Jose Millares strove for majors over 7 seasons, made AA

The Chicago Tribune caught up with the Kane County Cougars, including Jose Millares, in August 1991 about the challenges of playing minor league baseball, and living, in a larger market.

Millares spoke to The Tribune of stretching meal money with grocery store trips. He also compared it with where he and his teammates all wanted to be, the majors.

"This makes you really appreciate what you're striving for," Millares told The Tribune then. "Ten years ago, players didn't even get this much meal money and  the pay was worse. Those players suffered, but they're there. They loved the game, and they're up there now."

For Millares, he ultimately experienced the minors over seven seasons. He never made the majors. He topped out at AA.

Millares' career began in 1990, taken by the Orioles in the 38th round of the draft out of Azusa Pacific University.

Millares started with the Orioles at rookie Bluefield. He got into 48 games and hit .273.

He moved to single-A Kane County for 1991. He hit .271 in 114 games there. That June, he hit a three-run double to give his team the lead, The South Bend Tribune wrote.

"He jammed me," Millares told The South Bend Tribune of the starter. "I got the same pitch (on the double) and I got a hold of it."

Millares played 1992 at high-A Frederick. He then first made AA Bowie for 30 games in 1993. He hit .280 there.

Millares then played all of 1994 at Bowie, as the team got settled in the unfinished Prince George's Stadium. He returned to Bowie in 1995 and a finished stadium. He compared the two experiences to The Baltimore Sun, calling it "like night and day."

"I'd like to be at (AAA) Rochester, but I am so happy to be here, too," Millares told The Sun. "I didn't want to go through Bowie without getting a taste of this finished park."

Millares hit .225 in 89 games at Bowie in 1994, then .248 in 120 games there in 1995. Millares returned to Bowie again in 1996. He saw 25 games then and .186 to end his career.

• South Bend Tribune, June 13, 1991: S.B. Sox lose Keith Strange, arguments, game to Cougars
• Chicago Tribune, Aug. 13, 1991: Cougars
• Baltimore Sun, April 13, 1995: Finished Bowie home is sweet

More: The 1990 Bluefield Orioles

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,454
Made the Majors:1,424-32.0
Never Made Majors:3,030-68.0%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:356

More 1990 Minor Leaguers:

 - Jeff Milene, Remained Upbeat, 10/11/14
 - Dave Miley, Worked Out, 12/1/12
 - Sam Militello, Good Start, 9/8/15
 - Bernie Millan, Stretch Run, 3/11/17
 - Gar Millay, Good Ballplayer, 1/13/12

 - Billy Miller broke up a double play in college; Played two pro seasons, made high-A, 4/20/22

 - Damian Miller made bigs for decade, 6/16/24
 - Darrell Miller, Doing His Job, 4/30/10
 - Dave Miller, Sinker Guy, 5/25/13
 - David Miller, Complete Game, 12/16/11

Derek Bell got help from baseball school, saw 2 seasons

Tracy High School catcher Derek Bell went with two of his teammates to Tony Gwynn's Baseball Camp in December 1987 and came back energized Tracy head coach  Steve Lopez told The Modesto Bee in May 1988.

The camp came on the eve of baseball season and Lopez saw the benefits, The Bee wrote.

"There was a physical improvement, but it also helped them mentally," Lopez told The Bee of his three players. "It got them thinking about baseball in December."

Bell eventually thought about it enough to make the pros. His pro career lasted two seasons, both spent in rookie ball.

Bell's career began in 1990, signed by the Orioles out as an undrafted free agent.

Bell started with the Orioles at rookie Bluefield. He saw 24 games and hit .222. He hit one home run, which came in a July win. He knocked in a run on a single in another July game and then scored the tying run.

Bell returned for 1991 and stayed in rookie ball, in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He hit .265 in 37 games, with 15 RBI. That season marked his last as a pro.

His playing career over, Bell soon returned home to California and went into law enforcement. The Butte County Sheriff's Office, for Opening Day 2019, noted Lt. Derek Bell and his work years earlier in the Orioles system.

