Gary Christopherson showed maturity early, saw 3 seasons
Ocean View high schooler Eric Christopherson had a big run in 1987, enough so to be named The Los Angeles Times' Player of the Week that March.
He hit .538, had 14 RBI and the catcher had thrown out 10 of 13 runners who'd tried to steal on him, The Times wrote.
"He has a maturity factor that looks beyond his own stats and averages," Christopherson's coach Bill Gibbons told The Times. "He thinks of the team first. He's reached that level where he understands what's really important. That takes a special kind of kid. But he worked very hard. It wasn't magic."
Christopherson eventually worked hard enough to play in college and make the pros. His pro career lasted three seasons. He made high-A.
Christopherson's career began in 1990, signed by the Astros of Golden West College in California. The Astros had taken him in the 75th round of the previous year's draft.
At Golden West, Christopherson hit .386, with 10 home runs and 51 RBI in spring 1990 as he earned all-conference honors.
He started with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League, as an infielder. He got into 53 games and hit .273.
Christopherson then played 1991 between single-A Asheville and single-A Burlington. He got into 106 games total and hit .241.
For 1992, he moved to high-A Osceola. He got into 40 games there and hit .196 to end his career.
Made the Majors:1,431-31.8%
Never Made Majors:3,073-68.2%-X
