Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

Masahiro Kuboto may not have been interesting enough to name, but what he did was. Kuboto served as the trainer for the 1990 Salinas Spurs and his specialty was acupuncture, something writers featuring the unusual minor league that melded players from Japan and the United States invariably referenced, though without actually naming Kuboto . "The eight (Japanese) players - plus the Japanese manager, batting coach and trainer specializing in acupuncture - belong to the Salinas Spurs," The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote in a feature on the team that June. Kuboto actually joined the team through its Japanese manager Hide Koga. Koga brought Kuboto with him to be trainer and to administer acupuncture to players when needed, The Associated Press wrote in a story that also did not name Kuboto. This version put the acupuncture reference in the headline. Kuboto grew up in Nagoya City, Japan, located between Tokyo and Osaka. He went to school in Tokyo and made that his off-season home, ...

Asked in 2015 to name some of the more influential people in his long and varied career in the sports business, Yoshi Okamoto cited influences from throughout his career, for JoeFavorito.com . He cited New Jersey Nets executive Jon Spoelstra , and minor league baseball team owners Bobby Brett and Joe Buzas, all of whom Okamoto had worked with over more than a quarter century in sports, JoeFavorito.com wrote . "I've had the chance to work under them during my career in the United States, and I'm thankful for the fair opportunities they gave me despite the language barrier," Okamoto told the site . Okamoto's long sports career began in the United States with the Salinas Spurs , owned by Joe Buzas. Okamoto graduated from Chuo in Tokyo, where he played baseball. He found his way to Salinas by 1989, described in one account that summer as an intern.  By the start of 1990, Okamoto was the team's operations manager . He then shared general manager duties after the ...

Mike Spiers started his work in college baseball and, briefly, in the pros. But he went on to make his name in  another type of baseball , travel baseball. His work in travel baseball grew so much that the American Baseball Coaches Association called Spiers "a trailblazer in travel baseball" when it posthumously award him its 2024 ABCA Travel & Youth Baseball Service Award. Spiers passed away in 2013. "Beyond his success on the field, Spiers was widely-known for teaching not only baseball skills, but giving his players the tools to succeed in everyday life," the  association wrote in its award announcement. Spiers' work in baseball began in the 1980s, in college, where he played catcher. He then served as a coach at San Jose State University in 1987, then at San Mateo College in 1988 and 1989.  For 1990, he signed on as a coach with independent Salinas, but his tenure proved brief. He was out by the end of April . By 1992, Spiers started Amateur Basebal...

As general manager of the independent Salinas Spurs, John Jonas already had his work cut out for him . He needed to assemble a workable team , get fans in the stands, court advertisers and do it all in the competitive California League in his first job as a minor league general manager. "This is a city with great potential," Jonas told The Salinas Californian late that March has he tried to do all those things. "Most of it is unharnessed. The question is, how do you reach that potential?" Jonas, however, never really could succeed in any of those, all leading to his tenure as Salinas GM proving brief. He was out by the end of June. Jonas arrived in Salinas from his native Connecticut. He'd served the previous year as business manager for the Joe Buzas-owned New Britain Red Sox. Buzas also owned the Salinas Spurs. Jonas' 1989 campaign with New Britain also marked his first with that club. The Hartford Courant noted Jonas came from a hockey background, playi...

After going undrafted and attending several tryouts without signing on with a team, East Tennessee State alum Steve Meredith finally got noticed, The Kingsport Times-News wrote . With some encouragement and some recommendations, he got a tryout with the Orioles, and he waited, The Times-News wrote . "They told me they'd call, but I didn't get excited. I couldn't anymore," Meredith told The Times-News in July 1988. "When he called, he said he might have a place for me. After I hung up, I rattled the rafters her with the scream." Meredith signed with the Orioles and began his pro career. His pro career would last three seasons . He topped out at high-A. Meredith's career began that year in 1988, signed by the Orioles as an undrafted free agent out of East Tennessee State. At East Tennessee State, Meredith hit .419 to lead the team . He also hit three home runs and had a .557 slugging percentage. "My attitude about hitting is that every time I g...

Cal State-Fullerton outfielder Greg Mannion struggled toward the end of the 1988 season, leading him to the bench, The Los Angeles Times wrote . But, by the time the post-season came around, Mannion was back, The Times wrote . "(Coach) has told me he's going to stick with me, for my bat and my defense," Mannion told The Times . "That helps me a lot. It gives me a lot of confidence and now I'm just having fun." Mannion ultimately had enough fun in college to sign with a pro team. His pro career, however, proved brief, just seven games . Mannion's brief career began and ended in 1990, signed by the independent Salinas Spurs . With Cal State-Fullerton, Mannion hit a grand slam in a February 1988 game, part of a big 22-5 win, The Arizona Daily Star wrote . "A hell of a good day," Mannion told The Daily Star . Mannion started with Salinas in 1990. His stint lasted seven games. He picked up five hits in 22 at bats. He also stole two bases. By the en...

