receiver, then turned safety and cornerback and then became a full-time cornerback in New York.

As a Huntington Cub, though, Sehorn played center field. That was where his speed and his quickness seemed to serve him the most.

The Wrigley Field scoreboard in 1988. Had he made it in baseball, Jason Sehorn would have played here. (G21D Photo)

"They put me in center field, let me roam around and have some fun," Sehorn recalled. "I enjoyed that part of it. It was just learning how to hit was going to take a lot of work."

And the hitting part showed up in his season stats. In 49 games for Huntington, 125 total at bats, Sehorn managed only 23 hits, and a single home run. That performance amounted to a batting average of just .184.

When he did get on base, though, he ran. He stole nine bases.

Sehorn stayed with the Cubs at season's end, and they kept him. It was just, Sehorn isn't sure the Cubs actually knew what he did next, right after Huntington played its last game.

"I think the season ended on a Friday night," Sehorn recalled. "The next morning I was in my car, drove from Huntington, W.V., out to California. I was at my junior college on Monday and I was in football practice on Monday afternoon."

That school was Shasta College in Redding, Ca., about an hour south of where Sehorn grew up. He then spent the fall playing the game he really wanted to play, football.

Come spring 1991, Sehorn reported back to the Cubs and spring training. But it didn't last. By the time spring training was over, the two parted ways.

Wrigley Field in 1988. A Cubs scout signed Jason Sehorn in 1989 to play baseball. (G21D Photo)

"It was fine," Sehorn said, "and it might have worked had I worked at it, and I didn't.  I spent so much time playing football and basketball, running track when I went back to junior college, that the only time I played baseball was when I was there."

Sehorn just wasn't spending the time in the hitting cage in the off-season. He was having fun at other sports.

"There's a reason athletes aren't professionals at every sport," Sehorn said, "because some of them they're just better at and I was just better at football."

So, Sehorn went back to football.

He played his first two seasons at Shasta under coach Sonny Stupek, winning accolaides as a wide receiver. Sehorn became a two-time Junior College All-American at that position. Soon, USC came calling.

Sehorn recalled that, as a California kid, USC was the school to be at. He wanted to go there. So the decision to go wasn't a hard one, he recalled.

"When they came calling and offered the scholarship," Sehorn said, "I was like, 'I'm in.'"

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, home of the USC Trojans. Jason Sehorn played at USC in 1993 and 1994. (USCTrojans.com)

After starting out in places like Mount Shasta in far northern California and Redding, with a detour in Huntington, Sehorn had made it to Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.

"It was an adjustment period, I'll tell you that much," Sehorn said, "going from those towns and those cities to USC. No doubt - no doubt."

With the bigger school and bigger city also came bigger competition. It was a competition that quickly moved Sehorn to the other side of the ball.

USC, he recalled, was already set at wide receiver with Johnnie Morton and Curtis Conway. With only two years of eligibility left as a junior college transfer, Sehorn needed to make his mark elsewhere and that was on defense, at cornerback.

The move required Sehorn learn a whole different style of running - running backwards, back-peddling.

"Once I got the hang of it, it was no problem," Sehorn recalled. "It's a position on the football field where athletic ability really pays off. If you've got some, no doubt you can do some special things."

And Sehorn did go on to do special things, doing them in the NFL.

Go to Part 3: Jason Sehorn, Good Time

Part 1: Let's Go | Part 2: Special Things | Part 3: Good Time

Interview Part 1: Jason Sehorn, Let's Go

Wrigley Field in 1988. Jason Sehorn was once on track to play here. Then he returned to the game he really loved, football. (G21D Photo)

Part 1: Let's Go | Part 2: Special Things | Part 3: Good Time


Note: Thanks to @JasonSehorn for taking the time to share his story

Jason Sehorn watched for his name. The USC safety then saw it, crawling across the screen on ESPN as the 59th overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft.

Soon, also, his phone started ringing. On the other end was his new head coach and his new general manager.

