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St. Paul Saint Greg D'Alexander knew baseball was a team game, even in independent ball where players didn't necessarily want to be in independent ball, he told author Stefan Fatsis for his book "Wild and Outside."
He knew players wouldn't get looked if the team around them didn't do well, Fatsis wrote.
"The only way we're going to get back with an organization is if everybody plays together and you win," D'Alexander told Fatsis. "They're not going to look at the last-place team. Even if they have some good players they're not going to get looked at if you don't win."
For D'Alexander, he never did get back with an organization, or get to one in the first place. He did, however, play six professional seasons - all for independent clubs.
D'Alexander's career began in 1990, signed by the independent high-A Miami Miracle in the seventh round of the draft, out of the University of Arkansas.
At Arkansas in May 1989, D'Alexander recovered from a rough stretch to cut down on his strikeouts and gain the top batting average in conference play, The Bryan-College Station Eagle wrote.
"I was struggling a little bit after that," D'Alexander told The Eagle. "Then I got with our hitting coach and went out a couple hours early every day to work on it. It's paid off. I've been hitting the ball pretty good since."
D'Alexander arrived with Miami in 1990. He saw 63 games and hit .218. He then returned there for 1991 and saw another 103 games. He hit .241.
In July 1991, he hit a grand slam in a Miami win, The Palm Beach Post wrote.
"It was a fastball over the inner half," D'Alexander told The Post afterward. "I was just looking for a fastball. He had to come at me with a 3-2 count. But I was kind of worried after I took the strikes."
After not playing in 1992, D'Alexander returned for 1993 at St. Paul. He saw 62 games and hit .268.
D'Alexander then returned to St. Paul for three more seasons. He played in more than 70 games each season and hit .319, .291 and .290. His 1996 campaign proved his last as a pro.
- Bryan-College Station Eagle, May 4, 1989: Hogs' D'Alexander craves SWC crown
- Palm Beach Post, July 9, 1991: Miracle route Mets; WPB Expos fall
- Wild and Outside: How a Renegade Minor League Revived the Spirit of Baseball in America's Heartland, Stefen Fatsis, 1995: Page 155
Made the Majors:1,386-32.5%
Never Made Majors:2,873-67.5%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:563
10+ Seasons in the Minors:347
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