Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

Features on each member of the 1990 Port Charlotte Rangers, high-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers as included in that year's team set.  Port Charlotte Rangers (30) Gerald Alexander threw perfect inning with Rangers Rob Brown  got split-finger working, saw 5 seasons, AAA Cris Colon  remembered advice, made majors over 14 games Fidel Compres  played, accidentally caused woman's death Doug Cronk  hit homers at Gastonia, saw 3 seasons, high-A Everett Cunningham  got confidence back, saw 4 seasons Jeff Frye did what he needed to do to see eight ML seasons, hit for cycle; Later became agent , 7/2/22 Bryan Gore proved consistent enough over four seasons to make AAA , 7/3/22 Daren Hays  played pro, coached college baseball, softball Jose Hernandez  stayed in bigs 15 seasons, became All-Star Jeff Hubbard  hit, pitched, coached, became minors exec Jim Hvizda  murdered his estranged wife, sentenced to life Bobby Jones made bigs, then helped get...

Kyle Spencer picked up the hard relief win in this August 1989 game at single-A Gastonia, a six-inning relief win, according to The Charlotte Observer . He struck out nine batters, but also let runners on based. None scored, The Observer wrote . "I couldn't seem to get by their leadoff hitters," Spencer told The Observer afterward. "But I was a starter last year, and I think I was used to going that long." Spencer picked up that relief win in his second season as a pro. He played in two more. He topped out at high-A . Spencer's career started in 1988, taken by the Rangers in the 26th round of the draft out of Missouri Valley College. Spencer started with the Rangers at rookie Butte. He went 7-4, with a 4.14 ERA over 18 outings, nine starts. He moved to single-A Gastonia for 1989. He went 11-5 there, with a 2.22 ERA in 43 relief outings, two starts. That April, he went four innings of relief, giving up two hits, but no runs and taking the win, The Observe...

Daren Hays grew up with his father as a baseball coach . He played it himself in college, then in the pros. When his playing career ended, he then quickly found his own way into coaching, The Associated Press wrote in a feature on the family in March 1998. "When I first went to Lubbock Christian, I was a business major," Hays, then the head baseball coach at Lubbock Christian, told The AP in March 1998. "But I grew up at the ballpark. It's where I enjoy being. I couldn't see myself wearing a tie and wouldn't be good at it anyway, so I guess it's a natural deal for me." Hays' pro baseball career lasted two seasons. He made it to high-A . His coaching career, though, has lasted much longer, first in college baseball, then in college softball. Hays' career began in 1989, taken by the Rangers in the 38th round of the draft out of Lubbock Christian . Hays started with the Rangers at rookie Butte . He picked up four hits in an early July game....

A change in his manager's strategy in this extra-inning game at Port Charlotte in 1988 gave Fred Samson the chance to be the game's hero and Samson took advantage, The Fort Myers News-Press wrote . In the bottom of the 11th inning, with a teammate in scoring position, Sampson knocked a single to knock in the game-winner, The News-Press wrote .  "Originally (Manager) Bobby (Jones) wanted me to bunt and I fouled it off," Samson told The News-Press afterward. "But the second time he didn't give it (the bunt sign) to me." Samson picked up that game-winner in his third season as a pro, a season where he first saw AA Tulsa. He went on to play in four more campaigns, but he didn't make it higher . Samson's career began in 1986, signed by the Rangers as an undrafted free agent out of the College of Central Florida. Samson started with the Rangers in the rookie Gulf Coast League and at single-A Daytona Beach. He hit .282 over 38 games. He then stayed ...

Barry Manuel came from humble beginnings in his native Louisiana, his father paying to send him to a baseball camp in Missouri out of his rice-drying paycheck, T he Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote . That trip, Manuel recalled to The Star-Telegram in 1992, marked his first time on a bus. "I remember I was scared to death," Manuel told The Star-Telegram that April. "But that's where I really began to learn to pitch." Manuel spoke with The Star-Telegram on occasion of him seeing time in his second major league season. He went on to see time in three more, including in 1998, when he gave up an early home run to Mark McGwire. Manuel's career began in 1987, taken by the Rangers in the second round of the draft out of Louisiana State University. Manuel started with the Rangers at single-A Port Charlotte . He first made AA Tulsa in 1989. He spent most of 1991 at Tulsa, then, that September, he got his first call to the Rangers. Manuel saw eight outings with Texa...

