1990 New York Mets minor leaguers

Features on each player in the 1990 New York Mets farm system

Complete:

• AAA - Tidewater Tides (30)
• AA - Jackson Mets (28)
• High-A - St. Lucie Mets (32)
• Single-A - Columbia Mets (29)
• Short-Season - Pittsfield Mets (36)
• Rookie - Kingsport Mets (28)

1990 Tidewater Tides (30)
1 - Shawn Barton, Lifelong Dream
Shawn Barton finally made the majors. He later made it his mission to stay.
2 - Tim Bogar, Never Noticed
Tim Bogar saw himself as the guy who was never noticed, but was still needed.
3 - Kevin D. Brown, Good Poise
Kevin Brown seemed to have good poise. He used it in parts of three major league seasons.
4 - Rocky Childress, Back to Bend
Rocky Childress wanted another shot at the majors for 1992, after four previous seasons in bigs.
5 - John Cumberland, Comfortable Night
John Cumberland was comfortable pitching in six major league seasons. He later had a long career as a coach.
6 - Mike DeButch, Didn't Complain
Mike DeButch didn't complain with an extended AAA stay. He just didn't make the bigs.
7 - Alex Diaz, Type of Game
Carlos Diaz was itching to start after college. He made the majors for nine games.
8 - Jeff Gardner, Every Day
Jeff Gardner's major league debut was as good as they said it would be. He played in major league seasons.
9 - Brian Givens, Talked About
Brian Givens eventually made the majors - in his 12th season of pro ball.
10 - Denny Gonzalez, Didn't Expect
Denny Gonzalez got intentionally walked in his major league debut. He played in five seasons.
11 - Manny Hernandez, Few Minutes: Manny Hernandez was happy to be in the majors. He'd waited a while to get there.
12 - Keith Hughes, Some Enthusiasm
Keith Hughes got his first major league hit in 1987, it led to a Phillies win. He played in four major league seasons.

13 - Jeff Innis, Regular Basis
Jeff Innis played seven major league seasons, all with the Mets. He tried to get an eighth with a knuckleball, but it didn't work.
14 - Chris Jelic, All Worthwhile
Chris Jelic made the Mets in 1990. He got his first league hit, a home run. It also turned out to be his last major league hit.
15 - Scott Lawrenson, Saved a Life
Scott Lawrenson worked his way up from rookie ball to the majors, as a trainer.
16 - Dave Liddell, Well Above
Dave Liddell singled in his first major league at bat and in his last. They were the same hit.
17 - Cesar Mejia, Wasn't Nervous
Cesar Mejia got a no-hitter at AA in 1988, but he never got chance to play in the majors.
18 - Orlando Mercado, Grand Slam
Orlando Mercado's first major league hit was a home run - a grand slam.
19 - Rich Miller, Ins and Outs
Rich Miller knows what it's like being in the minors. He's been there for three decades.
20 - Scott Nielsen, Can Pitch
Scott Nielsen proved he could pitch. He did so in the majors in four seasons.
21 - Dale Plummer, Close Calls
Dale Plummer had a close call with the majors, and scary close call with cancer.
22 - Darren Reed, Resulting Injury
Darren Reed to make the majors after his 1991 spring trade to the Expos. He was soon out for the year with an injury.
23 - Roger Samuels, Getting an Opportunity
Roger Samuels knew it was a matter of getting opportunities. He got major league ones in two seasons.
24 - Zoilo Sanchez, Two Homers
Zoilo Sanchez hit 15 home runs one year. He made it to AAA, but never made the majors.
25 - Ray Soff, Long Wait
Ray Soff waited since he was 7 for his first major league win. He got it in 1986.
26 - Steve Swisher, Work and Success
Steve Swisher knew players had to work to be successful. He taught that to players, and his son.
27 - Lou Thornton, Stuck Around
Lou Thornton played parts of five major league seasons. He then came back to try for one more.
28 - Kelvin Torve, Sure Situations: Kelvin Torve's first major league at bat came with a chance to win the game against a Hall of Famer. He struck out.
29 - Dave Trautwein, Brick Wall
When Dave Trautwein had no one to throw to, he threw at a brick wall. He played six seasons, never made the majors.
30 - Julio Valera, Dastardly Dip
Julio Valera was nervous in his Angels debut. He came from the Mets and later played for the Royals.

