Kenosha Twin John Gumpf came up with the bases loaded in this May 1991 game and he promptly hit a grand slam, The Kenosha News wrote.
Gumpf's big hit came off a letter-high fastball, The News wrote.
"I'm always looking (for the fastball)," Gumpf told The News afterward. "In the first three games they challenged our hitters. I was thinking fastballs."
Gumpf hit that grand slam in his third season as a pro. He went on to see just one more. He topped out at high-A.
Gumpf's career began in 1989, taken by the Twins in the second round of the draft out of Riverside Polytechnic High in California.
Gumpf started with the Twins in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He saw 48 games and hit 204. He moved to rookie Elizabethton for 1990. He hit .236 there, in 51 games.
He arrived at Kenosha for 1991. In 114 games, he hit .208. That August, a foul ball off his bat struck a fan, knocking out six of the fan's teeth and causing other injuries, The Wisconsin State Journal. The fan just wanted an autographed ball from Gumpf.
"He's a really nice guy," the fan told The Journal. "Some day maybe I'll see him in the major leagues."
Gumpf then played 1992 at high-A Fort Myers. He saw 78 games and hit .247. That season proved his last as a pro.
Gumpf went on to settle in the South Bend, Ind., area, and become a coach. He volunteered for Notre Dame baseball and softball teams. He also served for 14 seasons as head coach at Saint Joseph's High School. He also served as assistant athletic director at the school. He retired as baseball coach there in 2020.
- Kenosha News, May 31, 1991: Gumpf is grand, slams Muskies
- Wisconsin State Journal, Aug. 7, 1991: Muskies fan has good reason to take cover
Made the Majors:1,415-32.2
Never Made Majors:2,976-67.8%-X
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