Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

The former Community Park in August 2014, home to the 1990 St. Catharines Blue Jays. (G21D Photo) Features on each member of the 1990 St. Catharines Blue Jays, the short-season affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Players are as included in that year's team set. Interview (1) 1 - Paul Menhart, That Rabbit Paul Menhart knew he didn't want to visit Toronto. He waited until he went for real. St. Catharines Blue Jays (33) 1  -  Ciro Ambrosio  played 2 seasons, became high school coach 2  -  Doug Ault  made 1st Blue Jays roster, managed in minors 3  -  Bobby Aylmer  closed games for Fordham, played 2 seasons 4  -  Darren Balsley  used positivity as coach in bigs with Padres 5  -  Scott Brow  made 4 majors seasons with Blue Jays, Dbacks 6  -  Andy Carlton  impressed in high school, saw 3 pro seasons 7  -  Carlos Delgado  made 17 ML seasons, 12 with Blue Jays 8 - Rusty ...

Mission Bay High School starter Rusty Filter had a good sense about his fellow pitchers in 1986, according to The Los Angeles Times . "I think our pitchers are pretty much smarter," Filter told The Times that May. "Our pitchers know the hitters better. All our pitchers throw hard and they don't walk too many batters. They mix it up. They don't have to rely on just one (pitch) working to be effective." Filter went on to take that good sense to college and the pros as a pitcher.  But, what Filter has become known for is the sense he takes to being a college pitching coach, using that to mold young arms . And that sense has turned out some of the top college pitchers in recent years, including two out of the last five top overall draft picks, sending Stephen Strasburg to the pros first overall out of San Diego State in 2009, then moving to Stanford and doing the same for Mark Appel in 2013. Filter's road to becoming one of the top college ...

Ciro Ambrosio 's Great Neck South High School baseball team won its second-straight conference championship in 2012 and Ambrosio took the opportunity to look ahead . "It's a special feeling going out a champion … this one is back to back for us," Ambrosio told The Great Neck Record that June, "and next year we go for back to back to back." That year also held personal significance for Ambrosio. He notched his 100th career victory as a high school coach. Ambosio turned to coaching after success in college as a player and a brief professional playing career. His pro playing career spanned just two seasons . Ambrosio's brief professional career began in 1990, taken by the Blue Jays in the 30th round, out of Long Island University . At Long Island, Ambrosio made the school's record books, a place he remains. From 1987 to 1990, Ambrosio amassed 158 career hits and 112 runs scored, both just dropping out of the all-time top 10, according to t...

Bobby Aylmer was a reliable closer for his Fordham Rams in 1988. His 13 saves that year set a school record. They were also one off the national lead . Those 13 saves also came in a total of 33 appearances for Aylmer on the season, according to the Fordham record book. Both marks are still school records , only the saves mark has been tied. Aylmer came out of Fordham two years later, taken by the Blue Jays in the 33rd round of the draft. But the success he had in college, he couldn't continue into the pros. His professional career ended after just two seasons with two career saves. Aylmer ended up staying at Fordham for his full four seasons, playing there from 1987 to 1990. In all, he got into 69 games for the Rams, then a school record and still sixth all-time . His 19 career saves also remain tied for the school record. His career ERA there was 3.23, still 13th all-time . With the Blue Jays, Aylmer started at short-season St. Catharines. He got into 12 games t...

Rob Montalvo got some advice from the Blue Jays minor league hitting coach in May 1992. "Use your legs, use your legs," coach Bill Buckner told Montalvo in a hitting session, according to Scripps Howard News Service . Montalvo got that advice in his fourth professional season that year, playing at AA Knoxville . By the end of the year, Montalvo was at AAA Syracuse. No matter what advice Montalvo received, AAA was as far as he got. In seven total seasons, he never made the majors . Montalvo's career began in in 1989, taken by the Blue Jays in the seventh round of the draft out of Memorial High School in West New York, N.J. At Memorial, Montalvo was a part of a team described years later by The Newark Star-Ledger as the state's best. Montalvo played shorstop on the 1988 squad that went 28-1. With the Blue Jays, Montalvo played his first season between single-A Myrtle Beach and single-A Dunedin. He hit just .180 between them. Montalvo never hit well ...

