Who did you see in the Minors, before they became a star?

[Eddie Collins]

I saw a young Rafeal Furcal on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
Austin Kearns for the Dayton Dragons(hopefully he will become a star)

[bluezebra]

Brad Penny, who won the OTHER two World Series games, was a member of the 1997 High Desert Mavericks' California League Championship team.

Bob

[yellowdog]

I've seen practically all the Braves who have passed through Double A Greenville in the last twenty or so years. Too many to name.

But the one team that stands out in my mind was the '92 team that won 100 games. Chipper Jones (ss) Javier Lopez (c) Ryan Klesko (1B) were all on that team that was managed by none other than Grady Little.

I also remember Brett Butler and Ron Gant (as a skinny, little light hitting second baseman) when they were at Class A Anderson.

[brewcrew82]

Eddie Collins,

See the following thread for similar details:

http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5200

:)

[philly mack]

I got to see Nomar with the Trenton Thunder.

[yellowdog]

I never saw Nomar in the minors, but I saw him several times when he was at Georgia Tech.

[shoeless joe]

Originally posted by yellowdog
I've seen practically all the Braves who have passed through Double A Greenville in the last twenty or so years. Too many to name.

But the one team that stands out in my mind was the '92 team that won 100 games. Chipper Jones (ss) Javier Lopez (c) Ryan Klesko (1B) were all on that team that was managed by none other than Grady Little.

I also remember Brett Butler and Ron Gant (as a skinny, little light hitting second baseman) when they were at Class A Anderson.
same here(im from greenville).as for visiting teams,carlos delgado,michael jordan,dave mccarty...etc.yellowdog,what do you think our chances are of getting a "downtown"stadium?

[Judway]

I saw Willie Mays play for the Trenton Giants and Brooks Robinson play for the York White Roses.

[Eddie Collins]

sorry, i didn't realize this had been done.

[brewcrew82]

There's no problem, its a good way of getting new members to be active in the thread (who's going to look back through all the threads?), I merely posted the link so you could see others responses who may not post them again.

:)

[Eddie Collins]

okay, just checking

[kjamidon]

Well not stars to everyone--but watched and got autographs from Ryan Freel (reds) and Drew Henson (yankees)--kjamidon

[Ravenlord]

players i've seen make it to the bigs: Aaron Boone, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, Wily Mo Pena, Brandon Larson, Jose Rijo (in 01), and probably more, just can't think of many right now.

[hudsonharden]

I've seen:

Sun Woo Kim
Steve Bechler
Drew Henson
Nick Markakis

[Zeth]

I've got all of you guys trumped. I have seen -- get ready for this -- Bronson Arroyo live, in person. I also have authentic autographs from the infamous JACK WILSON and TONY ALVAREZ.

Guess where I saw all these guys and win a prize.... well, not really.

[The Dude]

Got to see A-Rod play for the Appleton foxes quite a few times before they turned into the Wisconsin Timberattlers. Don't remember much from the games though.

[Iron Jaw]

Although I was born in Mizzou, I grew up in the Denver area. MLB didn't exist in Denver then, but we had the AAA Denver Bears of the American Association, then Pacific Coast League, then American Association again.

One of my favorite Bear teams was in 1968.

1b - Jim Mooring (coffee break in MLB)
2b - Ron Theobald (starting 2b, Milwaukee 1971-72)
ss - Rick Renick (UTL, Minnesota through 1968-72)
3b - Graig Nettles (Great MLB 3b for Twins, Indians, Yankees, Padres)
Of - Bob Oliver (7 MLB seasons as a starter - 27 HR for KC 1970)
Of - Jay Ward (Career minor leaguer with MLB coffee break)
Of - Pat Kelly (15 year MLB player with Twins, Royals, White Sox, Orioles, and Indians. Starter and platoon player. .264 average. Brother of Cleveland Brown great, LeRoy Kelly).
c - George Mitterwald (decent MLB catcher, primarily with Twins and Cubs)

Utl - Jackie Hernandez (9 MLB seasons, one as a starter and a few as a platooner, with Cal, Minn, KC, Pgh)
Utl - Jim Glover
of - Joe Solomine
c - Tom Tischinski (three seasons as backup catcher in Minnesota)
of - Danny Napoleon (two seasons with the Mets)
of - Joe Gaines (7 seasons in majors - one as a starter, 1964 Houston)

P - Jerry Crider (ace of Bears, 3-seasons in MLB)
p - Danny Morris (coffee break in majors)
P - Tom Hall (ace reliever and spot starter for Twins, Reds and Mets and KC. Played 11 seasons, 52-33 record)
p - Art Fowler (9 MLB seasons, his first three were as a starting pitcher for Cincy, 1954-56. At 46 years old, he was the ace Denver Bear reliever)
p - Bob "Radar" Radovich - (reliever, only a coffee break in MLB)
p - Bill Whitby (coffee break in 68' with Twins)
p - Jim Ollum (expected to be top MLB pitcher. Won 20 for Denver in 1966. Developed sore arm, never recovered).


