Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

Mark Charbonnet had a big day for the Harrisburg Senators in this May 1995 game, according to The Carlisle Sentinel . His day included two hits, one a solo home run, two RBIs, and praise from his manager Pat Kelly, The Sentinel wrote . "He's very good in the clutch. Last I saw he was hitting .375 with runners in scoring position," Kelly told The Sentinel afterward. "You kind of overlook him in the lineup with the big three ... at the top. I don't know if they relax on him or he's that good. But he's really come up big for us." Charbonnet came up big for Harrisburg that year in his seventh professional season and his first at AA. He went on to play five more campaigns in independent ball and in Mexico. He never made the majors . Charbonnet's career began in 1989, taken by the Indians in the sixth round of the draft out of Gahr High School in Cerritos, Ca He started at rookie Burlington and hit .231 in 41 games. He then moved to high-A Reno an...

Partway through his 16th season in the pros, Clyde "Pork Chop" Pough spoke to ESPN in 2003 for a feature on independent ball. He'd had plenty of experience there. That 2003 season marked his fifth with the independent Nashua Pride . "You learn to motivate yourself," Pough told ESPN . "You never know who might be watching." Plenty of people watched Pough over his pro career. Over a decade in affiliated ball , he made AAA over five seasons, but he never made the bigs. But fans also watched Pough for another reason, his unusual nickname, counted by some as among the more unusual in the colorful history of baseball nicknames. His nickname also had connections to another, Tom "Flash" Gordon . Pough's pro career began in in 1988, taken by the Indians in the third round of the draft out of Avon Park High School in Florida.  At Avon Park, scouts clocked his fastball between 85 and 88 mph and had a 0.40 ERA his senior year, The Tampa Tribune w...

Keith Shepherd played winter ball in Puerto Rico. His play there got him noticed by two stars, Bobby Bonilla and future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, The Baltimore Sun wrote .  That then also got him his fourth look at the majors in 1996, with the Orioles, The Sun wrote . "He throws hard," Alomar told The Sun of Shepherd that March. "He's a competitor. He pitched about every day over there. He likes to take charge on the mound." Shepherd's fourth look at the bigs amounted to 13 relief appearances. Those ended up being the final appearances of his big league career. Shepherd's career began in 1986, taken by the Pirates in the 11th round of the draft out of Wabash High School in Indiana. He started with the Pirates in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He moved to short-season Watertown for 1987 and then single-A Augusta and Salem for 1988. He went 9-6 overall tat year, with a 4.49 ERA. He moved to the Royals system for 1989, starting at single-A Baseball ...

Originally published Dec. 1, 2020 Bill Wertz not only got to make his major league debut in this May 1993 game, but he got to make it in his hometown . A Cleveland native, Wertz came out of the bullpen for the Indians and his family and friends got to see it in person, The Akron Beacon-Journal wrote . "I was pleased with his velocity and he had a good breaking pitch," Indians manager Mike Hargrove told The Beacon-Journal afterward. "For his first time out, pitching in his hometown with his folks watching, he did well." Wertz went five outs and gave up one earned in that outing. He went on to see 34 total with the Indians that year. He played in one more big league game the next year to round out his major league career. Wertz' career began in 1989, taken by the Indians in the 31st round of the draft out of Ohio State. Wertz was also credited by his full name, William Wertz. Wertz started with the Indians in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He went 4-3, with a ...

Originally published Aug. 17, 2022 The Escondido Times-Advocate assessed the local high school baseball teams in March 1985, including Tim Ellis ' Ramona squad. The paper cited another pitcher as the team's most consistent pitcher. The Times-Advocate then turned to Ellis. "Ellis is the hardest thrower," The Times-Advocate wrote . Ellis soon threw hard enough to go on to college and then to the pros . His pro career saw two seasons. He made high-A. Ellis' pro career began in 1988, taken by the Cubs in the 28th round of the draft out of Rosemont Junior College in Sacramento. At Ramona, Ellis struck out 10 in a May 1986 complete game win. He also threw a six-hitter for another win that month. Ellis started with the Cubs at short-season Geneva . He saw 16 outings, two starts. He went 1-1, with a 4.28 ERA. That season marked his only time with the Cubs. Ellis isn't credited as playing in 1989. But he returned in 1990. He started with the Indians and played at...

