Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

The Ohio River from Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark in 2010. Randy Hennis got his first major league start in Cincinnati, at old Riverfront Stadium. (G21D Photo) Part 1: Biggest Jolt | Part 2: Worked For | Part 3: Stat Line There was talk that Randy Hennis would get his call to the bigs earlier in the year, he recalled recently. But that never materialized. When the call came that September in 1990, Hennis was ready. "It's what you're working for, what you spent your time and effort in achieving," Hennis recalled recently to The Greatest 21 Days. "When you finally get there, it's a rush of adrenaline. It's a rush of elation. It's emotional. It's kind of like, hey, I finally get the opportunity to do this thing that very few people ever get a chance to do." "I was as excited and as happy," Hennis added, "as I probably have ever been in my life." Hennis packed his things and he was off to Hous...

The Auburn DoubleDays at the new Falcon Park in Auburn, NY, in 2008. Randy Hennis played in Auburn in 1987. (G21D Photo) Part 1: Biggest Jolt | Part 2: Worked For | Part 3: Stat Line Randy Hennis remembers that call to the bullpen well. It was Houston manager Art Howe and he was calling for Hennis to get up and working. Hennis was not only going into a game in relief, a rarity in his professional career, but this relief appearance was going to be his major league debut. "I remember Art Howe calling my name to go get ready," Hennis recalled recently to The Greatest 21 Days. "That was the biggest jolt of adrenaline I've ever had in my life." Once in the game, Hennis proceeded to use that adrenaline to work out of a jam and set down five men in a row. He also proceeded to provide the basis for a stat line that on the surface showed success, but underneath gave a glimpse of what might have been. In his three outings for the Astros that year, Hen...

Features on each member of the 1990 Canton-Akron Indians, AA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. Players featured are as included in that year's team set. Click on the player's name to read more. Canton-Akron Indians (30) 1  -  Ken Bolek  taught baseball skills as manager, instructor 2  -  Jim Bruske  enjoyed bigs moment, then five majors seasons 3  -  Al Collins  threw single-A no-hitter, saw 8 seasons, AAA 4  -  Mike Curtis  saw nine pro seasons, got traded, made AAA 5 - Bruce Egloff, Follow Up Bruce Egloff made the majors, then lost a year to surgery. He never returned to the bigs. 6 - Daren Epley, Proper Mechanics Daren Epley learned proper mechanics from his college coach. He played six seasons as pro. 7 - Jeff Fassero, That Long Jeff Fassero had the time of his life in a near-no-hitter. He played in 16 major league seasons. 8 - Sam Ferretti, Stuck With Sam Ferretti planned to stay as long as he did...

Originally published July 22, 2012 Eric Nolte knew what he needed to improve upon, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer after a late-August 1987 start. Judging by that start, though, a complete-game, four-hitter in his sixth big league outing, Nolte was already well on his way . "The big thing for me is to get control of myself and not let one bad game or one bad at-bat bother me," Nolte told The Inquirer after that big start, a 3-1 win. "And tonight, I was able to maintain that control. A complete game is a real thrill for me." Nolte had come a long way to get to that start, a long way just that year. He began the season at single-A Reno , debuting in the bigs with the Padres Aug. 1. After 12 starts for that Padres to close out the year , Nolte made his way back to the majors in parts of three more seasons. Nolte's career began in 1985, taken by the Padres in the sixth round of the draft, out of UCLA. Nolte played that first year at short-seas...

Originally published June 10, 2012 Mark Lewis knew what it was like to be hot in the majors. He also knew how fast it could cool down, he told The Associated Press in 1995. That June, Lewis went 13 for 16 in a six-game stretch, The AP noted . "When I was first called up to the big leagues, I hit over .400 the first month and a half," Lewis told The AP . "There's no way I can keep this up. I went through this before. I'm not going to get overconfident." Lewis was referencing his rookie campaign with the Indians in 1991. After that hot start, Lewis ended the season with a .264 average . With that hot start in 1991, Lewis also showed the promise that came with his selection three years earlier, taken by Cleveland as the second-overall selection out of Hamilton High School in Ohio. While he never really became the player the Indians had hoped - he played just two full seasons with them - Lewis did go on to see time in 11 big league seasons ...

Leverne Jackson knew he was driving in runs. He did make the league all-star team . But, he told The Lakeland Ledger in June 1987, he never liked to look at his stats. "It's not that I don't think they're important," Jackson told The Ledger , "but I looked at stats a couple years ago and I found myself pressing and pressing. Now I might take a good look at them once a year." When Jackson looked at his final stats for 1987, they were good. He hit .310 and knocked in 53 for single-A Winter Haven. His stats were good enough to move up to AA the next season. His stats, though, were never good enough to move higher . Jackson's career began in 1983, taken by the Red Sox in the ninth round of the January draft out of his native South Carolina. Jackson is also credited by the name Jason Jackson. Jackson's played his first year at short-season Elmira, hitting just .130. He returned there for 1984, improving his average to .276. He also stol...

