Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

Features on each member of the 1990 Bellingham Mariners, short-season affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Bellingham Mariners (39) 1 -  Dave Adam  hit his spots over eight pro seasons, made AA 2 -  Rob Callistro  played over four seasons, became minister 3 -  P.J. Carey  used work ethic as player, then as manager 4 -  Jim Converse  saw 4 majors seasons with Mariners, Royals 5 -  John Cummings  learned how to pitch, made 5 ML seasons 6 -  Kyle Duke  made six pro seasons, AA 7 -  Doug Fitzer  saw 6 seasons, made AA 8 -  Rick Green  suffered devastating injury 9 -  John Hoffman  followed father to pros, made four seasons 10 -  Greg Hunter  played pro, then enjoyed developing players 11 -  Kevin King  made majors over three seasons with Mariners 12 -  Clay Klavitter  worked to be mentally ready in 3 seasons ...

Kevin Yianacopolus start at Stoneham High School in Massachusetts and eventually made it briefly to the pros. In 2013, he returned to Stoneham as the school's head baseball coach. After the appointment, Yianacopolus told the local Patch that his team would focus on the basics. "Playing fundamentally sound baseball and teaching our players to compete at their highest ability is what will make us competitive," Yianacopolus told Patch . Yianacopolus' highest ability took him from Stoneham to college and then the pros. His ability, however, only got him a single professional season . That ability then showed itself in other ways, as a longtime high school coach. Yianacopolus' career began and ended in 1990, signed by the Mariners as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Maine. His name is also spelled Kevin Yianacopolos. At Stoneham, Yianacopolus played baseball, football and basketball. He quarterbacked the football team and pitched for the...

San Bernardino Spirit starter Roger Salkeld started this August 1990 game strong and reliever Dave McDonald finished it. By game's end, the Spirit had a 12-1 victory and Spirit manager Keith Body had praise to hand out, according to The San Bernardino County Sun . "Great job by Roger," Bodie told The Sun . "And it was a nice job by McDonald. We played a great game." While Salkeld went on to make the majors over three seasons, McDonald never made it there. McDonald pitched in two professional seasons. He made it up to high-A San Bernardino, but no  higher. McDonald's career began that year in 1990, taken by the Mariners in the 29th round of the draft out of Brandeis University in Massachusetts. McDonald is also credited by his formal name, David McDonald. McDonald turned pro in baseball after he played baseball, basketball and soccer in high school. He also played basketball at Brandeis. He averaged a blocked shot every 2.5 games over 25 con...

The purchase finally went through on Opening Day 1989, Bill Tucker recalled years later to The New York Times . He and friend Jerry Walker had just purchased a baseball team, the Bellingham Mariners. They held a press conference and everything. They also had to quickly learn the ropes, according to The Times . "Not only did we get the  team, we got a batting cage," Tucker explained to The Times . "And we got a bus. The bus was very important. Plus we got a box of Ken Griffey rookie cards because he played with the team." Tucker and Walker went on to make the franchise a success, jointly owning it for more than 25 years through its move from Bellingham to Salem-Keizer, Ore., in 1997. While Walker owned it locally as a native of the Northwest, Tucker owned it from across the country as an attorney in Brooklyn . "Bill has seen his baseball fantasy come true with his involvement with the Bellingham Mariners," his 1990 card back reads . "A lif...

Frustrated at his lack of playing time at Oklahoma State, Tony Kounas set out to find a new college home for his senior year, The Los Angeles Times wrote . The home he soon found, The Times wrote , was Loyola Marymount and head coach Chris Smith. "Coach Smith knew where I was coming from," Kounas told The Times . "He said he figured I just needed a chance to play, and that he would give me a chance to do that at Loyola Marymount." Kounas took that chance to play on to a pro career that lasted six seasons . He played three of those seasons at AA, but he didn't make it higher. Kounas' career began in 1990, taken by the Mariners in the 21st round out of Loyola Marymount. Four years earlier, the Red Sox selected him in the 17th round out of San Bernardino's San Gorgonio High School . In his third pro season, he returned to San Bernardino with the Mariner's high-A Spirit. He told The San Bernardino County Sun he made the right choice to g...