In the midst of a season for high-A San Bernardino where he hit .302, Ruben Santana explained to The San Bernardino County Sun his approach at the plate. "Hitting is being consistent," Santana told The Sun in July 1991. "I try to improve on the little things at the plate and remain consistent." Santana worked to improve those little things over a professional career that spanned 12 seasons . He made it briefly to AAA, but his hitting work never got him to the majors. Santana's career began in 1988, signed by the Cubs  as a free agent out of his native Dominican Republic. Santana played his first season at single-A Charleston . His season consisted of 13 games. He moved to the Mariners for 1989 and played with the team's Dominican club. Santana moved stateside for 1990, getting time with short-season Bellingham and high-A Peninsula. He hit .238 in 73 games. He got a brief five-game look at AA Jacksonville for 1991. He played the balance of the...

The Mariners seemed to have gotten a bit of a steal in the 1989 draft with Kyle Duke . Ranked as the 42nd top prospect in the draft by Baseball America, the Mariners got Duke in the fourth round, the 90th overall slot, according to UPI . Signed that August, Duke played that fall in instructional league and started his minor league run the next year. Duke, however, didn't live up to his prospect billing. He ultimately made AA, but he never made the majors . Duke's career began that year in 1989, taken by the Mariners out of Newman Smith High School in Texas. At Newman Smith, Duke turned in an 11-1 record as a senior , with a 1.26 ERA. He also struck out 132 batters over just 72 innings. After instructional league, Duke hit the field with the Mariners in 1990 between short-season Bellingham and high-A Peninsula. He went 4-13 between then, including 0-8 at Peninsula. He picked up his eighth loss in a June game. He had a 5.63 overall ERA. He played 1991 at short-seas...

One of Centennial High School's rival pitchers won the Idaho Baseball Player of the Year award in 2015 and Centennial's coach Brian Champion could only give praise, according to The Idaho Statesman . "His hitting, pitching and shortstop ability make him the complete ballplayer and the guy who can change a game at any time," Champion told The Statesman of the pitcher, Parker Price. "He is the definite leader of their team and the catalyst to them having an excellent year and winning the state title." Champion used his own ability years earlier to make the pros as an infielder . He played six seasons, making AA, but not higher. Champion's career began in 1986, taken by the Braves in the second round of the draft out of Corvallis High School in Oregon. Champion started with the Braves in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He hit .251 in 56 games. He moved to rookie Pulaski for 1987. He hit .284 over 67 games and made the league All Star team . Cham...

Originally published May 26, 2016 Eddie Mathews didn't do a lot of the things professional baseball players did before turning pro. But he did throw hard, like 90 mph hard, according to The Sumter Item . Mathews didn't play baseball at Bradley University, he played basketball. He signed on with a baseball team after college, the Peoria Chiefs, as an assistant general manager, not as a player. But he did play in a local Sunday morning league. That's where he got noticed, The Item wrote . "The Angels coach heard I was throwing near 90 and asked me to come out and let him get a look," Mathews told The Item later. "Some of the brass was there and they said they wanted to sign me for the next season." Mathews soon found himself signed by a different team, the Braves. He went on to a pro career where he played seven seasons. He never made the majors, but he did make AAA . Mathews' career began with the Braves in 1984 in the rookie Gulf Coast Leag...

Idaho Falls manager Steve Curry took a risk in this July 1991 game and it paid off, according to The Deseret News . Faced with an opposing Salt Lake hitter who hit well against Idaho Falls, Curry ordered the batter walked - placing the tying run on base late, The News wrote . A grounder later and Idaho Falls had the win. "That's not what you're supposed to do," Curry told The News after the win. "But it's tough to win here going nine innings, much less extra innings, so you throw everything at them." Curry threw everything he had into a decade-long playing career and a shorter post-playing career as a minor league coach and manager. However, he never came through with a call to the bigs. He played as high as AAA, but not higher. Curry's career in baseball began in 1977, taken by the Phillies in the 26th round of the draft out of Scottsdale Community College in Arizona. Curry started with the Phillies at rookie Pulaski . He hit .283 in ...