"It was just a very awesome experience," Sehorn recalled recently to The Greatest 21 Days, "to be that 21-year-old kid sitting in your living room and having these head coaches of NFL teams and the GM telling you 'we just drafted you, you're going to be on a plane headed out to New York.'

"I was like, 'this is awesome.'"

Nearly five years earlier, Sehorn got another message from another organization. This one wanted him to play another sport, baseball.

In this earlier brush with the pros, ESPN was nowhere in sight. This was Jason Sehorn, his American Legion team and a scout for the Chicago Cubs.

"A scout just happened to be driving through and saw me play," Sehorn explained. "He saw me run and asked me if I wanted to play minor league baseball. And I was like, 'yeah, let's go.'"

A New York Giants helmet at the 2012 NFL draft. Jason Sehorn was taken by the Giants in the second round of the 1994 draft. (Giants.com)

Both entrances into professional ball came with Sehorn's regular enthusiasm. But only one was in the sport he really wanted to play. And, in that sport he wanted to play, Sehorn ended up playing for a decade, and becoming a star.

Sehorn spoke with The Greatest 21 Days by phone recently from Connecticut, where he was readying for his third season as a college football analyst for ESPNU.

Sehorn spoke about his time growing up in California playing multiple sports but not so much in an organized way. He also described how he got into baseball, a game he never played in high school, but got into in American Legion ball on the invitation from some friends.

Sehorn spoke about getting spotted by that scout, and ending up spending a summer in West Virginia, playing for the Cubs' rookie-league affiliate near the banks of the Ohio River in Huntington, home to Marshall University.

Sehorn then talked about his football career, his return to college and his rise from junior college to the University of Southern California and then the New York Giants. From there, he spoke about coming back from injury, and one legendary interception in the 2001 NFL playoffs.

Jason Sehorn, from his ESPN.com bio. Sehorn played 10 years in the NFL and one season of minor league baseball. (ESPNMediaZone.com)

Sehorn grew up in Northern California, in the city of Mount Shasta. As a kid, Sehorn recalled never thinking about professional sports, or even organized ones. He was just a kid playing and running around.

"I wasn't really big into organized team sports," Sehorn said. "It wasn't something that I wanted to do."

"As I got bigger, faster and older, I got interested in those things."

Sehorn recalled basketball as actually being the sport that was the most fun. But, 6-foot-3-inch guards are a dime a dozen. At Mount Shasta High School, Sehorn never played baseball, but he did play a season a football.

Then, after high school, some friends went out to play the summer of 1989 in American Legion ball. And they invited Sehorn to go with them. Despite having never played before, Sehorn agreed.

Sehorn hadn't really been a fan of the game because it seemed to move so slowly, and there were so many games, he recalled. What did appeal to him, though, was the camaraderie.

"That's kind of what hooked me in," Sehorn recalled. "Spending the summer with my buddies, traveling around playing baseball games? Yeah, sure, let's go."

The Dodgers visiting Chicago's Wrigley Field in 1989. Once on track to play at Wrigley, Jason Sehorn eventually played in Los Angeles, football for USC. (G21D Photo)

"So I played with a bunch of friends out of high school and we had a good time," Sehorn added. "It was a good summer."

Soon, Sehorn realized a scout was watching. It was about halfway through the season, he recalled, and the scout stopped by for a three-game series.

He then came back.

"I was like, 'Wow, he's coming back for seconds here,'" Sehorn recalled. "Then I realized this might work out."

Eventually, talked turned to a contract. The scout wanted Sehorn to go play for the Chicago Cubs organization and try for a shot at playing in Wrigley Field.

What the scout liked, Sehorn learned, wasn't so much his skills on the diamond, but his size and speed. Together, those meant potential.

Bristol Tiger Pat Austin reaches for a throw at third base in 1986. Jason Sehorn played against Bristol in 1990 as a member of the Huntington Cubs. (Pat Austin)

"You're big and fast, you can't teach big and fast," Sehorn recalled the scout telling him. "We can teach every skill that's baseball related, but we can't teach big and fast."

With that, Sehorn was a baseball player, putting off school to play baseball as a professional.

