The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, then and now.

[Tobywan]

Dave Martinez #14 -RF


David Martinez was born on September 26, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in Casselberry, Florida (near Orlando) and attended Lake Howell High School in nearby Winter Park, playing baseball for the Silver Hawks. They finished first in what was then called the Five Star Conference in 1981. He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 40th round of the June 7, 1982 amateur draft, but choose not to sign in order to attend Valencia Community College (Orlando) in the fall.





He was selected during the 3rd round in the January 11th secondary phase of the 1983 amateur draft by the Chicago Cubs and signed on the 13th. He would split the season between A- Geneva Cubs New York-Pennsylvania League and the Single A Quad Cities Cubs. The following season he only played in 12 games for Quad before a season ending injury. He would spend all of 1985 with the Winston-Salem Spirits of the Carolina League, winning the CL batting title when he batted .342 and made the All-Star Team. He began the 1986 season with the Triple A Iowa Cubs of the American Association, he was called up for his MLB debut on June 15th where he had a strike out but went hit-less and would stay with the club through the rest of the season.




The 1988 season started out like any other when suddenly he was traded on July 14th to the Montreal Expos for Mitch Webster and Raphael Palmeiro was sent to Texas. Rumors started swirling that both trades came directly at the behest of the Cubs future HOF inductee and beloved second baseman Ryne Sandberg, even more fantastical was the innuendo that it was because the pair had been engaged in an affair with Sandberg's wife Cindi. All parties have denied any such thing, but it didn't stop the crazy stories and suggestions that just about anyone playing for the team during Sandberg's tenure also spent time with his wife. Cooler heads have pointed to Raffy's slump that got him shipped off to the Texas Rangers and the Martinez trade just happened to coincide. He played well for the Expos for the rest of the season and again in 1989, but with just 5 games left in the season he suffered a horrific injury making a dive on the artificial turf at Olympic Stadium ending up with a separated shoulder, a dislocated sternum and torn muscles in his back and neck. He came back healthy for the 1990 season even pitching in a game for the Expos giving up 2 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks. 1991 was another productive year but he was traded along with Willie Greene and Scott Ruskin to the Cincinnati Reds for Bill Risley and John Wetteland on December 11th.




His numbers dipped a bit in 1992 with the Reds and was once again a free agent on October 27th.



He signed on December 9th with the San Francisco Giants, but with a star outfield already in place he spent both the '93 & '94 seasons in a bench and platoon role. He also had a very brief stint in rehab with Triple A Phoenix Fire Birds in the Pacific Coast League just as the strike hit and shortened the season. He was granted free agency on October 14th, 1994.



He signed a deal last minute with the Chicago White Sox to play for 1995 at just $500,000 on April 5th. A gem of a bargain according to GM Ron Schuerler. He hit a walk-off grand slam in the 9th inning for Chicago off Tiger Joe Boever on June 3. They liked him so much they let him pitch in just his second game in the majors (he had also done a little pitching in the minors) on August 4th, giving up 2 walks. He was granted free agency on November 3rd, but re-signed a two-year deal on November 14th. In 1996 he batted a career high .318 and played in a career high 146 games. In 1997 he had a 19-game hitting streak and finished with a .286 BA with 12 homers and 55 RBIs in 145 games .


Martinez loved his time with the White Sox and wanted to work out a deal to stay, he felt grateful to manager Terry Bevington for letting him play everyday after the seasons in San Francisco where he didn't establish himself in a regular spot. The White Sox had Albert Belle in left and Mike Cameron in center and few young outfielders ready to emerge including Magglio Ordonez. Unsure of what his role might be he had a decision to make when a very enticing offer was put on the table by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He had made $1.425M the past two seasons in Chicago, the Rays would give him a starting job in right field for a two-year $5.5M contract with a club option for a third. The White Sox made him a free agent on October 27th and he signed with the DRays on December 4th. He felt right at home in Tampa Bay since he and his family had lived in Safety Harbor for many years. He also liked the idea of being part of a team built from the ground up and enjoyed being reunited with Wilson Alvarez and Roberto Hernandez his former White Sox teammates. On Opening Day he was slated to bat 8th, in his first at bat he grounded out, but in the 3rd he would record the first hit for the Rays off Tiger Justin Thompson. He didn't get to keep that ball, it was shipped off to the HOF, he also walked in the 7th inning. On July 10th he hit the first inside-the-park home run for the Rays off Yankees Hideki Irabu, a ball deep to left-center that got past CF Chad Curtis as he dove for the ball. Unfortunately, eleven days later Davey would suffer a hamstring injury ending his season.




Dave rebounded to have his best season with the Rays in 1999. With 131 starts, he set career highs in at-bats (514), hits (146), doubles (25) and RBI (66) and led the team with 79 runs scored. In 2000 Martinez was leading the majors in outfield assists hitting .260 with one homer and 12 RBIs in 29 games before he was traded to the Cubs for pitcher Mark Guthrie (and cash) on May 12th.



When Martinez has been asked what he feels went wrong in those first years with Tampa Bay he puts the blame squarely on injuries more than anything. He always points out Alvarez, Flaherty and even himself being on the DL the first season and the injuries to players like McCracken , Tony Saunders, Jose Canseco and others in 1999 that kept setting the team back. He also was a bit disappointed that he didn't get to finish out his playing career "at home".


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[Tobywan]

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That trade in May set off a crazy few months for Martinez when he was traded again on June 9th to the Texas Rangers as part of a three team deal, Texas sent pitcher Chuck Smith to the Florida Marlins, and the Marlins traded outfielder Brant Brown to the Chicago Cubs. With the Cubs, he was in the starting lineup for 8 games at 1st base, 3 games in left, and one in right. Then on August 4th Texas manager Johnny Oates pulled him aside in the dugout tunnel after the game with the news that he'd been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a PTBNL who turned out to be Peter Munro sent on August 8th. Three trades in 83 days, with his family following him every step of the way. After renting apartments in downtown Chicago and the Dallas suburbs, Martinez took the convenient route in Toronto, staying in the hotel at the Sky Dome, a room that overlooked the Blue Jays' playing field. His family had trotted along with him through all the traveling, but with the school year looming his wife took the children back to Safety Harbor. With the slew of trading, he became the first to play for four major league teams in one season since Dave Kingman did it in 1977.



