Red Sox minor leaguer Nate Minchey thought his 1993 season was over at the close of the minors campaign. Instead, days later, he got his call to Boston and made his major league debut, The Associated Press wrote.
"I just pulled into my driveway when the call came," Minchey told The AP after his debut. "As a matter of fact, I didn't pick up a baseball until the other day when I got here."
Minchey ended up seeing five starts for the Red Sox down the stretch. He went 1-2, with a 3.55 ERA. He then saw brief time in three more seasons - and then extensive time in Japan - as he pitched over 18 total pro campaigns.
Minchey's career began in 1987, taken by the Expos in the second round of the draft out of Pflugerville High School in Texas.
Minchey started with the Expos in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He moved to single-A Rockford for 1989, then to the Braves and single-A Burlington mid-1989 in a trade.
He made AA Greenville in 1992, then moved to the Red Sox in another trade and finished out at AAA Pawtucket. He played all of 1993 at Pawtucket - and September in Boston.
In May 1993, Minchey spoke to The Scranton Times Leader about the kind of pitcher he saw himself as.
"I am a flamethrower like Randy Johnson," the 6'8" Minchey told The Times Leader then of another tall pitcher. "I don't intimidate hitters. Working hitters in and out, that's what I do best."
Minchey returned for six more outings, five starts, with the Red Sox in 1994, then two outings each in 1996 with the Red Sox and with the Rockies in 1997 to round out his big league career.
Minchey then moved to Japan. From 1998 to 2000, he played with Hiroshima. He went 15-11 his first year there, with a 2.75 ERA.
He threw a shutout in a July 1998 game. He also made that year's All-Star game, the only U.S.-born player to do so.
Minchey moved to Chiba Lotte for 2001 and stayed there through 2004. He won 12, 15, and 14 games his first three seasons there. Overall, he won double-digit games in five of his seven seasons there. His 2004 campaign proved his last as a pro.
- Scranton Times Leader, May 28, 1993: PawSox pitcher not an intimidator
- Daily Hampshire Gazette, Associated Press, Sept. 13, 1993: Minchey, hitters combine to batter Indians
Made the Majors:1,373-33.0%-X
Never Made Majors:2,787-67.0%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:557
10+ Seasons in the Minors:340
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