Sehorn played that fall in instructional ball in Arizona. The next summer, it was off to West Virginia.

But there was also a lot for him to learn, Sehorn recalled.

"Hitting takes a tremendous amount of time," Sehorn said. "Fielding not a problem. Running the bases not a problem. Throwing not a problem. All of that kind of stuff, I could do."

"But to understand what a curve ball, a sinker, a slider looked like, what's a forkball and understand and recognize - that just takes time," Sehorn added, "and I got to be honest, I just wasn't really dialed into doing it. I was more or less ready to go play football because that was fun. That was running around, hitting people, catching balls.

"I didn't have to sit there and identify a curve ball from a slider."

Sehorn ended up not sitting there for long. He played just a single season in the Cubs' system. Then it was back to college and back to football.

Go to Part 2, Jason Sehorn, Special Things

Part 1: Let's Go | Part 2: Special Things | Part 3: Good Time

Terry Clark kept plugging away, made bigs in 6 seasons

It was something Terry Clark had always dreamed about, he told reporters afterward.

He'd pitched five innings of a major league game, just enough to qualify for a win. He'd also given up just one run.

"I told myself 'You got here, did the job, and now sit back and enjoy it,'" Clark told The Associated Press after that July 1988 game.

"You're in the minor leagues, doing well and nothing ever happens," Clark added later to The AP, "and you begin to wonder if it will happen or not. I just kept plugging away and swinging away."

Clark got there, his first major league start, after a decade spent in the minors. He was originally drafted by the Cardinals in 1979 in the 23rd round.

It took him four seasons to get out of single-A, nine seasons to get more than 20 appearances at AAA and 10 seasons to make the majors.

Clark went on to a professional career that spanned 21 seasons, six of those with time in the majors. His first three major league seasons and his last three also came with four years in between.

Clark's professional career began at rookie league Johnson City in 1979. He pitched 23 games in relief, posting a 1.97 ERA. Over the next three seasons it was two years at Gastonia and one at St. Petersburg, all single-A.

He made AA Arkansas in 1983, had a short stint at AAA Louisville in 1984 and was back at Arkansas for 1985. All the while he served as a reliever.

Granted free agency after 1985, Clark signed on with the Angels, the team that would finally bring him to the majors. He played 1986 at AA Midland, again as a reliever. But in 1987, at AAA Edmonton, Clark tried his hand at starting.

He got his call-up the next July. In that first game, against the Indians, Clark picked up the win. Pulled after the fifth, Clark watched the rest of the game from the clubhouse.

"I pretty much remember every batter, every pitch, every out, every inning," Clark told The Toledo Blade afterward.

Clark won his next two and overall started 5-0, including a complete game against Seattle. Later, on Aug. 27, he pitched a complete game shutout against the Yankees. "I wanted the shutout real bad," Clark told The AP afterward. "It feels great."

Clark finished out his first season 6-6 with a 5.07 ERA, hit by a bad September. He returned to California for 1989, but this time for four games. He was called up for an injured Chuck Finley.

Signing with the Astros for 1990, Clark got into one game for Houston that year. It was his last major league game until 1995. In the meantime, he spent another four years in the minors, playing at Tucson, Colorado Springs, Rancho Cucamonga, Wichita and then Richmond.

He finally returned to the majors with the Braves for three games, then with the Orioles for 38. He split 1996 between Kansas City and Houston, playing 17 games between them. In 1997, his final year in the majors, Clark pitched in 13 games between Cleveland and Texas.

In early August, claimed off waivers from Cleveland, Clark pitched Texas to a 4-3 win.

"Terry was very impressive," Texas Manager Johnny Oates told The AP afterward. "He showed what hitting spots and changing speeds can do for a pitcher."

Clark finished out his playing days back where he started, in the minors. He played 1998 with the Rangers at AAA Oklahoma, then with Oakland at AAA Vancouver.

Clark's baseball career has continued in the years since, as a pitching coach. In 2010, Clark was back in Oklahoma City, coaching for the RedHawks and watching over prospects like Derek Holland.