He spent the rest of 2000 with the Jays filling the void left by the injured Raul Mondesi. Martinez reached base in 27 of his first 29 games with the Blue Jays and put up a career-high 21-game hitting streak from August 6-Sept. 1. Toronto was actually in contention for the American League wild-card spot (Seattle ended up winning that battle), where as Tampa Bay, Chicago and Texas were all in last. He had a combined .274 with five homers and 47 RBIs in 132 games for the season.





On October 31st he would be a free agent and on the move again, signing with the Atlanta Braves for a two-year contract worth about $3 million on December 10th. He had limited time playing for the Braves in 2001, but he would for the first time head to the postseason as the Braves won their division. He got into one game during the NLDS with one at bat, grounding into a double play, but they beat the Houston Astros 3-0 in the series. He would play in 4 games of the NLCS recording one hit and a strike out, they were eliminated 4-1 by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Martinez suffered a knee injury during spring training resulting in surgery, he did not play in 2002 and he was granted free agency on October 28th. He decided not to return to game.



Dave with Javey Lopez

His last ML appearance was October 7, 2001 for the Braves in the NLCS.

In a 16- year career with nine (though a couple VERY briefly) different clubs, playing all 3 outfield positions and first base, he finished with a .276 batting average, 795 runs scored, 1,599 hits, 91 home runs, 580 RBI's, 567 walks, 170 stolen bases, 893 strike outs in 1, 919 games.

Davey had established himself as one of the better defensive outfielders. He was among league leaders in assists, range factor and fielding percentage several times and currently ranks third in fielding % as RF (s since 1954).

Dave stayed away from the game choosing to spend time with his family and other activities he enjoyed like hunting. He didn't really have any deep longing or dreams of going back to baseball, but his wife knew better. In the fall of 2005 when the Rays hired new manager Joe Maddon he called Dave to offer him a job as a special assistant, but he was on one of his hunting trips. His wife informed him as soon he got home and was probably too stunned to even be upset with her for accepting the position on his behalf. So, Dave became a spring training instructor for 2006 and 2007 and even filled in a few weeks for first base coach George Hendrick when he needed knee surgery. On October 11th, Maddon made him his second in command and he's been there ever since. There have been several teams though that have tried to steal him away especially the last few seasons with the runs of magic in a bottle success the Rays have enjoyed since Joe and Dave have joined forces. He's been bitten again and he enjoys it, being back in the game, being around the youngsters and around guys he played with like Rays third base coach Tom Foley. They were together in Montreal and even ride to work together most days. He enjoys seeing former team mates who are also coaching around the league spending lots of time before batting practices chatting and reminiscing.



Tom Foley, Dave and Joe Maddon

He's been inteviewed by several teams for the manager role, he was considered by former club Toronto in 2010 and most recently for another former club, the Cubs, they decided on Rick Renteria. He says so far, the deal hasn't been quite sweet enough to lure him away. Martinez is the second longest-tenured bench coach on one team in the majors. Ron Wotus has served in that role for the San Francisco Giants since 1999. So far, it has been a marriage made under catwalks. They don't always agree, but for the most part they have similar ideas about the way the game should be played while also not being afraid to do the unexpected or even try new things. He has enjoyed the most success in his Major League career watching from the side, helping to take the Rays from worst to first in 2008, with a post season run that defied all odds, even a World Series berth. Though they would fall short of a Championship. One of the original Devil Rays has come home to finally fulfill the promise of so long ago. Dave was a fan favorite when he played and admired even more for his part in the recent success the club has enjoyed and everyone loves the beard.






Dave gets into the spirit of themed road trips like the "Wigged Out" look in 2012



One of Dave's newest pupils Wil Myers




Giving David Price a lift after defeating the Rangers on Sept. 30, 2013

In 2014 Dave Martinez begins his 9th season coaching with the Tampa Bay Rays and 7th as Maddon's 1st Lieutenant.








Martinez still resides in Safety Harbor with wife Lisa, they have 4 children Josh, Jagger, Dalton, and Angelica.
Dalton Martinez was drafted by the Rays in the 31st round of the 2013 June Draft as a center fielder out of Dunedin High School, but opted to attend the College of Central Florida.

[Tobywan]

.......batting 9th.....

Kevin Stocker # 9-SS

Kevin Douglas Stocker was born on February 13, 1970 (along with sister Jill) in Spokane, Washington and attended Central Valley HS (Spokane Valley, WA) where his father Chuck, taught and was an assistant superintendent. Chuck and his wife Lu encouraged all their children to get involved in sports and Kevin especially thrived playing both baseball and basketball in high school. In his junior year Kevin set a GSL (Greater Spokane League) record for stolen bases before suffering an injury. He helped the Bears to a fourth-place state finish in basketball. He went on to play ball for the Huskies at the University of Washington in Seattle where he was a two–time All–Pac–10 selection and earned a degree in Biology. He was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2nd round (54th overall) of the June 3, 1991 amateur draft and signed on June 8th.



He was assigned to the Single A Spartanburg Phillies of the South Atlantic League where he batted .310. He would split time in 1992 with the A+ Clearwater Phillies in the Florida State League and the Double A Reading Phillies of the Eastern League.




He was hitting just .233 for the Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in the International League when he was called up and reported to Veterans Stadium on July 7, 1993. The Phillies were currently leading the National League East, but in the past few weeks that lead had dwindled from 11 games to 6 and they had been rotating the shortstop position since their starter Juan Bell was waived at the end of May. They decided to try something fresh and threw Kevin right into the fire. Many major leaguers have interesting or funny stories about their first appearances and his is no exception. While his batting performance wasn't great he did manage to have a couple of highlights, the game itself though, was one to remember. It would end up lasting over 6 hours and 20 innings, with Stocker playing every single one. On paper he went 0-6 and committed an error, but his contribution was more significant. He did walk a couple times and scored a run, but that's not all.

