Mike Heifferan was always interested in helping people get better, so he became a trainer - 224

-
Updated with new sources November 2020
Mike Heifferon played basketball and tennis in high school and continued with tennis in college, pursuits that also led him from the field to the trainer's room, The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle wrote.
In the trainer's room, he soon found his main interest, he told The Democrat and Chronicle in May 1989.

"It has always interested me to help people to help them get better," Heifferon told The Democrat and Chronicle then upon his return to Rochester as trainer of the AAA Columbus Clippers.

That new interest soon led him to Ohio State - and an internship with the Clippers. He picked up his masters in exercise physiology. He then went on to serve several years in the minors himself as a trainer.

Heifferon's career as a trainer began in 1986, when he served as trainer for the Yankees at AA Albany-Colonie. There, he joined eight players on the Eastern League All-Star squad, Heifferon as the team's trainer.

Heifferon then moved to serve as trainer for single-A Prince William in 1987, then returned to AA for 1988.

Heifferon served as trainer for the AA Yankees that year and into the next. He would also stick with the Yankees system at least through 1992.

Heifferon stayed with Albany-Colonie through 1988. He then made the jump to AAA Columbus for 1989. That year, he also served in the all-star game. He was also the home team trainer - the game was held that year in Columbus.

Heifferon remained watching over Clipper injuries until 1992. After that season, new trainer Darren London took over.
1990 CMC Tally
Cards Featured: 439.75/880 - 49.9%
Players/Coaches Featured: 450
Made the Majors: 303 - 68%
Never Made the Majors:147-32%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 124
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 112

Browse By:

-Player Name
-Player Team
-Date Featured

Players A to Z

Popular posts from this blog

A to Z: 1990 Minor League Players, Baseball Profiles

-
Image
What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here alphabetically.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added Dec. 1, 2024 List of 1990 minor league players featured, in alphabetical order: Total: 4,457 A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z A  -  Bill Abare  got big hit at Dunedin, saw three pro seasons , 10/31/13  -  Glenn Abbott  saw bigs over decade, later turned coach , 7/27/14  -  Kurt Abbott 's first ML hit went for homer, saw 9 seasons , 3/22/15  -  Kyle Abbott  saw time in four major league seasons, Japan , 10/4/17  -  Paul Abbott  returned from injuries, made 11 ML seasons , 5/23/11...
Read more

Gary Christopherson showed maturity early, saw 3 seasons

-
Image
Ocean View high schooler Eric Christopherson had a big run in 1987, enough so to be named The Los Angeles Times ' Player of the Week that March. He hit .538, had 14 RBI and the catcher had thrown out 10 of 13 runners who'd tried to steal on him, The Times wrote . "He has a maturity factor that looks beyond his own stats and averages," Christopherson's coach Bill Gibbons told The Times . "He thinks of the team first. He's reached that level where he understands what's really important. That takes a special kind of kid. But he worked very hard. It wasn't magic." Christopherson eventually worked hard enough to play in college and make the pros. His pro career lasted three seasons. He made high-A . Christopherson's career began in 1990, signed by the Astros  of Golden West College in California. The Astros had taken him in the 75th round of the previous year's draft.  At Golden West, Christopherson hit .386, with 10 home runs and 51 RB...
Read more

Ken Bolek taught baseball skills as manager, instructor

-
Image
Ken Bolek worked in 2012 to help kids learn the fundamentals of the game . Bolek, the longtime director of IMG Baseball Academy focused this day on kids age 10 to 12 with a summer IMG wood bat league, according to Baseball The Magazine . "Here," Bolek told Baseball The Magazine , "we focus on the technical skill, not just having players show up to the ball park and go home. A very small percentage of players are getting individual technical instruction at the youth level." Bolek has served as baseball director with IMG Academy in Florida since 1995, helping teenagers learn the game. Before that, he helped pros learn the game as a coach in the minors and in the majors. Bolek's time in baseball started before that, as a player himself, taken by the Tigers in the 24th round of the draft out of the University of Arizona . At Arizona, Bolek helped his team to the College World Series championship .  He helped get them into the championship game with a tw...
Read more

