Frank Speek woke up, saw 3 pro seasons, made single-A

Springfield Cardinals reliever Frank Speek came on with nobody out and one on in this June 1992 game. He let the next two batters reach, The South Bend Tribune wrote.

Speek then proceeded to strike out the next three batters as South Bend went on to win the game, The Tribune wrote.

"It took two hits to wake me up," Speek told The Tribune afterward. "I think the couple days off I had might have had something to do with it. I felt a little stiff. The first two sliders I hung. I didn't want to be taken out, so I beared down and made good pitches."

Speek struck out those batters in his third season as a pro. That season also turned out to be his last. He topped out at single-A.

Speek's career began in 1990, taken by the Cardinals in the 35th round of the draft out of Liberty University.

At Liberty, Speek went 9-4, with 126 strikeouts, a school record.

Speek started with the Cardinals at rookie Johnson City. He picked up an early win in relief. That August, he picked up another relief win, with one inning of work. He went 3-2 overall, with a 1.78 ERA in 27 appearances.

Speek moved to single-A Savannah for 1991. He saw 48 outings, two starts there. He went 0-4, with a 2.42 ERA.

He then arrived at single-A Springfield for 1992. He saw 58 relief outings there, went 2-1 and ended with a 1.07 ERA to end his career.

• South Bend Tribune, June 12, 1992: Springfield, Speek hold off S.B. Sox, Part 2

More: The 1990 Johnson City Cardinals

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,422
Made the Majors:1,418-32.1
Never Made Majors:3,004-67.9%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:355

Duff Brumley got feet wet in majors: Baseball Profiles

Newly minted Rangers hurler Duff Brumley made his major league debut late in this early July 1994 game and soon gave up three runs, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote.

"I just wanted to get my feet wet and see what it's like," Brumley told The Star-Telegram afterward. "It looks like the same thing, if you get behind hitters, you're going to give up hits and walk people."

For Brumley, though, his stay in the majors proved brief. He saw just one more outing. In a career that spanned seven seasons, his major league career consisted of those two appearances.

Brumley's career began in 1990, taken by the Cardinals in the 24th round of the draft out of Cleveland State Community College in Tennessee.

Brumley started with the Cardinals at rookie Johnson City. He saw 12 games, 11 starts that first year. He went 2-6, with a 6.14 ERA.

That July, he picked up his second win for Johnson City and praised the help of visiting Cardinals pitching coach Hub Kittle, The Johnson City Press wrote.

"Hub has worked with me and taught me so much," Brumley told The Press then. "I've got confidence that he can help me move on up."

Brumley made short-season Hamilton for 1991. He saw 15 starts there and went 2-6, with a 3.64 ERA. He saw Hamilton and single-A Savannah in 1992 and then high-A St. Petersburg and AA Arkansas in 1993.

He moved to the Rangers and AA Tulsa in an August trade. He told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch he was surprised to be traded.

"But it's good for me in the long run," Brumley told The Post-Dispatch. "The Rangers are telling me I should be pitching in the big leagues next year. With the Cardinals, I would be spending all of next year at Louisville."

In 1994, he made AAA Oklahoma City - and major league Texas.

Brumley made his major league debut June 1. He pitched one inning and gave up those three earned. He then returned June 6 for 2.1 innings. He gave up another three earned. That ended up being his last major league appearance.

Brumley returned to Oklahoma City. He moved to the Reds and AA Chattanooga in 1995, then ended his career in 1996 in the Phillies and Mariners systems.

Brumley appears to have since gone on to a career in law enforcement. 

• Johnson City Press, July 21, 1990: JC Cards get second straight win over Tigers
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug. 28, 1993: Trade With Rangers May Burn(s) Cards, Who Gave Up Hot Prospect
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 2, 1994: Rangers

More: The 1990 Johnson City Cardinals

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,421
Made the Majors:1,418-32.1-X
Never Made Majors:3,003-67.9%

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:355

Tracey Ealy did job over 7 pro seasons: Baseball Profiles

Appleton Foxes leadoff hitter Tracey Ealy singled to start this July 1992 game and he soon came around to score, The Appleton Post-Crescent wrote.

Afterward, Ealy spoke to The Post-Crescent about his role.

"It's my job to get on base, and tonight I feel It was a pretty good job," Ealy told The Post-Crescent. "(I'm just) trying to get on and steal some bases. Get the team going."

Ealy played that season in his fourth year as a pro. He went on to see seven. He topped out at high-A.

Ealy's career began in 1989, taken by the Cardinals in the seventh round of the draft out of Chaparral High School in Las Vegas. Ealy's name was also spelled Tracy Ealy.

Ealy started with the Cardinals in the rookie Arizona League. He got into 47 games and hit .242.

He then moved to rookie Johnson City for 1990. He picked up three hits in a June game. He hit .276 overall in 57 games.