"He's not ready to go back to the big leagues," Clark told OKCRedHawks.com in July 2010. "He needs one more start, maybe two. We'll see how he does. But he's going to have to show me his hard slider and throw his changeup for strikes before he goes anywhere."

Originally published Jan. 11, 2011

• Oxnard Press-Courier, Associated Press, July 8, 1988: Angels' Clark Sees Minton Preserve Win Over Indians
• Toledo Blade, July 8, 1988: Clark's debut successful
• New London Day, Associated Press, Aug. 28, 1988: Angels bedevil Yanks
• Toledo Blade, Associated Press, Aug. 10, 1997: Justice is served to avoid sweep
• OKCRedHawks.com, July 28, 2010: South paw returning to full strength

More: The 1990 Tucson Toros

Jeff Gardner, Every Day - 551

Originally published Sept. 18, 2010

After seven seasons in the minor leagues, Jeff Gardner finally got his first look at the majors in September 1991. He played in 13 games for the Mets getting six hits.

The experience was everything Gardner expected it to be, he told The Los Angeles Times the next June.

"It really is as good as they say," Gardner told The Times. "You get the chartered planes, your bags are waiting for you in your room when you get to the hotel and the per diem is a lot better.
"Getting to play up there kind of made it all worth it," Gardner added to The Times. "I wasn't sure if I'd ever get there."

Gardner's long trip to the majors began in 1994, signed by the Mets as a free agent. He played the next year at single-A Columbia, hitting .294. He made AA Jackson in 1987. He got a two-game tryout with AAA Tidewater in 1988, getting a triple in one game.

By 1989, Gardner was known more his glove than his bat. And even that wasn't that spectacular, according to The Times.

"You need to see him play for two weeks to appreciate him," Tidewater manager Mike Cubbage told The Times in August 1989. "He's sure-handed, and he turns the double play as well as anyone in the major leagues. He does the little things with the bat--bunts and moves guys over--that help the team."

But the Mets had a lot of infielders. Cubbage admitted to The Times that Gardner would likely have to be traded to get his shot. "Frankly, he'll have a hard time making it with this team," Cubbage told The Times.

Gardner did finally make it to the majors with the Mets two years later. That was after having a 17-game hitting streak at one point in June 1991.

After his 13-game stint with the Mets that year, Gardner then got his chance with another team. The Mets traded him to the Padres. He played 15 games for San Diego that next year. Then, in 1993, Gardner became a regular, playing in 140 games for the Padres, hitting .262 with one home run.

"He's not the fastest guy in the world," Gardner teammate and Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn told The Times in June 1993, "he doesn't have the world's quickest bat or greatest range, but he comes to play every day. He's not a flashy type. He gets down and dirty, and he'll ping, pang, pong you to death.

"You have to see him every day to appreciate the things he brings to the table," Gwynn added.
Gardner's success in 1993, however, didn't translate into a permanent home or a lengthy career.

Gardner was released by the Padres following that season. He signed on with the Expos for 1994, only playing 18 more games in the majors.

Gardner played 1995 with the Cubs system at AAA Iowa and his playing days were done.

Gardner went on to be a scout and a minor league manager. He helmed the Eugene Emeralds for two seasons, 2001 and 2002 and the Lake Elsinore Storm in 2003. By 2004, Gardner returned to scouting, remaining there through 2005.

"I played in the big leagues, so I have an idea on how the game should be played," Gardner told The San Diego Union-Tribune in March 2004. "Having managed the last three years, I now have a better idea what the manager and coaches are looking for in a report."

• Toledo Blade, Aug. 31, 1988: Trujillo impressive in Hen split
• Los Angeles Times, Aug. 19, 1989: Gardner Hopes Little Things Help Him Reach Big Leagues
• Los Angeles Times, June 13, 1992: From Virginia to Vegas, He Works for Chance in 'The Show'
• Los Angeles Times, June 11, 1993: Gardner Finds a Home in San Diego
• San Diego Union-Tribune, March 22, 2004: Gardner's return to scouting eases burden on coaches

Interview Part 4: Kash Beauchamp, Fight For

Kash Beauchamp, far right, and his 2008 Wichita Wingnuts. (Photo Provided)

Part 1: Played Hard | Part 2: Big Memory 
Part 3: Pretty Simple | Part 4: Fight For

In the span of 60 or so seconds, Wichita Wingnuts manager Kash Beauchamp stuck his shoe it in the umpire's face, stuck his armpit in the umpire's face and finally used batting practice doughnuts to suggest the umpire needed glasses.

