Know any major leaguers personally?

[Seattle1]

I drove by Bert Roberge's house once.

I drove by Cecil Fielder's house once.

[Dodgerfan1]

How many of you grew up with, were friends with, went to school with, etc, someone who became a major league ballplayer? My only claim to this is that I went to school with, and was a teammate of, Paul Zuvella, who was also a good friend. Not exactly growing up with Babe Ruth I guess, but he's all I got! I'll take him!

[bailiff]

My claim to fame would be that I played AAU baseball with Lance Berkman in High School. The only problem was that he was so far ahead of us, that he moved to a differen/better team. The funny thing is that when he played baseball at Rice, I was riding the bench at Sam Houston State University. He was even a stud back then. We faced each other 3 times during my college days.

[RuthMayBond]

I used to live near Dale Mohorcic. My boss thinks one of his sisters might have dated him once.

[W_Marone]

Only thing I got is this 2B who's a freshman on WVU's baseball team was a buddy of mine in Highschool and grade school.

[jgangstahippie]

My second grade teacher's husband played with the Brooklyn Dodgers with Don Zimmer.

[milladrive]

My second grade teacher's husband played with the Brooklyn Dodgers with Don Zimmer.

Who was your second grade teacher's husband?

[Rookie1914]

A friend of mine [Bart Evans] played 9 innings total. His major league debut was against the hard-hitting Cleveland Indians in 1998. He faced Kenny Lofton that night. He is now a Banker. Here are his stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/e/evansba02.shtml).

I went to Missouri State the same time as Ryan Howard. I did not know him, but my friend was a walk-on with the Bears and knew him. He struck him out in "practice" and the same friend in high school struck out Albert Pujols. No joke, I have asked his teammates and they say it's a fact. Pujols is from the KC area and they would come down to Southwest Missouri for tournaments. I hear about it all the time. I guess if it were me, I would talk about it all the time too :D His name is Josh McAllister. He is a programmer now.

My high school [Olathe South class of 1991 [Kansas]] class President was Don Davis of the New England Patriots. He has 2 rings now. He is a good christian athlete. Lost 1 Super Bowl to the Patriots when he was with the St. Louis Rams.

That is it for me. Sorry about mentioning an NFL guy in here.

[jeterMVP]

my high school history teacher graduated with rico brogna

[EvanAparra]

I played against Drew Stubbs. He was a first round pick in the draft this past year, and is definately destined for the bigs. My team lost to his 25-2 in American Legion.

[tearforamariner]

My father went to school with both Bud Black and Rick Sweet. Sweet was 2 years ahead of him and Black was a year behind him.

[kearns643]

I drove by Bert Roberge's house once.

[Dodgerfan1]

I drove by Bert Roberge's house once.

LOL! And I'll bet you pointed excitedly and said to anyone who would listen, "See that house? That's Bert Roberge's house!!"

[RuthMayBond]

I drove by Bert Roberge's house once.I drove by Rich Rollins' house, AND STOPPED for an autograph, but he wasn't home (which one of youse mugs tipped him off?) Wait a minute, I used to go to the same church as Andre Thornton :eek:

[RuthMayBond]

A friend of mine [Bart Evans] played 9 innings total. His major league debut was against the hard-hitting Cleveland Indians in 1998. He faced Kenny Lofton that night. He is now a Banker. Here are his stats (http://www.baseball-reference.com/e/evansba02.shtml).
Dang, dude also faced Posada, Knoblauch and Jeter. Wonder why they didn't let him play more :confused: :ughh

[ThanksTheo]

OK, I once met and shook hands with the great Lou Clinton! He was renting a house near mine and I saw him drive by my house one day so I chased him down on my bicycle to a nearby vegetable stand. 1962 it was, and he was in the midst of an amazing hitting streak. No kidding! Here's the facts:

On June 26, 1962, Lou (Lu) Clinton was hitting .097 (6 for 62) for the Boston Red Sox when he was inserted in the lineup to replace an injured Carroll Hardy in right field.

On that day, Clinton drove in 6 runs with a grand slam HR, and a 2-run double. This started a hitting streak that just might be unmatched in Red Sox history.

From June 29 through July 13, in 13 consecutive games, here’s how Clinton fared:

30 hits in 54 ABs (.556 average)
7 HRs
4 2Bs
2 3Bs
26 RBIs
20 runs scored

In a July 4 double-header, he went 7 for 8 – the 7 hits were consecutive.
On July 13, he hit for the cycle.

