New Mets minor leaguer Robert Person pitched well in a late spring 1994 game and his expected pitching coach at AA Binghamton Randy Niemann took notice, The Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin wrote.
"Outstanding. He has a live, loose arm," Niemann told The Press and Sun-Bulletin. "He kept the ball down in the strike zone. It's important to be able to pitch inside aggressively, and he did that right away. He looks like he knows what he's doing."
Person went on to make Queens the next September. He then saw the bigs over nine total seasons. Twice, he won 10 or more games.
Person's career began in 1989, taken by the Indians in the 25th round of the draft out of Seminole State College in Florida.
Person started with the Indians at rookie Burlington. He made high-A Kinston in 1990 and into 1991. He then moved to the White Sox for the rest of 1991 and all of 1992, then the Marlins and high-A High Desert for 1993.
He made AA Binghamton with the Mets for 1994, then AAA Norfolk and Queens in 1995. He saw three outings, one start with the Mets in 1995. He gave up one earned in 12 innings of work.
Person returned to the Mets for 1996 and went 4-5, with a 4.52 ERA in 27 outings, 13 starts. He returned from a bad late-June start to impress in his next s he threw seven scoreless, The New York Times wrote.
"I thought he was very relaxed and confident," Mets Manager Dallas Green told The Times. "You can't say enough about him."
He moved to the Blue Jays for 1997, then to the Phillies early in 1999. He went 10-7 with the Phillies that year, with a 4.27 ERA in 31 outings, 22 starts.
Person went 9-7 there in 2000, then 15-7 in 33 starts in 2001. That May, he threw a two-hitter against Houston.
"Yeah, this was my best game," Person told reporters after that two-hitter, according to The Washington Post. "I had one other shutout, but you really have to keep the ball down and hit your spots. They have a dangerous lineup."
Person stayed with the Phillies through 2002. He then saw seven final outings with the Red Sox in 2003.
Person returned for a brief stint in 2005 with the White Sox at AAA Charlotte and at independent Bridgeport.
- Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin, April 2, 1994: Pitcher traded to Mets, makes name for himself
- New York Times, July 5, 1996: Person Redeems Himself In Montreal
- Washington Post, May 8, 2001: Phillies' Person Is the Main Man
Made the Majors:1,329-33.3%-X
Never Made Majors:2,664-66.7%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:544-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors:329
He attended the Seminole in Oklahoma, not Florida. I always saw one source saying he was at SIU Edwardsville for some amount of time. Couldn't corroborate it though.
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