After going through a rough patch with the independent Salinas Spurs that had him fearing for his future with the team, Steve Maye worked on his delivery with a teammate and coach, Steve Howe, The Los Angeles Times wrote . Howe, attempting a comeback from drug issues and surgery, worked with Maye to smooth out his delivery and be more aggressive, The Times wrote . "I think pitch selection was my biggest problem," Maye told The Times . "He told me when to come up and in. If you hit a batter, so what. You have to keep them honest." That season marked Maye's seventh as a pro. He ultimately saw two more. He topped out at AA . Maye's career began in 1984, taken by the Cubs in the first round of the June secondary draft out of Los Angeles Harbor College. Maye started with the Cubs at rookie Pikeville . He went 7-2, with a 2.90 ERA in 14 outings, 13 starts. He moved to single-A Winston-Salem for 1985 and returned there for 1986, along with single-A Kinston. Maye ...

The rookie Elizabethton Twins needed a win to take the 1984 playoff race and reliever Ray Velasquez helped them do it, The Johnson City Press wrote . With the tying run at the plate in the sixth inning of the seven-inning contest, Velasquez got out of it and struck out six for his third save in the span of a week, The Press wrote . "I was just pumped up," Velasquez told The Press afterward. "I knew we needed one more game to win it. I went all out. I'm really happy." Velasquez had that outing in his first season as a pro. He went on to see seven campaigns . He topped out at high-A. Velasquez' career began that year in 1984, taken by the Twins in the eighth round of the draft out of La Puente High School in California. Velasquez started with the Twins at Elizabethton. He saw 19 outings, starting three. He went 3-4, with a 3.86 ERA and seven saves. In another August 1984 outing, Velasquez came on with two runners on base in the ninth to throw a perfect nin...

On a three-game losing streak, Canada College in California called on hurler Rudy Gardey and he delivered, The Peninsula Times Tribune wrote . Gardey responded by striking out 11 and giving up five hits in the 6-2 win, The Times Tribune wrote . Gardey went on to turn pro. His pro career, however, proved brief. He saw parts of two seasons . He topped out at high-A. Gardey's career began in 1988, taken by the Braves in the 45th round of the draft out of Canada College. Early that March in 1988, The Times Tribune noted Gardey, a transfer from the College of San Mateo, was the team's top pitcher. He'd also been clocked at 90 mph. Gardey started with the Braves at rookie Idaho Falls . He saw 15 outings, 14 starts. He went 2-4, with a 6.21 ERA. That season proved his only season with the Braves. Gardey isn't recorded as playing in 1989. But he returned in 1990 to sign with the independent Salinas Spurs. He saw three relief appearances . He gave up two earned in 6.2 innings...

After picking up the long save in the decisive Game 6 of the 1981 World Series, Dodgers pitcher Steve Howe celebrated with champagne with his teammates - and pointed to the club's veterans, according to The Allentown Morning Call . "They worked their a---- off for 10 years for tonight," Howe told The Morning Call after the win. "I hope someday some young player like myself can say that for me and the other young players who will be the Garveys, Lopeses, Ceys and Russells of the future." For the second-year player Howe, though, his career wouldn't be like those other players. While he would still be playing a decade from then, his career would devolve into a series of substance abuse violations, suspensions and second chances.  He would ultimately see time in 12 seasons , but his career would also end in boos. A decade after that, he would lose his life in a drug-connected crash. Howe's career began in 1979, taken by the Dodgers in the first round of t...

Features on each member of the 1990 Salinas Spurs, an independent team in the California League. Players featured were included in that year's team set. Interview (1) 1 - Quinn Marsh : Quinn Marsh never expected to be a pro ball player. He then grew into one. 1990 Salinas Spurs (35) 1  -  Paul Alegre  used karate in high school to make pros 2  -  Bill Carlson  got confidence from scout, saw 5 seasons 3  -  Carlos Carrasco  played over 8 seasons, 4 at Salinas 4  -  Koichi Emoto  played in Japan Central League, Salinas 5 -   Rudy Gardey  stopped streak in college, saw two seasons 6  -  Brent Hahn  practiced, even after game, saw 2 seasons 7  -  Wayne Housie  made majors over two seasons, 29 games 8 -  Steve Howe  struggled with addiction over 12 ML seasons 9  -  Scott Jaster  tried to impress over 9 seasons, made AAA 10 -  John Jonas  ...