The Phils were leading 5-3 in the top of the 9th and blew it, the Dodgers would score 2 runs to tie but on the next play Stocker made a diving stop and threw home to get the charging Jose Offerman out at the plate. No one would score again until the the top of the 20th when the Dodgers scored a run to go ahead. In the Phillies half Jim Eisenreich and Mickey Morandini got on, Stocker laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners. With Rickey Trilicek pitching Lenny Dykstra clobbered a double into centerfield to win the game 7-6.


Kevin and Larry Bowa

It became the second longest inning game in club history, the first was a 21 inning game in 1918 against the Cubs. It was a long day but they had been victorious, he was a kid celebrating with guys he barely knew, smiling, high-fiving and chattering as he piled into the clubhouse with the rest of the team until hitting coach Denis Menke tells his that manager Jim Fregosi wanted him in his office, now. Stocker had just lived his dream and was now probably headed back to Scranton in the morning. He got chewed out a little bit, they told him it looked like he was using a different approach and stance at the plate then he had in spring and they didn't like it. They talked about a lot of things and it wasn't until the wee hours of the morning he realized he wasn't being sent down. He showed up early for BP the next day, he collected 9 hits in the next 4 games and batted .324 through the end of the season, riding the wave as they headed into the postseason. He played 6 games in the NLCS, garnered 4 hits and one RBI as the Phillies defeated the Braves 4-2. He played in 6 games of the World Series, got 4 hits, scored and drove in a run. They were leading Game 6 in Toronto heading into the bottom of the 9th, but the Jays got 2 on when Rickey Henderson walked and Paul Molitor singled. The Phillies bubble would burst when Joe Carter launched a bomb over the centerfield wall off of Mitch Williams to take the series 4-2.




Stocker had arrived and would be the starting shortstop with the Phillies for the next 4 seasons, but he was hampered by an injury in 1994 and the strike shortened season. He would bat just .218 in 1995 and was injured again in 1996. He spent a few rehab stints back at Scranton.
His best year offensively came in 1997, he stayed healthy while compiling career-highs in games played (149), runs (51), doubles (23) and stolen bases (11), adding five triples, four homers and 41 RBIs.



This caught the eye of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and they traded a new prospect by the name of Bobby Abreu to get him during the November 18th expansion draft. Abreu had been taken from Houston as the 6th pick in the first round. Kevin became the starting shortstop, batting ninth in the inaugural season opener on March 31, 1998. He would go 1 for 3, when he singled in the 3rd inning.


Kevin is brought to his knees when hit by a pitch



Despite a decent defensive job and a successful tandem with second baseman Miguel Cairo in 1998 he was the fodder for a lot of jokes and scorn by disgruntled fans and local media, especially after Abreu became an All-Star in Philly. In 1999 he battled more injuries and spent time rehabbing with the A+ St. Petersburg Devil Rays of the Florida State League. When he played, he played well, but he was unhappy and limited to just 231 games in just over 2 seasons, he was released on May 25, 2000.

He signed quickly with the Anaheim Angels on May 30th, but finished the season hitting just .219, fully admitting that his heart just wasn't in it. He was tired and missed his family as his wife Brooke kept running into hassles trying to fly with their 3 young children (all under 5). He was granted free agency on October 31, 2000.

He thought he would give it another try, agreeing to a minor league deal with the Mets at the start of spring training, he thought maybe going back to the National League would get him motivated. The trip to Port St Lucie was a bit of a grind when his flight from Washington was canceled and his flight the next day was diverted to Orlando. The limousine sent by the Mets never arrived so he hired one himself to get to camp. Kevin took it as a bad omen and before even signing the deal or suiting up for the Mets he called his agent when he got to the hotel and informed him he was retiring, he had just turned 31.

He made his last ML appearance September 29, 2000 as an Angel.

In 8 seasons appearing exclusively at shortstop he batted .254 with 703 hits, 340 runs, 23 home runs, 248 RBIs, 45 stolen bases, 541 strike outs in 846 games.

When spring rolled around in 2002 he had no yearning to suit up, he was happy staying home with Brooke and the kids. He enrolled in Eastern Washington University getting a certificate in Public Health. He spent three summers (2003-2005) managing the Spokane River Hawks of the West Coast League and Brooke went back to nursing school.

In 2004 he became a baseball analyst/commentator for College Sports Network that was later bought out by the CBS Sports Network.

He and Brooke became owners in the Emerald City Smoothie franchise in 2007 but sold the shops in 2012 when he wanted to travel more for speaking engagements.


Kevin in one of his stores.

When the Tampa Bay Rays headed to Philadelphia for the World Series in 2008, Stocker was among many ex-Rays sought out for interviews. Kevin would remark that he doesn't look back very fondly on his time in Tampa Bay, can't really blame him. While he was happy for the Rays turning the ship around, it was no surprise where his loyalty would lie. He spent 6 years in the Phillies organization with memories of that incredible rookie year, postseason and World Series berth.




August 8, 2010 Stocker and Dick Knowles Phillies Alumni Batting Challenge





Mike Lieberthal , Debbie Nocito of the Phillies, and Kevin and Brooke Stocker August 10, 2010

He was among the finalist when the Phillies were looking for additions to their broadcast team for the 2014 season though Jaimie Moyers and Matt Stairs would get the positions. Kevin still works for CBS Sports Network. He attends many of the Phillies annual honorary and charity events.

Along with his twin Jill, Kevin had two other brothers, Mike and Steve who also played high school and college ball, Steve was also drafted by the Phillies but only played one year in the minors. Jill was a gymnast, sprinter and cheerleader.



