Greg McCarthy had made AAA briefly two seasons earlier. But, after signing with the Mariners for 1996, the club had enough confidence in him to start him there, The Tacoma News Tribune wrote.
The confidence turned out well-placed, according to The News Tribune.
"When they started me out in AAA, I had never started out in AAA," McCarthy recalled to The News Tribune in April 1997. "Last year, I got my confidence up. It just took off from there."
By the end of August 1996 - and after a decade in the pros - it took off for McCarthy all the way to the majors.
From there, he ended up seeing time in three major league seasons, all with the Mariners. He also later stayed in the game, working in Europe.
McCarthy's career began in 1987, taken by the Phillies in the 36th round of the draft out of Bridgeport High School in Connecticut.
McCarthy started with the Phillies at short-season Utica. He went 4-1, with a 0.91 ERA over 20 relief outings.
He moved to single-A Spartanburg for 1988 and 1989, then saw high-A Clearwater for 1990. He saw 42 mostly relief outings there, with a 3.47 ERA.
After sitting out 1991 injured, McCarthy returned with the Indians at high-A Kinston. He then spent most of 1993 at AA Canton-Akron and saw 18 relief outings at AAA Charlotte in 1994. He moved through the White Sox system and AA Birmingham in 1995, then landed with the Mariners and AAA Tacoma in 1996.
He made his big league debut Aug. 28, 1996, and saw a total of 10 outings. He gave up two earned runs in 9.2 innings of work.
McCarthy started 1997 with the big club and went on to see 37 relief outings. He picked up a win and a loss and had a 5.46 ERA.
In one late-April game, he allowed both batters he faced on base. His next outing, he set down four-straight, The Associated Press wrote.
"You just have to forget about the bad day you had," McCarthy told The AP after that second outing. "If you're a big league pitcher, you don't carry that with you."
McCarthy then saw another 29 big league outings where he ended with a 5.01 ERA in 1998 to round out his big league career.
McCarthy played two more seasons at AAA, then saw three in independent ball. He last played stateside for independent New Haven County and Atlantic City in 2004.
McCarthy later landed in Europe, where he's coached in the Netherlands, Austria and the Czech Republic, and helped out in Poland.
- Spokane Spokesman-Review, Tacoma News Tribune, April 19, 1997: McCarthy a seasoned M's rookie
- Rapid City Journal, Associated Press, April 30, 1997: Mariners keep Torre from 1,000th win
Made the Majors:1,274-33.9%-X
Never Made Majors:2,489-66.1%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:524
10+ Seasons in the Minors:313-X
No comments:
Post a Comment