Steve Keighley worked to hit over 4 seasons, made high-A

-

Steve Keighley 1991 Rockford Expos baseball card

Memphis State hitter Steve Keighley had a big day at the plate in early May 1989, The Anderson Independent-Mail wrote as he hit two home runs.

Afterward, he attempted to explain to The Independent-Mail how he did it.

"I was just going up there trying to hit line drives," Keighley told The Independent-Mail. "It just so happened I got the bat on the ball and the wind got hold of them and carried them out."

Keighley went on from Memphis State to the pros. His pro career saw four seasons. He topped out at high-A.

Keighley's pro career began in 1990, signed by the independent Salt Lake City Trappers out of Memphis State.

At Salt Lake City, Keighley got into 34 games. He hit .261, with one home run. His home run came in a June contest, where he helped shepherd his team to a win from behind the plate, and critiqued the opposing team's hitters, The Salt Lake Tribune wrote.

"They swung at the ball in the dirt all night," Keighley told The Tribune. "They weren't very disciplined."

Keighley moved on to the Expos system and single-A Rockford for 1991. He got into 46 games there and hit .207. For 1992, he played at high-A West Palm Beach. In 46 games, he hit .240.

Keighley then played in one final season, 1994, with independent Newark and Zanesville in the Frontier League. He hit .340 in 35 games to end his career.

Steve Keighley 1991 Rockford Expos baseball card


1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,487
Made the Majors:1,426-31.8%
Never Made Majors:3,061-68.2%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:577
10+ Seasons in the Minors:357

Browse By:

-Player Name
-Player Team
-Date Featured

Players A to Z

Popular posts from this blog

Razor Shines didn't give up on self, made 4 ML seasons

-
Image
In his six pro season, having yet to make the majors, Montreal Expos farmhand Razor Shines not only continued playing, but he continued playing all out, The Memphis Commercial Appeal wrote . And Expos brass took notice, according to The Commercial Appeal . "Razor hasn't lost one bit of enthusiasm from the day we signed him," Expos farm director Bob Gebhard told The Commercial Appeal  that July. The Expos soon took notice enough to make him a September call-up. Eventually, Shines would see the majors over four seasons, all with Montreal . Shines' career began in 1978, taken by the Expos in the 18th round of the draft out of Louisburg College in North Carolina. Shines' given name was Anthony Shines. He got his nickname Razor at Louisburg, as a line drive of his cut the shin of a fielder, The Commercial Appeal wrote . Shines started at short-season Jamestown . He made single-A West Palm Beach in 1979, AA Memphis in 1981 and then AAA Wichita and major league Montre...
Read more

Luis Navarro helped high school no-hitter, saw 3 seasons

-
Image
The game may not have been pretty, but it still could be called a high school gem, helped along by Southwest High School's Luis Navarro , according to The Miami News . Navarro and a fellow pitcher combined on a no-hitter, in a five-inning game where Southwest won 14-4, The News wrote . The four runs were helped along by six walks and five errors. Overall at Southwest, Navarro pitched well enough to make the pros. He saw three seasons . He played all three in rookie ball. Navarro's career began in 1988, taken by the Astros in the 44th round of the draft out of Southwest Miami. At Southwest, Navarro participated in a three-hitter in a February 1988 win.  With the Astros, Navarro started in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He saw 15 relief appearances there in 1988. He went 0-2, with a 5.03 ERA.  He remained in the GCL for 1989, seeing seven outings , four starts. He again went 0-2, with a 3.16 ERA Navarro then saw one final season with the Astros in the GCL in 1990. He went 3-6...
Read more

Roberto Petagine made bigs for Dad, saw 6 seasons, Japan

-
Image
When Venezuelan-native Roberto Petagine first signed as a pro, he and his father celebrated with a unique gold Astros chain, The Jackson Clarion-Ledger wrote  in 1993.  Ten months later, Petagine's father died .  "I said, 'Baseball, go away,'" Petagine told The Clarion-Ledger of his first reaction to his father's death, "but then I said, 'No, no, I'm going to make it to the big leagues for him." Petagine did make the big leagues. He saw the majors over seven seasons spanning more than a decade. On his way up, he wore the chain he got with his dad, a chain visible on several of his cards . Petagine's career began in 1990, signed by the Astros out of his native Venezuela .  Petagine started with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He saw 55 games and hit .289. He made single-A Burlington for 1991, then high-A Osceola and AA Jackson in 1992. He made AAA Tucson and then Houston in 1994. Petagine saw eight games with the Astros ....
Read more

