He'd been nervous all day, Rod Bolton told The South Bend Tribune, and maybe it showed on the mound as he gave up five runs, three earned, in his major league debut.
But Bolton tried not to focus on his 5.1-inning performance in his first big league game, he told The Tribune.
"There are too many negatives in this game. You can't dwell on them, you have to look for the silver lining," Bolton told The Tribune. "You can't get too high or too low. You have to stay on an even keel."
Bolton stayed on an even enough keel to eight more outings with the White Sox that year. He then saw one more season, two years later, for 17 total big league appearances.
He went on to play in a total of 12 professional campaigns, including a season spent in Japan.
Bolton's career began in 1990, taken by the White Sox in the 13th round of the draft out of the University of Kentucky. He was also credited as Rodney Bolton.
He started with the White Sox at short-season Utica. Over six starts there, he went 5-1, with a miniscule 0.41 ERA. He then earned a promotion to single-A South Bend. He then started off 4-0 there.
"I added a change-up and every game it gets better," Bolton explained to The Tribune that August. "And my slider has been working real well against right-handers. Against left-handers, it's like a game, I'll try to keep it away, then bust it in."
He finished there 5-1, with a 1.94 ERA. He then moved to high-A Sarasota and AA Birmingham for 1991 and then AAA Vancouver for 1992. He went 11-9, wit a 2.93 ERA for Vancouver.
He then made Chicago to start 1993. He saw nine outings, eight starts. He went 2-6, with a 7.44 ERA. After a year away from the bigs, he returned for eight more outings, three starts in 1995. He went 0-2, with an 8.18 ERA.
For 1996, he moved to Japan and the Daiei Hawks, managed by Sadaharu Oh. He then spent two seasons at AAA with the Reds and one each at AAA with the Phillies and the Brewers. For 2001, he signed with independent Camden.
He looked forward to the season at Camden in May 2001, according to South Jersey News.
"The pitchers we have are very solid," Bolton told the News. "They're very aggressive and very confident. We have some guys, like myself who are finesse pitchers, but we have some guys who are going to throw hard. With the offense we have, I think you'll see us win some blowouts."
He went 8-8, with a 6.93 ERA at Camden to end his career.
- South Bend Tribune, Aug. 19, 1990: Bolton is hard on hitters
- South Bend Tribune, April 15, 1993: Bolton keeping head up
- South Jersey News, May 10, 2001: Camden's new ball team has experience
Made the Majors:1,249-34.4%-X
Never Made Majors:2,386-65.6%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:520
10+ Seasons in the Minors:307
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