Chuck Stocker's birthday with Jill, Steve, Mike and Kevin



Kevin resides in Liberty Lake, Washington with his wife Brooke, they have three children McKenna, Logan and Zachary.







That finishes the Opening Day starters, next the rest of the original starting rotation.

[Tobywan]

#2 Starter

Rolando Arrojo -#30 (later #17)- RHP

Luis Rolando Arrojo Avila is most often listed as being born on July 18, 1968 in San Juan de los Yeras, Cuba though some sources state his birthplace as San Juan de Las Villas or Havana. His father Roberto worked in the sugar cane fields, Rolando tells of memories playing stick ball with broken broom handles in the streets. He attended San Jose High School and as all young Cuban males, he had to join the military at 18. He had been going through intensive basic training for a few months when he was "discovered" by some baseball scouts that had come to the base to hold tryouts. He was so impressive he was released from his commitment and assigned to a "professional" team, the Citricultores. His baseball card from the Cuban League states his birth year in 1965 and has him joining the club in 1983.




Arrojo was named rookie of the year and quickly developed into one of the premier pitchers in the league. He joined the Villa Clara club 2 years later.
After spending 8 seasons in the Cuban League he was selected for the Cuban National Team winning all 10 of his starts in international competition and twice was voted Team Cuba MVP.

During this time he married his wife Mayda who was a doctor and they had their first son.

As a member of the National Team of Cuba he traveled with the team to a American military base in Millington, Tennessee play in a series of exhibitions to prepare for the 1992 Summer Olympics, where baseball would be a medal sport for the first time. During this trip they got to see American major league ball on television they weren't allowed to even talk about American ball back home. A month later they would travel to Colorado to play the US team at Mile High Stadium. Just before the game, the new MLB expansion club Colorado Rockies unveiled the uniforms they would be donning the next year when they played their first season. The stands were packed, as he sat in the bull pen leery of the security guard who was stationed there, not to protect the players but to prevent any of them from making an attempt to run and hide in the crowd. Rolando didn't pitch that day but Cuba would defeat the US. Ironically, it was the Fourth of July.

In August the team traveled to Barcelona to compete in the Olympics where he pitched a 9 inning shutout during a semi-final round as the team played its way to a Gold Medal match defeating Chinese Taipei 11-1.

He was a vital part of Cuba’s top baseball league and the National team, in 13 seasons he posted a 154-98 record with a 3.50 ERA. He struck out just 5.1 batters per 9 innings, but he walked just 2.0 per 9, though he is still the career leader in hit batsmen. Helping his team to 3 straight Cuban National Series from 1993-1995. He played in the Central American Games in 1993, the Intercontinental Cup in 1993 and 1995. During the 1994 Baseball World Cup he posted a 1.64 ERA with a 2-0 record striking out 17 batters in 11 innings and he would play in the Pan Am Games in 1995.

He was given the nickname "Typhoon" but never acquired one while in the major leagues.

Arrojo's story of how he made it to the Major Leagues sounds like it should be the plot of a Hollywood movie.

Rolando had begun thinking about defecting in 1994, he got a perfect chance in May of '95 when the Cuban team was in Japan, sports agent Joe Cubas was ready and willing to help him but he changed his mind after a phone call with his wife and son, Mayda had given birth to a second son just 5 months earlier. He knew it meant leaving his family behind and he couldn't go through with it. Joe Cubas, was the son of Cuban born parents who fled after the revolution, he quit his job to become an agent in order to help Cuban players break away, honestly admitting that the main motive was to become rich off of grateful players.

In May 1996 he pitched a no hitter against Japan's Western National team. In July the team was in Albany, Georgia to get ready for the Olympic games in Atlanta, he was selected to be the No. 1 pitcher They were playing some preliminary matches including one where they once again dominated the US team.
When Joe Cubas came to collect him in the middle of the night on July 9th, he was ready, this time his wife encouraged him to do it, promising that she and the boys would get out somehow. Joe had told Rolando to be ready between Midnight and 3 a.m., he was to wear dark clothes and take nothing. When Joe arrived they slinked down the back stairs of the hotel to Joe's waiting car, there were two other cars as decoys, speeding away with a car full of bodyguards following the wrong car, they got away. Arrojo remembers he was terrified, if he had been caught he might be jailed and he worried about his family, what might be done to them? When word got back to Fidel Castro, who had called Arrojo "the best of his generation" just a few years ago he would now call him a "Judas", along with 2 other defectors from the same week. Cuban boxers Ramon Garbey and Joel Casamayor, had left a training camp in Mexico and headed for California seeking political asylum just days before Arrojo's defection.

The next day Rolando was in Miami with relatives, the day after that he was holding a press conference. Cubas' plan was for him to go to Costa Rica and set up residency (nine months) so he could be declared a free agent and he would be able to sign with any major league team. It was similar to the plan carried out by Cubas the year before when he helped Arrojo's former 1992 Olympic teammates, Osvaldo Fernandez and Liván Hernández defect. About a month after Rolando was in Costa Rica, secret arrangements were made to get Mayda and the boys out of Cuba sending them off on a treacherous 12 hour voyage to Florida in a wooden boat packed with other refugees seeking asylum. At the time of his defection Rolando claimed to be 27 years old (turning 28 just a couple weeks later). Cuban Officials publicly downplayed the events stating that athletes are free to leave anytime, while those same players were labeled traitors in Cuba. Arrojo's departure did not hamper the team's performance, they once again took Gold in Atlanta beating Japan who settled for Silver, while the US won Bronze.


When his 9 months were up, he obtained his visa to come back to the US, in April of 1997. Representatives of 19 clubs attended an audition in Miami to look at Arrojo, after the bidding was done he agreed to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays offer that included a $7M signing bonus, Mayda was at his side when he signed the contract on April 21, 1997. Reportedly he was paid the equivalent of $7-$11 dollars a month during his years in the Cuban League. He pitched that season for the A+ St. Petersburg Rays in their newly formed minor league system, the team says they kept him there as the climate in central Florida was closer to what he pitched in while in Cuba. He did very well even pitching 4 complete games. He also pitched in the Arizona Fall League going 5-0.




