Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

The 2010 version of MLB video game The Show had new options, including a new mode that made it look like a TV broadcast . Sony senior producer Chris Gill explained to Kotaku.com that February that the new mode provided options for gamers. "This gives the player an opportunity to play in a different style," Gill told the site . "It doesn't slow the game down, and it's how I play the game now." Gill played the baseball video game, and helped produce it. Years earlier, he played the actual baseball game, playing in four seasons. He never made the majors . Gill's involvement in the real baseball game began in 1989, signed by the Reds as an undrafted free agent. Gill started at rookie Billings, hitting .291, with two home runs. He moved to single-A Charleston for 1990, his average dropping to .251 . He went 2 for 4 in an April 1990 contest, knocking in two. Around that time, the infielder also took a bad hop to his mouth, losing a tooth, he...

Speaking to a group of high school players at a pitching camp in 2010, Johnny Ray asked the young players what the best pitch in the game is, according to The Memphis Commercial Appeal . After hearing different pitches called out, Ray gave the correct answer . "No, strike one is the best pitch in baseball," Ray told them, according to The Commercial Appeal . "Get ahead (in the count) and make them work for it." Ray spoke then as head baseball coach at Marshall Academy, near Memphis, in Mississippi. He also spoke with the experience of five seasons spent in the Cincinnati Reds organization. That experience saw Ray make AA, but not make it higher . Ray's career in baseball began in 1989, signed by the Reds as an undrafted free agent out of Delta State University. Ray played his first year in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He went 6-2, with a 2.72 ERA over 10 starts. He moved to single-A Charleston in 1990 and started to win. He went 14-7 there in 1...

Originally published May 22, 2012 The Tigers started slowly in spring 1990. But, in late March, they finally picked up a win. Locking it down with two innings of work, picking up the save , was reliever Eric Stone . "I'll be truthful. I didn't want to lose that game," Tigers manager Sparky Anderson told The Associated Press afterward. "We haven't been too familiar with the 'W' column lately." While Stone helped his manager and the Tigers in that spring game, Stone never was able to help the Tigers or any other team in the majors. Stone played in seven seasons as a professional , but he never made the majors. Stone's career began in 1988, taken by the Tigers in the sixth round of the draft, out of the University of Texas. At one point that year with Texas, Stone was 15-1. He also claimed the school record for strikeouts in one game, 19. With the Tigers, Stone started at single-A Fayetteville. He went 0-5 in seven starts . Re...

Jon Fuller knows the importance building confidence is to a baseball player. He spent 12 years working to build his own confidence as a pro . He's since moved on, working to build confidence of young players as a baseball instructor in his home state of Washington. “So we always try to instill that, whether it's in individual workouts or we're working with teams," Fuller told The Kitsap Sun in 2011. "Confidence is a big part and believing you can get to that, whatever level you're at, you get to that next level." Fuller's career in baseball began in 1988, taken by the Reds in the 38th round, out of Bellevue Community College in Washington. Fuller started at rookie Billings, hitting .281 over 31 games. The catcher moved to single-A Greensboro for 1989, the first of four seasons Fuller spent at single-A . Fuller spent 1990 at Charleston, hitting .241. At Charleston, Fuller was one of the first players to catch converted pitcher Trevo...

Features on each member of the 1990 Burlington Braves, single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. Players featured are as included in that year's team set. Click on the player's name to read more. Interview (1) 1 - Walt Roy, Gung Ho Walt Roy started packing his bags. He was a pro. 1990 Burlington Braves (31) 1 - Ozzie Apolinario helped fuel GCL win; Saw four pro seasons 2  -  Tony Baldwin  took opportunity of lifetime to 4 pro seasons 3  -  Daryl Blanks  played 3 pro seasons, later coached youth ball 4  -  Pedro Borbon  worked hard, made bigs with Braves, others 5  -  Tom Bruck  amassed college record wins, saw 2 pro seasons 6  -  Rod Byerly  worked over three pro seasons, made high-A 7  -  Jeff Calderone  played two seasons, later coached for Croatia 8  -  Ramon Caraballo  learned language, then saw 2 ML seasons 9  -  Jeff Clark  legged out sing...

Originally published April 21, 2010 Warming up before a game against the Angels Greg Walker caught the ball, but his attention was instantly drawn elsewhere. There was something wrong with his hip. Quickly, his right leg was numb . His first reaction that day, July 30, 1988, was that he'd had a heart attack. What it was, was a seizure the threatened his life , the first of two. "A lot worse things happen to people," Walker told reporters a month after the incident, according to a wire account . "I feel lucky to be here." It was the most serious of a series of problems for the White Sox everyday first basemen. He had broke his wrist in 1986, underwent surgeries in 1989 and 1990, according to The Los Angeles Times , and he'd had a bad shoulder since high school. Then there were the seizures, determined to be caused by a viral infection, according to media accounts, an infection that was controlled through medication . "I've had a lo...