Freddie Davis came on in the eighth inning of this May 1990 game for his high-A Lynchburg team and finished out the contest for his fifth save, The Newport News Daily Press wrote . He also showed confidence afterward, the kind that some might call cocky, The Daily Press wrote . "I love it. That's what I'm paid to do," Davis told The Daily Press afterward. "I like it in the eighth or ninth inning when the game is tight. Then it's my job to come in and stick it up their butts." Davis ended up taking that confidence on to five seasons as a pro. He topped out at AA . Davis' career began in 1987, taken by the Angels in the 19th round of the draft out of Auburndale High School in Florida. Davis started with the Angels at short-season Salem . He went 1-2 over 14 relief appearances, with a 7.18 ERA. Late that June, he helped get out of a jam and lead to a win after coming on in the sixth inning . "I felt confident that I could get them out," Da...

Originally published April 5, 2013 Paris Hayden 's American Legion team got a second chance and took advantage, all the way to the 2004 American Legion World Series . Having just swept the regional that August, Hayden, coach of DeLand's Post 6 squad, could only marvel to The Orlando Sentinel at his team's success. "The baseball gods are smiling on us," Hayden told The Sentinel . "You hear everybody say this, but this has been a complete team effort. Everybody came through in one or another." Hayden spoke having had the baseball gods smile on him long enough to have a professional career that lasted five seasons, getting him as high AA . But those baseball gods couldn't get him to the majors. Hayden's professional career began in 1986, taken by the Orioles in the first round of the June secondary draft, out of Indian River Community College. With the Orioles, Hayden started at rookie Bluefield , hitting .303 in 62 games. He also hit e...

Originally published June 1, 2018 Anthony Telford pitched well enough this day in 1990 to gain praise from his manager , Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.  He also pitched well enough - one hit over seven innings - to beat the defending World Series champion Oakland Athletics and do so in his major league debu t. "It was a tremendous effort," Robinson told reporters  afterward. "He showed a lot of poise and savvy--he made some pitches when he had to make them. He kept them off balance. That's what pitching is all about." Telford went on to see time in nine big league seasons , but he didn't become a major league regular until seven years after that Oakland game. He did so as a reliever with the Expos. Telford's career began in 1987, taken by the Oriole s in the third round of the draft out of San Jose State University. Telford was also credited as Tony Telford. Telford played his first season with the Orioles between short-season Newark, single-A H...

Originally published May 3, 2022 Ken Shamburg went through a short slump at Louisiana Tech in May 1989, but he took it with some perspective, he told The Shreveport Times . The senior, by that point, had the experience to move forward, he told The Times . "It has taken me four years to realize that if you screw up, you'll always get another at-bat," Shamburg told The Times . "I finally got to realizing that. ... Why let one at-bat ruin the rest of your game?" Shamburg soon got more at bats, and plenty of them, in the pros. He eventually saw time over 11 pro seasons, in the affiliated minors, Mexico and independent leagues. His career, though, topped out at AAA . Shamburg's career began in 1989, signed by the Orioles as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech. Shamburg started with the Orioles at single-A Frederick. He got into 52 games and hit .254. He also hit seven home runs, including one in his first professional at bat, he recalled to his hometo...

Mississippi State shortstop Brad Hildreth padded his school records list in this May 1989 game and he attempted to explain to The Jackson Clarion-Ledger why he had done so well. Hildreth's answer came down to longevity and durability, The Clarion-Ledger wrote . "You can attribute that to the fact that I've started almost every game since my freshman year," Hildreth told The Clarion-Ledger . "I've also been fortunate to not have any bad injuries." Hildreth soon turned pro. He played two pro seasons. At the end of his second season, Hildreth missed several games, suspended with four other players for participating in a " Bull Durham"-like stunt . Hildreth's career began in 1989, taken by the Orioles in the 18th round of the draft out of Mississippi State.  Hildreth started with the Orioles at short-season Erie . He got into 65 games and hit .231.  He then moved to single-A Wausau and high-A Frederick for 1990. He saw five games at Frederic...