Bill Losa helped San Jacinto College to the 1987 Junior College World Series title and, on the way, his hitting also put him in the same sentence as one of the game's greats, Kirby Puckett, as Losa tied Puckett's JUCO World Series record batting average, The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel wrote . With that, two decades on, Losa told The Daily Sentinel that college title remained one of his life highlights, alongside the usual ones. "It's right up there with my marriage, my four kids and my family," Losa told The Daily Sentinel . "That's a pretty proud moment." While Losa could be mentioned alongside Puckett in that circumstance, he couldn't in another - as a major leaguer. Losa went on to play five seasons as a pro. He topped out at high-A . Losa's career began that year in 1987, taken by the Rangers in the 18th round of the draft out of San Jacinto. At San Jacinto, Losa's performance did get him mentioned in the years afterward alongsi...

After getting release, the Rangers called former minor league infielder Jeff Hubbard back and asked if he'd return for 1988 and pitch, The Fort Myers News-Press wrote . But once he started pitching, injuries at single-A Port Charlotte forced him back to the infield, The News-Press wrote . "I'm getting excited about it, but I know I shouldn't," Hubbard told The News-Press of the move back to the infield. "I know my future is pitching, and as far as third is concerned, there is no future." For Hubbard, his future didn't really involve pitching either - that season proved his last . But it has involved baseball.  Hubbard soon spent a short stint as a minor league coach, then as a team official and eventually co-chairman with the club his father Went Hubbard purchased in 1986 , up the Rangers chain at AA Tulsa. Jeff Hubbard's career in baseball began in 1984, taken by the Orioles in the 12th round of the draft out of the University of North Caroli...

Rio Linda High School's Darren Oliver looked ahead to the 1988 draft and scouts who'd seen him looked ahead, too, according to his hometown Sacramento Bee . "He's got a real good future," Phillies scout Joe Borich told The Bee . "He's real smooth with his delivery and he's growing, he's going to get stronger. You got to look at him down the road." While the Phillies didn't ultimately get him, Oliver did have a pretty good future and he realized it. He would debut in the majors just over five seasons later and he wouldn't hardly leave for the next two decades .  By the time Oliver's career was over in 2013, he'd seen 766 major league appearances and 118 big league wins to go along with 1,259 strikeouts. Oliver's career began that year in 1988, taken by the Rangers in the third round of the draft out of Rio Linda in California. Oliver is the son of former major leaguer Bob Oliver . Oliver started with the Rangers in the r...

David Perez had a tough start to the 1991 campaign for AA Tulsa, record-wise, starting the year 1-8, The Shreveport Times wrote . But, in late-June, he went out and spun a three-hit shutout, The Times wrote . "You've got to take the bad, so I'm going to take the good," Perez told The Times afterward. "I'm going to milk this game." Perez ultimately ended that year 5-14, with a 4.22 ERA. He eventually did make it higher, to AAA Oklahoma City, three seasons later for all of 1994. But, in eight pro seasons , Perez never made the bigs. Perez' career began in 1989, taken by the Rangers in the 27th round of the draft out of St. Mary's University in Texas. Perez started with the Rangers at rookie Butte . He went 3-2, with a 2.50 ERA over 17 outings, four starts. That July, Perez went 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, including setting down 11 straight, The Montana Standard wrote . "A great job of pitching by Perez," Butte manager Bump Wills t...

Bobby Jones got the September call to the Rangers and he made the most of it early on, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote . In one early September game, he knocked in all three Texas runs, two on a home run, The Star-Telegram wrote . "I didn't even expect to be called up," Jones told The Star-Telegram afterward. "When I was here before, I never got a chance to play." Jones hit that home run in the fifth season in which he had seen the bigs. He went on to see four more . Later, he worked to get others called up as a minor league manager and stay there as a major league coach. Jones' long career in baseball began in 1967, taken by the then-Washington Senators in the 36th round of the draft out of Dawson County High School in Georgia. Jones was also credited as Bob Jones. Jones started with the Rangers at short-season Geneva . He then spent five seasons at single-A, then saw AAA Denver in 1972.  In between, in 1970, Jones served in Vietnam .  "We had gu...