It was a tirade in summer 2008 that cost Beauchamp four games. It was also a tirade, caught on video, that made national news.

By that point, Beauchamp had been a manager in independent ball for a decade. And that tirade wasn't his first.

"Some of the better ones never made it on video," Beauchamp joked recently to The Greatest 21 Days recently. "I'd say the most famous one is probably about my fifth best one."

But there was usually a method to Beauchamp's on-field madness, he said. That was to motivate his team, to defend his deam.

"I feel like managing a baseball club is very similar to being a father," Beauchamp said. "There's times to pat your guys on the butt. There's times that you kick them in the butt. And there's times you have to fight for them to let them know that you care for them."

Beauchamp spoke with The Greatest 21 Days by phone recently from his Tulsa-area home. A member of the 1990 Phoenix Firebirds, Beauchamp recounted his professional career, from growing up in Oklahoma the son of a major leaguer, to turning pro himself and pursuing his own major league dreams.

Kash Beauchamp taking a swing with Wichita. (Photo Provided)

He spoke of his early success, and later injuries that slowed his career. He then spoke of his turn to independent ball, first as a player and later as a manager, where he gained a reputation for defending his players and for sometimes fiery confrontations with umpires. He also spoke of his turn to youth instruction.

Beauchamp started his managerial career after a decade-long career as a player in the minors. His first stint in the minors ended in 1990, playing AAA and then AA ball in the Giants system. His last hit came in the Texas League playoffs, he recalled, a home run.

Released out of spring training 1991. Beauchamp believed his career might be over. So, he went and coached at a junior college in Alabama, coached both basketball and baseball.

"Deep down, I knew I still could play," Beauchamp recalled. "I wanted to play."

And he could. In 1993, he heard about independent ball. Recruited by Doug Simunic, manager of the fledgeling Rochester Aces, Beauchamp returned to pro ball.

In 47 games for the Aces, he hit .367, with 9 home runs, winning league MVP honors. He also earned 18 games with the Reds at AA Chattanooga and 88 games in the Dodgers system the next season, finally ending his full-time playing days.
 
Kash Beauchamp's infamous 2008 tirade with Wichita. (YouTube)

From there, Beauchamp signed on with the Expos as a minor league coach. He stayed there for three seasons, but it wasn't for him. Too political, he recalled.

For 1998, Beuchamp returned to independent ball, with New Jersey. Independent ball, Beauchamp, was more his style. In independent ball, he could be the manager, the general manager and the scouting director.

"I fell in love with independent baseball," Beauchamp said. "I could tell a guy, 'If you don't run balls out, I'm going to fire your ass.'"

In affiliated ball, depending on the player, that wasn't necessarily the case.

Beauchamp ended up spending a total of 10 seasons managing in independent baseball, including three at New Jersey, a season in Glens Falls, NY, with Adirondack and that 2008 season in Wichita.

In that time, Beauchamp gained a reputation for his on-field tirades. He recalled looking up to guys like Billy Martin and Lou Piniella. He identified with them in the dugout.

"I think baseball misses that, I really do," Beauchamp said.

 But there's also a time and a place for that, he said.

"I felt like my teams played hard for me in independent ball because I would fight for them," Beauchamp said.

If he's going to ask his players to fight for him, to run over catchers, to break up double plays, Beauchamp said he felt like he had to do the same, by taking up for his players with the umpires.

At the time of the 2008 Wichita tirade, Beauchamp recalled having to light into his own players for poor play days earlier. The tirade was the other end, defending them. Wichita also came back to win, he recalled.