On July 14, his hitting streak ended, as he went 0 for 3. However, from the following day through July 26, he fared pretty well, going 12 for 39 (.308).
Therefore, from June 26 through July 26, Clinton batted .438 (42 for 96) as a full-time player.

(And to think that I once met him at a vegetable stand, and had his autograph…..)

[Rookie1914]

Dang, dude also faced Posada, Knoblauch and Jeter. Wonder why they didn't let him play more :confused: :ughh

Ha, can you tell me where to see those stats please? Thank you. :D

[TigersFanB406]

No but a guy I went to school with and played football with got drafted by the Yankees. Never played for them.

[RuthMayBond]

Ha, can you tell me where to see those stats please? Thank you. :DYou'll have to click on the actual date of each game he pitched in

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/gl.cgi?n1=evansba02&t=p&year=1998

[tearforamariner]

Ha, can you tell me where to see those stats please? Thank you. :D

I was interested in Bart Evans as well, so I looked up your friend on Retrosheet and found something fascinating. Here is a list of notable players your friend didn't just face, but got out:

Tony Fernandez
Fred McGriff
Wade Boggs
Jose Canseco
Carlos Delgado
Jose Cruz
Jorge Posada
Scott Broscius
Chuck Knoblauch
Mo Vaughn
John Valentin

[Old Sweater]

Old Sweater, pleas forgive me. I accidently edited your post instead of replying. I am so sorry. please repost what you wrote. I feel so bad about it.

[hellborn]

My father worked with Bob Hale, who was on the '61 Yanks and contributed to their (then) team HR record. Bob bragged about this nonstop.
Dad asked me to look up the numbers after I got a Baseball Encylopedia, and Bob was 2 for 13 for the Yanks that year with 1HR. That was also the end of his career. Dad took this info to work and he and the other underlings had some fun with it (Bob was the big boss at the school, so nobody called him on it directly).
They may have had fun talking about Bob hitting .154, but he was a big leaguer...that's saying a lot. Even a poor ML player is an incredible baseball player compared to the populace as a whole.

[tearforamariner]

Old Sweater, look above to see my mistake, and again, I'm so sorry.

as for a link to look up Rojas, you might try thebaseballcube.com.

[AutographCollector]

Joe Grzenda was at my mom's wedding, my uncle graduated with Richie Zisk, and that same uncle worked with Joe Orsulak's dad at UPS.

[Old Sweater]

Old Sweater, look above to see my mistake, and again, I'm so sorry.

as for a link to look up Rojas, you might try thebaseballcube.com.

Not to worry. Thanks for the link.

[Edgartohof]

A couple years ago, I was able to spend part of the day with Jay Buhner (even got my head shaved on TV by the Mariner Moose....but that's a different story).

[Rookie1914]

You'll have to click on the actual date of each game he pitched in

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/gl.cgi?n1=evansba02&t=p&year=1998

Thank you so much!

[Cubsfan97]

Lets see... I talked with Wil Ohman for about 5 minutes before one of the games and he was pretty cool.

I barely met Ryan Theriot, but I talked with his mom and wife for about 15 minutes when I was waiting for autographs outside the Zephyrs stadium in New Orleans (his mum was telling me who was who when they came out)

I sat and talked with Mike Fontenot also that night for about 15 minutes

I got an autograph from Felix Pie and I was the only out of about 50.

The teacher across from my study hall tried out for the Cubs at catcher but never made it (Mr. Green?)

Also when I was in NO, Buck Coats was RF out there and me and a buddy shoputed at him INSANELY the whole night...in a nice way, and when I was talking with Theriots mom, she said she would get him to sign and when he came out, he came over and said I was the guy shouting all night at him...the next night I was waiting for Prior and Coats came out, I went to get his autop on my jersey and he LITTERATELY ran away from me onto the bus...I hold no grudge though...I was being really obnoxious and I hope I see him again to apologize.

And last, but not least...

When I went to Waveland, MS, I heard Mark Prior was making a start at NO for rehab so I went to watch and waited for his autograph and I talked with Mike Fontenot and he asked why I was in New ORleans when I live in Chicago, and I said...Im helping with Katrina victims and I went to the game to watch Prior (at the time my fave player) and get his autograph. Well Fontenot took the ball to get it signed and he came out 5 minute slater saying he wouldnt sign.

Since then, Ive always looked at Prior as an a**hole.

That is my experience with players and I plan to go to Jackson, TN to watch the Diamond Jaxx and Smokies and to get autos from both teams and hopefully chat with a few opf them.

