Do you remember...

[realmofotalk]

Foppert was hyped quite a bit. People seemed to think he would be a pretty good pitcher.
It appears the Giants tried to bring him along too quickly and messed his psyche up. He is only 29 and is still pitching in the minors. He could still be a major leaguer, although its doubtful now.

You can't blame the Giants for bringing him up quickly. He just blew past all three levels in the minors.

[nick]

Jerome not the NBA Williams

Jesse Foppert.. I never did learn how his last name is pronounced. Fop pert? Faux-pair?

I was pretty hyped when the Cubs landed Jerome Williams and Aardsma for LaTroy Hawkins. Aardsma may have been one of the slowest developers in recent memory though, even for a reliever, and constantly had up-and-down stuff with the Cubs. Seems like he finally put it all together, which is surprising since when we let him go I thought his FB was way down from where it once was (I recall him throwing 95-98 before we acquired him, and I really don't remember him getting it any higher than 94 on the gun during most of his time w/ the Cubs). I thought Jerome would be a real solid #3 or #4 when we first got him, but soon learned never to trust a fat hawaiian/black/spanish/chinese/flip/jap/whatever other races he was.

Flash forward 4 or 5 years and Hawkins is good again, pitching in more low-pressure situations for 4th place squads.

[nick]

Ben Hendrickson and Wes Obermueller

[realmofotalk]

Ben Hendrickson. Now I remember the one time in Yahoo MLB chat years ago when Witlon shot back at my premature evaluation of Mr. Hendrickson with, "Ben Hendrickson is a bust? Don't talk to me again."

[Slyder]

Heres one Brandon Larson Mr. AAAA. Everytime he got sent to AAA he'd hit absolutely out of his mind and then come up and hit like .200 for the Reds. Last I heard he was either in Tampa or in Indy ball.

I've never seen a guy who crushed minor league pitching suck as horribly as Larson did in the Majors.

[Kingdom]

Until Dallas McPherson came along, right?

[catman]

Dallas McPherson blew through the minors as a potential homerun king -- until he hurt his back playing winter ball. He was the top prospect according to BBA at one point -- and they are usually pretty astute in their predictions.

[catman]

Here's another name -- Rich Robertson. He was a lefty starter that led the AL in shutouts in 1996 with 3. He was 7-17 with a 5.12 ERA that season. He walked 116 while striking out 114. His major league career lasted 6 years -- 1993-98.

[Kingdom]

Drew Henson! Anyone remember his "pro" career for football or baseball?

Hyuk.

[realmofotalk]

Too bad about Drew Henson. We missed out on a lefthand hitting third baseman.

[realmofotalk]

Check that, Hank Blalock hits lefthanded. He just can't play 3B anymore.

[realmofotalk]

William Van Launching Pad. The name says it all.

[HollywoodLeo]

A couple obscure names I remember

Dickie Thon - Utility player who played for the Padres in 88 (the year before I started rooting for them) I was 8 years old and had his baseball card and thought the name was funny.

Greg Brock - Dodgers and Brewers player. Career .248 hitter who came 7th in the ROY voting in '83. I remember him because I probably had 30 or 40 of his baseball cards. It seemed every time I bought a pack there was a Greg Brock card in it.

[Hammer]

brien taylor

[realmofotalk]

FYI, Jeriome Robertson passed away earlier this year. RIP

Also, it's a shame that Orioles pitcher Rick Bauer didn't pan out because of the potential for "Get me Bauer" references.