He went a little crazy with the money at first, he never owned a car in Cuba so he splurged on a car and a van for the family.

The Rays were so impressed with him during the 1998 spring camp that they named him the number two starter. He would make his debut on April 1, 1998. Making him a 29 year old rookie (or was he?). He pitched well enough, allowing 4 runs and 8 hits in 6 innings while striking out six and giving up one walk (and a HBP of Brian Roberts) as he logged the first Devil Rays win 11-8 over the Detroit Tigers. He would also pitch the first shutout on April 30th in Minnesota.



His ERA ballooned over the next few starts but he got hot from mid-April to mid-July, going 10-5 in 17 starts, with 2 complete games, and 2 consecutive shutouts. This earned him the nod to represent the Rays in the All-Star game.



From the time he had gotten his nice bonus he had been trying to make arrangements to get the rest of his family out of Cuba, he even bought 2
large homes side by side in St. Petersburg to accommodate everyone. His family was being persecuted because of Arrojo's betrayal, his mother and brother had been jailed at times.In mid June during a series against New York he left the team suddenly for "personal reasons", later the team would reveal that his mother Uvendolina de la fe Avila, his brother Roberto Jr, sister in-law and 2 children, an aunt and a few cousins made it out on a boat to the Keys. The Rays let him take a few days to meet them in Miami and he would rejoin the team on the road in Boston. The family was being held in detention by INS and hopefully released soon to other relatives there, then later join Rolando in St Pete. However, one was missing, his father was not allowed to leave. His dream of a good life and freedom for him and his family in America was almost complete. When he made his next start at Tropicana Field the family would be there to cheer him on, all except his mother, she never goes and never watches on TV, too nervous so she always waits to be told the results.

The following month he was at the All Star game at Coors Field he tossed a shutout inning, giving up 2 hits and striking out a batter as the AL beat the NL 13-8.
He was the first Cuban-born pitcher to achieve the honor since Boston's Luis Tiant in 1976.




When he returned he pitched well, but suddenly had a rough stretch between mid-July through August. He seemed to straighten back up by September and
finished stong. He established himself as the workhorse of the staff pitching 202 innings that season with a 3.56 ERA and a 14-12 record. The only Rays pitcher above .500 in 1998 and he tied the record for most victories for an expansion team. Unfortunately, he hadn't lost his penchant for hitting batters as he led the American League with 19. He was also in serious contention for the AL Rookie honors, but lost out on both the Baseball Writers Association of America's award and the Player's Choice for the AL ROY to Oakland's Ben Grieve.

He signed another contract in March of 1999, though he felt the $240,000 salary was a bit low. He upgraded his car to a Mercedes and got a Lexus for Mayda.
Supposedly, he parked his Mercedes a little close to the field during spring training and one of Fred McGriff's home runs found the windshield. He drove the Lexus until he got it fixed.

1999 would be a completely different story, he was nagged by a sore back though seemed healthy enough to start the season but after winning just 2 of his 15 starts he went to the DL on May 25th when he suffered inflammation in his right shoulder. When he returned in July, he was 5-7 the rest of the way for an overall 7-12 record (4.50 ERA). Once again he would accumulate double digits in hit batters with 14. It would be normal for a little decline as batters get more familiar, but there were rumblings that he was another one of those guys that didn't believe in conditioning and he began battling the coaches when they tried to correct him from tipping his pitches even to the point of completely ignoring them. While he was never particularly outstanding against left-handers he went from being
effective to down right inept against them.




These issues coupled with the "rumor" that he was actually 3 maybe even 4 years older led to him being shipped off along with Aaron Ledesma to the Colorado Rockies for Vinny Castilla on December 13th despite the initial investment. It seemed to have finally dawned on someone that if he claimed to be 27 at the time he sought asylum (1996) in the US on top of having already spent 13 years playing that it meant he would have joined the Cuban team when he was a mere 14- 15 years old. That is very unlikely, since according to Rolando himself he wasn't playing until after he joined the military at 18 and there was that pesky Cuban baseball card that listed a birth date and career dates that coincide with his stories. It was more likely that he was really 30/31 at the time he defected.

If he was really 34 going on 35 in 1999, that and his unwillingness to do the conditioning it takes for the more demanding schedule of the Major Leagues could have led to his quick downward spiral and health issues instead of just a gradual decline into an average starter on his way to becoming a reliever.

He held the Rays win record in a single season until 2008 when James Shields and Edwin Jackson both tied him with 14 wins.




He was hoping to make a fresh start in Colorado having a fond memory of that 4th of July many years ago. Colorado was probably given no heads up about the issues with Arrojo and karma always has a way of coming back around. According to GM Dan O'Dowd the pitcher's arm was thoroughly checked by their medical staff. Rolando was telling the team and the press during spring that there was " no trouble"with his arm and there would be "no problem' adjusting to the National League, his new manager or the altitude in Denver. Arrojo was selected to be the Rockies' third starter, behind Pedro Astacio and Brian Bohanon, though when the season started he pitched the second game.



The Arrojos had just welcomed their third child at the time of the trade a daughter that Rolando was very proud to have been born in the US.




Things did not go well with the Rockies as he went 5-9 with a 6.04 ERA in 19 starts before he was traded with Rich Croushore, Mike Lansing and cash to the Boston Red Sox for Jeff Taglienti (minors), Jeff Frye, Brian Rose and John Wasdin on July 27, 2000. He spent the rest of the season in the starting rotation going 5-2 with a 5.05 ERA in 13 starts for the Sox. He spent 2001 and 2002 in spot starts and in a relief role as well as stints with the Rookie Gulf Coast League Red Sox and the A+ Sarasota Red Sox of the Florida State League. He suffered a rotator cuff injury in June 2002 resulting in surgery. During his rehab he was finally reunited with his father Roberto when he was granted approval to leave Cuba.




