Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

Visalia Oaks bat boy Jason Elick got to do something in 1990 few bat boys have been able to do. He got to collect himself. Elick made the Visalia Oaks Cal League set in 1990 with fellow bat boy Robert Spurlock . Each got their own card, along with the players that every kid looks up to. The back of Elick's card notes Elick's hobby at the time. Elick, the card notes is "a big collector of both Major League and minor league baseball cards." Elick was in his fourth year as a Visalia Oaks bat boy in 1990, according to his card. He was then a student at Tulare High School in Tulare, Calif., which is just south of Visalia. Off the professional field, Elick played the game. The bat boy played baseball in the Tulare Babe Ruth League, his card reads. A definitive account of Elick's time since his stint with the Oaks was not available, however, there is a listing Jason Elick connected to Tulare as a probation officer. 1990 CMC-Pro Cards Tally Players/Coac...

Henry Werland started this June 1991 outing strong. He ended the outing with a win, according to The Savannah Morning News . Werland pitched three perfect innings before giving up his first hit, The Morning News wrote . He then left after five innings with a 1-0 lead. His Macon Brave relievers then went on to complete the seven-inning win and shutout. Werland had that start in his second season as a pro. It was also his last season. He played just those two years , never making AA. Werland's career began in 1990, signed by the Braves as a free agent out of the University of Texas at Austin. He played his first season at rookie Pulaski. He got 14 outings, 10 starts. He went 5-2, with a 2.94 ERA. He picked up his fifth win in the home finale, a 13-1 Pulaski victory. Werland moved to single-A Macon and high-A Durham for 1991. He played in 18 games, starting 16 at Macon. He went 10-3 there, with a 3.12 ERA. At high-A Durham, he pitched even better. In eight outings, s...

Mike Lane's University of North Alabama could do little in the first game of this February 1989 doubleheader . That's because Delta State's Doug King was on his game, giving up just four hits, The Florence Times Daily wrote . "Although we didn't make some plays defensively, the difference in the first game was their pitcher," North Alabama coach Mike Lane told The Times Daily . "He threw the ball well considering the time of year this game was played. He got his breaking ball over and competed real well." King went from Delta State that year to the pros. His pro career, though, wasn't as successful. King played just three seasons, never making AA . King's career began that year, signed by the Reds as an undrafted free agent out of Delta State. At Delta State, King was described by The Times Daily as leading the staff. By mid-May, he had a record of 9-2, with a 3.72 ERA. He'd also struck out 74. It was enough for him...

Mike Place was frustrated and he showed it, according to The Washington Post . This was April 1996 and the reliever was playing for high-A Prince William. He'd also seen his lead erased by a passed ball, reacting by kicking the dirt, The Post wrote . Place's team went on to retake the lead and Place got the win . It was one of eight relief wins Place picked up that year. If Place's frustrations were evident that night, they might have also been for where he was at. Place had just started his seventh professional season. He'd yet to make AA. Place went on to make AA later that year, but he never made it higher. It was his final season as a pro . Place's career began in 1990, taken by the Braves in the 26th round of the draft out of St. Petersburg College in Florida. He was also credited by his formal name Michael Place. Place played in the Florida Little Major League youth tournament in 1983, throwing a one-hitter and striking out 14 in a July game. ...

New Rome Braves skipper Randy Ingle described his managerial style to The Rome News-Tribune in November 2005. "I believe in being aggressive and I believe in execution," Ingle told The News-Tribune . "Those are my two priorities. There will be times when the execution is not there, of course, but that's what you strive for." Ingle had honed that philosophy over nearly two decades as as coach and manager in the minors. He's since continued for a third decade , managing 2015 back at Rome. His career in baseball dates back to 1979. His entire career, playing and managing , has been spent with a single organization, the Braves. Ingle's playing career began with his selection by the Braves in the 14th round of the 1979 draft out of Appalachian State University in North Carolina. He played his first season between rookie Kingsport and AA Savannah . He hit .308 in 58 games between them. Ingle returned to Savannah for 1980, as well as 1981 an...

Originally published Nov. 11, 2010 Phil Wiese had breezed through rookie ball and single-A, going 10-0 one year and 10-4 the next. But AA in his third season proved a challenge. He started of 1-4 for Orlando in 1991. But it was nothing a little hitting couldn't help. "I've been in a slump," Wiese told The Orlando Sentinel in May, after an Orlando 12-3 victory over Birmingham, ''but it's easy to pitch when you get 12 runs.'' Weise got the win that night, one of six wins he got on the year. They would also be his last wins, a torn rotator cuff forcing an early end to his baseball career after just three seasons and an early start to Weise's new career, in golf . Wiese's short career began in 1989, taken by the Twins in the 25th round out of the University of New Orleans. Before New Orleans, Wiese played two seasons for Lincoln Land Community College, posting an ERA in 1986 of 2.04 and an ERA in 1987 of 1.91 . He also got 19...

