Jackson reliever Pete Bauer developed a unique pitch in the minors, first in the Mets system and then continuing with the Astros, The Jackson Clarion Ledger wrote in July 1991.
The pitch, dubbed "The Freak," was described by The Clarion Ledger as a screwball changeup that usually broke down and away.
"I'll throw it any time, preferably when I'm ahead," Bauer told The Clarion-Ledger then. "Hopefully, when I got two strikes, I can make the hitter chase it."
For Bauer, though, that pitch wasn't enough. That season marked his sixth season as a pro, and also his last. He topped out at AA.
Bauer's career began in 1986, taken by the Mets in the eighth round of the draft out of the University of Minnesota. He was also credited as Peter Bauer.
At Minnesota, Bauer went six innings in a win, working out of early trouble, The St. Cloud Times wrote.
"I wasn't getting a lot on the ball early," Bauer told The Times afterward. " ... All I wanted to do was throw strikes, because with our defense, that's all you have to do."
Bauer started with the Mets at short-season Little Falls and single-A Lynchburg. He went 4-4 on the year in 29 relief appearances, with a 1.96 ERA.
He returned to Lynchburg for 1987. That May, he came on in a game and didn't give up a hit over 2.1 innings of relief, though he walked in a run, The Lynchburg News and Advance wrote.
"I got kind of lucky tonight," Bauer told The News and Advance. "I got behind a lot of the hitters. But I was able to come back for the most part, except for walking in that run."
Bauer played 1988 at single-A Columbia, then made AA Jackson with the Mets for 15 outings in 1989 before moving to the Astros and single-A Osceola.
He then split 1990 between Osceola and AA Columbus, going 4-5 on the year, with a 2.16 ERA in 58 relief outings. He also saved 13.
For 1991, he played back at AA Jackson with the Astros. He saw 46 relief outings, went 3-7, with a 3.81 ERA to end his career.
- St. Cloud Times, May 9, 1984: SCSU
- Lynchburg News and Advance, May 21, 1987: Hot L-Mets sweep double-header
- Jackson Clarion-Ledger, July 16, 1991: Gen pen wipes out Wranglers
Made the Majors:1,396-32.4%
Never Made Majors:2,918-67.2%-X
10+ Seasons in the Minors:350
More 1990 Minor Leaguers
- Bill Bates played single season as pro with Braves, 21 games, 11/21/16
- Kim Batiste brought big bat to 1993 NLCS, saw 5 ML seasons, 10/29/12
- Howard Battle played decade in minors, then ML pennant race, 1/25/17
- David Baumann stuck out bad back for win, saw 2 seasons, 5/29/20
- Al Baur made pros after last pledged tryout, saw two seasons, 6/29/13
- Danny Bautista had cannon for arm, saw 12 ML seasons, 9/18/16
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