Kash Beauchamp congratulating a player in 2008 at Wichita. (Photo Provided)

"That was an opportunity for me to also take up for them," Beauchamp said, "let them know that I have their backs. I'll chew your butt out, but I've also got your back.

Beauchamp also had the same rules his father had as a manager, Beauchamp said: Show up on time, bust your butt and be a professional on and off the field.

"If you want to play for me, those are the three things you have to do," Beauchamp said. "And when a guy doesn't bust his ass, I've got a problem with that."

When guys didn't give their all, like running out balls, Beauchamp called them out on it. Toward the end, he thought that started rubbing some guys the wrong way.

He recalled one player in particular in that 2008 Wichita season that didn't do that. He was a former major leaguer. Beauchamp recalled not getting brought back, not for that tirade, but for the dispute with that player.

"I'm very old school, I'm very hard-nosed," Beauchamp said. "But I'm very fair with it across the board."

After that season in Wichita, Beauchamp made his way back to Oklahoma and went in a new direction, coaching youth. He is now with Perfect Practice Athletic Center in Tulsa, offering youth hitting instruction. Beauchamp, lives near Tulsa and has three children, ages 24, 20 and 15.

With his new career, he's also had to change his approach to coaching. With youth, he said, he tries to be very nurturing. Kids, he said, can't deal with failure.

"I have to teach them how to fail," Beauchamp said. "I don't like to lose. I was not a good loser. That was my worst trait as a manager."

Kash Beauchamp coaching a youth on a trip to Taiwan. (Photo Provided)

"Working with kids," he added, "has taught me how to accept failure within my teams."

With teaching kids, Beauchamp said, he's found nothing is better than teaching them the game.

He also enjoys seeing those same kids go on to college, on baseball scholarships. One of the students he worked at previously in Georgia, he said, was Josh Lester, who is now playing ball in 2013 at the University of Missouri.

"That's the greatest thing that I've ever gotten out of baseball," Beauchamp said, "is being able to get the thanks of a kid I helped, or seeing one of my kids get a scholarship."

He's also seen one of his Georgia students, Anfernee Grier, get drafted, taken by the Tigers late in 2013. Another hit his first collegiate home run.

"That right there, to me, that's what it's all about," Beauchamp said. "Seeing these kids get something from what I teach them, that's the greatest gift that I've ever gotten from baseball."

Part 1: Played Hard | Part 2: Big Memory 
Part 3: Pretty Simple | Part 4: Fight For

Interview Part 3: Kash Beauchamp, Pretty Simple

The home dugout at Richmond's The Diamond in 2011. Jim Beauchamp spent three seasons patrolling that dugout as manager of the old AAA Richmond Braves. (G21D Photo)

Part 1: Played Hard | Part 2: Big Memory 
Part 3: Pretty Simple | Part 4: Fight For

Kash Beauchamp's average dropped, but he seemed to get hits when it counted, he recalled.

He only hit five home runs all year for the 1989 Richmond Braves, but he recalled three of them came down the stretch. One helped put them in first place for good.

"But," Beauchamp recalled, "the greatest thing was getting to spend the year with my father. I learned a lot about the game that year."

Beauchamp's father, Jim Beauchamp was already deep into his second career as a minor league skipper. That came after a playing career in the majors that lasted a decade.

With that experience, Kash recalled, came expectations: "Show up on time, bust your butt every day, play as hard as you can, be a professional on and off the field and respect the game by the way you carry yourself.

"Pretty simple."

Kash Beauchamp spoke with The Greatest 21 Days by phone recently from his Tulsa-area home. A member of the 1990 Phoenix Firebirds, Beauchamp recounted his professional career, from growing up in Oklahoma the son of a major leaguer, to turning pro himself and pursuing his own major league dreams.

Shea Stadium in Queens in 2004. Jim Beauchamp played at Shea in 1972 and 1973. He also returned to the park later as a bench coach for the Braves in the 1990s. (G21D Photo)

He spoke of his early success, and later injuries that slowed his career. He then spoke of his turn to independent ball, first as a player and later as a manager, where he gained a reputation for defending his players and for sometimes fiery confrontations with umpires.