Ealy played 1992 at single-A Savannah, then played 1993 in the Royals system at single-A Appleton and short-season Eugene. He hit a lead-off home run off a knuckleballer in an August game with Appleton, The Post-Crescent wrote.

"We had played them earlier when he pitched, so we knew the guy was a knuckle-ball pitcher," Ealy told The Post-Crescent. "I was looking for an off-speed pitch and he hung one up there."

Ealy hit .282 in 57 games overall that year. He then moved to the Giants system and single-A Clinton for 1993. He played at high-A San Jose and San Bernardino for 1994. He then finished out his career in 1995 at San Jose and single-A Savannah.

• Appleton Post-Crescent, July 31, 1992: Bench-clearing brawl detracts from Foxes' win
• Appleton Post-Crescent, Aug. 22, 1992: Mistakes help Foxes triumph

More: The 1990 Johnson City Cardinals

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,420
Made the Majors:1,417-32.1
Never Made Majors:3,003-67.9%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:355

Ron French hit ball well sometimes: Baseball Profiles

Johnson City Cardinal Ron French knocked in what turned out to be the winning run in this August 1990 game with a fourth-inning double, The Johnson City Press wrote.

Afterward, he explained to The Press how he did it, and he put the spotlight on teammates.

"I hit a fastball (on the double)," French told The Press, "sometimes I hit the ball well and sometimes I don't. Of course our pitching helped us win this game."

French hit that double in his second season as a pro. He went on to see five seasons in all. He topped out at single-A.

French's career began in 1989, taken by the Cardinals in the 47th round of the draft out of Fernandina Beach High School in Florida.

French started with the Cardinals in the rookie Arizona League. He saw 35 games and hit .191.

He then moved to rookie Johnson City for 1990. He saw 51 games there and hit .241. He picked up an RBI on a single in an August game and knocked in two on another single that month. He was credited with an impressive defensive play in a July game.

French played 1991 and 1992 at short-season Hamilton. He hit .188 his first year there and .241 in his second.

He then arrived at single-A Savannah for 1993. He saw 70 games and hit .197 to end his career.

• Johnson City Press, Aug. 7, 1990: Urbani shuts down Bristol

More: The 1990 Johnson City Cardinals

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,419
Made the Majors:1,417-32.1
Never Made Majors:3,002-67.9%

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:355

Durham Bulls' famous snorting bull: Baseball Profiles

When The Associated Press featured the Durham Bulls and the minor league club's connection to the classic 1988 film "Bull Durham" in 2008, the writer went straight to a description of the team's famous snorting bull sign.

The sign where if a Durham player hit it, it wound snort and the player would win a steak.

The bull ended up being one of the many impacts "Bull Durham" would have on the real Durham Bulls. (The original was actually conceived of and constructed for the movie.)

But, along with attention and attendance for the Bulls, the movie had wider impacts for the whole of the minor leagues, then-Bulls GM Mike Birling told The AP.

"Without that movie, I don't believe minor league baseball is as strong as it is today," Birling told The AP in June 2008. "That was kind of the piece that really got minor league baseball moving again."

For the Bulls, it started with Durham-native film producer Thom Mount. 

To The Durham Sun as filming got underway in October 1987, Mount explained he and screenwriter Ron Shelton had begun discussing the project eight years earlier. Then, as it came together, Durham and Durham Athletic Park became a natural place to set it.

"We needed a period ballpark and Durham has one of the great ones," Mount told The Sun then. "Durham's had the good sense or luck to preserve a lot of the original architecture. It's red-brick, low-rise with lots of character."

Weeks after the movie's premiere, Durham owner Miles Wolff explained to The AP the movie's impact. Attendance, already strong, was up. Then there was the souvenir shop. The team had hired a full-time clerk to handle all the orders.

"Everybody seems to want a souvenir," Wolff told The AP. "There are more people coming, but the souvenir sales are where you're seeing the greatest impact."

That brings us to the 1990 Bull card. It's from the update set. "The Famous Mechanical Bull at Durham Athletic Park," the caption reads. 

Appropriately enough, the card back includes a reference to the movie - and a selection of 12 items for sale in the team's shop, along with instructions on how to purchase.

The snorting bull has remained a fixture of Durham Bulls baseball, even after the club moved to its current Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 1995. In 2008, the Bulls installed a third-generation of the sign and it remains the team writes on its site in 2024, the park's "most distinctive feature."

• Durham Sun, Oct. 8, 1987: Mount's happy to be back home for 'Bull Durham'
• Muncie Star Press, Associated Press, July 31, 1988: Life Imitating Art? It's Not Just Bulls
• Charlottesville Daily Progress, Associated Press, June 22, 2008: Durham Bulls still bask in their Hollywood glory

More: The 1990 Durham Bulls

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,419
Made the Majors:1,417-32.1
Never Made Majors:3,002-67.9%

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:355

Dan Snover played, then turned teacher: Baseball Profiles

Durham Bull Dan Snover had a sore shoulder in early June 1990. But he still contributed, at the plate, The Durham Sun wrote.

