Oak Forest High fell short of its second-straight title in June 1986 and, with the loss, came the prospect of losing seniors like Tim Buhe, The Southtown Star wrote.
Oak Forest head coach Andy Scianna would miss all his seniors, but he singled out Buhe for special note, The Star wrote.
"Tim Buhe. He's underrated. How about that?" Scianna told The Star. "He's great and he's underrated. By far he's the best athlete I ever coached. Keep an eye on that guy, he's gonna be a pro."
Scianna ended up being correct. Three years later, after time spent at Northwestern, Buhe did turn pro. His pro career, however, proved limited. He saw two seasons and topped out at single-A.
Buhe's career began that year in 1989, taken by the Mets in the 20th round of the draft out of Northwestern.
At Oak Forest, Buhe hit .500 during the team's 1985 title run. The team also won 36 straight, The Chicago Tribune wrote. In March 1986, Buhe looked forward to the team's title defense.
"It's going to be more exciting this year because teams are gunning at us," Buhe told The Tribune then. "We get a little more fired up that way."
After his stint at Northwestern, Buhe started with the Mets at rookie Kingsport. He got into 57 games and hit .236.
He then moved to single-A Columbia and short-season Pittsfield for 1990. He got into eight games at Columbia and went 5 for 13.
Buhe ended up at Pittsfield by late June, where he found himself at the start of a brawl, and under the pile where he reported he got bit, The Berkshire Eagle wrote.
Then, in August, Buhe hit the game-winning double, one of three hits on the night, and turned in three good defensive plays, The Eagle wrote.
"I was just trying to put the bat on the ball and get (the runner) over to second base so someone else could drive him in," Buhe told The Eagle. "I didn't think it was going that far."
Buhe got into 66 games for Pittsfield and hit .262. That season proved his last as a pro.
- Chicago Tribune, March 31, 1986: Oak Forest sets its dial for rerun of '85
- Southtown Star, June 8, 1986: Win or lose, Scianna the same
- Berkshire Eagle, June 25, 1990: Mets blanked before brawling to win
- Berkshire Eagle, Aug. 13, 1990: Buhe's bat, glove carry Mets past Welland 8-7
Made the Majors:1,251-34.2%
Never Made Majors:2,407-65.8%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:522
10+ Seasons in the Minors:308
More 1990 Minor Leaguers:
- Steve Buckholz drew Leyland's notice, saw 5 seasons, AA, 3/26/18
- Troy Buckley played 6 seasons, coached Long Beach State, 8/10/10
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