Jeff Irish played two sports at Michigan's Milford High School, baseball and basketball and he won accolades in both, according to his old school . In basketball, he won All-League and All-Area honors his junior year, according to the school . He also won the top junior athlete award. In baseball, he helped his team to the state finals. He also won personal honors , including being named top high school catcher by the Detroit Free Press. With that resume, the Blue Jays came calling in the 1989 draft and Irish chose to continue on in baseball. Irish, though, couldn't continue that success into the pros. His professional career consisted of just two seasons . Irish's professional career began with Toronto selecting Irish in the seventh round of the draft, out of Milford. With the Blue Jays, Irish started at rookie Medicine Hat. In 22 games there, Irish got 72 at bats, but he only got 10 hits for a .139 average . For 1990, Irish played between short-season St. ...

Sam Mandia started college baseball off poorly. His first two seasons were bad, he recalled to his hometown Newburgh-Beacon Evening News in June 1990. But then came his third year, and improvement with renewed dedication and a knuckle curve. That June, Mandia hoped that improvement would continue in the pros, to the major leagues, he told The Evening News . "I stand a good chance" of making the majors, Mandia told The Evening News after being selected in the draft by the Blue Jays. "I got better as I got older. Hopefully I can better myself with the help of the (Blue Jay) coaches." Mandia signed with the Blue Jays that month, and he bettered himself enough to make it to single-A by year's end. Mandia, though, couldn't better himself enough to make the majors, or get a long career. He played just two seasons of pro ball . Mandia's career began that June, taken by the Blue Jays in the 22nd round, out of Seton Hall University. He went to Seton...

Juan Querecuto 's Edinburg Roadrunner teammates helped put the game into extra innings, Querecuto then helped end it . In the bottom of the 11th of this July 2002 contest against Amarillo, Querecuto sent a Amarillo pitch over the wall, according to The Amarillo Globe-News , for a walk-off home run. Querecuto also hit that home run in what could be considered his own career's extra innings . Querecuto spent five seasons in the minors before not being recorded as playing for four seasons. When he returned, Querecuto was in independent ball, and playing in another four campaigns . Querecuto's career began in 1989, signed by the Blue Jays out of his native Venezuela. With the Blue Jays, Querecuto first hit the field in 1990, with short-season St. Catharines . He got into just nine games, going 4 for 20. He isn't recorded as playing in 1991, returning to St. Catharines for both 1992 and 1993 . He hit .274 his second year there. Querecuto moved to high-A Dune...

Matt Watson had hopes coming out of Cal State Fullerton in 1990 and those hopes were to improve, according to The Los Angeles Times . "College is so geared to winning," Watson told The Times . "We have guys on our staff who are more consistent than me. I'm more of a power pitcher but I'm inconsistent. I should be able to develop more in the pros." Watson spoke with The Times after signing his pro contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Watson, though, was hardly able to develop in the pros. He hardly had time to. His career was limited to that single season, 16 outings. Watson's pro career began and ended that year in 1990, starting with the Blue Jays taking him in the 14th round of the draft, out of Fullerton. He had been selected the year before by the Giants in the seventh round , but he chose to stay in school. At Fullerton, Watson wasn't above some seemingly good-natured ribbing. In May 1990, Watson recalled the year before when th...