And of course, the manager was Billy Martin, who replaced Johnny Goryl after the 35th game of the season. When Martin replaced Goryl, the Bear record was 7-28. Denver finished the season at 75-73.

[GeorgeSteinbrenner]

Ricky Weeks, BJ Upton, Hanley Ramirez-not stars yet, but are top prospects.

[tjkrueger]

Among the players I've seen play in Appleton, Wisconsin:
Alex Rodriguez
Albert Pujols
Josh Beckett
Adam Dunn
Austin Kearns
Joe Mauer
Joe Mays
Casey Kotchman
Rafael Soriano
and David Arias, who later found major league success after changing his name to David Ortiz

[lamearm]

J. R. Richard: Oklahoma City 89ers

Roy Oswalt: Round Rock Express

Jason Lane: Round Rock Express

Morgan Ensberg: Round Rock Express

Josh Beckett: high school in the Houston Area

Lance Berkman: Rice University

Jose Cruz,Jr: Rice University

Scott Kasmir: CyFall HS.=Houston(Soon will be a star)

James Loney: Elkins HS.=Houston(Ditto)

Woody Williams: CyFair HS. & Univ. of Houston

Hank Blalock: Tulsa Drillers

[Miguel Tejada#1]

Originally posted by GeorgeSteinbrenner
Ricky Weeks, BJ Upton, Hanley Ramirez-not stars yet, but are top prospects.

I have played against Upton.

[BagwellFan]

Just thought I would throw in my two cents.
In my time watching minor league games I have seen pretty much anyone that went through the Myrtle Beach (Braves farm System) from '99-'00 (i.e. Furcal, and Marcus Giles), and anyone that played for the New Jersey Cardinals from '94 - '00 (i.e. Matt Morris, and Adam Kennedy). I don't really recall seeing Morris, or Kennedy play, but I know I saw them. I do remember seeing Mike Lieberthal in Scranton in 1994 though.

Of players I was able to see, talk to, and get autographs of:
Horacio Ramirez - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
AJ Zapp (1996 First Round Pick - Braves)
Troy Cameron (1997 First Round Pick - Braves)

In my travels at minor league parks I have also come across several former major league players, who stopped to sign autographs:
Tim Teufel - Manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones and,
Rafael Belliard - Base-running Coach of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Being in Atlanta now, I have to opportunity to see some of the great players coming out of Georgia Tech. Hopefully guys like Micah Owings (50th overall pick in the MLB draft out of high school in 2001), and Eric Patterson (brother of Cubs centerfielder Corey Patterson) can make a name for themselves in the big show.

[Coal Cracker]

Jimmy Rollins
Jason Michaels
Marlon Byrd
Chase Utley
Matt Walbeck
Kevin Orie
Turner Ward
Jeff Reed
David Coggin
Wendell Magee Jr.
Marlon Anderson
Bruce Aven
Shea Hillenbrand
Michael Cuddyer
J.D. Drew
T.J. Matthews
A.J. Piersynski

Not a star-studded list but some solid major league guys.

[Ontarioguy]

I live near Ottawa and their AAA team the Ottawa Lynx were the farm team for the Expos until 2 years ago.

They may not be Super stars but I saw:
Brad Wilkerson
Endy Chavez
Jamie Carrol
Milton Bradley
TJ Tucker

I saw Deon Sanders make an unsuccessful comeback to pro baseball 2 years ago. A drunken and shirtless fan ran on the field and chased him. He jumped on to the field from between home and 1st and made it all the way to shallow left field (Deon was playing Left), pointing at Deon. The fan was tackled by the 3rd baseman who must have been 6 feet 5 inches.

Now Ottawa is Baltimore's AAA club. I look forward to seeing future Oriole players.

[amaral]

I saw Garret Anderson play for the Boise Hawks. (Could have seen Dontrelle Willis too, darn darn darn!)

[willieg66]

I watched Brad Penny pitch when he was in high school.

Others I have seen in Tulsa:

Sammy Sosa
Juan Gonzalez
Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez
Kevin Brown
Hank Blalock
Bobby Jenks
Angel Berroa
Carlos Beltran
Scott Podsednik
Chin Tsao
and many more.

[Bobby Miller]

Living in Dayton I have had many an opportunity to watch some rising stars or maybe complete flops anyway they seem to be doing alright in the bigs but stars........Adum Dunn a good bet to have a great carrer......Brandon Larson......said he couldnt hit i sez he cant play the infield......Austin Kerns...can flat kill a fast ball thinks all cruve balls are meant to hit him.....i have seen a few stars rehab down here also seeeing as its only a 60 mile drive to the Great American Ballpark.......But the great thing about Minor Leauge Baseball is the fact that in A ball they can make the bigs and they have yet to score the big paycheck and they are playing basicly for the love of the game and they are having fun living a dream and we here in Dayton love our Dragons .