[hubkittel]

my college roommate's mom went to high school with champ summers and another roommate played with steve finley at siu. although i've never met a major league baseball player, i have met two hall of famers: easy ed mccauley and dan dierdorf.

[Jose Reyes]

Not me, but my friend's dad went to high school with Manny Ramirez and played baseball with him. He said that he was a better fielder, was faster, and had a better arm than Manny, but of course Manny was a far superior hitter.

[-Kyle-]

Mark Sweeny grew up in my town and My parents used to be good friends with his. Only met him once though. :(

[cubsfan1073]

I played against Drew Stubbs. He was a first round pick in the draft this past year, and is definately destined for the bigs. My team lost to his 25-2 in American Legion.
no way, drew stubbs!

[cubsfan1073]

my dad went to high school with john shelby, but didnt really know him
my brother carpooled with john shelby's daughter in pre-school and, john shelby's son plays baseball in my league and john shelby jr played @ uk this past year and i talked to him a lot
when i get autographs i talk to players for a while but i dont really no them
ole sheldon is a player in the astros minor league system and i no him really well because hwas my host player last year with the astros single A affiliate and he came over 2 my house a few times
eli iorg (garth's son, or nephew) and koby clemens (roger's son) have been in my house to take eli's dog back to eli's house bc we took care of his dog when he was @ the astros low A affiliate

[mac195]

The younger sister of the mother of the family that lived downstairs from my family in Wilmington, Deleware 38 years ago later married Phil Garner. :cool:

[Dodgerfan1]

A couple years ago, I was able to spend part of the day with Jay Buhner (even got my head shaved on TV by the Mariner Moose....but that's a different story).

Personally, I'd kinda like to hear that story! Sounds interesting. How did this come about? Are you some sort of local celebrity?

[Dodgerfan1]

Lets see... I talked with Wil Ohman for about 5 minutes before one of the games and he was pretty cool.

I barely met Ryan Theriot, but I talked with his mom and wife for about 15 minutes when I was waiting for autographs outside the Zephyrs stadium in New Orleans (his mum was telling me who was who when they came out)

I sat and talked with Mike Fontenot also that night for about 15 minutes

I got an autograph from Felix Pie and I was the only out of about 50.

The teacher across from my study hall tried out for the Cubs at catcher but never made it (Mr. Green?)

Also when I was in NO, Buck Coats was RF out there and me and a buddy shoputed at him INSANELY the whole night...in a nice way, and when I was talking with Theriots mom, she said she would get him to sign and when he came out, he came over and said I was the guy shouting all night at him...the next night I was waiting for Prior and Coats came out, I went to get his autop on my jersey and he LITTERATELY ran away from me onto the bus...I hold no grudge though...I was being really obnoxious and I hope I see him again to apologize.

And last, but not least...

When I went to Waveland, MS, I heard Mark Prior was making a start at NO for rehab so I went to watch and waited for his autograph and I talked with Mike Fontenot and he asked why I was in New ORleans when I live in Chicago, and I said...Im helping with Katrina victims and I went to the game to watch Prior (at the time my fave player) and get his autograph. Well Fontenot took the ball to get it signed and he came out 5 minute slater saying he wouldnt sign.

Since then, Ive always looked at Prior as an a**hole.

That is my experience with players and I plan to go to Jackson, TN to watch the Diamond Jaxx and Smokies and to get autos from both teams and hopefully chat with a few opf them.

Actually, I created this thread to see how many people grew up as kids with people/friends who later went on to play MLB, before they were famous, but I am not at all unhappy with the turn the conversation has taken. Many of these stories and 'brushes with fame' are quite interesting.

In that respect, I can add that I sat next to Bob Horner's parents at a Cardinals game at Busch one day in the mid-'80s. It was the Fourth of July and they were discussing how many people were going to be at their home later for holiday barbecue. From my best recollections, the total was around 20 and they kept referring to Horner as 'Bobby.' I never did say anything to them, just left them alone, but it was fun listening to them chatting.

I also met Rod Carew at the Farmer's Market in LA when he was in the middle of a holdout with the (then) California Angels. As soon as my buddy and I approached him, after realizing who he was, he held out his right hand mechanically to shake ours, without even blinking. Gladhanding and greeting fans was obviously second nature to him.

[Sean Casey]

I don't know how much this fits in with your initial intention of this thread, but I have had several lengthy conversations with my college's baseball coach. He was a pitcher for the Pirates class D team from 1960-61, and although he didn't play for very long, he had some encounters with future major leaguers. The first batter that he ever faced in pro ball was Jim Fregosi, who he got to ground back to him. He also played with Wilbur Wood and several other players who went on to have success in the majors.

