Heath Lane, Decisions Made - 2604

With three professional seasons behind him, Heath Lane had a choice to make, he told The Stockton Record years later.

He could take an offer to play another year at high-A, or he could move on, he told The Record.

"I decided to do other things, but you do second-guess decisions like that," Lane told The Record in 1999. "There are times you wonder whether you should have pursued baseball a bit longer. But I made a decision."

Lane's decision sent him on to a career as a teacher and a coach in high school.

Lane's first career as a baseball player began in 1988, taken by the Brewers in the 16th round of the draft out of the University of Arizona.

Lane went to Arizona out of Stockton's San Joaquin Delta College and the Stockton-area's Linden High School. He pitched San Joaquin to a win in April 1986 after signing to go to Arizona.

At Arizona, Lane started the 1987 season 5-0 and the 1988 campaign 4-0, picking up a win in mid-February.

Lane started with the Brewers in 1988 at rookie Helena. He went 8-4 over 16 games, eight starts, at Helena with a 3.30 ERA. He worked into the seventh inning in a July win against Salt Lake. Lane also got a game at single-A Stockton.

Lane split his 1989 season between Stockton and single-A Beloit. In 28 outings, 17 starts, Lane went 4-10, with a 4.32 ERA. His final pro campaign came in 1990 with the Padres at high-A Riverside. He went 5-7 over 32 outings, 11 starts, with a 4.93 ERA.

Lane soon turned to teaching and coaching in his native California. In 2005, Lane moved on from a coaching job at California's Bret Harte High School to another coaching job at Sonora High School.

"It's a big loss for us," Bret Harte athletic director Cathcart told The Calaveras Enterprise after the move. "He's very knowledgeable about baseball and he's an outstanding coach. He's taken the baseball program a long way and has put in a lot of time of effort."

Lane later returned to Bret Harte, serving there as athletic director in 2013.

• Stockton Record, April 26, 1999: Crazy for the Game
• Calaveras Enterprise, Sept. 8, 2005: BH baseball coach heads to Sonora  

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 2,152
Made the Majors: 922-42.9%
Never Made Majors:1,230-57.1%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 391
10+ Seasons in the Minors:230