A relieved Ray Mack spoke to The Palm Beach Post in September 1994.  "Tonight," Mack told The Post , "will be the first time I can sit down and eat a meal with no problem. There were a lot of ups and downs, but it's finally over with." Mack, by then a former minor league baseball pitcher, was relieved because he'd just gotten out of perhaps the biggest kind of jam that anyone can get into. He had just been acquitted of murder . Mack played first with the Cubs and then with the Braves from 1989 to 1991 and he was still with the Braves rehabbing a knee injury in West Palm Beach in May 1992. It was May 2, 1992, that the Braves farmhand was accused of visiting a prostitute and then getting into an argument over all of $20. It was during that argument, authorities later alleged, that Mack took out a gun and shot the woman in the head. He was ultimately acquitted . Compared to the day he was found not guilty, the start of Mack's brief basebal...

Glenn Sutko had already made the majors. He'd seen 11 games with the Reds as a catcher in 1990 and 1991. But the Reds had an idea to get him back and it was an idea that Sutko wasn't happy with, he told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette later. That idea was for the catcher Sutko to become a pitcher. "I didn't want to pitch," Sutko told The Post-Gazette . "My heart is behind the plate. Until last year, I never owned a glove other than a catcher's mitt." Sutko ultimately spent a single season on the mound, pitching 1993 at high-A Winston-Salem. He then returned to catching, but he never returned to the majors. He played in eight seasons total and those 11 games marked the extent of his big league career . Sutko's career began in 1987, taken by the Reds in the 45th round of the draft out of Spartanburg Methodist College in South Carolina. Sutko first hit the field for the Reds in 1988 at rookie Billings. He moved to single-A Greensboro ...

Ramon Cedeno 's team was up by two when he came to bat. When he returned to the dugout, that Abilene Prairie Dog lead had been extended to four, on Cedeno's 12th home run of the year, according to The Abilene Reporter News . "Every time I step to the plate, I just try to hit the ball hard and look for a good pitch to hit," Cedeno explained to The Reporter News in August 1998. "Tonight, it was like my lucky night." Cedeno played for independent Abilene in his eighth season as a pro , his fourth in independent ball. That eighth season also ended up being Cedeno's last, Cedeno's affiliated career never making it above high-A. Cedeno's professional career began back in 1987, signed by the Astros as an undrafted free agent out of his native Dominican Republic . Cedeno started that year with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He hit .292 in 60 games. He moved to single-A Asheville for 1988, hitting .314 in 87 games. For 198...

Features on each member of the 1990 Savannah Cardinals, single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Interview (2) 1 - Jim Ferguson, Better Way Jim Ferguson helped the 1987 Salt Lake Trappers to a 29-game winning streak. 2 - Kevin Tahan, To Himself Kevin Tahan got a late start. He did not take it for granted. Savannah Cardinals (29) 1  -  Jose Arias  saw 3 pro seasons with Cardinals, made single-A 2  -  Ernie Baker  saw 4 minors seasons with Cardinals, AAA 3  -  Scott Banton  saw 3 pro seasons with Cardinals, single-A 4  -  Marcos Betances  threw rookie ball no-hitter, saw 3 seasons 5  -  Jeff Brannon  helped his Savannah team, saw five pro seasons 6  -  Johnny Calzado  tied game at Savannah, saw six seasons 7  -  Rick Colbert  played in minors, coached, chose positive 8  -  Paul Coleman  missed bigs after 1st round Cardinals pick 9 - Steve Dixo...

Nicio Martinez tried to spur a come back for his single-A Savannah Cardinals, but it was too little, too late, according to The Savannah Morning News . Martinez knocked a run-scoring single in the ninth inning of this April 1990 game. And he did it as a pinch hitter. The run cut the Savannah deficit to two, The Morning News wrote . That was where the deficit would remain. Martinez picked up that pinch-hit single in his third season as a pro. It was also his final season. He made single-A, but got no higher . Martinez' career began in 1987, signed by the Phillies as a free agent out of his native Dominican Republic.  Martinez' name has also been spelled Nico Martinez. Martinez played his first year at short-season Bend . He got into 27 games playing both shortstop and outfield. He hit .215 in 65 at bats. Martinez moved to single-A Clearwater and short-season Batavia for 1988. In 51 games that year, he hit just .152. It was Martinez' final season with the Philli...

Originally published Feb. 28, 2013, Updated June 2015 Scott Ullger began his third-straight big league camp in 1985. He was hoping to get back to the majors, a place he'd been only once, in 1983. Late that spring, after being sent back to minor league camp, Ullger spoke with The Toledo Blade about the rigors, and expenses, in that minor league spring training. "A lot of times you break even or lose money during spring training, but you know the chance is there," Ullger told The Blade . "Kirby Puckett was making $1,200 a month with the Mud Hens last season, but in less than six weeks he was in the big leagues and starting." Ullger never did get to play again in the big leagues. But he has gotten back, as a coach. And he's been back each year since 1995 , with his old parent club, the Twins, alternatively serving as a base coach or as hitting coach. And it's a job he continued through 2014, serving as the big league club's coach at fir...