Jackson Mets (28)

1.  Bob Apodaca, Same Message, 8/9/19
2.  Kevin Baez, Showed Guts, 6/26/19
3.  Terry Bross, His Mark, 7/24/19
4.  Chuck Carr, Free Spirit, 6/21/19
5.  Doug Cinnella, No-Hitters, 9/27/19
6.  Steve Davis, Never Came, 7/16/19
7.  Joe Dellicarri, Other Side, 7/1/19
8.  Chris Donnels, His Shot, 9/16/19
9.  Rocky Elli, Too Much, 9/15/19
10.  Howie Freiling, Appreciated That, 6/6/19
11.  Ron Gideon, Another Job, 8/23/19
12.  Javier Gonzalez, Big Day, 6/26/19
13.  Rudy Hernandez, About Baseball, 6/7/19
14.  Fred Hina, Well Organized, 9/20/19
15.  Todd Hundley, Home Runs, 6/8/19
16.  Clint Hurdle, Much Time, 9/28/19
17.  Alex Jimenez, Hit Streak, 6/18/19
18.  Doug Kline, Everyone There, 6/5/19
19.  Crucito Lara, Enough Success, 6/6/19
20.  Steve Larose, Enough For, 8/20/19
21.  Terry McDaniel, Front Office, 8/29/19
22.  Mike Miller, Possible Promotion, 9/18/19
23.  Toby Nivens, Biggest Thing, 8/21/19
24.  Dave Proctor, Power Potential, 8/22/19
25.  Jaime Roseboro, Position Choice, 6/19/19
26.  Aguedo Vasquez, His Start, 8/19/19
27.  Joe Whipps, Showed It, 6/27/19
28.  Anthony Young, Better Pitcher, 9/24/19

St. Lucie Mets (32)

1. Tim Blackwell had plenty of experiences in majors, relayed them as minors manager, 11/12/21
2. Mike Brady got traded, had early success; Saw four pro seasons, made high-A, 11/14/21
3. Don Brown showed maturity, speed, leadership; Saw six pro seasons, made AA, 11/4/21
4. Kevin D. Brown showed poise, filled a majors need; Made bigs over three seasons, 11/4/21
5. Chris Butterfield believed he would get to the big leagues; Saw nine pro seasons, made AAA, 11/28/21
6. Archie Corbin had much fun in the majors over three seasons that spanned nine campaigns, 11/27/21
7. Joe Dellicarri played at Binghamton both home and away; Saw seven pro seasons, made AAA, 11/3/21
8. D.J. Dozier played football in college and in NFL, but he missed baseball; Later made bigs, too, 12/5/21
9. Dan Furmanik turned pro as he remembered lost teammates; Played over four seasons, made high-A, 11/3/21
10. Marc Goldberg won sportscasting awards over two decades in the business, got baseball card, 11/23/21
11. Kenny Graves had high hopes as pro, but teenage arm problems returned; Saw two seasons, made AAA, 11/5/21
12. Denny Harriger hoped to make the bigs someday and he did - 11 years later, 11/25/21
13. Chris Hill liked starting games, gave chance to be hero; Saw nine seasons, made AAA, 11/18/21
14. Joel Horlen had successful majors pitching career, later returned to teach as minors coach, 11/9/21
15. Steve Jacobucci briefly served as trainer in three minors systems, then turned to college, 11/2/21
16. Paul Johnson turned pitcher, then saw three pro seasons; Made high-A, 11/6/21
17. John Johnstone took his ability to adapt to time in eight major league seasons, 11/16/21
18. Jimy Kelly played six pro seasons - most before age 20; Missed bigs, got age rule named for him, 12/4/21
19. Juan Marina showed promise in rookie ball, played five pro seasons; Made single-A, 12/9/21
20. Lee May Jr. worked to make hitters better after own eight-season pro career; Made AAA, 11/13/21
21. Loy McBride saw the ball well at high-A; Played four pro seasons, made AA, 12/10/21
22. Jim Morrisette returned from injury to new position; Played over six seasons, made AA, 11/10/21
23. Steve Newton got chance to start, had success; Saw six pro seasons, made high-A, 11/7/21
24. Bob Olah made mistakes, but learned from them; Saw five pro seasons, made high-A, 11/19/21
25. Vladimir Perez followed his brothers to the pros; Played more than a decade, missed bigs, 12/7/21
26. Andy Reich showed command of emotions; Had success enough to see six seasons, made AA, 12/12/21
27. Nikco Riesgo played seven pro seasons and in spring 1995; Later wrote book on experiences, 12/1/21
28. Bryan Rogers went out and did his job over decade as pro; Made AAA, missed bigs, 12/11/21
29. Doug Saunders had a great time in the bigs; Saw 28 games there over single season, 11/4/21
30. Pete Schourek learned enough to see the majors over 11 seasons, take second in 1995 NL Cy Young, 11/15/21
31. Derrick Young did his job, played consistent baseball; Saw five seasons, made high-A, 11/21/21
32. Alan Zinter became first-rounder and made the majors - in his 14th season; Has since returned as coach, 11/20/21