[oldtimer]

I saw Brooks Robinson play second base for the York (PA) White Roses in '54 or '55. I recall my Dad that night comment, "That kid's going to make something of himself."

I'm also proud to say I was Kevin Mench's guidance counselor and saw him play many high school games.

[raysnbran]

I lived in Kissimmee Florida in the '80s-early 90's, when the Astros had their top A team there in the Florida State League. I saved the rosters they handed out there, and saw many a future prospect. On the Astros themselves, Kenny Lofton, Luis Gonzalez, Ken Caminiti, others included Mike Lieberthal, Carlos Delgado, Brian McRae, Mariano Rivera. Many were there that did not distinguish themselves, but when you look back at the roster, they made it.

[redsox86]

Probably dating myself here, but the 1967 Toronto Maple leafs featured future stars: Reggie Smith, Mike Andrews, Sparky Lyle and were managed by Dick Williams. Joy Foy, Tony Horton, Galen Sisko and Gary Wazlewski all made the majors from this team. I guess there are a few more but my memory is fading. How about Russ Nixon and Bob Montgomery.

[dmbfan]

Great thread!!

While in college, I saw the following play either for or against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons:

Mike Leiberthal
John Kruk
Tyler Greene
Tim Wakefield
Bobby Higginson
and others that I can't recall right now.

Over the past 10 years I have seen a lot of players either play for or against the Harrisburg Senators including:

Vlad Guerrero (you may have heard of him:laugh )
Michael Barrett
Phil Humber
Mike Pelfrey
Nick Markakis
Ryan Howard (he might be good:laugh )
Cole Hamels
Tony Armas, Jr.
Milton Bradley (hit a grand slam to win the game and Eastern League title)
Jamey Carroll
Ryan Church
Shawn Hill
Brandon Phillips
Cliff Lee
Ryan Zimmerman (some people may have heard of him:laugh )
Brian Schneider
Darrell Rasner
Jake Westbrook
Jose Vidro
Phil Hughes
And others that I know I am forgetting.

[THE OX]

The ones I'd consider as major league "stars" that I saw while they were in the minors include:

Joe Torre (Louisville, 1961)
Graig Nettles (Wisconsin Rapids, 1966 - played mostly 2B back then!)
Kent Hrbek (Wisconsin Rapids, 1980)
Jim Eisenreich (Wisconsin Rapids, 1980 playoffs and 1981)
Gary Gaetti (Wisconsin Rapids, 1980)

[kramerica1515]

I've got all of you guys trumped. I have seen -- get ready for this -- Bronson Arroyo live, in person. I also have authentic autographs from the infamous JACK WILSON and TONY ALVAREZ.

Guess where I saw all these guys and win a prize.... well, not really.

Pish posh...the only one I can think of is Chris Duffy in AA. He signed my scorecard. Damnnnn:p

[Waitinfor27]

He's not a quite yet a star, and he's hurt, but I saw Fransisco Liriano in Rochester many times.

[Francoeurstein]

I believe I saw Carlos Zambrano with the Daytona Cubs a while back.

[Hirfryn]

Living on the east side of the 'Pond' it is very rare I get to see live baseball. I was fortunate to see Ryan Howard hit his first AAA HR for SWB Red Barons in August 2004, and I guess he would qualify as a star :p . It was only a few days since he had come up from AA. He looks much quicker on his feet defensively these days than I remember him - guess that's what being in the Majors teaches you.

That trip over was also memorable as I got to see my first (and only) game at Yankee Stadium.

[anjo25]

Adam Dunn
Austin Kearns
Wily Mo Pena

...and basically all the Reds rookies when they played with the Dayton Dragons (A Reds team)

[Dodgerfan1]

I saw many future Oakland A's players while attending Sacramento River Cats games, however since you specified we are looking for major league 'stars', I will say Rich Harden. Now if the guy can only stay healthy, he may actually become a superstar....

[Sliding Billy]

I saw Clemens pitch for the New Britain AA Sox. Now that team and I are in Portland so I saw Papelbon--I guess you could call him a star already--and some others who I hope I can post about when this thread is little older. (I also saw Steve Dalkowski pitch for New Britain High--That doesn't count, but it was worth remembering.)

[anjo25]

(I also saw Steve Dalkowsi pitch for New Britain High--That doesn't count, but it was worth remembering.)