Lipso Nava 's pro career began in 1990 and didn't end until his body told him to end, he recalled later to The Richmond Times-Dispatch . In between, Nava played 16 years as a pro , not seeing in his final contest until 2006. "I lost just enough bat speed to get me exposed to pitchers," Nava told The Times-Dispatch in 2017. "And obviously my legs, they started giving up on me. It wasn't the same to play back-to-back games." Nava, however, played those seasons entirely in the minors, independent ball and Mexico. He made AAA, but he never made the majors . Nava has since gone on to another long career , one as a coach. He spent the 2017 season as hitting coach at AA Richmond. Nava's pro career began in 1990, taken by the Mariners in the 14th round of the draft out of Miami-Dade College. He grew up in Venezuela and played on the Venezuelan National Team. Nava spoke to The San Bernardino County Sun later about coming to the United States ...

  Kevin King knew the importance of a good start. In this March 1989 game for the University of Oklahoma, King threw a complete game, according to The Oklahoman . King gave up four hits and recorded his third victory on the year in the 9-1 Oklahoma win, The Oklahoman wrote . "I knew I had to come out and have a good game, try to go all the way," King told The Oklahoman . "A lot of times it seems if one pitcher goes out and does a good job, it's a chain reaction with all the other guys." King went on from Oklahoma to turn pro. He then pitched enough good games to make the majors over three seasons . He got into 34 total games in relief for the Mariners, playing his last game in 1995. King's professional career began in 1990, taken by the Mariners in the seventh round of the draft out of the University of Oklahoma . At Oklahoma in April 1989, King picked up another win through the mercy rule, a 15-4 victory over Kansas. "It's nice, it...

John Hoffman 's father made it to the majors in two brief stints with Houston in the 1960s, part of a career that spanned seven seasons . Hoffman followed his father to the pros, but he couldn't follow him to the big leagues. Hoffman played four seasons. But the second-generation pro  never made it AA . Hoffman's career began in 1987, taken by the Mariners in the 41st round of the draft out of Ballard High School in Seattle. Hoffman played as a catcher, the same position his father once played . Baseball Reference even has Hoffman under the nickname his father had. The father's nickname is listed as Pork Chop, while the son is on the site as Chop Hoffman. At Ballard, Hoffman gained the notice of scouts by winning league MVP honors and making the all-league team three seasons running. He also played in the Dizzy Dean World Series in 1986. He started with the Mariners at short-season Bellingham , where he played along side another new Mariners draft pic...

Jim Converse hoped to get back to the majors in 1998, but his time at AAA Rochester started slowly . He didn't get his first win of the year until July, starting the year 0-8. The win actually marked his first since early the previous season, according to The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle . "It's been on my mind," Converse told The Democrat and Chronicle after his big victory. "You think about it when you go home: 'I'm just never going to get a win.'" Converse picked up two wins that year and five the next, but, after spending parts of four previous seasons in the majors, he never returned to the majors. Converse's career began in 1990, taken by the Mariners in the 16th round of the draft out of Casa Roble High School in California. Converse started with the Mariners at short-season Bellingham . He went 2-4 over 12 starts, with a 3.92 ERA. He moved to high-A Peninsula in 1991, then AA Jacksonville for 1992. In May 1993, ...

Stats are important for a scout, Willie Romay told BrowardHighSchoolBaseball.com in 2012. But they aren't everything. In fact, some of the players the scout for the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau liked then had bad stats, he told the site . "I like them because of their projection," Romay told the site . "I like them because their body. I like them because of what they could do in the future. We're scouting guys for the goal of them getting to the big leagues when they are in their 20's, not right now." Years earlier, Romay found himself as the one scouted. And the Mariners liked him enough to take him in the fifth round of the draft. Romay played in five pro seasons . He never made the goal of the majors. Romay, however, has since gone on to a long career as a scout , finding those players who could make the bigs. Romay's career as a player began in 1989, taken by the Mariners out of Miami Senior High School. Romay's own ...

Lightly used to that point in 1991, Clay Klavitter stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter and delivered with an RBI single, according to The San Bernardino County Sun . The Klavitter single helped stretch the San Bernardino Spirit lead to 3-1, The Sun wrote . "It was kind of exciting to come in like that," Klavitter told The Sun afterward. "It's kind of hard. You're sitting for so long. You've just got to be mentally ready." That season marked Klavitter's second as a pro. He never became a regular . He saw 58 games that year and another 34 two years later in independent ball marking the extent of his career. Klavitter's career began in 1990, taken by the Mariners in the 35th round of the draft out of Glendale Community College in California. He went to Glendale out of Deer Valley High School in Arizona. Klavitter started with the Mariners at short-season Bellingham and in the rookie Arizona League. He got into 32 total games at c...