Mateo Ozuna and his speed were seen as bright spots for the Cardinals at single-A in July 1990, according to The Tulsa World . That's because Ozuna had 42 stolen bases by then, on his way to 66 on the year. Two of those later stolen bases came in an August inning . Ozuna went on to steal even more bases at single-A Springfield in 1991 - 78. Ozuna went on to play in two more full seasons after that. He couldn't run himself to AA . Ozuna's career began in 1989, signed by the Cardinals as a free agent out of his native Dominican Republic . Ozuna played his first two seasons at Savannah. He played 1989 largely at second base. He hit .208 on the year and stole 24 bases. He went 2 for 4 in an early April game. One of those hits was a run-scoring infield single . He improved his average a little to .236 for 1990. He also increased those stolen bases to 66 . In 1991 at Springfield, Ozuna stole 78 while hitting .252. Ozuna split 1992 between high-A St. Petersburgh ...

The Savannah Cardinals took this August 1990 game and Jeff Brannon was a big part of that, according to The Savannah News-Press . Brannon did that by hitting two late home runs in the 4-2 win. "Up until the sixth, we couldn't get anything going," Brannon told The News-Press . "I'm just glad to help out the team. I really haven't been thinking about hitting home runs lately." It was the second time that year that Brannon hit two home runs in a game, The News-Press wrote , and he went on to take the league home run crown . Brannon went on to make AA Arkansas the next season, but Brannon would get no higher. His career essentially lasted four seasons. He never made the majors . Brannon's career began in 1989, taken in the 29th round of the draft out of Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Brannon played his first year at short-season Hamilton and rookie Johnson City . He hit .249, with two home runs and 16 stolen bases. He moved to sin...

Long Beach State lefty Jason Vargas had started off sloppy in this 2004 outing, allowing four runs in two innings, and pitching coach Troy Buckley did his best to straighten the pitcher out. Buckley's method was a fake tirade, but a tirade intended to be taken by the young Vargas as real. Buckley was done calling pitches, he told Vargas. Because whatever he called, Vargas couldn't put it there, Buckley recalled to MLB.com in June, as the current Seattle Mariner got off to a hot start. "He just looked at me," Buckley told the site . "It was the first time I'd ever gotten on [him]. ... He thought I was dead serious, and the whole dugout did, too. I had to fake it well to see how he would respond, and he totally did." The response was four scoreless innings, he even added a two-run home run. Buckley never told Vargas he was kidding, according to the site . Buckley took that style, a style some called autocratic , to the Pirates system ...

Joe Turvey 's high school baseball coach saw good things happening for his young catcher, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer . "He plays in the mold of the old-time catchers," Turvey's coach Cliff Hubbard told The Inquirer . "None of this one-handed catching for him. He blocks the plate extremely well, and he's great at avoiding passed balls. At the plate, he has good power. I can see him being very successful as a pro." Hubbard spoke to The Inquirer after Turvey had been drafted by the Cardinals. Turvey went on from there to a pro career that lasted five seasons. He never really realized the success his coach had envisioned. Turvey played five seasons, he never made AA. Turvey's career began that year in 1989, taken by the Cardinals in the 18th round of the draft out of Roxborough High School in Philadelphia. During his final season at Roxborough, Turvey told The Philadelphia Daily News his view on catching. "It's alwa...

Marcos Betances got a bonus this day in July 1988 and it was well-earned . That's because Betances went out for the Bristol Tigers of the rookie Appalachian League and threw a no-hitter . To show his appreciation, according to The Bristol Herald-Courier , Tigers farm director Joe McDonald dug into his wallet while still in the dugout and handed Betances a $100 bill. Betances' success ended up being short-lived. That was his first season as a pro. He got into just two more. He never made AA . Betances' career began that year, signed by the Tigers as a free agent out of his native Dominican Republic . Betances played his first year at rookie Bristol. Over 13 starts that year, he posted a 4.24 ERA and went 5-3. He started his 1989 season at single-A Fayetteville and his season didn't start well. In mid-April, he apparently punched a wall with his pitching hand in frustration, according to The Fayetteville Observer . His hand swelled up and he needed a cast....

Ruben Gonzalez did well his first two seasons in the Mariners' organization, at short-season and single-A, hitting over .300 both years . His third year, though, he stayed at single-A, at San Bernardino. The problem was, The Los Angeles Times wrote , that Gonzalez was a first baseman. The Mariners had three first basemen ahead of him, including Seattle's Alvin Davis and their AA first baseman Tino Martinez. "I really can't worry about what other people are doing," Gonzalez told The Times of the log jam. "I just have to go out and do the best I can. I'm enjoying myself. This is what I've always wanted to do." Gonzalez did do the best he could. He went out and won the California League Triple Crown . But, after an early injury in 1990 , Gonzalez couldn't keep a 1990 promotion to AA. His career ended the next year, after five professional seasons, never making AAA, much less the majors. Gonzalez' career began in 1987, taken...