Check out the revisited Darrin Reichle feature: Darrin Reichle, Rare Breed, 5/24/11Darrin Reichle left college after his junior year, signing with the Padres. It was a decision that didn't come soon enough for San Diego. For his college coach, however, it was one that came too early, according to a 1988 article in the Orlando Sentinel.
''When he signed, I said he wasn't ready," Reichle's college coach Mike Marshall told The Sentinel. Marshall, the former relief man, argued Reichle would have been a first-rounder and had a clearer path to the majors, had he stayed.
''Because he didn't get that extra year, it will take him longer to reach the majors, and he won't have as much money to show for it. Don't take that as being negative, though. He's still going to make it.''
Reichle had just pitched two complete games in the single-A South Atlantic League without giving up a hit. It was a stat that Reichle's major league resume would repeat: He gave up no hits, an easy stat to accomplish since he never made it above AA.After going pro, taken by the Padres in the fourth round, Reichle started off well at short-season A Spokane, posting a 2.96 ERA. But that ERA ballooned in a brief promotion to high-A Reno to 13.86 in three starts.
That move contributed to the slow approach from the Padres, according to The Sentinel. The Padres farm director also argued that Reichle's time with Marshall at Saint Leo College in Florida almost ruined him, giving him a tired arm.
The next year, 1988, came the two no hitters with the Charleston (SC) Rainbows, one pitched May 14, the other before the month ended, May 30. In 1990, however, Reichle was still in A-ball, at Riverside. He made the Padres 40-man roster and participated in another no-hitter, according to Baseball Reference's Bullpen.
But Reichle only made it as high as AA Wichita in 1991, starting 14 games and posting a 5.02 ERA. Reichle returned in 1995 for a try at the majors as a replacement Brewer.
The strike ending, Reichele showed he still had some stuff left in the independent Prairie League, going 14-0 with a 2.78 ERA, before hanging it up.
- Read the June 1988 Orlando Sentinel article: Padres Taking it Easy with Oviedo's Reichle
Cards Reviewed: 70/880 - 8.0%
Made the Majors: 41 - 59%
Never Made the Majors: 29 - 41%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 16
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 21
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