• Modesto Bee, May 24, 1988: Gwynn helped Bulldogs

More: The 1990 Bluefield Orioles

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,453
Made the Majors:1,424-32.0
Never Made Majors:3,029-68.0%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:356

More 1990 Minor Leaguers:

 - Juan Belbru went on short run at Hamilton, saw four seasons, 2/19/17
 - Kevin Belcher made majors for 16 games with Rangers, 6/29/11
 - Stan Belinda saw 12 majors seasons, returned after MS, 9/22/11
 - Buddy Bell saw 18 majors seasons as player, 9 as manager, 7/8/14
 - David Bell got drafted from small college, saw 2 pro seasons, 6/3/17

 - Derek Bell saw 11 ML seasons, then ended with 'shutdown', 4/4/12

 - Derek Bell got help from baseball school, saw 2 seasons, 11/19/24
 - Eric Bell was nervous in first ML start, saw 6 ML seasons, 9/25/13

 - Juan Bell got more seasoning, then saw bigs over 7 seasons, 3/29/12
 - Mike Bell saw 2 seasons with Braves, then tried to get back, 4/10/15
 - Clay Bellinger spent decade in minors before making bigs, 11/27/11

Scott Sprick took his pro chance to high-A with Orioles

New Orioles minor leaguer Scott Sprick started strong after signing in 1990, going 12 for 29, his hometown Grand Rapids Press wrote.

Having made it to the pros, Sprick told The Press he felt more relaxed. He could just play.

"There are guys (scouts) in the stands, who are watching," Sprick told The Press early that July. "If I do good, I do good. If I do bad, I can't change it. I figure, I've gotten this far. I just go to the plate and not worry."

Sprick played that year at rookie Bluefield. He went on to make high-A Frederick the next year, but that would be as high as he would get. His career consisted of those two seasons.

Sprick's career began that year in 1990, taken by the Orioles in the 24th round of the draft out of Jacksonville State University in Alabama.

At Jacksonville State in March 1990, Sprick hit three home runs in a game, going 4 for 4, The Anniston Star wrote.

"Sprick had the best day of his career, anywhere," Jacksonville State coach Rudy Abbott told The Star afterward. "You can't swing the bat any better than  that, unless you hit four home runs."

Sprick then started with the Orioles at Bluefield. He got into 62 games and ended up hitting .241 on the year. 

That December, he told The Press he was in line to play at high-A the next year and he looked forward to playing at higher levels. 

"You only get one chance to play Major League Baseball and this is my chance," Sprick told The Press. "I worked hard to get this far. Year-in and year-out I worked out and sacrificed a lot of time in baseball. But I love playing and it's an incredible experience."

Sprick made high-A Frederick in 1991. He saw 34 games there and hit .179. He then also played at short-season Erie. He saw 73 games at Erie and hit .250. That season marked his last as a pro.

• Anniston Star, April 1, 1990: Sprick sparks Jax State sweep
• Grand Rapids Press, July 5, 1990: Big leagues beckon West Ottawa graduate
• Grand Rapids Press, Dec. 23, 1990: West Ottawa grad has all the Christmas gifts he wants

More: The 1990 Bluefield Orioles

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,452
Made the Majors:1,424-32.0
Never Made Majors:3,028-68.0%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:356

More 1990 Minor Leaguers:

 - Jerry Spradlin, Some Ability, 11/13/12
 - Ed Sprague, Strong and Healthy, 7/10/10

 - Scott Sprick took his pro chance to high-A with Orioles, 11/17/24
 - Dennis Springer, Being Different, 1/2/11
 - Steve Springer, Rather Play, 8/7/11
 - Robert Spurlock, Well Acquainted, 6/13/15

 - Al Stacey had big game for Geneva in 1989; Saw two pro seasons, 10/1/23

 - Matt Stairs thought about moving on, then made the next 15 major league seasons, 12/31/20
 - Mark Stancel, Bases Loaded, 12/26/16
 - Don Stanford saw encouragement at AA, 7/11/13

Mike Thomas saw minors with Orioles, college FB with UNC

New Orioles minor leaguer Mike Thomas took a break from his club in late July 1990 to return home - and play football, The Charlotte Observer wrote.

The two-sport star played in his last high school game, an all-star game, as he pursued his pro baseball career and readied to continue his football career at North Carolina.

"Before the draft, I put everything I wanted in black and white," Thomas explained to The Observer. "This was one of the things I wanted to do. And the Orioles have kept their promise."

Thomas continued to play both minor league baseball and college football. The two careers, however, lasted about the same time. His baseball career saw four seasons. He topped out at high-A.

Thomas' baseball career began that year in 1990, taken by the Orioles in the third-round of the draft out of Richmond County High School in North Carolina.

Thomas started with the Orioles at rookie Bluefield. He saw 24 games and hit .203. He returned to Bluefield for 1991. He saw 41 games that year and hit .225.

He stayed with Bluefield in 1991 into early August, when he was allowed to leave early to join his North Carolina football team. 

"It's a new beginning for me," Thomas told The Chapel Hill News as he prepared to join the Tar Heels and after testing issues meant he couldn't play fall 1990. "It's a great opportunity, and I'm just glad I'm getting a chance. I'll do everything I can to take advantage of it."