THAT is amazing! Wow!:gt

[candy curveball cummings]

Being from Tacoma, I've had the pleasure to see a lot of would-be stars. Alex Rodriguez was already a pretty well-known player when I saw him play in Tacoma in 1995, he just hadn't reached the majors yet. I saw Varitek play, and was very mad when we traded him. I saw Scott Podsednik play, and wasn't so mad when he was traded. I saw Ryan Franklin throw-a 2-hit shutout, and that was cool. I saw Jose Lopez play A LOT, as well as Yuniesky Betancourt.

But let me tell you my favorite Minor League player. Newly acquired pitcher Freddy Garcia pitching 5 games for Tacoma in 1998. I got to see a couple of those games, and let me tell ya, he was special.

[yanks08701]

i got to see alfonso soriano play for triple-a for the yankees columbus clippers and i also got to see 2 potential star pitchers play named philip hughes top prospect of the yankees and another named cole hamels rookie for the phillies this past season both in blueclaws stadium home of the single-a team of the phillies

[hudsonharden]

I saw Ryan Howard play for AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

[kramerica1515]

Completely and utterly off topic, but, um, Jeff Adrien went to my High School? You know the uConn 6th man? All I can think of.

This post definitely getting deleted.

[JordanDL3891]

um, I saw Ben Zobrist when he was playing for the Astros Short Season team (T-C Valley Cats) now Zobrist is an infielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

[stan opdyke]

Being from Tacoma, I've had the pleasure to see a lot of would-be stars. Alex Rodriguez was already a pretty well-known player when I saw him play in Tacoma in 1995, he just hadn't reached the majors yet. I saw Varitek play, and was very mad when we traded him. I saw Scott Podsednik play, and wasn't so mad when he was traded. I saw Ryan Franklin throw-a 2-hit shutout, and that was cool. I saw Jose Lopez play A LOT, as well as Yuniesky Betancourt.

But let me tell you my favorite Minor League player. Newly acquired pitcher Freddy Garcia pitching 5 games for Tacoma in 1998. I got to see a couple of those games, and let me tell ya, he was special.
I am also from Tacoma and have seen lots of great players play at Cheney Stadium over the years. My own all star team would go something like this:

c. Piazza (played for Alburquerque)
1b. McGwire (played third for Tacoma in minors)
2b. Bret Boone (played for Calgary)
ss. Arod
3b. Edgar Martinez (played for Calgary)
lf. Canseco (played right for Tacoma in minors)
cf. Lyman Bostock
rf. Tony Gwynn (played for St. Lake City)
p. Pedro Martinez (played for Alburquerque)

I also saw Steve Garvey play when he was in college at MSU

[DevilRays1969]

I saw some guy named Jeter when he played for the Tampa Yankees.;)

Torii Hunter when he played for the Ft. Myers Miracle.

Also saw Andy Van Slyke when he played for the St. Pete Cardinals (I'm guessing 1980-1981)

[jfine]

Also saw Andy Van Slyke when he played for the St. Pete Cardinals (I'm guessing 1980-1981)

Cool - he was there in 1981.

[Dravecky43]

I've lived in Fresno my entire life, so I've seen quite a bit of top-level baseball with Fresno State and the Giants' AAA team (the Fresno Grizzlies). Some of the players I remember:

Jeff Weaver
David Ortiz (got his auto when he played for the Twins' AAA team and they came here)
A.J. Pierzynski (got his autograph on a card the same night as David Ortiz)
Matt Cain
Pedro Feliz
Among others

[runningshoes]

Carlos Delgado with the New York - Penn League St. Catharines Blue Jays way back in 1989.

I'm a St. Catharines boy myself.

As I remember, his brother was there with him at the time.

[Redlightning]

Countless New Britan Rock Cats, Carlos Pena (the Futures at Fenway AAA game, and his game-winning homer), Nomar (when I was 1 year old!), Jonathan Papelbon (his brother Josh, too), Craig Hansen, and Wily Mo Pena when he was a Louisville bat. Those are the ones I can remember.

[PJ-34]

I actually saw Carlos Beltron play for theLansing Lugnuts a loooong time ago.

[ACrank]

Wow. What a good question. Unfortunately i've forgotten a lot of them, but these are the ones that come to mind:

John Lynch, Denver Broncos saftety, when he was a pitcher in the Marlins system (he was the starting pitcher in the Marlins first organizational game)

Fredi Gonzalez was the manager of the same team

Todd Worrell

Lance Johnson

hardly a star but Pete Rose, Jr played here when his dad first had his issues

Todd Zeile

Ramon Ortiz

Justin Verlander

Joel Zumaya

Curtis Granderson

Grady Sizemore

CC Sabathia

Danys Baez

Alexis Rios

Jhonny Peralta

Brandon Phillips

Victor Martinez

Fernando Rodney

Robinson Cano

Joe Mauer

Sean Casey



i am sure there are others, but these are the names that come to mind quickly....(still kicking myself over missing on Ryan Howard though)

[ohboy]

Billy "The Kid" Wagner - Tuscon Torros (Astros old AAA)

[jfine]

I remember seeing Bernie Williams and Hal Morris playing for the Columbus Clippers when visiting my father there in 1989. Those were the only minor league games I've ever seen.