Luke Sable judged the pitch in the 10th inning of this tied April 1992 contest as a breaking ball in dirt and he took off, he told The Jackson Clarion-Ledger afterward. He then scored the game-winning run, The Clarion-Ledger wrote . "I took a lead and when I looked up the ball was going to the backstop," Sable told The Clarion-Ledger . "I had to be careful because it could have hit the wall and come back to the catcher. But fortunately it didn't." Sable scored that winning run at AA Tulsa at the start of his sixth professional season. He made AAA the next year, but he didn't make it higher . Sable's career began in 1987, taken by the Rangers in the 28th round of the draft out of George Mason University. Sable started with the Rangers in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He hit .303 in 56 games and stole 25 bases. He then moved to single-A Gastonia for 1988. He hit .251 there in 134 games. He played at single-A and high-A Port Charlotte in 1989 and 1...

Bryan Gore joined the AA Tulsa Drillers in 1991 and earned praise from his coaches by July as the club's most consistent pitcher, The Oklahoman wrote . Gore had gone 6-5 by that point and recorded a 3.53 ERA, The Oklahoman wrote . "That makes me feel real good," Gore told The Oklahoman of the praise. "To me the key is being consistent. You can't be up and down. My goals are basically to stay healthy and be consistent." Gore's consistency eventually earned him a promotion to AAA Oklahoma City. He didn't get higher . His 1992 campaign proved his last. Gore's career began in 1989, taken by the Rangers in the 22nd round of the draft out of Oklahoma State University. Gore started with the Rangers at single-A Gastonia. He arrived quickly, The Charlotte Observer wrote . "I think he'll help the club," Gastonia manager Orlando Gomez told The Observer . "He could start or pitch in relief. He was good in college and he can get lefthand...

Division I programs wouldn't take Jeff Frye , The Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote . So he won NAIA All-American honors at Southeastern Oklahoma. Then, when it came time for pro tryouts, he essentially borrowed a teammate's invitation and impressed enough to be drafted by the Rangers, The Star-Telegram wrote . "I didn't expect him to be a standout type player," Frye's college coach Mike Metheny told The Star-Telegram after Frye had made the majors and then seen a series of early injuries. "He played for Southeastern like he plays for the Rangers. If they let him play, he'll do what he needs to do." Frye went on to do what he needed to do to see time in a total of eight major league seasons , 90 or more games in three of those and hit for a cycle in one of those contests. He's since helped others as a player agent. Frye's career began in 1988, taken by the Rangers in the 30th round of the draft out of Southeastern Oklahoma State University...

Fidel Compres went out after a game with the AAA Las Vegas Stars in July 1994. He then ended up inside his apartment, along with a teammate, two women and his two guns, The Associated Press reported of the police account. By the time the night was over, one of the two women was dead, shot in the neck, from a gun held by Compres, The AP wrote of the police account. "Compres began playing with two guns he keeps at his apartment, a .38-caliber revolver and a 9mm semi-automatic," The AP wrote . "While allegedly twirling the 9mm around on a finger, it discharged, sending a bullet into the neck of the woman, who died instantly, (the police spokesman) said." The shooting was ultimately determined not criminal, an accident. Compres played on elsewhere , but his time in affiliated ball had concluded. He last saw time in independent ball in 2000. Compres' career in baseball began in 1984, signed by the Indians as a free agent out of his native Dominican Republic . Com...

Cris Colon ran into an early rough patch at the plate with high-A Port Charlotte in 1991, The Fort Myers News-Press wrote . He responded by thinking back to what his late father, Venezuelan baseball man Cris Colon, Sr., had told him, he recalled to The News-Press that June, long after breaking out of that slump. "I remember what he told me when he was alive," Colon told The News-Press then, "to keep going, never get down. So I concentrated harder." Colon soon kept going to AA. By the end of the next season, he'd arrived in the bigs with the Rangers. Colon eventually played nearly two decades in that pros. That stint with the Rangers at the end of 1991 - 14 games - proved the extent of his big league time. Colon's career began in 1986, signed by the Rangers as a free agent out of his native Venezuela . Colon started with the Rangers in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He saw 46 games there in 1987 and hit .257. He moved to single-A Gastonia and rookie Butt...