Thomas made four completions on seven attempts that fall at North Carolina. Then, in 1992, he again played at Bluefield, his third campaign there in a row.

The split between football and baseball, however, began to be seen by some as holding Thomas back, including his 1992 manager Mike O'Berry. 

"Mike's got the tools.  He has a good arm, good speed and good power," O'Berry told The Bristol Herald Courier late that July. "But if Mike is ever going to start making that jump in baseball he's going to have to dedicate himself to the game."

Thomas ended with a .301 average in 43 games in 1992. He then isn't recorded as playing in 1993. 

In the meantime, he quarterbacked North Carolina. He recorded 54 completions in fall 1992, with three touchdowns. He then had 20 completions and one touchdown in fall 1993. 

He returned to baseball for one more season, in 1994, with the Padres. He saw 35 games at single-A Springfield and nine at high-A Rancho Cucamonga to end his baseball career.

Thomas is then recorded as quarterbacking North Carolina in 1994 and 1995, 39 completions and eight touchdowns in 1994 and 185 completions and 10 touchdowns in 1995 to end his sports career.

• Charlotte Observer, July 25, 1990: Thomas The Focal Point As East's Quarterback
• Chapel Hill News, Aug. 4, 1991: Thomas
• Bristol Herald Courier, July 31, 1991: Mike Thomas straddles line with Orioles and Tar Heels

More: The 1990 Bluefield Orioles

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,451
Made the Majors:1,424-32.0
Never Made Majors:3,027-68.0%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:356

More 1990 Minor Leaguers:

 - Frank Thomas added power, pop over two decades in majors, 8/29/11

 - Keith Thomas chose pro baseball, saw 14 seasons, AA, 3/5/14

 - Kelvin Thomas saw 4 pro seasons, high-A with Mariners, 7/30/23
 - Mark Thomas toughed it out first year to play 5 seasons, 5/1/18

 - Mike Thomas went from small college to the majors - for one appearance; Saw seven pro seasons, 6/4/21

 - Mike Thomas saw minors with Orioles, college FB with UNC, 11/16/24
 - Mitch Thomas, Baseball History, 1/1/16
 - Orlando Thomas, Game-Winner, 5/28/17
 - Ron Thomas, Bore Down, 11/26/14
 - Royal Thomas, Some Durability, 10/31/15

John O'Donoghue wasn't drafted, but he made the majors

John O'Donoghue wasn't drafted. He was actually signed as a free agent. But he still made the majors, in 1993 with the Orioles.

After his debut, a start where he went into the seventh inning while giving up six earned, The Baltimore Sun asked if O'Donoghue had expected to make it that far.

"Apparently not a lot of people did," O'Donoghue told The Sun. "I was never one to think I would get this far. I worked hard, and it paid off."

For O'Donoghue, it paid off with 11 separate appearances for the Orioles that year, the other 10 relief outings. Those 11 outings proved the extent of his major league career.

O'Donoghue's career began in 1990, signed by the Orioles as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana State University.

O'Donoghue followed his father John O'Donoghue to the pros, and to the College World Series mound. His father also went on to the majors, seeing nine seasons.

O'Donoghue started with the Orioles at rookie Bluefield and high-A Frederick. He saw 11 outings, 7 starts between them. He went 4-3, with a 2.19 ERA.

He returned to Frederick for all of 1991, then saw AA Hagersown and AAA Rochester for 1992. He went 12-8, with a 2.62 ERA over 1992.

Then came 1993 and his debut in Baltimore. He started that year at AAA Rochester. He spoke to The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle then about his habit of taking his dad's baseball card with him in his pocket for good luck, something he started in college.

"He really stressed being determined and making people notice you," O'Donoghue told The Democrat and Chronicle then of the help he received from his dad. "His expression was 'Pitch till they can't ignore you,'" That didn't mean much when I was growing up but it really began to sink in as I got older.

After his debut, he spoke to The Democrat and Chronicle about advice he'd received from his dad - that he wouldn't notice the the major league crowd.

"Once you're there, you have a job to do," O'Donoghue told The Democrat and Chronicle. "I guess it could have been overwhelming. But I had a job to do, and I had to concentrate on that."

O'Donoghue saw 10 more relief outings for Baltimore that year. He ended with a 4.58 ERA. That season marked his only season with time in the majors.

O'Donoghue continued in the minors. He saw AAA Rochester again in 1994, then AAA Albuquerque with the Dodgers in 1995. He then split 1996 between AA Tulsa with the Rangers and AA Bowie back with the Orioles. That season marked his last as a pro.