On December 17th he was granted free agency. On January 15, 2003 he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates but was released on April 1st.
He signed with the New York Yankees on May 7th and assigned to the Triple A Columbus Clippers in the International League. After just four appearances with the Triple A Columbus Clippers he called it quits.


His last ML appearance was September 22, 2002 for the Red Sox.

He pitched in just 5 seasons in the majors finishing with a 40-42 record, 4.55 ERA in 700 innings.



May 8, 2013
Nelson Diaz, Hector Estevez, Osvaldo Garcia, Orlando Hernandez, Arrojo and Lazaro Borrell receive awards for the Cuban Sports Hall of Fame in Miami.






He is currently a coach at the All-Star Sports Indoor Training Complex in St Petersburg, Florida where he has been for many years.


Rolando and Mayda still reside in St Petersburg as well as the extended family, they had three children , Rolando Jr., Jason and Liliet

[Tobywan]

#3 Starter

Tony Saunders-# 31 -LHP

Anthony Scott Saunders was born on April 29, 1974 in Baltimore, Maryland and grew up in the surrounding area. His parents were divorced so he attended Howard High School when he lived with his mother, then transferred to Glen Burnie High School for his senior year after moving in with his father. He became a standout playing for the Gophers and also met his future wife there. He turned down a scholarship from George Mason as he wanted to get on with a pro team. He knew he wasn't going to be drafted as his school teams never played for any titles. At an open tryout he caught the eye of Marlins scout Ty Brown and on June 9, 1992 he signed as a free agent with Florida for $1,000. They would be playing their Inaugural season the following year so Saunders was assigned to their Gulf Coast League Rookie Marlins, he went 4-1 in 24 games as a reliever and posted a 1.18 ERA. He was promoted to the Single A Kane County Cougars in the Midwest League in 1993, moving up to the High A Brevard County Manatees of the Florida State League for the '94 and '95 seasons. He was sent to Double A Portland Sea Dogs in the Eastern League and with a full season went 13-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 26 starts and 167.2 innings for the 1996 season. He and Joyce married that year and she even took a job at the ticket office for Portland. In the off season they lived with her parents in Columbia, Maryland.



He was so impressive in the spring of 1997 that he made the Opening Day roster never having pitched above Double A. He was given the 5th starter role for his ML debut on April 5th pitching against the Cincinnati Reds. The first batter he faced was Deion Sanders who hit a single. He went 6.2 innings, gave up 3 runs on 4 hits, walked 2 and struck out 3. He was lifted with the Marlins behind, the team would come back with the 4-3 win going to Rob Nen. He spent the majority of the season with the Marlins with a brief DL rehab stint at Portland and with the Triple A Charlotte Knights of the International League from the end of June to mid-July. He finished the 1997 season 4-6 in 22 starts and struck out 102 batters in 111.1 innings. He led all rookies in '97 by averaging 8.24 strikeouts per nine innings. The Marlins finished with a record of 92-70 good enough for the NL wild card spot, he was left off the division series roster as they swept the Giants. He would be included in the NLCS against the Braves, the team he won his first three starts against during the regular season. He would take the ball in Game 3, allowing just two runs in five-and-a-third innings, the Marlins came back 5-2 and Livan Hernandez would get the win. They went on to eliminate the Braves 4-2. In the World Series against the Cleveland Indians he got the nod to start Game 4 , but he got shelled giving up 6 runs in 2 innings. Despite the loss the Marlins would be victorious in a memorable Game 7 to become Champions.



He was the No. 1 pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from the Marlins in the expansion draft on November 18, 1997. Larry Rothschild, formerly the Marlins' pitching coach likely had a hand in that choice. He got the call while at a mall waiting to have a Christmas portrait taken with his infant daughter to surprise his wife, he wasn't wondering about the draft as he mistakenly thought he was among the 15 protected players on the Marlins roster. He rushed home with no photo but with a different surprise.




He would take the ball on April 2, 1998 it was the third game of the Rays first series against the Tigers, he gave up just 1 run , a homer to Brian Hunter and 5 hits while striking out seven. He was lifted after 5 innings with the game tied 1-1, the Rays would go on to put up 6 runs in the 7th winning 7-1 with Estaban Yan given the win.



When the DRays traveled to Detroit and Chicago for their first road trip and on April 10th in Chicago, Florida Marlins assistant GM Frank Wren showed up before the game to give Tony his 1997 World Series ring. He must have been too excited to pitch as he took a 3-0 loss. He struggled (or rather the team struggled when he started) going 6-15 with a 4.12 ERA in 192.1 innings. He led the AL in walks and placed 9th in strike outs. His 3.51 runs per nine innings of support were a half-run less than any other AL pitcher. His ratio of 8.05 strikeouts per nine innings was fourth among major-league lefties.


Devil Rays coaches had tried to drill into his head that he needed to be more aggressive, it finally seemed to sink in when on April 22, 1999 he pitched one of his best games as a Devil Ray. He took a 1-0 victory over his hometown team the Baltimore Orioles in which he came within four outs of a no-hitter despite hitting a batter and walking seven. He had gotten Charles Johnson to ground out and Rich Amaral to fly out in the 8th before giving up a single to Mike Bordick, he was replaced by Jim Mecir then Roberto Hernandez who preserved the win. He was shut down after his loss in Boston on September 21st when his arm locked up, he needed surgery on September 30th to remove a bone chip in his elbow, he was throwing pain free by mid-November. He came into spring feeling great. He was pitching consistently still getting bad run support and his record was 3-3 when the Texas Rangers came in for a series, he was set to pitch the final game on May 26th. Saunders started the game well, retiring the first 6 batters in a row including 2 strike outs. He was working with a lead to start the 3rd, but Roberto Kelly led off the inning hitting a home run to deep left center, followed by a single from Royce Clayton. Jon Shave flied out, then Luis Alicea singled. Pudge Rodriguez flied out to deep center. Then Rusty Greer hit a line drive single scoring Clayton sending Alicea to third, Juan Gonzalez would be the next batter with Ralphael Palmiero on deck. After a full count to Gonzalez, Tony threw the next pitch which went way wide of the plate as he buckled falling to the ground, Alicea scored, but as the blood curdling screams lifted from the mound everybody else stopped in their tracks and the crowd went completely silent, the only sound was Tony screaming.





