Spartanburg's Duncan Park, home to the 1990 Spartanburg Phillies, in 2016. (Greatest 21 Days) |
Spartanburg Phillies (31)
2 - Dana Brown turned scouting director
3 - Buzz Capra made majors, later coached
4 - Tim Churchill had college hit streak
5 - Matt Current became proud youth coach
6 - Donnie Elliott, In Shock
Donnie Elliott debuted as a starter, then played the rest of his major league time as a reliever.
7 - John Escobar, Bald Power
John Escobar used 'bald power' to help win a 1993 game. He couldn't use it to get himself to the majors.
8 - Paul Fletcher, Pretty Amazing
Paul Fletcher could hardly describe the feeling of his major league debut. He played in three major league seasons.
9 - Robert Gaddy, Breaking Ball
Robert Gaddy had early success at AA in 1993, but he couldn't build on that to get him to the majors.
10 - Darrell Goedhart, Three Pitches
Darrell Goedhart had enough pitches to extend his career to 10 seasons, not enough to make the majors.
11 - Todd Goergen, Few Fireworks
Todd Goergen saw fireworks after a late-career start. His career itself had few fireworks left.
12 - Greg Gunderson, Gameday Decision
Greg Gunderson helped Mark Mulder become a top pitcher at Michigan State. He kept in touch.
13 - Tom Hardgrove, Great Approach
Tom Hardgrove won part of his collegiate league's home run record. He couldn't turn that into a long pro career.
14 - Ricky Jones, Common Dream
Ricky Jones realized his dream, played as a pro for nine seasons. He played in the majors for part of one.
15 - Chris Limbach, Best Pitch
Chris Limbach's best pitch was his curve, but it wasn't good enough to get him above AA.
16 - Antonio Linares, Couldn't Wait
Antonio Linares could handle the curve, but not men on base. He never made it out of single-A.
17 - Tom Marsh, Goose Bumps
Tom Marsh hit his first major league grand slam, then got goose bumps listening to the replay.
18 - Eduardo Ortega, Good Month
Eduardo Ortega had a good month in 1989 at Batavia, but he couldn't translate that into a good career.
19 - Eulogio Perez, Scored Easily
Eulogio Perez scored easily on a 1990 misplayed ball. His career wasn't as easy. It lasted just three seasons.
20 - Mel Roberts, Got There
Mel Roberts finally made the majors in 1992 with the Phillies as a coach, after three decades in the game.
21 - Nick Santa Cruz, Sophomore Season
Nick Santa Cruz' college season was enough to get him a pro contract. But he never saw the majors.
22 - Dan Shannon, Pitching Career
Dan Shannon tried his hand at pitching. It went about as well as his fielding. He never made the majors.
23 - Matt Stevens, Some Excitement
Matt Stevens joked that he wanted excitement in the game. He couldn't get enough to get to the majors.
24 - Craig Strobel, Athletic Training
Craig Strobel took care of injuries and helped prevent them.
25 - Mike Sullivan, Lesson Learned
Mike Sullivan learned his lesson in his second pro season. He couldn't take that lesson to the majors.
26 - Joe Urbon, Straight Shooter
Agent Joe Urbon earned the respect of one GM, and also clients. His own playing career was brief.
27 - Gil Valencia, His Shot
Gil Valencia wanted to take his shot. He took it, but he never made the majors.
28 - Dan Welch, Doubled Off
Dan Welch's career was a short one, just two seasons in the Phillies organization. He never got above single-A.
29 - Bob Wells, Best Impression: Bob Wells did his best Randy Johnson impression in 1996 - he threw a complete-game shutout.
30 - Scott Wiegandt, Enjoy Most
Scott Wiegandt played at the same school where he now serves as athletic director. He played a decade in the minors, never made the bigs.
31 - Rick Zolzer worked in minors baseball
Great series of posts. Thanks for putting all this together!
ReplyDelete