Originally published Oct. 21, 2012 Steve Peters got just one out for the Cardinals in this May 1988 game. But it was all they needed him to get . It was also all he needed to pick up the win, the reliever's first in the major leagues . "My job 90 percent of the time is to get one out," Peters told The Associated Press afterward. "The game was tied and we got a run in the next inning. It's nice. It was very special." That win ended up being one of three Peters picked up in a major league career that lasted parts of just two seasons, part of a professional career that lasted seven . His playing career over, Peters has gone on to another career, one ensuring other outs, getting people out of burning buildings in a career as a firefighter . Peters' professional career began in 1985, taken by the Cardinals in the fifth round of the draft, out of the University of Oklahoma. He played that first year between rookie Johnson City and single...

Originally published Oct. 22, 2010 Miguel Sabino had spent four seasons in the Braves' system by spring 1990, first making it to AA two seasons earlier. He was also coming off a season that had been mostly lost due to injury, a stress fracture of his shins making sure of that, according to a wire report. After that, the Braves seemed fine to let him go, trading him off to the Indians in a three-player deal. It was also a mostly unremarkable trade. The two others in the deal, Tommy Hinzo to the Braves and Jeff Weatherby to the Indians with Sabino. Of the three, only Hinzo and Weatherby had already seen time in the majors, albeit brief. Of the three, none would see the majors going forward, including Sabino . Sabino started with the Braves in 1986, playing 60 games in the rookie Gulf Coast League. Sabino hit .288 on the season with no home runs. He got two hits in a July game, according to The Sarasota Herald-Tribune . He made single-A Sumter in 1987, hitting ...

Al Liebert made a snap throw to first in this June 1990 game, cutting down Albany-Colonie runner Bernie Williams, according to The Schenectady Daily Gazette . The move not only erased a runner but it also erased a potential run. The next batter hit a home run . "That turned out to be a big play," Albany-Colonie manager Dan Radison told The Daily Gazette after the 3-2 Yankee loss. "But I don't ever like to get too concerned about getting picked off. We're trying to get Bernie to be aggressive." Liebert made that big play in his sixth professional season. He went on to play in two more. He never got the chance to make a big play in the majors. Liebert's career began in 1985, taken by the Tigers in the 17th round of the draft out of Waukegan West High School in Illinois. Liebert is also known by his full name, Allen Liebert. Liebert played that year at rookie Bristol, hitting .235 in 33 games. He moved to single-A Gastonia and single-A Lakela...

Casey Close was having a season in 1988 that not even he could argue was good . In his third year as a pro, Close hit AAA Columbus, but the outfielder didn't even hit .200. He did no better back down at AA Albany . "It's been an extremely frustrating season," Close told The Schenectady Gazette that August after returning to Albany. "After four months you start to wonder if you're losing it. This is a game of recency, what have you done lately. I just want to salvage something out of it." Despite the poor numbers, it was an assessment that Close would likely never give today. His own career lasted just five seasons, getting three seasons at AAA . Close has been working with major leaguers ever since, as a player agent , emphasizing the positives of a player's resume and the potential in the player's future, rather than dwelling on the negatives of frustrating seasons. Close's biggest client is one he has been with since al...

In his fifth season as a pro in 1991, Sam Ferretti had briefly made AAA but he had yet to make the majors. To The Associated Press that July, Ferretti said he was ready to stick with it. "As long as I see myself doing well ... I'll stay at it as long as they keep me and I keep maturing as a player," Ferretti told The AP . Ferretti ended up sticking with it for two more seasons. He never made the majors . Ferretti's career began in 1987, taken by the Indians in the 26th round of the draft out of Rutgers University. At Rutgers, Ferretti knocked in three a May 1986 win. He hit .309 for the team that year, knocking in 37 . With the Indians, Ferretti started at rookie Burlington. He hit .268 in 48 games. He played most of 1988 at single-A Reno and single-A Waterloo. He also got 18 games at AAA Colorado Springs, where he hit .196. He played 1989 at single-A Kinston, hitting .232. He also got five games at AA Canton-Akron . He then returned to Canton-Akr...

Originally published May 17, 2012 Coming off his first season with double digit wins and on his way to his second, Charles Nagy set down the Yankees in April 1992, doing exactly as he had done in his previous two seasons, and would do for the next decade. "I know how to pitch in the big leagues," Nagy told The Associated Press after his 11-1 victory over New York. "You got to try to keep your concentration out there." Nagy kept his concentration that year, racking up a total of 17 wins for the Indians. It was the first of three seasons Nagy would reach that win mark. He also reached the All-Star game that year, also for the first of three times. After a career that spanned 14 big league seasons , Nagy is now passing on his knowledge of how to pitch in the big league to others, in the big leagues. Nagy is in his second season as pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Nagy's career began in 1988, taken by the Indians in the first round,...

Originally published Sept. 26, 2012 Jim Weaver wasn't surprised the Twins didn't protect him for the winter draft, he told The Associated Press in spring 1985. The career minor leaguer hadn't played well the previous year at AAA Toledo, he was only hitting .230 and he wasn't playing every day . "See, that's not my strength," Weaver told The AP as he worked to make the Tigers and debut in the majors. "I've always been an every day ballplayer." Weaver did make the Tigers out of spring 1985, and he stayed up for nearly two months. But he hardly played . Over his two months with the team, he only got into 12 games, eight plate appearances and one hit, a double. By June, he was back with the Twins. Weaver went on to play a total of 11 seasons as a pro . He would only make the majors twice more, seeing action in just 19 more big league contests. Weaver's career began in 1980, taken by the Twins in the second round of the 1...