Rich Morales played, coached, scouted: Baseball Profiles

Rich Morales played two seasons, then found himself at Pocatello, Idaho, in 1991, as manager of the co-op rookie Pocatello Pioneers. 

At age 26, his hometown Pacifica Tribune wrote.

"I wasn't expecting this," the former player told The Tribune that August. "I thought I'd be playing this year. But after I got released by the Mariner organization, I figured this was a good way to stay in the game."

Morales then stayed in the game for a long career, as a manager and coach in the minors and in college, then as a scout. 

Morales' brief playing career began in 1989, signed by the Mariners as an undrafted free agent out of the University of San Francisco.

Morales' father,  Rich Morales, Sr., also played pro, making the majors over eight seasons and later coaching and managing in the minors.

Morales Jr., started with the Mariners at single-A San Bernardino. He saw 42 games and hit .327. He returned to San Bernardino to start 1990. 

In one July 1990 game, the catcher Morales spoke to The San Bernardino County Sun after an extra inning win where his pitchers got into and out of trouble.

"That's what baseball is all about," Morales told The Sun.

Morales then got two games at AAA Calgary. He saw 36 total games on the year and hit .232 to end his brief playing career.

Morales then turned coach and manager. He coached at rookie Ogdan, then at Western Michigan University and at short-season Vermont with the Expos in 1998.

He then became a scout. In 2018, he earned the Jim Russo Scout of the Year award with the Orioles.

• San Bernardino County Sun, July 8, 1990: Spirit down Riverside in 10 innings, 6-5
• Pacifica Tribune, Aug. 7, 1991: Morales is youngest manager in pro baseball

More: 1990 San Bernardino Spirit

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,357
Made the Majors:1,403-32.2%
Never Made Majors:2,954-67.8%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:571
10+ Seasons in the Minors:352

Nick Felix credited coach, made pros: Baseball Profiles

Pitcher Nick Felix improved at Mesa Community College and he credited his coach Roger Schmuck with getting him to do so, The Arizona Republic wrote in April 1987.

"I was pretty lazy," Felix admitted to The Republic then. "He really kicked me in the butt. He really put me in my place and made me work hard."

Felix eventually worked hard enough to move to a larger school, Texas A&M, and to turn pro. He ultimately saw six seasons. He topped out at AA.

Felix' career began in 1988, taken by the Mariners in the 12th round of the draft out of Texas A&M.

Felix started with the Mariners between short-season Bellingham and single-A San Bernardino. He went 4-1 between them, with a 1.18 ERA in 31 relief appearances.

He moved to single-A Wausau for most of 1989. He went 4-5 there, with a 5.35 ERA in 38 outings, six starts.

Felix played all of 1990 at San Bernardino, then moved to the Rangers system for 1991. He saw 29 games that year at high-A Port Charlotte and 11 games at AA Tulsa.

He moved to the Padres system mid-year in 1992, after being released by the Rangers. He played at high-A High Desert. 

"I've talked to coaches, and they said just because one organization doesn't want me, doesn't mean another one doesn't," Felix told The San Bernardino County Sun after signing with the Padres that June.

He picked up a win in relief in an August game, one of two-straight games where he got the win, The Victorville Daily Press wrote.

"I just wanted to hold them right where they were and keep it close," Felix told The Daily Press. "The way we are swinging the bats, I knew we would score some runs.

Felix moved to AA Wichita for 1993. He saw 27 relief appearances there before playing 15 more with the Brewers at AA El Paso. He saw 42 relief outings overall, with a 4.32 ERA to end his career.

• Arizona Republic, April 22, 1987: 'Like two different people'
• San Bernardino County Sun, June 27, 1992: Felix returns to old Spirit haunts
• Victorville Daily Press, Aug. 23, 1992: Mavericks

More: 1990 San Bernardino Spirit

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,356
Made the Majors:1,403-32.2%
Never Made Majors:2,953-67.8%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:571
10+ Seasons in the Minors:352

Tye Waller made bigs, later coached: Baseball Profiles

More than two seasons removed from his last major league time, Astros AAA outfielder Tye Waller worked to make it back to the bigs, he believed he would do it, The Arizona Daily Star wrote in June 1985. 

"I believe I'll be called up for my glove, speed and arm," Waller told The Daily Star. "That's what has kept me in the game, because I'm an inconsistent hitter."

Waller did make it back to the majors with Houston, but not for another two seasons, for 11 final games.

He then stayed in the game much longer, as a coach. in both the minor leagues and the majors, with the Padres and Athletics.

Waller's long career in the game began in 1977, taken by the Cardinals in the fourth round of the draft out of San Diego City College. Waller's name has also been spelled Ty Waller.