It was a frightening sight , catcher John Flaherty was the first to reach him, with the trainers and coaches close behind. Pudge Rodriguez came out from the dugout, he and Palmiero headed to the home plate area, Gonzalez hadn't moved to take his walk to first base as they knelt and began praying together. Joyce Saunders was in attendance watching the game from one of the boxes and rushed to the club house as Tony was loaded on a gurney and taken off the field.





The game was tied and the mood was somber as everyone tried to get their bearings to continue with the game. The rest of the night was a blur but the Rays did end up losing the game. The injury was determined to be a spiral break of the humerus bone. Following surgery he spent the off season doing everything he was told in order to get healthy. He was ready to start throwing by spring, the Rays kept a watchful eye on him, but he was back to throwing in the 90's and trying to learn to raise his pitches as MLB issued a directive that umpires stop calling very low pitches as strikes.
He had a slight set back as he was experiencing soreness but in August he started to pitch a couple rehab games with the Charleston River Dogs, things were going slow, he tired easy in his first games back. Then Rays brought him closer to play for the St Pete Rays, he had pitched two games for them with no issues. He just needed another start or two to be ready to join the Devil Rays. It had been a long 15 months trying to come back, his next start for St Pete would be against the Clearwater Phillies at Al Lang Field on August 24th, he was going to be held to about 4 innings. He was pitching well until the third inning when the unimaginable happened. He threw a pitch to Rusty McNamara and the bone snapped again just above the previous break. Just as medical staff began to check on him, it began to pour, his teammates and opponents held a tarp over him as no one wanted him to move. As much pain as he was suffering he would recall it was just as painful to see the look on the faces around him, many with tears streaming down horrified expressions. The downpour continued causing the game to be canceled. He called his wife from the ambulance on a borrowed cell phone, taking the next flight out and after a delay she got to his hospital room by midnight. He would do his own crying during a heart wrenching press conference two days later when he announced that he couldn't do it again. He was done at 26.



In 3 short seasons he finished with a 13-24 record, 304 strikeouts and a 4.56 ERA in 345.2 innings.

Tony was the recipient of the 2000 Tony Conigliaro Award.

The Rays established the Tony Saunders Courage award in his honor to be given to high school student-athletes in the bay area . It was awarded from 2001- 2005.



The Rays also gave him a job, he would be named assistant to scouting and player development in November 2000 so he moved his family here and held the role for two seasons. While he enjoyed being around the players it kept reminding him what he couldn't do anymore. He tried his hand at some private enterprises, starting a business selling memorabilia, bought a bar in St Petersburg and even tried selling stocks and bonds for Morgan Stanley and mortgage brokering. He then became kind of a Mr. Mom, got involved with his daughter's soccer team and teaching his young son how to golf. In 2004 he started coaching a Tampa AAU team, throwing batting practice everyday with no pain, it got him yearning and thinking that maybe he could make another go at the bigs, maybe he had enough to be a reliever. As a favor the Rays reinstated him then granted him free agency on December 20th. A Dodger scout was interested, so was Orioles scout Ty Brown who originally signed Tony for the Marlins back in 1992. He was signed to a minor league contract on January 19, 2005 with an invite to spring training. He moved his family back to Severn, Maryland as he was assigned to the AA Bowie BaySox roster for the season but never appeared in a game. He was made a free agent on October 15th. He did appear in 9 games for the Mesa Miners of the independent Golden Baseball League in the fall and went back to retirement.

His last MLB appearance was that awful day on May 26, 1999 .

In Jose Canseco's controversial book "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big", one paragraph stated that Saunders broken arm may have been a result of steroid abuse. Canseco and Saunders were teammates with the DRays in 1999. While in the Orioles spring training camp the press descended on Saunders just as they had everyone mentioned in the book. Tony vehemently denied it, he was especially angry and welcomed the chance to publicly set the record straight since he had recently been advising the young team he coached ( just before the comeback attempt) not to use steroids and all the reasons why. He also thought it amusing that the many specialists he saw couldn't tell him why his arm broke the way it did, but Jose seemed to know.



He became a pitching instructor at the BATT Academy in Glen Burnie, there are a few training clips of him on You tube for them , however, according to their Facebook page the business has closed recently.




On June 20, 2010 ( Father's Day) he suited up for the Hall of Fame Classic at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown and pitched an inning. He joined around 30 other former ball players like Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Harmon Killebrew, Phil Niekro, Bob Feller, Gary Carter and Ozzie Smith. .

Tony and his wife Joyce still live in the Baltimore area, they have 2 children Samantha and Anthony.

[Tobywan]

#4 Starter

Rick Gorecki -# 55 -RHP


Richard John Gorecki was born on August 27, 1973 in Evergreen Park, Illinois. He attended Oak Forest High School playing baseball for the Bengals. He grew up in the South Side area of White Sox territory, but as a young teenager he did the unthinkable. Sick of hearing how bad the Chisox were and his family constantly talking about the team, he became a Cubs fan. He played summer ball with his older brother Jimmy being coached by his father Jim. In 1991 he pitched a no-hitter in his senior year striking out 19 batters and was named Chicago-area high school player of the year by the Chicago Sun-Times.



He was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 19th round of the June 3, 1991 amateur draft and signed on June 9th. He was assigned to the rookie class Great Falls Dodgers of the Pioneer League. He rose through the ranks of the Dodgers minor league system with the Bakersfield Dodgers and the San Antonio Missions, then was named to the 40 man-roster after going 5-0 with a 3.12 ERA with the Triple-A Albuquerque Dukes in 1994.