Beauchamp also spoke about his father, Jim Beauchamp and his impact on Kash's career, the father giving his son tips, but not overly coaching him. His father was also in the minors in 1990, serving as manager of the AAA Richmond Braves. Jim Beauchamp passed away in 2007. His father was also a bench coach in Atlanta for the winning Braves teams.

Jim Beauchamp's career in baseball began in 1958, signed by the Cardinals as a amateur free agent out of his native Oklahoma.

Jim debuted with St. Louis five years later, in 1963. It was the same year his son Kash came along.

"I tell people all the time that every meal I've ever eaten, baseball's probably been responsible for it," Kash said, "because that's how my dad fed me when I was a kid."


Jim Beauchamp ended up playing in 10 major league seasons for five clubs, serving his last years with the Mets. His final major league time came in 1973, ending with four at bats in the World Series.

Kash Beauchamp, left, sister Ann Rene, center, and brother Tim, right, at Cardinals father and son game at Busch Stadium. Their father Jim Beauchamp played for the team in 1970 and 1971. (Photo Provided)

He soon started his minor league managerial career, returning to one of his old clubs, the Astros. His first team was AA Columbus in 1975. He then ended up managing somewhere every season through 1990. Most of that time was spent at AAA.

Kash recalled his father always earning the respect of his players.

"It wasn't something he asked for or demanded," Kash Beauchamp said. "It was just there. My dad didn't say a lot, but when he said something, you could take it to the bank."

By 1985, Jim Beauchamp arrived in the Braves system, taking over at AA Greenville. It was another organization he had played for previously. Jim played eight total games for the Braves in the 1960s, the first four when the club was in Milwaukee.

But it was with the Braves that Jim Beauchamp found a home. It was the players that Beauchamp managed in the minors for the Braves in the late 1980s that became the core of the winning Atlanta Braves teams of the 1990s.

He had Tom Glavine, Ron Gant, Dave Justice, Mark Lemke, Jeff Blauser, John Smoltz, all before they were household names.

"It was very rewarding for my dad to come up with the Gants, the Justices," Kash recalled. And don't think that my dad didn't sit down and have it out with with guys like Dave Justice and Ronnie Gant and Jeff Blauser.

"He aired those guys out in their development in the minor leagues. And they respected him for it."

The, as those guys made it to the majors, and started having success, Jim Beauchamp went right with them.

In 1991, the year of Atlanta's first World Series team, Beauchamp moved up and became the team's major league bench coach. And he stayed in that position through 1998, including in 1995 when the team broke through and won it all.

That long stint his dad spent in Atlanta, Kash said, "was God saying 'Here is your reward for doing what you did in the minor leagues all those years."

A promo poster of the 1989 Richmond Braves. Manager Jim Beauchamp is seated in the chair center. His son Kash is second in from the right. To Kash's right is David Justice. (Photo Provided)

When his time in Atlanta was over, Jim Beauchamp returned to the minors, as a roving instructor. It was also a move his dad was happy to make, Kash said.

"He got back down to the roots of baseball," Kash said. "He got to work with guys like Jeff Francoeur and help them get to the big leagues."

After his father passed away in December 2007 at the age of 68, the Braves showed how much he meant to the organization. They did so by wearing a patch throughout the 2008 season with Jim Beauchamp's nickname, "Beach."

"That was an unbelievable tribute to my father when they wore that 'Beach' patch," Kash Beauchamp said. "That tells you about the respect that everybody had for my dad."

As a manager in the minors, Kash recalled, one of the ways his father earned that respect was by supporting his players.

"Every player that played for my dad knew my dad had their back," Kash said. "Whether it was with other teams or with umpires, my dad was going to protect his player and that's something I tried to carry over into my career as a manager."

Kash Beauchamp went on to his own career as a coach and as a manager, after he finished up his playing career.

Go to Part 4, Kash Beauchamp, Fight For

Part 1: Played Hard | Part 2: Big Memory 
Part 3: Pretty Simple | Part 4: Fight For