Columbia Mets (29)
1 - Jay Brazeau, Minors Move, 5/5/18
2 - Bob Burton, Training Career, 6/15/18
3 - Stanton Cameron, Power Display, 5/4/18
4 - Kevin Carroll, Baseball Man, 6/28/18
5 - Alberto Castillo, Worked Hard, 7/6/18
6 - Brian Davis, Picked Up, 6/24/18
7 - Nick Davis, Relaxed Enough, 5/9/18
8 - Alberto Diaz, Table Set, 5/14/18
9 - Chris Dorn, Great Job, 6/23/18
10 - Art Emm, Pretty Well, 6/22/18
11 - Jack Fisher, Home Runs, 4/25/18
12 - Brook Fordyce, Newfound Confidence, 6/30/18
13 - James Harris, Base Hits, 7/10/18
14 - Reid Hartmann, Higher Levels, 6/20/18
15 - Tim Howard, Long Time, 6/17/18
16 - Pat Howell, Like That, 4/17/18
17 - Gregg Langbehn, Different Ballgame, 6/2/18
18 - Tim Marting, Highest Point, 4/18/18
19 - Joe McCann, Broke Out, 7/7/18
20 - Tim McClinton, Decision Made, 6/9/18
21 - Tito Navarro, Good Time, 4/30/17
22 - Jarrod Parker, His Obligation, 5/7/18
23 - Ryan Richmond, First Sport, 4/19/18
24 - Deron Sample, Hot Start, 5/2/18
25 - Bill Stein, His Role, 6/16/18
26 - Dave Telgheder, Strange Feeling, 4/21/18
27 - Mark Thomas, Mom's Assessment, 5/1/18
28 - Julian Vasquez, Good Pitches, 7/12/18
29 - Joe Vitko, Really Pleased, 7/14/18

Pittsfield Mets (35)