Put in as a pinch hitter late in one game, he hit a first-pitch double to start a rally, The Sun wrote.

"(Manager) Grady (Little) told me he'd figure out some way I could help the ball club," Snover told The Sun afterward, "and I'm glad he had some confidence in me."

Snover hit that double in his second season as a pro. It also turned out to be his last. He's since gone on to a career in teaching.

Snover's career began in 1989, signed by the Braves as an undrafted free agent out of Seminole Junior College and the University of Hawaii.

Snover started with the Braves at rookie Pulaski. He saw 63 games and hit .241.

He then moved to high-A Durham and AA Greenville for 1990. At Durham, manager Little described Snover to The Durham Herald-Sun that May.

"He's a good little player," Little told The Herald-Sun of Snover. "I'm going to try to give him a chance to get some playing time"

To The Herald-Sun, Snover also talked about his baseball backup - education. He expected to become a teacher, maybe for fourth- or fifth-graders. And that's what he did.

Snover saw 38 games in 1990 between Greenville and Durham and hit .242. That proved his last as a pro.

He then went into teaching. In 2010, as he made his local athletics Hall of Fame in his Bay City, Mich. hometown, Snover was teaching fourth grade. He was also coaching high school baseball and girls' basketball.

He became the new girls varsity basketball coach at Bay City Western in 2021.

"Most people aren’t going to do this forever, so I say ‘Get out there and enjoy it while you can,'" Snover told MLive.com upon being hired that August. "We want to make it a positive experience that involves the parents, the administration, the players and the coaches."

• Durham Herald-Sun, May 20, 1990: Bulls' Snover may be young, but he's well-traveled
• Durham Sun, July 14, 1990: A Little strategy goes a long way
• MLive.com, Aug. 29, 2010: Dan Snover's dazzling baseball and basketball skills
• MLive.com, Aug. 2, 2021: Hall of Famer Dan Snover named new Bay City Western girls basketball coach

More: The 1990 Durham Bulls

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,418
Made the Majors:1,417-32.1
Never Made Majors:3,001-67.9%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:355

Scott Diez paid dues, missed majors: Baseball Profiles

With apologies to his team, the single-A Miami Marlins, Scott Diez didn't want to be there, he told The Miami News in June 1988.

In the seventh season since his career began, he hadn't seen AA. He just wanted to move up.

"This is getting old, I'm dying to get to a higher level," he told The News, "... I've paid my dues and struggled. There is a heavy demand for left-handed pitchers. If I was given the opportunity, I know I could definitely contribute to any team.

Diez eventually did make it to AA, but he didn't make it higher. 

Diez's career began in 1982, taken by the Red Sox in the 14th round of the draft out of Miami Dade College.

Diez started with the Red Sox at short-season Elmira. He went 4-3, with a 3.66 ERA in 14 outings, 6 starts. He then moved to single-A Winston-Salem for 1983.

He returned to Elmira for 1984. The organization looked Diez to show his potential, The Elmira Star-Gazette wrote that June.

"This is his third year and we want to find out right away how he's gonna do," Elmira manager Dick Berardino told The Star-Gazette. "He's basically a curve-ball pitcher. He gets on top of his curve pretty well. He has to get ahead of the hitters, he's not a 2-and-0 or 3-and-1 pitcher."

Diez went 1-4 in 14 outings, 8 starts that year. He moved to the Tigers system for 1985 in limited action. He got into four games at single-A Lakeland.

Diez missed 1986, but returned for 1987 at independent Miami. He went 1-10, with a 4.13 ERA in 28 outings, 13 starts.

He then saw Miami again in 1988, as well as three starts with the Expos at West Palm Beach. He split 1989 between West Palm Beach and the Mets at single-A St. Lucie.

For 1990, he saw a game with the Mets at AA Jackson, then moved to the Braves at high-A Durham and AA Greenville.

Diez turned scout for 1991 with the brand new Florida Marlins. He followed his father Al Diez into the profession. 

"I just wanted to stay in the game," Diez told Knight-Ridder in November 1991. "I remember when I was in sixth grade, and I was acting in the play Oliver. My father drove 500 miles to see the play and then, right afterward, drove 500 miles to see a kid prospect. This job isn't for everybody,  but I think it is for me."

The extent of Diez's scouting career was unclear, but he made one more attempt at playing, in 1995. He saw six games at independent Aberdeen and one outing in Taiwan with Uni-President to end his career.

• Elmira Star-Gazette, June 19, 1984: Opener
• Miami News, June 25, 1988: Marlins' stars hope to shine after tonight
• Ottawa Citizen, Knight-Ridder, Nov. 26, 1991: Marlins' scouts hope they're left seeing stars

More: The 1990 Durham Bulls

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,417
Made the Majors:1,417-32.1
Never Made Majors:3,000-67.9%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:355