Anthony Gutierrez saw six seasons with Astros, high-A

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Anthony Gutierrez 1990 Asheville Tourists baseball card
Anthony Gutierrez hadn't been having a good year already. He was 1-4 when he took the mound against the Charlotte Rangers in this May 1992 Florida State League contest.

His season was about to get worse, according to an account in The Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The single-A Rangers jumped on Gutierrez quickly. In fact, they batted around in the first, with five of the first six reaching base and five runners touching home, according to The Herald Tribune.

"I like those big first innings," Rangers manager Bump Wills told the paper.

Gutierrez certainly didn't. But it was an indication of the direction of his career. His career would end the next year, in 1993, without ever making the majors, or even AA.

Gutierrez' career began in 1988, when he was selected by the Astros in the 29th round out of Englewood High School in Colorado.

That year was spent with the rookie league Astros, getting into 17 games with a 3.66 ERA. It was one of his better years.

In 1989, Gutierrez threw an ERA of 5.74 on the year, between rookie ball and single-A. His single-A numbers were worse, a 7.08 ERA in five appearances.

It was back to single-A Asheville for 1990, with a better 4.62 ERA and a 7-7 record. For 1991, it was single-A Burlington, in his best season. He threw a sub-3 2.69 ERA in 32 games. His record was 7-4.

Then he was promoted to high-A Osceola for 1992. The disaster of an outing in May helped Gutierrez to a 6.80 ERA on the year and a 4-8 record.

For 1993 Gutierrez appeared in 11 games for the Midwest League's Quad City River Bandits with a 4.35 ERA, in his final year in pro ball.
Originally published Aug. 5, 2010

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured:1,294
Made the Majors: 709 - 54.8%
Never Made Majors: 585-45.2%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 306
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 181

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