1. Tom Allison saw playing time as basis for career as scout; Saw five pro seasons, made AAA, 6/13/21
2. Joe Arrendondo had good at bats with Pittsfield in 1990; Saw two pro seasons, 6/15/21
3. Bill Bird helped out after high school with the Pittsfield Mets; Played baseball and hockey locally, 5/14/21
4. Tim Buhe went from high school title to Northwestern and pros; Saw two pro seasons, made single-A, 5/25/21
5. Jeromy Burnitz drew comparisons to Maris; Saw bigs over 14 seasons, 5/7/21
6. Alberto Castillo tried to work hard, improve; Did so enough to see 12 ML campaigns, 5/6/21
7. Juan Castillo made the bigs for two games; Worked to make it back, but didn't return, 5/27/21
8. Nick Davis relaxed and picked up run-scoring hit; Saw four pro seasons, made single-A, 5/5/21
9. Todd Douma went to new college, showed what he could do; Saw four seasons, made AAA, 5/10/21
10. Brian Dunn became 'hitting star' in August 1990 game; Saw three pro seasons, made high-A, 5/20/21
11. Jim Eschen tried to move up himself as a player, later worked to help others as minors manager, 6/3/21
12. Andy Fidler impressed in high school, then turned pro; Saw four seasons, made single-A, 5/9/21
13. Mike Freitas took baseball seriously in high school; Went on to nine-season pro career, made AAA, 6/14/21
14. Billy Gardner Jr. followed his father into long coaching, managing career; Played briefly, 6/6/21
15. Robbi Guzik started as an outfielder, then asked to pitch; Saw six pro seasons, made AA, 6/11/21
16. Joe Hawkins spent years as a trainer in the minors, then turned to high school, 5/28/21
17. Jason King anchored his college infield; Played four pro seasons, briefly made AAA, 5/11/21
18. Michael Landsman aced umpire school test, got minors job; Quickly felt burned out, 6/1/21
19. A.J. Lostaglio has used his immediate judgment over more than three decades as umpire in minors, college, 5/31/21
20.  - Two New York-Penn League umpires identified (to a reasonable degree of certainty), 5/30/21
21. Tim McClinton chose the pros over college; Saw five pro seasons, made high-A, 5/4/21
22. Wallace Minnifield got the chance to turn pro in summer ball; Saw three pro seasons, 6/12/21
23. Randy Niemann worked with minors pitchers to get them to bigs; Made bigs himself as player, coach, 6/5/21
24. Jarrod Parker played as pro, then coached HS kids, mentored them as a pastor, presided over their funerals, 5/3/21
25. Jim Scheffler hoped to turn pro as infielder, instead pitched; Saw three pro seasons, 6/8/21
26. Mike Sciortino tried pitching in pros, then reverted to hitting; Saw two pro seasons, 5/16/21
27. Philip Scott was known as a prankster in high school; Got embarrassed by Morganna as pro, made single-A, 6/8/21
28. Dave Tarjick wanted to become a professional baseball player; What he became was a dad, 5/14/21
29. Mike Thomas went from small college to the majors - for one appearance; Saw seven pro seasons, 6/4/21
30. Steve Thomas played three pro seasons, then walked away; Returned eight years later to independent ball, 5/24/21
31. Eric Thornton realized in college he had pro potential; Played two pro seasons, made Pittsfield, 5/13/21
32. Ed Vazquez expressed nerves upon pro career's start; Saw three seasons, made high-A, 5/21/21
33. Wahconah Park was once described as offering pure baseball; The park and site have offered it for well over a century, 5/15/21
34. Pete Walker got hitters out in the majors; Later worked with pitchers to do the same as ML coach, 5/28/21
35. Kyle Washington was once traded for Jose Mesa; Played 11 pro seasons, made AA, 5/9/21
36. Tom Wilson threw well out of high school; Took pro opportunity to two campaigns, 5/8/21

Kingsport Mets (31)
1 - Mike Anaya, Got Back, 3/12/17
2 - Nate Benson, Two Ways, 3/16/17
3 - Rich Bristow, Pitched Well, 3/9/17
4 - Rob Carpentier, Could Play, 3/22/17
5 - Hector Carrasco, Whole Career, 3/11/17
6 - Jay Davis, Korean Longevity, 3/6/17
7 - Dottie Elsea stepped in as Kingsport team president, later became team GM, 5/8/22

8 - Tom Engle, Really Neat, 3/26/17
9 - Micah Franklin, Every Day, 3/22/17
10 - Dave Fricke, Great Success, 3/13/17
11 - Edwards Fully, Biggest Hits, 3/19/17
12 - Omar Garcia, Felt Good, 3/12/17

13 - Butch Huskey saw seven major league seasons; Wore No. 42 for Jackie Robinson, 6/5/22
14 - Marcel Johnson, Family Effort, 3/18/17

15 - Kingsport Mets Bat Boys - Jason Adams, Josh Brickey and Ben Smith, 5/30/22
16 - Aaron Ledesma, Came Through, 3/6/17
17 - Darian Lindsay, Next League, 3/7/17
18 - Reynaldo Martinez, Big Jump, 3/21/17
19 - Wayne Mathis, Chance Scout, 3/19/17
20 - Bernie Millan, Stretch Run, 3/11/17
21 - Tony Moore, His Experiences, 3/10/17
22 - Dan Norman, Important Thing, 3/17/17
23 - Nicholas Polanco, Three Names, 3/18/17
24 - Rob Rees, Very Far, 3/7/17
25 - Gil Rondon, Special Pressure, 3/27/17
26 - Mason Rudolph, Strong Arm, 3/14/17
27 - Tim Sandy, Lefty Batter, 3/8/17
28 - Jim Thrift, Long Time, 3/8/17
29 - Cap Van Rynbach, Select Group, 3/20/17
30 - Tom Wegmann, More Pumped, 3/30/17
31 - Charlie Williams, Signed Another, 3/10/17