Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

Jose DeJesus tried a new approach on the mound in 1990, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer . "When I go out there now, I don't look at the hitter; I blank him out of my mind," DeJesus told The Inquirer . "I used to think too much. I used to worry about the different hitters and what they could do." DeJesus' new approach seemed to work. By the time the year was out, DeJesus had compiled 22 starts for the Phillies and a 3.74 ERA. In all, DeJesus was in his third season with time in the majors. He would go on to see time in two more. He would also go on to undergo reconstructive shoulder surgery , coming back from that to see his final five outings in the majors. DeJesus' career began in 1983, signed by the Royals as an undrafted free agent out of his native Puerto Rico . DeJesus first hit the field for the Royals in 1985, at single-A Fort Myers . He made AA Memphis in 1987 and then AAA Omaha in 1988. Also in 1988, DeJesus made Kansas City...

Tom Nieto got his call up from AAA Louisville, but the turnaround was quick . The result, The Associated Press wrote , was a major league debut that saw Nieto score one run and knock in two others on a double. "I only had eight hours to get over here," Nieto told The AP afterward. "But it turned out to be a great day." From that first good day, Nieto went on to have others. And he would have them over a major league career that spanned seven seasons. He's also gone on to a long career as a coach in both the minors and the majors, continuing in 2013 as a manager in the Gulf Coast League . Nieto's career began in 1981, taken by the Cardinals in the third round of the draft, out of Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma. With the Cardinals, Nieto started at AA Arkansas , returning there for 1982. In 1983, he made AAA Louisville, then, in May 1984, St. Louis. With the Cardinals that first year, Nieto got into 33 games , hitting .279, with three hom...

Longtime minor league coach and manager Greg Legg 's philosophy, he told The Philadelphia Daily News , was simply getting guys at bats and pitching appearances. Once they got those appearances, though, they had to make the most of them . "I usually tell them that we're going to prepare you for your opportunity and when you get it, we're going to take advantage of it," Legg told The Daily News in 2011. "Again, you're going to get your opportunity. It's just a matter of when." Legg has been a coach or a manager in the minors since his own playing career ended in 1994. Before that, his playing career spanned 13 seasons , Legg taking advantage of his own opportunities to make the majors in two seasons . Throughout, Legg has only played or coached for one organization , the Phillies, continuing as hitting coach for the Phillies' single-A Lakewood squad in 2013. Legg's career with the Phillies began in 1982, taken by Philadelphi...

Brad Moore 's adrenalin was flowing and he was pumped, he told The Reading Eagle in June 1988. More was making his major league debut with Philadelphia and he made the most of it, throwing 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, The Eagle wrote . "I was also excited about being there," Moore told The Eagle . "I just wanted to do whatever I could to get them out, just keep the ball down. It worked out pretty well." Though he pitched well, Moore's stay was brief, just five total outings . He got three more outings two years later, marking the extent of his big league career. Moore's professional career began in 1986, signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent out of Grand Canyon University. With the Phillies, Moore started at short-season Bend, moving to single-A Clearwater and AA Reading in 1987. For 1988, Moore returned to Reading. That June, he made the jump directly to Philadelphia. With the Phillies in 1988, Moore got into those five ga...

Features on each member of the 1990 Scranton-Wilkes Barre Red Barons, the AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Players are as included in that year's team set. Click on the player's name to learn more. Interview (1) 1 - Sal Agostinelli, Got Close Sal Agostinelli did everything he could to make bigs. He's now looking for others that could make it. 1990 Scranton-Wilkes Barre Red Barons (28) 1  -  Jim Adduci  got majors chances over four seasons, three clubs 2  -  Sal Agostinelli  saw 10 seasons, AAA, later scouted, more 3  -  Eric Boudreaux  played 6 seasons, made AAA with Phillies 4  -  Bill Dancy  had specific expectations for over long career 5 -  Jose DeJesus  didn't think, made ML with Phillies, Royals 6 - Marvin Freeman, Fine Arm Marvin Freeman spent time in 10 major league seasons, coming in fourth in the Cy Young voting in one. 7 - Todd Frohwirth, More Excited Todd Frohwirth didn't have ...

Jim Adduci made the Brewers out of spring training in 1988, but he hardly saw any action. By late-May, Adduci had been in all of nine appearances, getting four at bats, The Milwaukee Sentinel wrote . Then Adduci's manager Tom Trebelhorn thought he'd try something different and give Adduci a start, at designated hitter . "He deserves a chance now to see if he can be a good left-handed bat for us," Trebelhorn told The Sentinel . "It could have been a mistake on my part not to play him more. We'll find out." Adduci ended up going 2 for 4 that game. He also ended up having the best season of his four with time in the bigs, seeing time in a total of 44 contests for the Brewers, knocking in 15 and getting his only home run. Adduci's career began in 1980, taken the Cardinals in the seventh round of the draft out of Southern Illinois University. Adduci started at rookie Johnson City, first making AA Arkansas in 1981. He then made AAA Louisville...