[PopTop]

Have seen a lot of the same players that lamearm listed in his post on the first page of this thread. Ended up seeing Lance Berkman play three levels before the majors: HS, college and minor league with NO Zephyrs. Also saw Cruz Jr play both HS and college before the majors.

Have seen a lot of eventual major leaguers play college ball during the years: Thurmond and Knoblauch are two Aggies that stand out, as well as Clemens, Kieschnick and Swindell for the Longhorns.

But the earliest minor leaguer I saw who went on to become a true star was Joe Morgan when he was with the old San Antonio Bullets back in 1964. That team had several eventual major leaguers and was a juggernaut in the old Texas League.

[PJ-34]

Wow. What a good question. Unfortunately i've forgotten a lot of them, but these are the ones that come to mind:

John Lynch, Denver Broncos saftety, when he was a pitcher in the Marlins system (he was the starting pitcher in the Marlins first organizational game)

Fredi Gonzalez was the manager of the same team

Todd Worrell

Lance Johnson

hardly a star but Pete Rose, Jr played here when his dad first had his issues

Todd Zeile

Ramon Ortiz

Justin Verlander

Joel Zumaya

Curtis Granderson

Grady Sizemore

CC Sabathia

Danys Baez

Alexis Rios

Jhonny Peralta

Brandon Phillips

Victor Martinez

Fernando Rodney

Robinson Cano

Joe Mauer

Sean Casey

Wow great list there, the ones that stick out as interesting for me are Alex Rios, Brandon Phillips and the million Dtroit Tigers you've seen. Have you gone to alot of Mud Hens games? Where did you see Alex Rios?

[TonyK]

I have seen many of the Toronto players at P & C Stadium at the AAA level.

Carlos Delgado
Roy Halladay
Shawn Green etc.

plus rehabs...
Darryl Strawberry
Curt Schilling

and Trot Nixon and Isringhausen.

[EvanAparra]

Jason Lane: Round Rock Express

Yeesh, I though this was "before they became a star." :laugh

[ACrank]

Wow great list there, the ones that stick out as interesting for me are Alex Rios, Brandon Phillips and the million Dtroit Tigers you've seen. Have you gone to alot of Mud Hens games? Where did you see Alex Rios?

Erie has had minor league baseball going back now for 25 years *- a Cardinals team at first, then the Orioles, Marlins, Pirates - all in short season A NY Penn League (i missed players like Aramis Ramirez and Rob Mackowiak who both came thru Erie) , then we jumped to the Double AA Eastern league - first with the Angels and then the Tigers...(at one point the Seawolves had a rotation of Verlander, Zumaya, and Humberto Sanchez)

Rios, Sizemore, Peralta, Martinez, Mauer (& i think Morneau) and others all came thru the Eastern League

i've seen a lot of great ballplayers - but the ones i remember the most are the ones like Kurt Airoso or Andy Dominque - guys who will never see the bigs (like Airoso - the Seawolves played Altoona in an exhibition in the new Pittsburgh park a few years ago - Airoso was injured, and i felt so sorry for him as that was probably his only chance to play in a big league park) or Dominique who spent something like 4 years w/ 2 different organizations in the EL and finally made it to the majors only to have like one pinch hitting appearance)

Shoot - i forgot i saw Coco Crisp in his first game after being traded to the Indians....

this is what i love about minor league ball - you see them all, close up (so close you can hear them sware when they get beaten out on a throw to first base)

* Actually much longer than that - Erie's baseball history goes back so far that Mike "King" Kelly actually managed/played for an Erie team at the end of his career, but the recent history of minor league ball in Erie goes back to 81

[hellborn]

Charles Johnson with the Kane County Cougars. He won the HR Derby at the All Star game that year.
There was a DH-1B type at that game with what appeared to be a dynamite bat, Scott Talanoa. I sure thought that he'd end up in the majors, but there are probably hundreds of guys who look great at that level and never go anywhere.

