Matt Crouch made pitches over seven pro seasons, saw AAA
Royals farmhand Matt Crouch closed out his first season for the Eugene Emeralds with a complete game win, his first ever complete game, The Eugene Register-Guard wrote.
"I made the pitches when I had to make them, and I had lot of help in the field," Crouch told The Register-Guard afterward.
Crouch ended up making enough pitches in his career to see seven seasons. He topped out at AAA.
Crouch's career began that year in 1984, taken by the Royals in the second round of the June draft, secondary phase, out of Sacramento City College.
He went to Sacramento City College out of Cordova High School, where he returned from a broken leg in 1982 to get back on the field and eventually turn pro.
Crouch started with the Royals at short-season Eugene. He went 3-6 his first year, with a 2.81 ERA in 16 outings, nine starts. He returned to Eugene for 1985 and saw eight outings, five starts.
He's recorded as playing 1986 with the Expos at single-A Burlington, then 1987 back with the Royals between single-A Fort Myers and AA Memphis. He saw 16 outings at Memphis and went 7-3.
In July 1987, he held Columbus in check with Memphis, striking out five, The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer wrote.
"Early on, we couldn't get any pitches to hit," Columbus hitter Richard Johnson told The Ledger-Enquirer afterward. "He (Crouch) wasn't overpowering, but he did a good job of mixing his pitches up."
Crouch returned to Memphis for 1988. He went 8-5, with a 2.92 ERA in 20 starts. For 1989, he made AAA Omaha. He went 0-5 in eight starts there. He also saw eight starts at Memphis.
For 1990, he moved to the Red Sox system. He saw just three starts on the year. That season proved his last as a pro.
- Eugene Register-Guard, Aug. 29, 1984: Crouch goes the distance in Emeralds' 1-0 victory
- Sacramento Bee, March 14, 1985: Johnson's Forrester comes back strong after injury
- Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, July 9, 1987: Astros
Made the Majors:1,482-31.6%
Never Made Majors:3,214-68.4%-X