John Marchese proved versatile in college; Saw three pro seasons as reliever, made single-A

-


Grand Canyon University's John Marchese gave his team some options in 1987, his head coach Gil Stafford told The Arizona Republic that February.

Stafford spoke to The Republic after the designated hitter Marchese hit a grand slam in a Grand Canyon win. But the team had other uses for him, too.

"He proved he could come off the bench, after not playing a whole lot, and hit the ball," Stafford told The Republic. "He's going to pitch some in relief for us and he's going to start some games in the outfield."

Marchese's work eventually caught the eye of scouts, especially his relief work. Marchese went on to a pro career that lasted three seasons. He topped out at single-A.

Marchese's career began in 1988, taken by the Angels in the 29th round of the draft out of Grand Canyon University.

Marchese started with the Angels at short-season Bend, and he started as a reliever. He went 2-2 over 32 relief outings, with a 1.29 ERA. He also recorded 16 saves.

He moved to single-A Quad City for 1989. He went 2-3 there, with a 1.82 ERA and six saves. He pitched two innings of relief in June and struck out four. His fifth save came in August, a three-inning scoreless effort.

Marchese returned to Quad City for 1990. To start that year, his manager Don Long assessed his bullpen, including Marchese, to The Moline Dispatch. 

"We have experienced relievers in Bruce Vagely and John Marchese ... As soon as we get accustomed to facing Midwest League batters on a daily basis we should be fine," Long told The Dispatch.

Marchese saw 35 outings and recorded a 3-1 record, 12 saves and a 1.98 ERA. That season, though, proved his last as a pro.


1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,022
Made the Majors:1,338-33.3%
Never Made Majors:2,6834-66.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:547
10+ Seasons in the Minors:331

Browse By:

-Player Name
-Player Team
-Date Featured

Players A to Z

Popular posts from this blog

Scott Black got degree, drafted, played single season

-
Image
University of Missouri product Scott Black waited deep into the 1990 draft to be taken, but he was taken, The Columbia Daily Tribune wrote , a wait he described the wait as tying his stomach in knots. Having been taken, though, the right-hander also expressed satisfaction that he'd made it through another wait, the one to get his degree, The Daily Tribune wrote . "It's kind of sweet that I was able to get a degree and be able to sign at the same time," Black told The Daily Tribune after his selection. "If baseball doesn't work out as a career, I'll have something to fall back on." As it soon turned out, his baseball career did not work out. He played that single season . He topped out at high-A. Black's career began and ended that year in 1990, taken by the Astros in the 36th round of the draft out of Missouri. At Missouri, he struck out four in 2.2 innings of relief work to pick up a win as a freshman in May 1987. With the Astros, Black play...
Read more

Lance Smith caught, but liked hitting best, saw 3 seasons

-
Image
Lance Smith played at both catcher and designated hitter for single-A Asheville in 1991, The Asheville Citizen-Times wrote . He liked them both, but he liked hitting the best, he told The Citizen-Times wrote that August. "My favorite part of the game is hitting," Smith told The Citizen-Times then. "When I'm not catching, I love playing DH. Being there gives me a chance to hit." Smith ultimately had chances to hit in the minors over three seasons . He even got some chances to pitch. He topped out at single-A. Smith's career began in 1990, taken by the Astros in the 32nd round of the draft out of McNeese State University in Louisiana. Smith started with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League and at short-season Auburn. He saw 39 games and hit .280. He then played 1991 largely at Asheville . He got into 107 games overall and hit .279, with four home runs.  For 1992, he played at single-A Burlington. While he continued to catch, he also got eight looks...
Read more

A to Z: 1990 Minor League Players, Baseball Profiles

-
Image
What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here alphabetically.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added Dec. 1, 2024 List of 1990 minor league players featured, in alphabetical order: Total: 4,457 A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z A  -  Bill Abare  got big hit at Dunedin, saw three pro seasons , 10/31/13  -  Glenn Abbott  saw bigs over decade, later turned coach , 7/27/14  -  Kurt Abbott 's first ML hit went for homer, saw 9 seasons , 3/22/15  -  Kyle Abbott  saw time in four major league seasons, Japan , 10/4/17  -  Paul Abbott  returned from injuries, made 11 ML seasons , 5/23/11...
Read more

Features from the 1990 minor league sets (By Date)

-
Image
What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here by the date published, newest first.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added Dec. 1 ,  2024 Features in order of when the y appeared: February 2025  -  Doug Bair  did his job in major leagues over 15 seasons , 2/23/25  -  Nick Belmonte  played, managed, broadcast Florida games , 2/22/25  -  Mark Brewer  amassed coaching experience over long career , 2/21/25  -  Dan Shwam  had long independent league managerial career , 2/15/25  -  Jim Schifman  dreamed of pros, made it for eight games , 2/11/25  -  Steve Keighley  worked to hit over 4 seasons, made high-A , 2/9/25  -  Jim Doyle  helped Sal...
Read more

Aaron Holbert made majors twice, nine seasons apart

-
Image
Young shortstop Aaron Holbert started his pro career in June 1990 as a first-round draft pick of the Cardinals. Taken primarily for his defensive capabilities, his high school coach Bill Powell then assessed his abilities to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch . "There's no way you can say Aaron is a 'can't miss' for the big leagues, because I've seen a lot of can't miss players that do miss," Powell told The Post-Dispatch . "But I'd be really surprised if Aaron didn't make it." Holbert did make it to the majors, just not the way most had envisioned. Holbert made it twice, for a single game in 1996 and then for 22 more nearly a decade after that . In all, Holbert would play professionally for 17 seasons and make the majors for 23 total games. Holbert's career began that year in 1990,  taken by the Cardinals  18th overall out of Jordan High School in California. His brother Ray Holbert also played professionally. Holbert started with t...
Read more

Road Trip - Pittsfield Colonials With the Folks

-
Image
My parents were in town a couple weeks ago and I always have to take them to a baseball game. I know this is father's day, but dad's never been the one into baseball. The baseball one's been my mom. She's been a Cubs fan as long as I've been a Cubs fan. And she watches the games whenever they're on. And for her, they're on almost all the time. For me, out here in Upstate NY, they're not, so I don't. So, anyway, we always try and take mom to a game. I had designs on going to Newark, to see the Newark Bears and CMC man Willie Banks. Nick over at Baseball Happenings alerted me that he's still playing. Banks is the only set member who I know is confirmed still playing . But that will have to wait. Banks, it seems, gets in games infrequently and it's difficult timing it right. So we settled on the new Can-Am League team in Pittsfield, Mass. The Pittsfield Colonials are the old American Defenders of New Hampshire. You might recall them as the team...
Read more

Len Brutcher played pro baseball, then college basketball

-
Image
His baseball career over, Len Brutcher tried something new in 1994. The former White Sox second-round pick returned to college and played basketball for Victor Valley College, according to the San Bernardino County Sun . "I don't think many people get the chance I've had," Brutcher told The Sun . "When guys get out of baseball, they're usually too old to go to basketball and if they get out of basketball, they're usually too old for baseball. I'm lucky." Brutcher returned to college after his five season pro baseball career. Brutcher never made AA . Brutcher's baseball career began in 1988, taken by the White Sox 40th overall out of Cicero-North Syracuse High School . Brutcher was also credited as Lenny Brutcher. In high school, Brutcher won the Gatorade New York State Player of the Year award for 1987-1988. Brutcher started with the White Sox in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He went 9-1, with a 2.55 ERA over 14 outings,...
Read more