[cubsfan1073]

im young so none of the guys ive seen havent gotten to be stars yet, but hopefully they will
delmon young
bj upton
jermemy hermida
john buck (catcher for the royals)
matt murton
stephen drew
brandon webb in college
ricky nolasco

in five or ten years i will have seen so many playeres in the bigs, but right now my list is short

[RuthMayBond]

How old does it make me if I saw Bret Butler BEFORE he played in the bigs, he had a good long career, and has been retired for a good while? :eek: :laugh

[cubsfan1073]

wow brett butler
if i had 2 start a team on a small budget, he would b the first player i would want, hes perhaps the most underrated leadoff hitter ever

[ACrank]

How old does it make me if I saw Bret Butler BEFORE he played in the bigs, he had a good long career, and has been retired for a good while? :eek: :laugh

About as old as i am no doubt - i routinely see sons of players i watched growing up....

i do wish one thing - i wish i had kept the programs for each game i have seen - wouldnt have been hard to do, and would give me a good starting point for a discussion like this

[vasprtsfn]

I live in Woodbridge, VA, the home of the Potomac Nationals, the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Before we lined up with Washington, we had 5 different parent clubs. Some of our famous alumni: Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte, Adam Kennedy, Dan Haren. Another piece of trivia-the 2006 World Series marked the 12th consecutive World Series matchup featuring at least one Potomac alumni, and they have been on the winning side in 10 of those 12. (The only breaks in that streak were 2001 and 2004.) We have been lined up with Washington for 2 years now, and in that time, we have 3 of our alumni with the big club now-Mike O'Connor, Brett Campbell, and Chris Schroeder. There is a good chance we could add 2 more to that pipeline in 2007. LF Kory Casto and P Zech Zinicola, our system's player and pitcher of the year, will be given good shots in 2007 ST. Another Potomac alumni, Bill Bray. got a few games with Washington before he was traded to the Reds in that mega 8-player deal.

[W_Marone]

The only one I can remember seeing live, and he's not a star at all, is Marlon Byrd, but a the time he was "going to be" a star. How'd that one turn out.:)

[KevinMc]

I worked on a book project about the Cardinals minor league system from 1999-2001 and I had the chance to interview several players before they went on to the majors:

Albert Pujols
Chris Duncan
Coco Crisp
Ben Johnson
Jack Wilson
Adam Kennedy
Rick Ankiel
Brent Butler
Britt Reames
Chris Richard
Chad Hutchinson


Kevin McCann

[The Kid]

I think I saw Albert Pujols as a MLer once.

[The Prowling Cat]

Got to see Jason Schmidt of the Salem/Keizer Volcanoes. He was the auto's player before thegame. I look at the auto and laugh because when he was signing I jokingly said you'd better be good because I'm going to sell this and put my kid through college with it. I'd never part with it honestly, but seeing how he's doing in the majors I get a smile everytime I see him and think about that day..

I got to see A.J. Pierzynski. He was already a star by then as he was rehabing in Salem/Keizer. If you haven't ever seen a major leaguer bat against single A pitching. Let me tell you now that it isn't a pretty sight. I believe he was there for one week maybe two and led the league in Home Runs. The game we saw he hit three rockets out to right that left no doubt the second he hit them on where they were going...

[Erik Bedard]

Nick Markakis
Adam Loewen
Hayden Penn
Erik Bedard
Jeff Fiorentino
Barry Zito in the Cape Cod league
Jason Lane in the Cape Cod league as well

[rkoch]

Saw Joe Dimaggio play in 1935 for the
San Francisco Seals.
Saw Ernie Lombardi, Russel Loris;alias Buzz Arlett;Lyn Lary, Jimmy Reese; alias Hymie Solomon, Jimmy Tobin, Harry Lavagetto,Johnnie Vergez, Bernie Deviverous,and others come to mind.
Sitting in that wonderful ball park in Emeryville; I also saw Ted Williams, San Diego Padres[struck out a lot]others coming down,[i.e. John Bassler;[what a hitter] Larry Woodall. Fred Haney, Cleo Carlyle, Ray Jacobs and how many others that I can`t remember. I`m 84 years old now and I remember the one`s I`ve mentioned as though it were yesterday. When I saw Joe in 1935,I was only thirteen but I remember it as if it were only yesterday; I think he was only twenty; but all I can remember is those frozen ropes he hit and seeing him, with those prominent front teeth, grinning and standing on second base most of the afternoon.

[brewcrew82]

Thanks for sharing RKoch, welcome to BBF. :waving

[Dalkowski110]

Wow! I have a few questions about those guys, if you don't mind.

1. Didn't Larry Woodall basically churn out a ton of singles and basically nothing else? I know Bassler had power, but Woodall, from his stats, looks like a singles machine.
2. Didn't Buzz Arlett have a really weird batting stance? I've heard that he, Ox Eckhardt, and Smead Jolley all did, but have only seen Eckhardt's stance (which looks like Tony Batista's).
3. I notice all the guys you mention are hitters. Were there any pitchers that really struck you as good?

[MadHatter]

Most Pawtucket Red Sox including Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Marty Barrett... and saw a bunch of players who came to visit, including Cal Ripken Jr... I remember one particular game where Mark "The Bird" Fidrych was battling against Dave Righetti.

Who else?... Ellis Burks, Mike Greenwell, Gregg Jefferies, Rick Burleson, Kevin Mitchell... etc.

