Michael Friedland played two pro seasons, then, years later, helped coach his son's Little League team

-
The San Mateo American Little League team made it to the Northern California championship game in 2019 and helping them get there were a young Donovan Friedland and his dad, Mike Friedland, according to The San Mateo Daily Journal.

San Mateo manager Jason Gordon marveled to The Daily Journal at their luck.

"We got a package deal with a dad who is an amazing baseball instructor," Gordon told The Daily Journal of the pair. "We definitely won the lottery with that one."

Gordon marveled because Mike Friedland brought with him experience as a player in both the college ranks and the pros. His pro career lasted two seasons and ended in 1991 with single-A Rockford.

Friedland's pro career began in 1990, signed by the Expos as an undrafted free agent out of Sacramento State.

Friedland started with the Expos at short-season Jamestown. The infielder played in 66 games. He hit .226, with four home runs and 28 RBI.

His Jamestown Expos card back offered more details about Friedland, including his favorite ball player, college major and his favorite TV show. The answers: Joe DiMaggio, physical therapy and Knots Landing.

Friedland moved to single-A Rockford for 1991. He hit into an inning-ending double play in a game that April. Overall, he saw time in just 12 contests. He went 4 for 46, with two RBI to end his career.
1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured:3,181
Made the Majors:1,156-36.3%
Never Made Majors:2,025-63.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 480
10+ Seasons in the Minors:283

Browse By:

-Player Name
-Player Team
-Date Featured

Players A to Z

Popular posts from this blog

Dan Shwam had long independent league managerial career

-
Image
Dan Shwam 's Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks got a big win in this August 1993 contest, a 9-2 victory over Sioux Falls, The Sioux Falls Argus Leader wrote . Shwam assessed the victory afterward to The Argus Leader . "It is nice to in," Shwam told The Argus Leader . "It is positive when we score that many runs. The three home runs is not our style but we'll take them when we can get them." By that point, Shwam had worked at winning as a manager and coach in the minors and independent ball. He'd also worked as a scout and high school coach. He went on to manage multiple teams in independent ball up through at least the mid-2000s. Shwam's career began in Utah in 1987 , as a coach for the independent Salt Lake City Trappers . Shwam's name was also spelled Dan Schwam. While coaching with Salt Lake City, Shwam spent his off seasons coaching baseball and basketball at Salt Lake's Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School. He continued there until at least 1996...
Read more

Mark Brewer amassed coaching experience over long career

-
Image
Asheville Tourists pitching coach Mark Brewer explained to The Asheville Citizen-Times in 2016 the impact injuries and call-ups have on a staff. Every team dealt with them, Brewer told The Citizen-Times that July. "If the guy who moves up is performing on a consistent basis, then, sure, (it’s tough on the staff)," Brewer told The Citizen-Times . "You have to wait to see if the guy replacing him has the same capabilities, and if he doesn't you have to work on putting him in a situation where he can succeed more often than not." Brewer spoke with the experience of well over two decades in the game as a minor league coach , time that started in college ball and in independent work. Brewer's time in baseball actually started growing up. His father Jim Brewer played and made the majors over 17 seasons, 16 of those with the Dodgers. Mark Brewer is recorded as having been drafted by the Giants , taken in the 32nd round of the 1978 draft out of Coronado High Sch...
Read more

1990 Memphis Chicks player profiles, AA Royals

-
Image
Features on each member of the 1990 Memphis Chicks, AA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Players are as included in that year's team set. Interview (2) 1 - Pete Alborano, Constant Hustle Pete Alborano's professional career started with a home run. 2 - Brian McRae, Call Up Brian McRae thought he was better at football than baseball in high school. The Royals still took him 17th overall. Memphis Chicks (30) 1 -   Pete Alborano  hit grand slam with Eugene; Played 7 seasons 2  -  Sean Berry  made 11 ML seasons with Expos, Astros, others 3  -  Jim Campbell  made bigs for two games, had trouble in first 4  -  Scott Centala  showed he could throw in 6 seasons, AAA 5  -  Stu Cole  made majors for nine games, managed in minors 6  -  Victor Cole  relaxed, threw strikes, saw 4 majors starts 7  -  Jeff Conine  played in 17 ML seasons, became Mr. Marlin 8  -  Jeff ...
Read more

