The four-season veteran hadn't made the majors, though he'd briefly made AAA. But, he told The Times, after being cut, he knew he wanted to continue his pursuit of the bigs.
"I still wanted to keep my hope and dream alive," Finken told The Times. "I wasn't ready to give up on that."
It took some weeks, but Finken did continue. He signed with the Giants and was assigned to AA Shreveport. His return, however, turned out to be short-lived. He never made the bigs.
Finken's career began in 1988, taken by the Dodgers in the 21st round of the draft out of the University of Michigan.
At Michigan, Finken won all-conference honors in 1987 and team MVP in 1988. He hit .404 in 1988, along with 13 home runs and stole 25 bases.
He started with the Dodgers at short-season Salem and rookie Great Falls. He hit .255 in 64 games on the year.
Finken moved to single-A Bakersfield in 1989. He hit .249, with 19 home runs there over the full season.
He moved to AA San Antonio in 1990 and made the Texas League All-Star squad. He then got his brief 11-game look at AAA Albuquerque in 1991. He went 11 for 39 at AAA, with two doubles and a triple.
After getting cut by the Dodgers to start 1992, he arrived at Shreveport. He hit .231 in his 37 games, with three home runs and six RBI to end his career.
Finken has since settled in the Houston area, where he runs Cypress Infield Academy as an instructor.
- Shreveport Times, May 30, 1992: Caps infielder Finken a man with a Mission
Players/Coaches Featured: 3,016
Made the Majors:1,106-36.7%
Never Made Majors:1,910-63.4%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 460
10+ Seasons in the Minors:276
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