The Blue Jays needed a hit in this May 1996 game and Robert Perez was up to the task . With the bases loaded in the 10th inning against Boston's Stan Belinda, Perez singled to left for the walk-off win . "I'd faced him two times before, so I had an idea to look for a breaking ball," Perez told The Associated Press of Belinda. "That's what I got and I just made good contact." Perez was in his third season with time in the majors that year, getting into 86 games . He ultimately would play in three more, plus one season in Japan. But he never really found the regular major league role he was looking for. Perez' professional career began in 1989, signed by the Blue Jays out of his native Venezuela. He first hit the field in 1990, playing at short-season St. Catharines. By the end of the year, he was at single-A Myrtle Beach. He made high-A Dunedin in 1991, then AA Knoxville for 1992. Perez played 1993 and 1994 at AAA Syracuse. In a spri...

St. John's University was looking to advance in the 1988 Big East Tournament and Wally Heckel helped them do that, according to The Associated Press . Hitting against Seton Hall, Heckel picked up three hits, including a home run, helping his team to a 6-2 victory . Heckel's performance that year got the notice of scouts for the Blue Jays , the team taking him way down in the 65th round of the draft that year. Heckel instead stayed in school, but the Blue Jays didn't forget him. A year later, Heckel had improved his draft stock considerably, the Blue Jays taking him in the 12th round . Heckel is also credited by his full name, Walter Heckel. As a pro, though, Heckel couldn't show that same improvement. His professional career ended up consisting of just two seasons . Heckel's efforts at St. John's in 1988 earned him selection to that year's All-Tournament Team. In 1989, he also won First Team All-Conference honors . In summer of 1988, Heckel h...

Providence Catholic High School had a good day on the baseball field this Saturday in April 1988, thanks to hitters like Andy Carlton , according to The Chicago Tribune . Providence swept a double-header that day, scoring 17 runs in the first game and 11 in the second. Carlton's contribution for the day was four hits and five RBIs, The Tribune wrote . Carlton's work at Providence Catholic didn't go unnoticed. The Blue Jays spotted him and selected him late in the 1988 draft. Carlton, though, couldn't repeat the success he had in high school. His professional career lasted just three seasons, never making it to AA. Carlton was taken by the Blue Jays in the 41st round of that 1988 draft out of Providence Catholic . Carlton is also credited as Andrew Carlton and as Drew Carlton. At Providence, Carlton played for a top-ranked team, getting mentions for his on-field work, both at the plate, and on the mound. Carlton knocked a home run in another April 1988 conte...

San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy had nothing but praise for his pitching coach Darren Balsley in 2006, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune . Peavy knew Balsley as Balsley had also coached Peavy in the minors, The Union-Tribune noted . "He is very positive," Peavy told The Union-Tribune of Balsley in September 2006. "He says the right thing. First and foremost, he's positive. That's the biggest thing. He puts positive thoughts in your head and makes you more self-confident." Balsley has now been instilling that self-confidence in Padres pitchers for a decade , taking over the position in mid-2003.  And he's been doing that after a long career as a coach in the minors, and a six-season career as a pitcher in the minors. Balsley's career in baseball began in 1984, taken by the Athletics in the third round of the January draft, out of Palomar College in San Diego County, Calif. As a player, Balsley spent three seasons in the Ath...

Taken by the Blue Jays out of high school in 1987, Shawn Scott instead spent a year in college, at the College of San Mateo. It was a move that Scott believe benefited him, he told The San Mateo Daily Journal years later. "My mind was to go to school," Scott told The Daily Journal . "I was nowhere near ready to go play against those athletes. I knew I needed a year in another good program, which was CSM’s program. So, I went." Coming out of that year in college, Scott was able to still sign with the Blue Jays. He ended up spending six seasons in the Toronto system, making AAA Syracuse. That extra time in school, though, wasn't able to send Scott on to the majors. Scott did end up getting extra time as a pro, ultimately playing 13 seasons , moving on from affiliated ball to spend another seven seasons in independent ball. Scott's pro career began in 1988, signing with the Blue Jays out of San Mateo. He was originally drafted out of El Camino...