Quentin Harley went to play everyday, saw AA with Padres

-
Image
Speaking to The Los Angeles Daily News in August 1994 for a feature on the minor leagues, Padres farmhand Quentin Harley described previously getting released by the Astros. He'd called his mother and told her he was done, he was going to college. Two weeks later, he called his agent looking to get back in, he told The Daily News . "You just have to make the most of it," Harley told The Daily News . "When I was with Houston I took it for granted. I really did." Back in the game, Harley eventually made it to AA. He then later returned in independent ball. He topped out at AA . Harley's career began in 1990, taken by the Astros in the fifth round of the draft out of Sheldon High School in Oregon. Harley was also credited as Al Harley or Alquentin Harley . Harley started with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He got into 35 games and hit .321. He them moved to single-A Asheville for 1991 and single-A Burlington for 1992. He hit .237 at Ashevill...
Read more

Norbert Pickering made pros from Virgin Islands, 16 games

-
Image
Norbert Pickering and future major leaguer Midre Cummings worked together to help their native U.S. Virgin Islands to a International Little League game win in Panama in 1986, according to Panama City's La Prensa . Cummings, who would later see the majors over 11 seasons , hit a home run and knocked in three against Aruba, while Pickering scored a run and may have gotten three hits , based on a La Prensa translation . While both Cummings and Pickering went on to play in the pros, Pickering's career ended up comparatively shorter. Pickering played in just 16 pro games , all in rookie ball. Pickering's career began and ended in 1990, signed by the Astros as a free agent out of his native U.S. Virgin Islands. Pickering started and ended his pro career in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He got into 16 games for the GCL Astros. He hit .383, with nine RBI and four doubles. Those stats mark the extent of his pro career. Pickering then appears to have returned to the Virgin Islan...
Read more

Raphael Lanfranco caught in 4 minors seasons with Astros

-
Image
Asheville Tourists pinch-hitter Raphael Lanfranco came on in the bottom of the eighth in this April 1991 game with a chance to tie the game, The Asheville Citizen-Times wrote . Lanfranco then came through, knocking a single to center to score a run, The Citizen-Times wrote . Lanfranco got that game-tying RBI in his third season as a pro. He went on to see time in one more. He topped out at single-A . Lanfranco's career began in 1989, signed by the Astros as a free agent out of his native Dominican Republic . Lanfranco's name was also spelled Rafael Lanfranco. Lanfranco started with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He saw 21 games at catcher and hit .190. He then returned for 26 games in the GCL for 1990 and hit .217, though he got hurt that August . Lanfranco played 1991 between single-A Burlington and single-A Asheville. He saw 49 games in all and hit .194.  He knocked a single in an April 1991 game for Asheville that helped Asheville to a lead. By late May, h...
Read more

1990 CMC Pre-Rookie Set

-
Features of each member of the 1990 CMC Pre-Rookie Set. Click the names to read about the players. Features were posted from 2010 to 2012. Cards Featured in the 1990 CMC set: 880 Players/Coaches Featured: 891 Number Who Made the Majors: 608 Never Made the Majors: 283 5+ Seasons in the Majors: 271 10+ Seasons in the Minors: 163 1990 CMC Pre-Rookie Set 1 - Stan Belinda , No Comparison, 9/22/11 2 - Gordon Dillard , Reasonable Success, 5/1/11 3 - Terry Collins , Life in Baseball, 2/7/12 4 - Mark Huismann , Way To Break In, 7/28/10 5 - Hugh Kemp , Big Story, 10/24/10, Interview 6 - Scott Medvin , Best Shot, 3/9/11 7 - Vicente Palacios , He Did, 9/8/11 8 - Rick Reed , Another Chance, 12/19/10 9 - Mark Ross , Got to Stay, 7/8/11 10 - Dorn Taylor , As Good, 6/21/12 11 - Mike York , New Start, 10/21/11 12 - Jeff Richardson , Family Man, 1/27/11 13 - Dann Bilardello , Big Moment, 6/24/10, Interview 14 - Tom Prince , Clean Hit, 4/2/10 15 - Danny Sheaffer , Uniform t...
Read more