Tom Bruck had a successful season for the Temple Owls in 1989, counted among the team's pitching leaders . He earned that talk by recording 10 wins on the season, still tied for most in a season in school history, according to Temple's 2013 Media Guide . Bruck also sat down 8.92 batters per nine innings of work, striking out 93 in 94.1 innings of work. He posted a team-best 2.48 ERA and won conference Player of the Week honors twice . Out of that season, Bruck signed with the Braves as an undrafted free agent . Bruck, though, couldn't go from that season to a long career. He played just two seasons, never making AA . Bruck went to Temple out of Kingston High School in Kingston, NY. In June 1987, Bruck played for Kingston's entry in the Hudson Valley Rookie League, going six innings in a game and getting the win. Bruck's pro career began that year in 1989, playing between the rookie Gulf Coast League and single-A Sumter. With the GCL Braves, Bruck struc...

Sumter Braves manager Ned Yost called on Roberto DeLeon this night in June 1989, but he didn't get much improvement . Called in for starter Scott Grove, DeLeon went 1.1 innings, giving up three earned, according to The Sumter Item . "DeLeon was getting the pitches up just like Grove," Yost told The Item . "Our relievers just haven't been doing the job lately." DeLeon was in his first season as a pro that year for Sumter, and he ended up finishing the year with a respectable ERA of 3.22 . DeLeon, though, only saw time in two more seasons. His second season ended with an off-the-field injury suffered playing basketball with teammate and future major leaguer Javy Lopez. DeLeon got into only three more games after that . DeLeon's career began in 1989, signed by the Braves as an undrafted free agent out of his native Dominican Republic . With the Braves, DeLeon tried to focus on the game and he tried to do it despite a language barrier. He tol...

Originally published Jan. 4, 2011 Texas Mike Smith made his major league debut for Baltimore in late June 1989 and it was a long debut. It was long, not in the number of outs he got, those numbered just four. It was long because of the number of runs he gave up : eight. Orioles Manager Frank Robinson told The Associated Press after the game he felt bad about leaving Smith out there as long as he did. But he had to. His bullpen was already depleted. "I feel bad about that," Robinson told The AP . "I hope he does better next time out." Smith did a little better his next time out. He went four innings against the same Tigers he faced in his debut. This time, however, Smith only gave up two hits and no runs . He also got the win. Smith went on to pitch in 13 games for the Orioles in 1989, pitching well in all but three outings. Smith would return to Baltimore for two more games in 1990, concluding his brief major league career. Smith's profes...

Dave Reis didn't pitch well this August 1988 night for the rookie Pulaski Braves, but his team pulled out the win, according to The Pulaski Southwest Times . Reis went five innings for Pulaski, giving up five runs. Four of those runs were earned. He also gave up four hits, struck out one and walked two, The Southwest Times wrote . It was a late Pulaski surge that bailed Reis and the Braves out, Pulaski winning going away . Reis was in his first season as a pro that year. He only got two more. He also never made AA . Reis' career began that year in 1988, signed by the Braves as an undrafted free agent out of Stanford University. With the Braves, Reis started at Pulaski. He got 13 outings, 12 of them starts. He went 2-5, ending with a 4.97 ERA . Reis moved to single-A Burlington in 1989. He also moved to the bullpen . In 34 total outings, he got eight starts. He went 7-5, with a 3.32 ERA. He also saved one. For 1990, Reis returned to Burlington, but took on a ne...

Given a lead in this June 1989 game, Darren Ritter did his best not to relinquish it . Pitching for the rookie Pulaski Braves, Ritter gave up just one hit over the first five innings, taking the Braves to a 6-3 victory, according to The Pulaski Southwest Times . Ritter was in his first season as a pro that year with Pulaski. He went on to play in four more, but he never saw time above AA . Ritter's career began that year, taken by the Braves in the 19th round of the draft, out of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. At UMBC, Ritter struck out better than seven batters per nine innings. In 1989, he struck out 62 . With the Braves, Ritter started at rookie Pulaski. he went 6-5, with a 3.62 ERA over 13 starts. He moved to single-A Burlington in 1990, where he went 6-10 in 25 starts . Ritter played 1991 between single-A Macon and high-A Durham . He also played the season as a reliever. In 40 total relief outings, his ERA came in at 2.75. He also saved three gam...