Just a few outings into his big league career, Dickie Noles admitted to UPI in July 1979 that he was still a little awed by both the big league crowds and the big league players. "But," Noles told UPI after notching his first major league win, "I'm not awed once I get to the mound. I've always felt at home there." Noles certainly wasn't awed the next year when he intentionally threw a knock-down pitch to future Hall of Famer George Brett - in the World Series. Soon, though, Noles would be humbled off the field, admitting publicly that he was an alcoholic . Noles' career began in 1975, taken by the Phillies in the fourth round of the draft, out of Harding High School in North Carolina. He started that year at short-season Auburn, hitting AA Reading in 1978 and then major league Philadelphia in 1979. With the Phillies his rookie year, Noles went 3-4 in 14 starts, posting an ERA of 3.80 . Returning to the team for 1980, he moved to t...

Bill Dancy had specific expectations for his players, he told The Reading Eagle going into the 1994 season. Those expectations essentially involved his players playing hard . "Some say I'm easy (to play for); some say I'm tough. I think I'm fair," Dancy told The Eagle that April. "I'm a players' manager, but if a player needs a kick in the butt I'll kick him in the butt. If he needs a pat on the back, I'll pat him on the back." Dancy was going into his 16th season as a manager in the minors, part of a baseball career that stretched back six seasons further as a player in the minors. He has gone on to a career that now spans four decades , including time in the majors as a third base coach. Dancy's baseball career began in 1973, signed by the Phillies out of Florida Southern . He started at single-A Spartanburg and played at AAA for four seasons. But he never made the majors as a player. Dancy's playing days o...

Updated November 2014 Dwight Gooden was playing in that May 1987 game with AAA Tidewater on a rehab assignment, saw one of his fastballs hit Ken Dowell squarely above the batter's eye . Quickly checking Dowell over was his trainer, Barney Nugent : There were no breaks and he did not suffer a concussion, according to The Bangor Daily News . "He does have a nice egg above his eye, though," Nugent told The Daily News . "Anytime a batter is hit like that, you have to be concerned. It can be a life-threatening situation." Dowell was in his eighth season as a pro and he would come back from that fastball to make the majors for his one and only stint the next month . Nugent himself was a decade into his training career and six years away from his major league stint, Nugent's stint, though, would be longer, 11 seasons as assistant trainer of the Giants. It would also be a stint that saw him ask a major league security official for help with security ...

Keith Miller got his first major league hit in 1988 in his seventh at bat. As it turned out, it was a big hit, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer . Miller's Phillies down 5-0 early, the rookie outfielder cleared the bases with a second-inning double. It was a game the Phillies came back to win . "In a lot of ways, that was as big a hit as any," Phillies manager Lee Elia told The Inquirer afterward of Miller's hit. "He put us right back into the game after we were stunned in that first inning." Miller debuted with Philadelphia the previous month. He ended up g etting into 47 games on the year. He would only get into just eight more. Miller's career began in 1984, taken by the Phillies in the 16th round out of Lubbock Christian University. Miller started at short-season Bend and single-A Peninsula . Between them, he hit .315. He moved to AA Reading in 1985, hitting .295 there with six home runs. Miller returned to Reading for 1986. H...

Todd Frohwirth 's major league debut seemed to go by quickly, the rookie told The Philadelphia Inquirer . But, in August 1987 against the Cubs, Frohwirth came into the fifth inning , going 1.2 scoreless innings, picking up the win. He also struck out eventual National League MVP Andre Dawson, the first batter Frohwirth faced, as Dawson represented the go-ahead run . "And I didn't have time to think it was Dawson," Frohwirth told The Inquirer afterward. "I just wanted to throw strikes and I threw him sinkers and sliders. And then I end up with a win in my first game, which right now makes me more excited than I've ever been in my life. It all really hasn't sunk in yet." Frohwirth and his unusual submarine style delivery debuted in the majors that day in his fourth professional year. He would go on to pitch in a total of nine major league seasons, not throwing his final pitch until 1996. Frohwirth's professional career began in 1984, ...

Chris Knabenshue had three hits in the previous game for the Charleston Rainbows. But his late miscue in the field meant those didn't matter, The Charleston News and Courier wrote . In this April 1986 game, though, Knabenshoe got one more hit, and one less fielding miscue, going 4-for-4 with a home run in a Charleston win . "I needed a game like this after last night," Knabenshoe told The News and Courier . "I can't remember the last time I was 4-for-4. That's what I was thinking out there. I don't even know if I've ever been 4-for-4." Knabenshoe went on to have shots at similar games at AA and AAA, but he never got a shot to have a game like that in the majors. Knabenshoe, however, has since gone on to a career looking for other players who have shots at playing well in the pros, serving as a scout for the Braves. Knabenshoe's career began in 1985, taken by the Padres in the fifth round of the draft, out of the University of North...

Jim Vatcher never really dreamed as a kid about being a major leaguer, he told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1990. That's because he never thought he'd be good enough. "But," Vatcher added to The Inqurier after his first stint in the majors, "once I got in professional baseball, you realize it's the only goal. So now, no matter what else, I'll be in the Baseball Encyclopedia. I can show it to my children and my grandchildren." Vatcher's first stint in the majors lasted a month. After a brief stint back at AAA, he returned to play almost the rest of the season in the majors . When it was all done, Vatcher had stories for his grandchildren about playing in three major league seasons and a decade in the minors. Vatcher made the majors in 1990 in his fourth season as a pro . He started in 1987, taken by the Phillies in the 20th round, out of Cal State Northridge. Vatcher played well at Northridge. But, The Los Angeles Times wrote , he w...