Waller started with the Cardinals at rookie Calgary. He made AA Arkansas in 1979 and then AAA Springfield and St. Louis in 1980.

He saw five games with St. Louis in 1980, then got traded to the Cubs and saw 30 games in Chicago in 1981. He hit .268, with three home runs. 

Waller returned to Chicago for 17 more games in 1982, then moved to the White Sox at AAA in 1983 and the Astros at AAA Tucson in 1984. He stayed at Tucson for three full season and into a fourth before returning for his 11 final games in 1987.

Waller then turned to coaching with the Padres. He coached for 1988 at short-season Spokane before becoming Padres minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator in 1989. He's recorded as staying in that role for five seasons, and got a card as a coach at high-A Riverside in 1990.

He managed at Spokane in 1994, then became Padres bullpen coach in 1995 before he turned Padres coordinator of minor league instruction.

Waller continued with the Padres as director of player development in 2000. That September, he spoke with The Hanover Evening Sun about what's needed to advance.

"It all depends on the player," Waller told The Evening Sun. "Getting the innings of play is the biggest thing (in the minor leagues.)."

Waller joined the Athletics as a major league base coach in 2007 and he continued there through 2015. In 2014, he spoke with CNET as he worked to gather data on opposing players for an application to give the A's an advantage.

"I'm an old-school guy with a new-school spin," Waller told CNET. "Some people might consider me a geek, but I just consider myself a baseball guy trying to make a difference on the field."

• Arizona Daily Star, June 25, 1985: Toros' optimist Waller is working 'up'
• Hanover Evening Sun, Sept. 5, 2000: From the minors to 'The Show'
• CNET, Aug. 17, 2014: For data-driven Oakland A's, the 'IT coach' sets the defense

More: The 1990 Riverside Red Wave

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,355
Made the Majors:1,403-32.2%-X
Never Made Majors:2,952-67.8%

5+ Seasons in the Majors:571
10+ Seasons in the Minors:352

Jim Edmonds adjusted to 17 ML seasons: Baseball Profiles

Young Angels farmhand Jim Edmonds described life in the minor leagues, and the transition from high school to pro ball to The Moline Dispatch in May 1989.

Edmonds had been taken by the Angels in the seventh round of the draft out of Diamond Bar High School in California and played 1989 at single-A Quad City.

"It's been getting much better, but it's been a struggle to adjust to what professional baseball is all about," Edmonds told The Dispatch then. "It was a big-time change from being on top at the high school level to facing everyone equal or better at this level."

Edmonds eventually fully adjusted - and went on to a long career in the game that continues into 2024. His playing career saw him play in the major leagues over 17 seasons, make All-Star games and the World Series. He's since become a broadcaster.

Edmonds' career began that year in 1988, taken by the Angels out of Diamond Bar.

Edmonds started with the Angels at short-season Bend. He made Quad City in 1989, then high-A Palm Springs in 1990. He saw AA Midland and AAA Edmonton in 1992. 

In September 1993, he made California. The outfielder threw out a crucial runner at home in his debut, The Associated Press wrote.

"When I finally saw it, I just grabbed, and tried to make a nice throw home," Edmonds told The AP. "Luckily, (catcher) Greg Myers saved me, and made a nice play."

He saw 18 games that year and 94 the next. In 1995, he saw 141 games, made his first All Star Game and even garnered some MVP talk in April as he led the majors in August in runs scored and RBI, The Orange County Register wrote.

"I'm just trying to score as many runs and drive in as many as I can," Edmonds told The Register. "It's no big deal really."

Edmonds stayed with the Angels through 1999. He hit over .300 twice and hit more than 20 home runs four times, including 33 in 1995. 

He then moved to the Cardinals in a trade for 2000. He promptly hit .295, 42 home runs. He then stayed with the Cardinals for eight total seasons, and played in the 2004 and 2006 World Series.

He helped them get to the 2004 series with a NLCS Game 6 12th inning home run that forced the deciding Game 7.

"It was a fastball up," Edmonds told The AP after that home run. "I was just trying to be short and quick."

Edmonds stayed with the Cardinals through 2007. He then played with the Padres and Cubs in 2008. He last played in 2010, between the Brewers and the Reds.

He ended his career with 2,011 games played, 393 home runs and a .284 average. He made the 2016 Hall of Fame ballot, getting  2.5 percent of the vote.

Edmonds then went into broadcasting, working as an analyst for Cardinals game for a decade, continuing  in 2024.

