Rich Turrentine, Best Shot - 27

Rich Turrentine bid his teammates at single-A Greensboro goodbye in June 1992, according to The Greensboro News & Record.

The infielder's destination: The rookie Gulf Coast League and plans to make him a pitcher, The News & Record wrote.

"I'm going to give it my best shot," Turrentine told The News & Record as he left.

Turrentine had played into his fourth season that year as a middle infielder. His best shot at pitching lasted nearly a decade longer. He ultimately made AAA, but he never made the majors.

Turrentine's career began in 1989, taken by the Yankees in the 10th round of the draft out of Arkansas High School in Texarkana.

Turrentine started with the Yankees in the GCL. He hit .169 in 34 games there in 1989 and .211 in 50 games there in 1990.

He moved to Greensboro in 1991 and hit .204 in 130 games. He played the year largely at second base.

Turrentine returned to Greensboro for 59 games in 1992 before he left to become a pitcher. He saw one outing at short-season Oneonta where he gave up two runs and didn't record an out. He also saw two GCL outings.

He missed all of 1993 due to an injury, then returned to the GCL and high-A Tampa for 1994. In 16 relief outings, he posted a 6.56 ERA.

Turrentine played 1995 with the Mets at high-A St. Lucie and single-A Capital City. He went 4-4 at Capital City, with a 2.28 ERA.

He first saw AA in 1996, with six outings at Binghamton. He then played all of 1997 there and parts of 1998 and 1999. He saved 24 games in 1996, 13 in 1997 and 10 in 1998.

In May 1998, Turrentine blew a save, but received encouragement from teammate Matt Raleigh, according to The Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.

"Without a doubt, the toughest loss of the year," Raleigh told The Press & Sun-Bulletin. "It was one that just slipped away. (Turrentine) has been our man all year, he's still going to be our man. It's just part of baseball."

That same year, Turrentine got his first look at AAA, at Norfolk. He saw five outings and gave up a single run over 6.1 innings. He then saw another two outings at Norfolk in 1999.

Turrentine turned to independent ball at Lehigh Valley in 2000. He then played between independent Tyler and San Angelo in 2001 to end his career.

• Greensboro News & Record, June 23, 1992: Hornets' roster gets 2nd-half face-lift
• Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, May 19, 1998: Mets foiled by Portland's slam

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured:3,108
Made the Majors:1,136-36.6%
Never Made Majors:1,972-63.4%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 471
10+ Seasons in the Minors:282-X