David Tollison won a regional coaching award in 2011 and the head of the group that handed out the award explained why . Tollison won the award from the Positive Coaching Alliance-Dallas as the athletic director for the Episcopal School of Dallas . "David is known for his attention to detail, emphasis on fundamentals and instilling a sense of confidence in each and every player," group executive director Barry Smink said in announcing the award . "He exemplifies the core values that he teaches: trust, teamwork, motivation, sportsmanship, character, and how to become a better person in the long run." Tollison started his coaching career, and teaching those core values, shortly after leaving his first professional career, baseball. Tollison ultimately spent six seasons in pro ball , making it to AA, but no higher. Tollison's baseball career began in 1990, taken by the Blue Jays in the sixth round of the draft, out of the University of Texas. With...

Jacinto Yorro started his professional career as an outfielder. Before he was done, he tried his hand at pitching. In 1991, in his second year as a pro, Yorro took the mound for the short-season St. Catharines Blue Jays and he did it twice. In those two outings, he went a total of two innings . He struck out three and didn't give up a run, for a 0.00 ERA. Though a small sample, it was a better result than Yorro's hitting that season. His batting average also had a zero in front of it, 0.97. That second season was Yorro's last in professional ball . Yorro's career began a season earlier, signed by the Blue Jays as an undrafted free agent out of his native Dominican Republic . With the Blue Jays, Yorro played his first year at St. Catharines . In 28 games there, he hit .231, with one home run and 12 RBIs. He then returned to St. Catharines for his second season. In 44 games, Yorro ended up hitting that 0.97, with no home runs and just 4 RBI. Those games, ...

Rick Steed later recalled his 2001 season, the one where his independent Somerset Patriots took the league title, as the one in which he had the most fun . "They knew what they had to do to get ready, and everything just fell into place for everybody," Steed told The Hunterdon County Democrat in 2007. "We probably didn't have the best or biggest name players that year, but I don't think anyone on that team ever gave up." Steed, in his 13th professional season that year, certainly wasn't a big name. He was in his third season that year with Somerset, after an affiliated career that spanned a decade . In that affiliated career, Steed never made enough of a name for himself to make the majors. Steed's professional career began 1989, taken by the Blue Jays in the fifth round of the draft, out of Covina High School in California. With the Blue Jays, Steed started at rookie Medicine Hat , getting seven games there. For 1990, he moved to s...

Wilberto Rojas got his start with the Blue Jays in his native Dominican Republic. As a 19-year-old in 1988, Rojas played for the Santo Domingo Blue Jays in the Dominican Summer League, according to The Toronto Star . From there, he went straight to Canada, playing rookie ball in Medicine Hat, then short-season ball in St. Catharines. With the ultimate goal was to play in Toronto, Rojas never got the chance to play in a team based in the United States. He also never got to Toronto . A native of Haina, D.R., Rojas' professional career began in 1987, signed by the Blue Jays as an undrafted free agent. After playing summer ball in the Dominican Republic, Rojas moved to rookie Medicine Hat in 1989. There, he got into 55 games, hitting .223, with six home runs and 26 RBI . For 1990, Rojas arrived at short-season St. Catharines. He got into 63 games there , but didn't hit much better than he did in Medicine Hat. He hit just .231. That season in St. Catharines ended...

Former Milligan College hurler A.R. Rhea had an idea in 2010, and that idea involved him and others getting back out on the field, according to The Johnson City Press . "I started talking to A.R. about three or four weeks ago, and the idea got kicked around," Milligan coach Nathan Meade Meade told The Press . "We've got 30 guys confirmed right now and are expecting five or six more. Guys have been calling left and right." For Rhea, it was a chance to get back on the field again, a field at Milligan that he amassed several Milligan career pitching records, records he still holds, according to The Press . It was also a chance to get back on the field after his own professional career ended quickly and Rhea ended up moving on to another profession: Sports Medicine . Rhea's brief professional career began and ended in 1990, taken by the Blue Jays in the 17th round of the draft out of Milligan in Tennessee. Rhea is also known as Allen Rhea. With ...