[rkoch]

Thank you dalkowski 110 for asking me to continue my aimless ramblings.First Buzz Arlett left Oakland in 1930 when I was 8 so I don`t remember much about his batting stance, but I do remember that he could hit the hell out of the ball from BOTH sides of the plate; not many doing that at that time, drank a boatload of booze, kind of like Paul Waner who said he saw 3 fastballs coming and always hit the one in the middle and went to the big leagues in 1931 with the Phillies and stayed 1 year.I think he went down to the Millers in the American Association and had quite a career there. As to Larry Woodall and Johnnie Bassler they were both good hitters, line drive hitters, Bassler a better hitter than Larry, both benifited from instruction from Ty Cobb and played his kind of baseball. Both had 1 homerun each in the majors; and quite a few extra base hits. I saw Bassler a lot more than Woodall and by the time I got to see him play they were calling him Grandpa John,as he was prematurely gray but he could really sting that ball, a good hitter, always .300 or better.
Smead Jolley could really hit, but when a ball was hit to right field the suspense was overwhelming. Oscar Ekhardt was something else again, he did have kind of a weird stance but what I remember was he was a lefthanded batter and hit everything to LEFT field. Could`nt pull anything. Batted .403 or something a couple of times in the PCL but when he was sent up, maybe a couple of times, he was quickly returned. Could`nt do it in the majors. Strangest stance I ever remember was Geo Burns who played for Detroit. Phil adelphia Atheletics., and Boston and later came down to the PCL and played and managed Seattle for many years. Stood with his feet completely together, bat right in front of him with the handle held low and took what looked to me like a giant stride into the ball and he was a fine hitter, lifetime .301, I think. Came down to the minors and continued to pound the ball. I wish you could be unorthodox like that and succeed on the golf course, I`d be a lot happier.
I did `nt say anything about pitchers, did I?The ones I remember in PCL before they went "up" Lee Theodore Grissom; [ what a dandy, a real flake] played for the Mission Reds, big lefthander, straight overhand and could really "bring it"; went up to the Cincinatti Reds, led the NL in shutouts and was on the all star team in 1937. I told Marvin Grissom on the golf course one day that" the only thing wrong with your brother is he`s got a size 21 collar and a number 5 hat. Marv agreed.Others I recall are Fred Hutchinson, and Kewpie Barrett from Seattle, Joe Bowman from Portland, got to be others but can`t recall just now. Much easier to recall the ones that came down and played in the PCL. Frank Shellenback, Ted Williams first manager, and as Ted related late in his life "best manager". Frank was a spitballer who pitched for the Hollywood Stars who was one of the best pitchers in the coast league for years and one of the best hitting pitchers ever. Speaking of good hitting pitchers and also a spitballer was Clarence Mitchell who pitched for the Mission Reds when I was a kid. Clarence hit the line drive in the 1920 world series that started Wamby`s UA triple play. Bert Cole also pitched for the Missions as did Herman Pillette;Bill Ludolph, Hal Haid,Ed Walsh Jr.Dutch Ruether, Lou McEvoy for the Oaks. Sam Gibson, Jimmy Zinn, and Hollis Thurston, and Walter Mails for the Seals. That ought to be enough for now.

[Dalkowski110]

Wow, thanks for the history! I'm an avid PCL researcher, and its guys like you who are a great help to me and those like me! I copied and saved your entire post. Printed it out, too, and I can guarantee you that the info you gave me, a 20-year-old kid, is NOT going to be forgotten for as long as I live. Again, thank you! Especially about John Bassler and George Burns' batting stance. Now onto the players.

Jimmy Zinn said (and his teammates backed him up) that he got cut from the big league club for refusing to groove a fastball in an exhibition game to Babe Ruth. On the contrary, he struck him out! Zinn could also knock the heck out of the ball, and it's a shame Major League management wasn't kind to him. Do you remember Walter "Duster" Mails' personality? I read they called him "Duster" because he threw at half the league. Also a real showboater who painted "The Great Mails!" on the side of his car. "Sad Sam" Gibson threw with a submarine delivery, I know, like Elden Auker or Carl Mays. Fred Hutchinson was a star in both the PCL and the Majors. IIRC, Joe Bowman gave up a lot of hits. Not runs, but hits. And for that reason the Major League teams just kinda passed him over. I also know Kewpie Dick Barrett would A) pick a fight with anyone who called him "Kewpie" and B) wound up like Luis Tiant. He pivoted on his back leg, turned around with jersey number facing the batter, and then came back around and delivered. Lee Grissom was indeed a flake. I read that his teammates said he was the most superstitious player on the team and once had three teeth pulled to improve his pitching. Brother Marv Grissom, as a bit of really trivial trivia, relieved Ruben Gomez at my Dad's first ballgame. Giants blew the Dodgers to pieces (I think 15-3), but Shotgun Shuba homered off Marv to lead off the top of the ninth (this was in the Polo Grounds).