Reuben Smiley, Next Time - 2024

-
Image
Reuben Smiley finally got the notice of a scout, the scout coming out to watch him play. Smiley, though, started poorly, Smiley recalled later to The Los Angeles Times . After a pop out, a ground out and a strike out, the scout called Smiley over: Smiley just needed to keep his eye on the ball, follow through, Smiley recalled to The Times . "My next time up, I hit the second pitch for a home run," Smiley told The Times in June 1988, "and ever since then I thought I would be playing for him." Smiley did go on to play for the scout, or at least the scout's organization, the Giants. The Giants went on to think highly enough of Smiles to take him in the third round of that year's draft. But, in a pro career that spanned a decade Smiley never got to play for the Giants in San Francisco, or any other major league team. Smiley's pro career began that June, with the Giants taking him out of Los Angeles Community College. Smiley, whose name has al...
Read more

Roberto Smalls played three pro seasons, made single-A, then went to prison in Virgin Islands for murder

-
Image
Roberto Smalls got in front of the students and relayed his message of staying in school and staying away from drugs and violence, according to The Virgin Islands Daily News . Smalls spoke to the students as a former professional baseball player - a former player who is now serving life in prison for murder . "I was able to pitch a ball 95 mph and had a great future in baseball," Smalls told the students in 2012, according to The Daily News . "But at the age of 23, I traded in my Cubs uniform for this orange prison jump suit, and at 42 I still regret it. I was able to do that and show my skills to huge audiences, now I can only show off to the corrections offices and other inmates." Taken by the Cubs as their third-round selection in the 1988 draft, Smalls went on to play in three professional seasons. He is credited with his last pro time in 1990. It was less than four years later, on Jan. 9, 1994, that Smalls, back home in his native U.S. Virgin Islan...
Read more

D.L. Smith played 9 pro seasons, saw AAA in 6, missed majors

-
Image
Dale Sveum was injured in August 1991 and the Brewers needed a backup at shortstop . One of the Brewers' options, The Milwaukee Sentinel wrote , was to call up a shortstop from AAA Denver. The Sentinel pegged the likely replacement in that option as infielder D.L. Smith . "Let's see how Dale is (Tuesday)," Brewers manager Tom Trebelhorn told The Sentinel . "I'm anticipating more improvement. If not, we'll put something in motion." Sveum didn't return for two more weeks . Smith didn't return at all. He actually never got there . Smith's career began in 1984, taken by the Orioles in the sixth round of the draft. Smith played that first year at short-season Newark. He hit .240. Smith moved to single-A Hagerstown in 1985, hitting .234, then AA Charlotte in 1986. He hit .241 in 89 games with Charlotte, getting added to the Orioles off-season roster in November. By the end of the next spring, though, Smith was back to the minors ...
Read more

Mark Small, Not Enough - 2748

-
Image
Updated Nov. 1, 2013 Mark Small waited into his eighth pro season to get his taste of the majors. Once he got it, though, he wanted another, he told his hometown Seattle Times . "I always had said, 'I want to get there (majors) even if it's just for one day,'"Small told The Times . "Then you get there and you say, `Man, that's not enough.' " Small got that first taste in the form of 16 outings for the Astros in 1996. For Small, those outings would have to be enough. In a career that spanned a dozen seasons , those were the only major league games Small got. Small's professional career began in 1989, taken by the Astros in the 17th round, out of Washington State University. Small also followed his older brother Jeff Small into the game, according to The Times . Jeff Small played nine seasons as a pro, but never made the bigs. With the Astros, Small started at short-season Auburn, moving to single-A Asheville for 1990. At Ashevill...
Read more