Minor League Baseball Players

[rico43]

In between his big league stints with Cleveland in 1967 and California in 1970, Gordon Lund spent one AAA season in the Orioles farm system (1968) before being selected by the Seattle Pilots in the expansion draft.

[FatJack]

Originally Posted by rico43

In between his big league stints with Cleveland in 1967 and California in 1970, Gordon Lund spent one AAA season in the Orioles farm system (1968) before being selected by the Seattle Pilots in the expansion draft.

Not to pick a nit, but Gordy wasn't an expansion draft pick. He came to Seattle in the Gene Brabender for Chico Salmon deal on March 31, 1969.

[rico43]

Even during the Era of the Pitcher in the late 1960s, it seems amazing that a minor league pitcher could be ignored despite back-to-back 16-win seasons.
But such was the fate of right-hander Phil Knuckles, who enjoyed that kind of success in the St. Louis Cardinals' system, but with nary a big league inning to show for it.
It's not like the Cardinals didn't like him; he was part of the organization three separate times. After an 0-4 start to his pro career, he was dealt to the Pirates to end the 1965 season, but returned to the Cardinals for 1966. He rewarded them with a 16-8, 2.72 performance in the FSL. Moving up to the California League for 1967, he duplicated that success with a 16-9 season for Modesto, then won 13 games as he moved up to Double-A Arkansas in '68. While the big leagues seemed all but certain, Knuckles went to the Padres in a ridiculous overspend for just-drafted pitcher Dave Guisti -- a pitcher the Cardinals previously owned for three days before being drafted.
Knuckles, in his first AAA experience, struggled and was moved to the bullpen before again returning to the Cardinals for 1971. Despite an 8-6, 3.49 year in the high minors that season, it would be his last in baseball.
FYI: A web site, Baseball Historian, stated that Knuckles was once on the Cardinals' roster despite not pitching. Haven't seen it anywhere else; was he a Bill Sharman All-Star?

[Cusick]

Originally Posted by rico43

FYI: A web site, Baseball Historian, stated that Knuckles was once on the Cardinals' roster despite not pitching. Haven't seen it anywhere else; was he a Bill Sharman All-Star?

Attachment 436104

I've assembled my own "Bill Sharman" list, using players from some relevant issues of the SABR Records Committee Newsletter, a section of Baseball-Reference.com which deals with "Phantom Major Leaguers," plus some newspaper research. Knuckles didn't appear in any of those sources. He also was not on the Cardinals' spring roster in any year. He was on the San Diego Padres' spring roster in 1969 and 1970.

[GBreckenridge]

Originally Posted by Piggy Lid

Nice accident - I found his obit in the NY Times.
Edwin Lewis Breckenridge (not Edward).
Born April 3, 1869
Died 2 May 1946 Hartford, Conn
"Coach at Amherst College, Colgate University and the US Naval Academy and a number of independent teams"

Thanks for this information (he's my GGrandfather and had no idea when/where he died) and Edwin was his birth name. I'm currently doing some research on him and found a reference in a book called "The King of Swat: An Analysis of Baseball's Home Run Hitters from the Major, Minor, Negro and Japanese Leagues (William F. McNeil). It states he had an average of 20 home runs a year between 1888 and 1899 - Is this correct? The stats I've seen from Baseball - Reference.com are much lower (78 total)! - Is there a second Edward Breckenridge?

[rico43]

Catcher Thomas Maggard was the first first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox (1968) who failed to make the major leagues. While he was far from a sure thing, he had reached Class AAA Pawtucket when, in August of 1973, he suffered an insect bite that turned into a staph infection that killed him two weeks later -- Sept. 9, 1973 -- at the age of 23.

Maggard was the 20th overall selection in the '68 draft out of a California high school. His best season was his final full season: .245-14-48 in 1972.

[FatJack]

As I noted in the major league thread, Ron Stillwell, who had a couple of cups of coffee with the Senators in 1961 and 1962, passed away Monday.

I always check to see if there are decent images on eBay when major leaguers pass. Didn't see a major league photo of Ron there, but there was this nice B&W postcard from 1961 when Ron was playing for the Syracuse Chiefs which I thought some might enjoy.

[Cusick]

Outfielder Alvin McGrew was on the Cleveland Indians' 1972 spring roster. The eBay version of the Topps Vault incorrectly lists him as Alvin McGraw. He was a star basketball player at Parker High School in Birmingham, Alabama (All-Tournament player in 1969 and named to Post-Herald All-Stars). He probably could have become a professional basketball player, but chose pro baseball instead.

[FatJack]

Hector Perez, briefly a pitcher in the Cardinals system in 1979, passed away last year. One of the necrology sites just located the article on his passing. A Dominican hurler, notice of Hector's death was delayed as he was living in Boston using the papers and identity of a Puerto Rican, Jaime M. de Hoyos. Born in 1961, Hector had some health issues and ultimately suffered a massive heart attack.

A right handed reliever, Hector appeared in ten games for Johnson City in 1979 with no decisions but an ERA of 10.64 and a WHIP north of 2.

This image appeared in a collage of images in the aforementioned article (this being the only baseball image). And I just felt, given the short time nature of his pro "career," that it should be saved for future reference. In all probability, it'll disappear from the web or become impossible to find down the road. I can think of a whole bunch of short-time Mets farmhands I wish I had images of (Billy Micklewhite, to name one).

I do not recognize the uniform. Nor do I recognize the apparent watermark. Also, please note that the sky was kind of greenish, so I turned it blue (because I do that sort of thing).