Originally published July 9, 2011 Tom Seaver became a member of the Boston Red Sox in June 1986 and somebody had to go . That somebody was Rob Woodward . It was a move that saw Seaver, the future Hall of Famer, catch up with the young pitcher he displaced . "Best of luck," Seaver told Woodward, according to The Providence Journal . "You'll be back." Only a few days later, Woodward did return, continuing his second major league season. He ended up getting nine appearances that season. He ended up playing parts of four major league seasons , all with the Red Sox. Woodward's career began in 1981, taken by the Red Sox in the third round of the draft out of Lebanon High School in Lebanon, N.H. Woodward played that year at short-season Elmira , going 4-3 with a 3.39 ERA. He made single-A Winter Haven in 1982, then AA New Britain in 1984. It was in spring 1984 that Woodward made his first spring training. Speaking to The Patriot Ledger News Servic...

Early arm problems slowed Eddie Watt 's trip through the minors. They even got him thinking about quitting, he told The Associated Press in 1966. Once he got beyond them, though, he excelled. And he did it in the bigs . "It's tough to jump to any conclusions," Watt told The AP that August. "A half year is a long way from being successful, but in my own mind I think I can play here." Watt ended up playing there for a decade. Watt spent eight of his 10 seasons with the Orioles, helping his team to the World Series four times as one of the club's top relievers. Once his playing career was over, Watt then went on to a career as a coach and manager in the minors. In that career, he worked to help other players on to play in the bigs. Watt's career in baseball began in 1961, signed by the Orioles as an amateur free agent out of the University of Northern Iowa. He went to Northern Iowa out of Iowa City High School. Watt's time in the ...

Gil Garrido first made the majors in his fifth pro season. He didn't get another to his ninth. By the time his career was over, Garrido had seen time in six major league seasons. In spring 1972, Garrido told The Palm Beach Post about his efforts to get there, and stay there. "When they call you, you've got to be ready," Garrido told The Post . "You've got to take advantage when you get the chance. I work in every position to stay in shape. When you come in off the bench, you've got to do the job. You can't wait for tomorrow." Garrido spoke to The Post as he prepared for the 1972 season, and his sixth season in the bigs . He played just one more season as a pro. Later, he had a brief career as a coach and scout. Garrido's career began in 1960, signed by the Giants as an undrafted free agent out of his native Panama. With the Giants, Garrido started at Class-D Artesia and Class-C Fresno . In 1961, he made AAA Tacoma. He nit .247 ...

Originally published Dec. 13, 2010 The Omaha Royals had the tying run on in the ninth inning of a late May 1990 game. Coming in to face a hot Royals hitter was Toledo left hander Jose Ramos , The Toledo Blade wrote . Ramos soon induced a ground out, ending the game and getting his first save at AAA, The Blade wrote . "That was a big positive," Mud Hens Manager Tom Gamboa told The Blade afterward of Ramos' performance. "That had to help (Ramos') confidence, too." Ramos made AAA Toledo in 1990, in his fourth season as a professional. He would play two more seasons, but never make it higher . Ramos originally signed with the Tigers for 1987, out of his native Venezuela. He split his first season between short-season Batavia and single-A Fayetteville . In 19 appearances at Batavia, Ramos posted a 2.95 ERA, four wins and two saves . At Fayetteville, his ERA increased to 4.05. Ramos returned to Fayetteville for 1988, going 5-5 in 46 relief app...

Brent McCoy was described as the MVP of the game . In one of the first games of the year, the Pulaski Brave reached base four times, scored twice and scored three times, all in a Pulaski win, according to the Pulaski Southwest Times . McCoy was starting his second professional season that year, his second at Pulski . He went on to play in two more, but he never made AA. McCoy's career began in 1988, taken by the Braves in the 51st round, out of Howard University. At Howard, McCoy shined in a February 1988 contest against North Carolina A&T. He drove in three runs in the 10-0 Howard win. With the Braves, McCoy started at rookie Pulaski. In 21 games, he hit .283. He then returned there for 1989 and 63 games. He hit .316 that second year, while stealing 17 . McCoy moved to single-A Burlington in 1990, keeping his average above .300. He ended with a .304 average, five home runs and 71 RBI. He also had another 17 stolen bases . For 1991, McCoy arrived at high-A Du...

Jim Saul spent much of his career in the low minors, both as a player and as a manager. In 1997, as he started another year as manager of the short-season Eugene Emeralds, Saul explained to The Eugene Register-Guard his philosophy as manager. "As a manager at this level, the players always come first," Saul told The Register-Guard . "You give 'em every opportunity to do it or not to do it." Saul also brought with him the experience that comes with decades in the game. By the time he was done, the number of decades in baseball behind Saul numbered five. Saul's long career began in 1959, signed by the Cardinals out of his native Virginia. Saul the player started at Class-D Wytheville and Daytona Beach. He also played briefly at AA Tulsa. He then moved to Class-D Keokuk for 1960 and made it to AAA for 50 games in 1961. Saul continued as a player through 1972. He ended up getting time in 14 professional season s, more than 1,000 individual gam...