• Moline Dispatch, May 14, 1989: Young Angel had to age fast
• Pasadena Star-News, Associated Press, Sept. 10, 1993: Angels' Magrane stops Tigers
• Moline Dispatch, Orange County Register, Aug. 21, 1995: MVP momentum swings toward Edmonds
• Fort Myers News-Press, Oct. 21, 2004: Astros' bullpen pitches better...

More: The 1990 Palm Springs Angels

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,354
Made the Majors:1,402-32.2%-X
Never Made Majors:2,952-67.8%

5+ Seasons in the Majors:571-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors:352

Michael Shull played, then coached kids: Baseball Profiles

Angels farmhand Michael Shull once played as an outfielder and catcher, The Desert Sun wrote to start the 1987 season.

But he'd since been converted to pitching and he impressed his new manager at single-A Palm Springs, Bill Lachemann, The Sun wrote.

"He looked strong in spring camp," Lachemann told The Sun. "He goes out after guys."

Shull ultimately went after them over three seasons. He topped out at high-A.

Shull's career began in 1986, signed by the Angels as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech University.

Shull started with the Angels at single-A Quad City, already competing as a pitcher. He saw 35 outings, one start. He went 1-5, with a 2.53 ERA and saved three. he also saw a start at single-A Palm Springs.

He returned to Palm Springs full time for 1987. He started the year going 41 innings, while giving up just four earned runs for a 0.86 ERA. He cited work with the Angels' minor league pitching instructor and his pitching coach for his run, The Sun wrote. 

Shull finished the year with 28 relief outings, seven saves and a 2.06 ERA.

But then Shull isn't recorded as playing in either 1988 or 1989. He returned to the field for 1990, back at high-A Palm Springs. Shull saw 15 outings, three starts. He went 0-6, with a 6.99 ERA to end his career.

Shull soon returned home to Texas, worked in accounting and coached kids. He coached a local San Antonio team to the Little League World Series in 2009.

He passed away in July 2020 after a battle with COVID-19. 

"His two favorite mottos were: 'Kill them with kindness.' and 'It's bad luck to be superstitious,'" his obituary read. "Mike was a strong, kind man with a big heart and an infectious smile. His quick-witted and sarcastic humor filled any room."

• Desert Sun, April 9, 1987: Lachemann picks Burcham (10-12) to open against Ports
• Desert Sun, May 30, 1987: Palm Springs Angels notes
• News4SanAntonio.com, July 10, 2020: Former McAllister Park coach Mike Shull passes away
• Obituary: Michael E. Shull

More: The 1990 Palm Springs Angels

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,353
Made the Majors:1,401-32.2%
Never Made Majors:2,952-67.8%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:570
10+ Seasons in the Minors:352

Masahiro Kuboto knew acupuncture: 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, according to his card back. 

He actually graduated that March in 1990 from Acupuncture/Chiropractic College in Japan. He also had an acupuncture/massage license, his card reads.

Kuboto also got a reference in a New York Daily News article that May on Salinas, also not by name, as "a trainer who specializes in acupuncture."

That season appeared to be Kuboto's only season in the minors.

• Santa Cruz Sentinel, Associated Press, April 9, 1990: Spurs: acupuncture and dictionaries
• New York Daily News, May 21, 1990: Getting oriented with the Orient
• Philadelphia Inquirer, June 24, 1990: One baseball team, two cultures

More: The 1990 Salinas Spurs

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,352
Made the Majors:1,401-32.2%
Never Made Majors:2,951-67.8%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:570
10+ Seasons in the Minors:352

Yoshi Okamoto has had long sports career: Baseball Profiles

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 original GM departed mid-year.

By 1993, Okamoto was with the Nets, as team director of international marketing. 

To start 1996, he had the title New Jersey-based sports consultant as he worked with Team Japan, getting ready for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

"Everything's perfect so far," Okamoto told The Fort Myers News-Press in February 1996 of early workouts there.

Okamoto joined the Twins as director of Pacific Rim Baseball operations by 2003. He commented to The News-Press that March on new Yankee Hideki Matsui and how powerful Matsui might be for fans.

"If he hits 30 homers it will be great," Okamoto told The News-Press.

He then became a part-owner of a minor league team himself, the Tri-City Dust Devils.

• Fort Myers News-Press, Feb. 19, 1996: Japanese team in town for tuneup
• Fort Myers News-Press, March 8, 2003: Matsui
• JoeFavorito.com, Dec. 28, 2015: Sports Business, Japanese American Style, Catching Up With Yoshi Okamoto

More: The 1990 Salinas Spurs

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,351
Made the Majors:1,401-32.2%
Never Made Majors:2,950-67.8%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:570
10+ Seasons in the Minors:352