[rico43]

A legend at his alma mater, Columbia State (Tenn.) CC, it seemed for a short time he was destined for a similar result with the Red Sox.
Signed by Boston as a free agent in the summer of 1960 while still in school, his first full season saw Hall hit 26 homers with 118 RBIs in just 123 games in Class D and Class A -- 22 of them at Waterloo (with whom he is pictured in a Lexibell file photo).
But Hall never hit more than six in any subsequent season and left his playing career in 1964 to teach and coach in his hometown. In '67, degree in hand, he took over coaching the baseball team at Columbia State and followed that with becoming athletic director in 1969,
When he finally stepped down as coach 18 years and 570 wins later, he left an upgraded program and a ballfield that would eventually bear his name. Named to the CSCC Hall of Fame in 1986, he retired as A.D. in 2005.
His son, David, was a the Red Sox's third-round pick in 1983 and played in their system from 1983-85.

[Cusick]

Adam Casillas was a first baseman out of Oral Roberts University. He appeared in the Texas Rangers' spring camp in 1995 as a replacement player. He spent seven seasons in the minors, chalking up a batting average of .317, going below .300 only twice. After finishing his minor league career in the US, he spent a couple of years in the Mexican League, including winning a batting title there.

Adam died a few days ago on January 29 at age 50. He is shown here in the uniform of the Cedar Rapids Reds.

[rico43]

Posted on wrong thread!

[rico43]

Wrong thread!

[rico43]

Personally, I've had zero luck effecting change on the Baseball Reference site, even though I have linked to obit sites to set the record straight. Named "Charles P. Reddock," according to BBR, It goes on to say little more than he was a RHP, 6-0, 180 and born in 1907.
This Sporting News/Lexibell photo, taken in 1933, indicates that he briefly was a part of the Cleveland Indians roster, although a non-participant. But the back indicates his name is actually Charles Reddoch., joining the Indians out of the Three-I league (which is where he finished 1932, with Quincy).
But he is well-documented at findagrave.com:
His name was Charles Preston Reddoch, nicknamed "Red Duck."
He was actually born in Jones County, Miss., in April 21, 1911.
He passed away in Ridgeland, Miss., on Aug. 29, 2001, at the age of 90.
His obit indicates he was a member of the Cleveland Indians, and it turns out he is a member of the Semi-Pro Hall of Fame, whatever that is.
So, presenting "Red Duck," Charles Riddoch:



LINK TO OBIT

[Cusick]

In support of rico43's findings about Reddoch, this pitcher's name was also spelled "Reddoch," not "Reddock" when it appeared on the Cleveland Indians' spring roster in 1932. This is from The Sporting News of 2/4/1932

[rico43]

Second baseman Michael Price, an Oakland native, was drafted by the Pirates but did not sign in June of 1968 (37th round), signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in late 1968 and had two minor league seasons in 1970-71.
You have to say he made the most of those two years, however, as he had 901 plate appearances (200 hits, .273 average) for Cedar Rapids and St. Pete, both in Class A. But he did not return for 1972.
A Lexibell folder release.

[rico43]

Phillies first-round draft pick in 1966, Steve Arlin, was one of the more heralded players in that draft, concluding a sterling career and Ohio State that included his being names MVP of the College World Series. In that series he threw a 15-inning complete game against Washington State, striking out 20 and winning 1-0 .
He would subsquently be named to the Ohio State and College Baseball Halls of Fame.
Arlin was drafted 13th overall by the Phillies, but was only 11-21 in three minor league seasons. The Padres selected him in the expansion draft, and he made his MLB debut in June of 1969. After retiring after the 1974 season, he became a full-time practicing dentist.
From the Lexibell files, part of the Sporting News archives.

[rico43]

One the face of it, this is a Lexibell photo of one of the most obscure minor leaguers captured for posterity -- but there's a story worthy of his inclusion here.
Spring training, 1968: Modesto Reds manager Joe Cunningham tries a hat on for size of "rookie" pitcher Darell Phillips. The Reds, actually a Cardinals' farm team, used Phillips in exactly one game -- just as they did in 1969 and 1971. You see, Phillips happened to be the Sports Editor of the Modesto Bee, the hometown paper!
But he was also an amateur pitcher of some skill. At age 32, his 1968 outining wound up being two shutout innings, allowing one hit. The following year, he worked three innings, allowin three runs (two earned). His final outing, in 1971, he started a game, worked five innings, allowing six runs (three earned).
But Phillips' story did not end as George Plimpton wannabe. He moved on to start up a paper in his hometown of Manteca, then two years later was named publisher of the established Manteca Bulletin. He held that job until 1998, and won awards for his editorials in four different years. He was on the verge of buying a paper, the Calaveras Enterprise, when he was swept off a footbridge over a rain-swollen creek and drowned in 1998 at the age of 62.

[rico43]

I have not been able to find out why John Simicich left baseball following the 1959 season at the age of 20.. But the Philadelphia Phillies' third base prospect had one of the most impressive professional debuts of any player who promptly went nowhere.

Breaking in at age 18 with Brunswick in the Class D Georgia/Florida League, Simicich had a season young players could only dream of: he was batting champion with a .358 average; he also led the league in hits (156) while also drawing 103 walks (a .484 OBP!) and driving in 104 runs in under 120 games played. He did, however, commit 29 errors over the full season at third.

Moved to the 3-I League as a 19-year-old, he had a moderate dropoff (7-64-.267) with 39 errors. And that was it; career over.

Don't know whys and wherefores, but it seems a crying shame to end it at age 20 with that kind of start. Anyone know background?

[Cusick]

Pitcher Mike Heaton passed away a week ago on February 6. He is shown here on a 1978 TCMA Quad City Angels card. The height of his career was being a non-roster invitee to the California Angels' camp in 1979.