Raphael Lanfranco caught in 4 minors seasons with Astros

-
Image
Asheville Tourists pinch-hitter Raphael Lanfranco came on in the bottom of the eighth in this April 1991 game with a chance to tie the game, The Asheville Citizen-Times wrote . Lanfranco then came through, knocking a single to center to score a run, The Citizen-Times wrote . Lanfranco got that game-tying RBI in his third season as a pro. He went on to see time in one more. He topped out at single-A . Lanfranco's career began in 1989, signed by the Astros as a free agent out of his native Dominican Republic . Lanfranco's name was also spelled Rafael Lanfranco. Lanfranco started with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League . He saw 21 games at catcher and hit .190. He then returned for 26 games in the GCL for 1990 and hit .217, though he got hurt that August . Lanfranco played 1991 between single-A Burlington and single-A Asheville. He saw 49 games in all and hit .194.  He knocked a single in an April 1991 game for Asheville that helped Asheville to a lead. By late May, h...
Read more

A to Z: 1990 Minor League Players, Baseball Profiles

-
Image
What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here alphabetically.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added Dec. 1, 2024 List of 1990 minor league players featured, in alphabetical order: Total: 4,457 A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z A  -  Bill Abare  got big hit at Dunedin, saw three pro seasons , 10/31/13  -  Glenn Abbott  saw bigs over decade, later turned coach , 7/27/14  -  Kurt Abbott 's first ML hit went for homer, saw 9 seasons , 3/22/15  -  Kyle Abbott  saw time in four major league seasons, Japan , 10/4/17  -  Paul Abbott  returned from injuries, made 11 ML seasons , 5/23/11...
Read more

Ken Bolek taught baseball skills as manager, instructor

-
Image
Ken Bolek worked in 2012 to help kids learn the fundamentals of the game . Bolek, the longtime director of IMG Baseball Academy focused this day on kids age 10 to 12 with a summer IMG wood bat league, according to Baseball The Magazine . "Here," Bolek told Baseball The Magazine , "we focus on the technical skill, not just having players show up to the ball park and go home. A very small percentage of players are getting individual technical instruction at the youth level." Bolek has served as baseball director with IMG Academy in Florida since 1995, helping teenagers learn the game. Before that, he helped pros learn the game as a coach in the minors and in the majors. Bolek's time in baseball started before that, as a player himself, taken by the Tigers in the 24th round of the draft out of the University of Arizona . At Arizona, Bolek helped his team to the College World Series championship .  He helped get them into the championship game with a tw...
Read more

The 1990 Chicago White Sox minor leaguers

-
Image
Features on each member of the 1990 Chicago White Sox farm system Complete: AAA - Vancouver Canadians (27) AA - Birmingham Barons (30) High-A - Sarasota White Sox (31) Single-A - South Bend White Sox (32) Short-Season - Utica Blue Sox (33) Vancouver Canadians (27) 1 -  Wilson Alvarez, More Comfortable Wilson Alvarez had a bad first major league start. He went on to play in 14 major league seasons. 2 -  Rich Amaral, Plugged Away Rich Amaral kept plugging away. He eventually made the bigs and stayed for a decade. 3 -  Mike Campbell, Big Things Mike Campbell hoped for big things. He played in six major league seasons. 4 -  Pete Dalena, Almost Over The Indians needed a rally and Pete Dalena tried to start it with a double. It was his only major league hit. 5 -  Moe Drabowsky, Psychological Rewards Moe Drabowsky found great psychological rewards in coaching. 6 -  Tom Drees, Better Word Tom Drees threw three no-hitters - in one season - at AAA in 1989. He didn't ...
Read more