John Cummings took the next step going into the 1992 season, according to The Los Angeles Times . He did so through practice and new techniques learned through Mariners minor league coaches. "I finally learned how to pitch," Cummings told The Times , as he approached his start in the Carolina League All-Star game. "Before I was just a thrower. You can get away with that in high school and even in college, to a certain extent. But not here." Cummings took that new approach into his third professional season. In his fourth, he made it to the bigs. He went on to see five big league campaigns , including a 39-outing effort in 1995 played mostly with the Dodgers. Cummings' career began in 1990, taken by the Mariners in the eighth round of the draft out of the University of Southern California . Cummings started with the Mariners at short-season Bellingham and high-A San Bernardino. He returned to San Bernardino for all of 1991. He broke out in 1992 at hi...

Jerry Walker knew he had a special opportunity, according to The Salem Statesman Journal . As it turned out, it was the coolest thing in minor league baseball in 2017. The Walker-owned Salem-Keizer Volcanoes planned an entire weekend of activities around the Aug. 21, 2017, solar eclipse that culminated in the first-ever eclipse delay of a baseball game. "It's impossible for me to explain the magnitude of what this event has created nationwide and worldwide," Walker told The Statesman Journal in a video ahead of the big event without any hyperbole, "in fact, this game is going to be streamed around the world." Walker had some perspective on the attention the Salem-Keizer Total Eclipse of the Park promotion, about three decades worth. Walker has owned or been part owner of the Salem-Keizer franchise back to its days in Bellingham, Wash. He stayed with the club through its move to Oregon for 1997 and, in December 2015, his family became sole owners of ...

Spyder Webb did it all in his more than three decades as a minor league trainer. Actual training work was just a part of it, according to The Florence Morning News in South Carolina. "You're the travel secretary, you're the mom, you're the SOB, you're everything that has to happen," Webb told his hometown Morning News in 2013. "You're responsible for hotels, travel, buses, anything you can think of. I will never forget my name because it's called out about seven thousand times a day. But that's OK." Webb heard his name - formally Marion "Spyder" Webb - countless times over his 35 years in pro baseball. He also spent that time in college, serving 39 years as trainer for Francis Marion University. He finally retired in 2013. Already working at Francis Marion in 1977, Webb sought work in the summer and signed on with the Braves to work at rookie Kingsport, according to The Everett Herald . He joined the Mariners to see ...

Myron Pines assessed his new young pitcher in August 1991, calling him a starter-type with a good arm, according to The Seattle Times . "I think he will move up very quickly," Pines, the manager for the rookie Arizona League Mariners told The Seattle Times of the player. "He's thin, wiry, has a good arm but needs to get a little stronger." The player Pines pegged as the starter-type - Derek Lowe - moved up quick enough. Lowe eventually made the bigs and stayed there for 17 seasons. Pines made a career as both a coach and a scout, finding players and then working with them to get them to the bigs. One of the players he found as a scout: Lenny Dykstra . Pines' career in baseball began as a player in 1971, signed by the Royals as an undrafted free agent. Pines played three seasons as a pro. He started at rookie Billings, played 1972 at single-A San Jose and 1973 at AA Jacksonville. He hit .238 in his final season. Pines soon turned to coach...

Gary Wheelock had a rough spring for the brand new Mariners in 1977, but he made the club and even won his first start . He did so by going six innings and giving up a single earned run. "It feels awful good to come out and be able to do this in my first start," Wheelock told reporters afterward. "I was beginning to wonder if I could get anybody out." Wheelock went on to pick up five more wins for the Mariners that year, along with nine losses. He saw time in three major league seasons in all. He then went on to a long minor league coaching career and he's also worked to promote the game overseas. Wheelock's career began in 1974, taken by the Angels in the sixth round of the draft out of the University of California-Irvine. Wheelock started with the Angels at single-A Salinas and Quad City. He moved to AAA Salt Lake City for 1975 and 1976. In September 1976, he got his first look at the majors. He got into two games, two innings of wo...

Speaking of one of his former minor leaguers to The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in 2008, P.J. Carey recalled the player's work ethic. The player he recalled was Juan Pierre , who in 1999 worked as a Rockies minor leaguer at single-A Asheville as Carey served on the Colorado player development staff, The Daily Bulletin wrote . "He brought to the game the most professional work ethic I have seen with any player during my time in baseball," Carey told The Daily Bulletin of Pierre. Carey's time in the game spanned four decades. After four seasons as a player in the minors in the 1970s, Carey went on to serve as a manager in the minors for 25 years before turning player development adviser with the Dodgers. Carey's long career in the game began in 1972, signed by the Phillies as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Scranton . Carey started in the minors at rookie Pulaski. He moved to short-season Auburn and single-A Spartanburg for 1973. H...