Tim Tackett did what he loved over 4 seasons, made high-A
"I was real enthused," Tackett told The Gazette. "I felt like I'm going to get paid doing something I love to do. How many people get the shot to do that?"
Tackett ended up getting paid to play baseball over four seasons, including his last in his hometown of Chillicothe. He topped out at high-A.
Tackett's career began in 1990, taken by the Red Sox in the fifth round of the draft out of Waverly High School in Ohio.
Tackett started with the Red Sox in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He saw six games and went 3 for 18.
For 1991, he returned to the GCL and saw time at high-A Winter Haven. He got into 28 games in all and hit .143.
That July, he spoke with the Gazette about trying to get his bat going.
"I'd like to show a bit more power than what I'm showing," Tackett told The Gazette. "I'd like to have 10 homers before I go home. I think I can when I get in a groove."
Tackett saw the GCL again in 1992, 25 games. He hit .246. He then underwent shoulder surgery on a resurfaced injury and lost 1993 to rehabilitation.
"I'm going through a lot," Tackett told The Gazette in April 1993. "There were times when I thought I would give up."
Despite his work, though, Tackett did not return to the Red Sox. Instead, he signed on with independent Chillicothe briefly in 1995. He saw 13 games and hit .250 to end his career.
- Chillicothe Gazette, June 5, 1990: Red Sox tab All-Ohioan
- Chillicothe Gazette, July 10, 1991: Tackett mired in slump; thinking of 'Yaz'
- Chillicothe Gazette, April 17, 1993: Red Sox hope rehab works for Waverly catcher Tackett
Made the Majors:1,482-31.7%
Never Made Majors:3,199-68.3%-X