Jay Boyce helped power his Boise Hawks to a win this night in July 1989, hitting a double and a game-winning home run in the 10th inning, The Idaho Statesman wrote.
Boyce recounted the home run to The Statesman afterward.
"He came in with a pretty good fastball, and I pulled it foul," Boyce told The Statesman. "So I kinda thought he'd throw a curve because he'd been so far out in front of the fastball. I just sat back on it and it went out."
Boyce hit that home run in his third season as a pro. He went on to see two more campaigns - all spread out over a decade. He topped out a short-season.
Boyce's career began in 1985, taken by the Twins in the 14th round of the draft out of Coon Rapids High School in Minnesota.
Upon being drafted, Boyce's coach at Coon Rapids Ken Sundstorm talked up his former player to The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, calling Boyce the best hitter he'd seen in 22 years at the school.
Boyce played his first year at rookie Elizabethton. He saw 44 games and hit .254. He then returned to Elizabethton for 1986 and saw another 44 games, but hit just .197.
That August, he spoke to The Star Tribune about life in the minors, highlighting one particular aspect.
"Bus rides," Boyce told The Star Tribune. "Right now, I'm not real big on buses."
That season, though, proved Boyce's last with the Twins. He returned to the field three seasons later, in 1989, with independent short-season Boise. He got into 63 games and hit .263.
Boyce moved to independent Erie for 1990. He got into 68 games there and hit .183. He then saw nine final games, four years later, with his home state independent Minneapolis Loons. He picked up eight hits in 31 at bats to end his career.
Boyce later spent time as an instructor.
- Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 8, 1985: Twins sign their No. 2 draft pick
- Minneapolis Star Tribune, Aug. 10, 1986: It's a rocky road to the big leagues
- Idaho Statesman, July 29, 1989: Boyce blasts Hawks past Bellingham
Made the Majors:1,385-32.6%
Never Made Majors:2,869-67.4%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:562
10+ Seasons in the Minors:347
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