Sean Krokroskia, Top Competitor - 3

Sean Krokroskia earned his manager Mike Bubalo's confidence early in the 1990 season and Krokroskia proved in one July game that trust to be well-placed, according to The Bend Bulletin.

Krokroskia knocked a late, tie-breaking, rally-starting single, when a more traditional approach might have been called for, The Bulletin wrote.

"We could have bunted, moved the runners over," Bubalo told The Bulletin. "But not with Krokroskia. Kro's one of our best competitors. We want him to swing the bat."

Bubalo trusted Krokroskia to swing the bat, Krokroskia's second season as a pro. Krokroskia's competitiveness, however, couldn't get him a third season. He played in just those two campaigns. He never made single-A.

Krokroskia's career began in 1989, taken by the Athletics in the 48th round of the draft out of Southwestern Oklahoma University. He went to Johnson County Community College before Southwestern.

Krokroskia knocked in 45 runs in 1986 to lead his Johnson County team. He also accumulated 65 hits and 15 doubles. He won all-conference honors in 1987 and team MVP in both 1986 and 1987.

With Oakland in 1989, Krokroskia played in the rookie Arizona League. He hit .269 in 49 games. He also stole 7 and knocked in 21. He moved to short-season Bend in 1990. He got into 37 games there and hit .248, to end his brief career.

Krokroskia soon found himself back at school. He served as an assistant coach Pittsburg State University in Kansas over five seasons. He later entered the high school ranks as a softball coach at Fort Scott High School in Kansas and coaches softball with Prime Time Hitting.

In March 2016, he saw his Fort Scott softball players take two big wins by scoring just four runs, Krokroskia's first as head coach, according to The Fort Scott Tribune.

"I wish we would have got a lot more hits than what we got," Krokroskia told The Tribune. "I'm a big offensive guy and like to score a lot of runs. Our defense was rock solid and our pitching was great. We gave up one run in 15 innings, so I'm excited about that."

• Bend Bulletin, July 9, 1990: Bucks square series with 6-4 victory over Athletics
• Fort Scott Tribune, March 30, 2016: Tigers allow one run in winning tourney

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured: 2,859
Made the Majors:1,071-37.5%
Never Made Majors:1,788-62.5%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 444
10+ Seasons in the Minors:267