Six seasons under his belt going into 1990, Kennedy Infante's career seemed to be over, The Scranton Times-Tribune.
Then the Venezuelan stopped by the Phillies complex to say hello to some old friends and that turned into a run-in with the team's GM and a minor league contract, The Times-Tribune wrote.
"I had really given up on playing," Infante told The Times-Tribune. "I had a couple of bad breaks and just figured maybe I wasn't meant to be playing."
His initial trip to high-A Clearwater eventually landed him all the way up at AAA Scranton. Infante is credited as playing in one more season, but he never took the final step to the bigs.
Infante's career began in 1984, signed by the Cardinals as a free agent out of his native Venezuela. Infante was also credited as Ken Infante.
Infante started with the Cardinals at rookie Johnson City. He got into 61 games and hit .274. He also hit six home runs, including a game-winner in an August contest.
"I knew I hit it pretty hard," Infante told The Johnson City Press after that home run. "It was exactly the pitch I had been waiting for. The other times I was up, I didn't see it."
Infante moved to single-A Savannah for 1985, then single-A St. Petersburg for 1986, where he hit .295.
He made AA Arkansas for 1987, then moved from Arkansas to the Blue Jays at AA Knoxville and single-A Dunedin.
Infante played 1989 with the Reds between single-A Cedar Rapids and Greensboro. He hit .236 over 86 games.
He then signed with the Phillies for 1990. Through high-A Clearwater, AA Reading and AAA Scranton, Infante hit .259 in 118 games.
Infante played 1991 in Mexico, at Mexico City. He later returned to Venezuela and played there, including in 1994-1995 for Tigres de Aragua.
- Johnson City Press, Aug. 16, 1984: Homer powers Cards to win
- Scranton Times-Tribune, July 1, 1990: Infante Making Most of Chance
Made the Majors:1,271-33.9%
Never Made Majors:2,483-66.1%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:524
10+ Seasons in the Minors:310
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