"Frank was a spitballer who pitched for the Hollywood Stars who was one of the best pitchers in the coast league for years and one of the best hitting pitchers ever."

I've done a LOT of research about Shellenback (I find it funny that all of the Zeenut baseball cards mispelled his name somehow...be it "Shellenbach" or "Shellenbac" or whatever), and he's kind of a tragic story. Before he was a spitballer with Hollywood (and before that, I believe LA), he was a spitballer with the 1919 Chicago White Sox. Yep, the Black Sox. But he hurt his arm early in the season and was rehabbing with some Minor League team when the spitter was banned. Of course, as you know, they let guys keep throwing it who were on teams' "protected lists"...but the White Sox left their best pitching prospect OFF the list, probably in the wake of the 1919/1920 Black Sox Scandal. So, ineffective without the spitball, the PCL put him on THEIR OWN protected list. Clarence Mitchell was one of the handful of pitchers who was on the protected lists of both the Majors and the PCL.

"Smead Jolley could really hit, but when a ball was hit to right field the suspense was overwhelming."

According to one article I read about Jolley's fielding..."he played his position like the man on the flying trapeze." I guess he tripped sometimes. I've actually contacted the Jolleys, and Smead's nephew, Al, pitched with one of the PCL farm teams (Billings? Ogden?) for a year, in 1938 or 1939. Al Jolley then put his name on the temporary retirement list, and went off to join the Army. He was stationed in the Philippines by the time the War started here, and was captured at Bataan. The Japanese prison camp guards had a reputation matching the German Concentration Camp guards in terms of how "friendly" they were. When they found a picture in Al's wallet of him pitching, they took a rifle butt and repeatedly smashed his pitching arm. I'm not sure if partial paralysis set in instantly or if it was gradual, but he could never completely move his arm again. That's why you don't see Smead's name on any of Lefty O'Doul's PCL All-Star teams that barnstormed in Japan. Smead also made sure that his nephew (to whom he was very close) would never be forgotten...if you've ever seen the movie "Back to Bataan," which is basically a John Wayne shoot-'em-up morale booster, you DO see some real elements, during the beginning and end of the film. They show real pictures along with real ranks and real names of returning American POW's. "Private Alfred Jolley" is one of them. Smead apparently was the one who paid a king's ransom to make sure that ONE of the returning POW's wasn't just a random face.

[Ken Hastings]

I saw Ricky Williams (pre Heisman) go 0-5 for Batavia in Lowell. I think all 5 were strikeouts.

[AutographCollector]

I saw Hayden Penn pitch 2 yrs ago for AA Bowie Baysox (he is a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles now)

[littleleaguedad21]

i have saw...

don mattingly
derek jeter
bernie williams
steve balboni
darryl strawberry
bobby bonds

saw all these play for the columbus clippers....plus several other semi-stars

i also saw clemens,gooden,....i got clemens auto.....when the all star game was at clipper stadium.....they played the cleveland indians

[ironman]

I remember seeing Ryan Howard hitting 0 homeruns in the Eastern League all Star Home Run Derby in 2004

[ChrisLDuncan]

Mark Prior, Huston Street, Johan Santana, Mark Kotsay, Alex Gordon, Kerry Wood, just to name a few.

[Yankwood]

Cal Ripken, Jim Palmer, Tom Seaver, Boog Powell, Dave Parker, Don Mattingly, Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, Luke Easter, Strawberry, Guidry, Grich, Don Baylor, Singleton, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Mauer, Morneau, Boggs, Jim Rice, Dale Murphy, Dwight Evans, Jim Thome, Mookie Wilson, wow, I guess I cover alot of years. Maybe not as big of a deal but managers I saw were Dick Williams, Hank Bauer, Earl Weaver, Joe Altobelli, Bobby Cox, Gene Michael, Jack McKeon, Frank Verdi (who got shot in Havana during a game), Hank Aaron's brother Tommie Aaron, Johnny Oates, Bucky Dent.......

[milladrive]

I can't say I've seen many, but I do recall seeing Paul Blair play when I was in Rochester.

[Junior Bull]

Working for the Durham Bulls, I have seen a lot of guys come through. My fav. so far has been Jorge Cantu. Also, saw Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer.

[Pods fan 22]

Josh beckett, scott podsednik, (and my dad said we saw dontrelle willis, allthough i dont recall).

[spear]

Saw Carlos Delgado. He hit two home runs in one game that went right out of the stadium.

[Rockhound]

I saw Jose Offerman play for the Albuquerque Dukes back in the early 1990s. I don't know if you would call him a star or even a big leaguer, but he's one of my favorites.