Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

Back in his native Venezuela for winter ball in December 1991, veteran of three major league seasons Julio Machado went out to a late night party . What happened afterward - a car accident and an ensuing argument and gunfire - ended a woman's life . Machado admitted to firing the shot, but he argued self defense. After trial, though, the major leaguer was convicted of murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison. His baseball career began in 1985, signed by the Phillies as a free agent out of Venezuela . He started at single-A Spartanburg . He made AA Reading in 1987. He moved to the Mets in 1989 after the Phillies released him. That September, made the Mets . "He went from being released to A-ball to the majors," Machado's AAA manager at Tidewater Mike Cubbage told Newsday upon his callup. "You don't see a lot of righthanded hitters getting comfortable against him. I think he is deceptively wild." Machado saw 10 outings to close out that year . He gav...