He also told me about how, after he left pro ball he became a coach for American Legion teams, and coached Skip Lockwood, Chris Capuano and several other future major leaguers, most of whom just had a cup of coffee in the majors. He also claimed that he taught Capuano his arm motion, although I don't know how much of that was true and how much was an exaggeration :rolleyes:

[Aa3rt]

Personally I've only ever even met a few major leaguers-I got the autographs of Jackie Jensen and George Case (both played with the Senators at one time) while they were managing in the New York-Penn League in the late 1960's.

The only other former major leaguer I've met is Tim Drummond, a local lad, who played briefly with the Pirates and Twins. Back in April of 2002 a devastating tornado hit our town. As an amateur radio operator I was paired up with a lady from the Red Cross to do damage assessments and arrange for the feeding of people who were without power. I met Mr. Drummond while checking out the damage at his home. He now works for our county's athletic program. The coach of our softball team talked to him every week when calling in the scores of our Friday night games.

Tim Drummond Career Record, courtesy of Baseball-Almanac (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=drummti01)

[SDL]

Former A's/Ranger 2B Jim Driscoll and I played softball for the radio station I worked at in the lare 70s. I've lost track of him over the years.

Going to a lot of BoSox minor league games, I've gotten to know quite a few future big-leaguers. Not going to drop any names, but when I see them, be it in spring training (some with clubs other than the Sox) or the regular season, I'll chat for a few.

Getting on to the main theme, Stefan Wever, who pitched briefly for the Yankees in '82, grew up in my neighborhood. Didn't know him that well, he was a year younger than me and went a different school than I did.

[Dodgerfan1]

Back in 1976, a friend of mine and I were walking around the San Diego Zoo trying to figure out what we were going to do later that evening, when we remembered that the Padres were in town and playing that night. We decided to go to the game, then I joked to him that I should call up Padres catcher Fred Kendall and ask him to score us a couple of tickets. My coach on the high school baseball team that year was Kendall's brother-in-law, and he always told us that if we ever needed tickets to a Padres game to come to him and he would ask Kendall to set aside some for us.

My friend took it to heart and goaded me until I finally decided that, since my coach wasn't around, I would call Kendall myself. I found a phone box at the zoo, got the number for the Padres locker room and called. Someone answered the phone saying, "Locker room." I asked for Fred Kendall and he told me to hang on. After a few seconds, Kendall came on the line, and I was pretty nervous about mooching some tickets from him. I stammered my way through an explanation that I played ball for his brother-in-law who told me that I could call for tickets when I was in town and could he please set aside a couple for my friend and I? He was a great guy, and asked my name (which he made fun of and intentionally kept misspelling, which I found amusing.)

Long story short (too late!), he left us the tix at will-call, but we weren't able to go to the game for various reasons. Of course, Kendall homered that night. One of only 2 he had all year, and my friend and I insist to this day that he knew we were coming to see him play and wanted to impress us. Too bad we missed it. :D

[flea45]

i played a game against former Australian major league all-star david nilsson about 2 weeks ago... he pitched.... i hit a walk-off single in the 9th inning to win the game off him:D and we spoke after the game for a few minutes... pretty exciting for me - dave nilsson is like the babe ruth of australian baseball

[Rookie1914]

When I went to Waveland, MS, I heard Mark Prior was making a start at NO for rehab so I went to watch and waited for his autograph and I talked with Mike Fontenot and he asked why I was in New ORleans when I live in Chicago, and I said...Im helping with Katrina victims and I went to the game to watch Prior (at the time my fave player) and get his autograph. Well Fontenot took the ball to get it signed and he came out 5 minute slater saying he wouldnt sign.

Since then, Ive always looked at Prior as an a**hole.

That's too bad. His arm/elbow was probably hurting already :D

[Rookie1914]

i played a game against former Australian major league all-star david nilsson about 2 weeks ago... he pitched.... i hit a walk-off single in the 9th inning to win the game off him:D and we spoke after the game for a few minutes... pretty exciting for me - dave nilsson is like the babe ruth of australian baseball

Congrats on the hit. You got me thinking and forgot something that happened about 5 years ago. Our baseball team played a Coke [stacked team] team and pitching was Scott Bailes. I was 1-4 with a walk that night. I got no hits off Bailes, but did get walked and stole second off him. The fields down here have small pebbles, therefore sliding head first into 2nd got me a scar on my forearm for life :ughh