O'Donoghue then went into law enforcement. By 2021, he'd spent 24 years with the Baton Rouge Police Department, most recently as commander of the department's special victim's unit.

• Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, April 3, 1993: He won't leave home without it
• Baltimore Sun, June 28, 1993: O'Donoghue realizes a dream, if not a win, in debut
• Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, June 30, 1993: O'Donoghue found father did know best

More: The 1990 Bluefield Orioles

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,450
Made the Majors:1,424-32.0-X
Never Made Majors:3,026-68.0%

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:356

Ihosvany Marquez played, went to prison for Medicaid fraud

After a six-season pro career that saw him only make it as high as high-A, Ihosvany Marquez moved into his post-playing career working odd jobs as a truck driver, beer salesman and cosmetics distributor, The Miami Herald wrote.

Then came a new career that would make him millions, and eventually send him to prison, a career where he submitted $55 million in false Medicare claims, then used the proceeds to buy expensive cars, jewelry and even racing horses, The Herald wrote in 2010.

"This is an absolutely massive Medicare fraud scheme, even by Miami standards," Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Stumphauzer said at Marquez' initial detention hearing, according to The Herald.

Marquez would later be sentenced to 19.5 years in federal prison, according to The Herald.

Years earlier, though, Marquez was a baseball player. His career began as he was drafted by the Orioles in the 37th round of the 1990 draft out of Miami Springs High School in Florida.

He started with the Orioles at rookie Bluefield. He went 3-3, with a 3.20 ERA in 13 outings, nine starts. He went six innings in a July game for his first win.

Marquez played 1991 in the rookie Gulf  Coast League, then 1992 between Bluefield and single-A Kane County, ending his career with the Orioles.

He then returned to the field in 1995 with the Red Sox. He saw time between short-season Utica, single-A Michigan and high-A Sarasota. He picked up a win at Michigan in a July game where he pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.

"I felt great," Marquez told The Battle Creek Enquirer after that game. "I wished I could have finished the game out but I think I did a good job."

Marquez then finished out his career in 1996, with four starts at independent Southern Minny.

He then returned home to Florida and eventually got into the Medicare fraud business in 2005, The Herald wrote, by billing for HIV and cancer therapy never provided to patients. His seven clinics received $21.6 million, which he was to repay.

"What you are," U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz told Marquez at his October 2010 sentencing, according to The Herald, "is a poster boy for a free lunch."

• Battle Creek Enquirer, Sox send Blais to Class AA
• Miami Herald, Jan. 5, 2010: Clinic owner held on fraud charges
• Miami Herald, April 13, 2010: Former pitcher: I made millions off claims, Part 2
• FBI.gov: April 13, 2010: Miami Man Pleads Guilty in $61 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
• Miami Herald, Oct. 15, 2010: Schemer is sent to prison

More: The 1990 Bluefield Orioles

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,449
Made the Majors:1,423-32.0
Never Made Majors:3,026-68.0%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:356

Robert Burguillos went from Venezuela to pros, 18 games

For a player out of Venezuela to make the major leagues, one scout in 1990 estimated that player would need about six years to make it, if that player has the talent to do so.

But, while players signed might have the talent to get their shot at the pros, like many others in the minor leagues, the talent talent isn't often there for a lengthy career.

For Robert Burguillos, a Venezuelan-born player, the latter was the case.

Burguillos turned pro out of Venezuela, but his pro career proved brief, just 18 games.

Burguillos' pro career began and ended in 1990, signed by the Orioles out of Caracas, Venezuela. Burguillos' name was also spelled Robert Burgillos.

With the Orioles, Burguillos was assigned to rookie Bluefield. He saw those 18 games and got 20 at bats. He picked up three hits for a .150 average. He also was caught stealing once. No other references to his career could be found.

But some other references to a Robert Burguillos, baseball and Venezuela could be found, though it was unclear if they were the same player. 

A Robert Burguillos appeared as a player in a 2024 Carcas softball league and a 2016 YouTube video titled simply Robert Burguillos showed a player hitting a home run.

"I always kept my mind positive, I just wanted to make a good connection and I was able to hit the longest home run in the history of this park," the YouTube video caption reads in an English translation.

• Victoria Times Colonist, Cox News Service, Aug. 22, 1990: Expos knocking, but will Cuba open the door?

More: The 1990 Bluefield Orioles

1990 Minor League Tally 

Players/Coaches Featured:4,448
Made the Majors:1,423-32.0
Never Made Majors:3,025-68.0%-X

5+ Seasons in the Majors:577

10+ Seasons in the Minors:356