Salinas Spurs manager Hide Koga explained the rigorous Japanese training schedule. It was a regiment that Koga didn't mandate, but his coach Takayuki Kono offered it, according to The Chicago Sun-Times . "After the game and dinner, he would take a handful of players to swing bats outside the hotel under streetlights," Koga told The Sun-Times of Kono. Those who took Kono up on the practice got to learn from a veteran of Nippon Professional Baseball. The previous year, Kono played his final game in NPB, his 15th season under the lights in Japan's top league . He then went with Koga, and a contingent of Japanese prospects, to California and Salinas . Kono's career in baseball began in 1973, taken by the Nankai Hawks in the third round of the draft, out of Yawatahama Technical High School in Japan. Kono's name has also been spelled Takayuki Kohno. The Japanese form of his name is 河埜敬幸 . Kono's brother also played in NPB. With the Hawks, Kono made...

Shikato Yanagita swung and missed in this late-1990 game for the high-A Salinas Spurs, The Chicago Sun-Times featuring Yanagita's team, then describing his orderly walk back to the dugout. It was one of 83 strikeouts Yanagita had for the Spurs that year, playing with the club on loan from the Daiei Hawks in his native Japan . Yanagita would return to Japan later that year, he then time in nine Nippon Professional Baseball seasons. He also got his strikeouts under control. Over a total of 555 games in the NPB, Yanagita struck out just 129 times . In three of those seasons, Yanagita was a regular with the Hawks, getting into more than 100 games each year. He never stuck out more than 31 times in a season . Yanagita's career began in 1987, taken by the Nankai Hawks in the third round of the draft, out of Nobeoka Technical High School in Japan. Yanagita is also known by the Japanese form of his name, 柳田聖人 . He was originally a pitcher in high school, according to his ...

Yoshiki Otsuka only got into four games for the Yokohama Bay Stars in 1994, but he showed what he could do. In those four games, Otsuka got four at bats and picked up two hits. Those two hits were both home runs . Otsuka ended up playing in a total of eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, getting into 68 total games. He hit just five other home runs . Otsuka's professional career began in Japan in 1984, taken by the Nankai Hawks in the third round of the draft, out of Improve High School in Kanagawa Prefecture. Otsuka is also known by the Japanese form of his name, 大塚義樹 . His name has also been spelled Yoshiki Ohtsuka. With the Hawks, the catcher Otsuka first made the first team in 1986. He got into four games, picking up two hits in 10 at bats. One of those hits was a double. He didn't see the first team again until 1989, playing a single game for the Daiei Hawks . He went 0 for 2. For 1990, Otsuka moved to the United States and the Californ...

Carlos Carrasco was a home run away from the cycle in his July 1990 game, just the wrong cycle, according to The Modesto Bee . Carrasco was the pitcher and in this game, Modesto hitters took Carrasco for a total of five singles, three doubles and a triple, according to The Bee . Carrasco didn't make it out of the fifth. That outing was one of 25 starts Carrasco had for the high-A Salinas Spurs in 1990, his fourth season as a pro. He ended up going 5-14 on the year. He also ended up never making AA . Carrasco's professional career began in 1986, taken by the Dodgers in the first round of the secondary phase of the June draft. He was selected out of Gavilan College in California. With the Dodgers, Carrasco played his first season with rookie Great Falls . In 13 outings, 12 starts, Carrasco went 4-4, with a 3.36 ERA. He moved to single-A Bakersfield for 1988, getting 17 outings, seven starts. He went 0-4, with a 4.65 ERA. It was his final season in the Dodgers syst...

When James Shevlin took the field for the Salinas Spurs in 1989, he became the second James Shevlin to take the field as a pro. The first James Shevlin, known as Jimmy Shevlin , first took the field as a pro, nearly 60 years earlier, in 1931. Jimmy Shevlin started at single-A Albany and AA Toronto and played for nearly a decade. That Jimmy Shevlin also played parts of three seasons in the majors, one season with Detroit and two with the Reds. For James Shevlin, in 1989, his career was much shorter . The James Shevlin of 1989 also never made AA. (It's unclear if there is any relation between the two Shevlins) James Shevlin's career began in 1989, signed by the independent Salinas Spurs as a free agent out of Massapequa, NY. With the Spurs, Shevlin got into 31 games in 1989. He picked up 23 hits in 87 at bats, for a .264 average. He also picked up two doubles and knocked in six. Shevlin returned to the Spurs for 1990, but his season was even shorter than his fi...

Kenichi Uchiyama 's time as a closer for the independent Salinas Spurs in 1990 didn't go as well as he had likely hoped. Over the California League season, Uchiyama amassed as many saves as any other Spur on the year, six. But he also amassed nearly as many losses as any other Spur, 10. But Uchiyama did pitch well enough to return to Japan and pitch in Nippon Professional Baseball . He ended up getting credit for two seasons there, both with the Yakult Swallows. There, he picked up a single save. Uchiyama's professional career began in 1985, taken by the Yakult Swallows in the third round of the Japanese draft, out of high school in Gunma Prefecture, according to his Japanese Wikipedia entry . After signing with the Swallows, Uchiyama first made the first squad for Yakult in 1990. He also played that year in the United States, with the high-A Salinas Spurs in the California League. Ucyiyama and several other players from Japan, were sent on loan to the Californ...