The 1990 CMC set came out four years before the 1994 baseball strike. The strike would cut the 1994 season short, as well as cutting some short careers even shorter.The strike would also give some players willing to cross the picket lines the prospect of finally being major leaguers, whether the title would carry the same weight would have been another matter.
By the time he rejoined the AAA Edmonton Trappers for 1990, Timothy Burcham had already spent five seasons in the minors. He never put up stellar numbers, posting a sub 3.00 ERA only once, his first campaign with short-season Salem in 1985.
By spring 1995, Burcham had spent a decade in professional ball, never making the majors. The strike was still going strong and Burcham apparently saw his chance.
He had spent the previous season with the Mexican League's Jalisco team, posting a 9-6 record with a 2.80 ERA. He then signed on with the Giants as a replacement player.
"A lot of these guys are professional guys," Burcham told the San Francisco Chronicle after the first exhibition game that spring, March 3, 1995. "They just never had a chance to do it in the big leagues. When there's somebody (on the major-league team) in front of you, there's nowhere to go."
Burcham wouldn't get that chance. The strike ended April 2, 1995, with the replacement players never taking the field in a regular season matchup. Burcham was still sent to the Giant's AAA team in Phoenix. He played five games, pitching just over 10 innings with a ERA that topped 5.00. He held on one more year with the independent Palm Springs Suns of the Western League and that was it.
The full article from the Chronicle is here: http://sfgate.info/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1995/03/04/SP51297.DTL&hw=leaguer&sn=220&sc=287
1990 CMC Tally
Cards Reviewed: 8/880
Major Leaguers: 4
Never Made the Majors: 4
100+ Games in the Majors: 0
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 3
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