After the '94 season, hoping it would help him get to the big club sooner he opted to pitch in the Dominican Republic during the winter league. Unfortunately, he quickly became injured after throwing 3 pitches in the bullpen and feeling a shooting pain in his hip, the first of many health problems he would suffer. He went back to LA seeing several doctors, had plenty of tests including an ultrasound and nothing was found. He returned to Illinois and saw a specialist who found he had a hernia in his hip. With the labor situation in MLB still unsettled he had surgery on March 29, 1995 figuring he had plenty of time to recuperate before the strike ended. Two days later it was over and players were reporting, he got healthy enough to rehab back in Vero Beach, pitching in 6 games before being promoted to Albuquerque. The coaches for the Dukes were concerned and shut him down the rest of the season, but he reported to the Dominican that winter. Three starts in he was in trouble again, headed back to LA and in December had arthroscopic surgery to repair a tear in his bicep by having 2 tacks inserted into the both sides of the tendon, sadly he would be one of the rare people whose body rejected the tacks. This led to more surgery in March of 1996 making him miss the entire big league season. He spent multiple stints in rehab assignments as well as visits to LA to get treatment and conditioning from the Dodgers staff. The toll on him physically and mentally got so bad at times that when he wasn't getting pain and antibiotic injections or at physical therapy sessions he shut himself away in his tiny Vero Beach apartment. Even with all he was suffering he loved the game too much to give up and the Dodgers were tying their best not to give up on him.



He was doing better by 1997 and was trying to get back to playing with Class-A San Bernardino, after playing for them and the San Antonio Missions he got called up by the Dodgers after the minor league season was over. He made his ML debut in a game against the Atlanta Braves on September 10, 1997 when he pitched a scoreless 9th inning in a 7-0 Dodgers loss. He gave up a walk to Kenny Loften and a single to Greg Colbrunn, getting Fred McGiff to groundout and Rafael Belliard to ground into a double play.


On November 18th the Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him from the Los Angeles Dodgers as their 20th pick in the expansion draft.



His first scheduled start was on April 3, 1998 in a 10-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox in front of a 31,816 crowd at Tropicana Field. He pitched just 4.2 innings giving up 6 runs on 8 hits, walking 4 and striking out two. Ray Durham was the first batter he faced giving up a single to left.



The Rays first road trip would be in the area he grew up facing his childhood team the Chicago White Sox, the team he ditched a decade ago to root for that other team in Chicago. Even though he changed the family allegiance they came out to Comiskey Park in droves to see him play on April 11th , he gave out 48 tickets himself but there were more who got their own. Extended family, friends, friends of family and even people he didn't know. Everyone came out to see the youngest son of Jim and Carol Gorecki make a start with his new team, they had turned from the White Sox now donning Devil Ray hats, jackets and t-shirts. The family had been to St Pete during spring training buying about $400 worth of merchandise and it was being put to use.



He got such loud cheers from the stands behind home plate every time he moved that many of the Sox had to look around and make sure they were playing at their home park. Even his fiance Kerry Grens was there, she and Rick met in high school on the athletics field, she ran for the track team and he played baseball. He got in trouble early but settled down, though his Dad never settled, he would be tense the entire game no matter how many batters were retired. He would recall how amused the students of Gage Park High School in Mokena (about 35 miles south of Chicago) would be if they saw the administrator in charge of discipline acting like a nervous nellie. Once Rick was out of the first couple jams he retired 13 straight batters and allowed only one hit. He would win the first Devil Rays road victory 5-1.




On April 19th he was placed on the 15 day DL with tendinitis in his right bicep on May 6th he was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. He was trying to come back playing rehab stints with the rookie Gulf Coast League Devil Rays and the St Pete Rays before finally having surgery in July. He reported to spring camp still needing a lot of rehab. Trainer Jamie Reed and pitching coach Rick Williams worked tirelessly with Gorecki trying to get him back, but with set back after set back he made the decision leave the game.



His last MLB appearance was April 17, 1998.

He finished 2 seasons with a 2-2 record, 13 strike outs and a 7.54 ERA.

After retirement he attended DePaul University for a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Management and Operations. He then obtained a real estate license and has been a very successful Real Estate Broker and Mortgage Consultant in Illinois.



He is also an instructor for the Chicago Bulls/Sox Academy in Lisle, Illinois.



Rick and Kerry reside in Homer Glen, Illinois and have three children (names unknown).

[Tobywan]

#5th Starter

Dennis Springer #35-RHP

Dennis Leroy Springer was born on February 12, 1965 in Fresno, California and attended Washington Union High School where his father was a teacher and the football coach. He loved going with his Dad to practices, but when he was 9 he started playing little league and soon baseball became an obsession. His grandpa would watch televised ballgames with little Dennis on Saturday mornings, the Dodgers were his favorite team so they became Dennis' favorite team, though he always liked Cal Ripken Jr. He became a decent pitcher for the Union Panthers. He attended Reedley College and lettered while playing for the 1984-85 Tigers, then went to Fresno State University playing for the Bulldogs in 1986-87. He started playing around with the knuckleball in high school but didn't start trying it in games until college. It took him several years to master it and was always working to perfect it over his entire career. He honestly didn't think he had a shot at being drafted, but a family friend just happened to be a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He called Springer personally to tell him he had been selected in the 21st round of the June 2, 1987 amateur draft, he signed two days later. In the beginning he thought he might play for a couple years and then go back home and maybe be a teacher and coach like his father. He was first assigned to the rookie class Great Falls Dodgers in the Pioneer League. In spring of 1992 the Dodgers put him under the tutelage of Tom Candiotti.





He played at every level of the minors system predominantly for the Albuquerque Dukes and San Antonio Missions for seven seasons before being granted free agency on October 15, 1993.



Dennis had no wife or children to care for yet so it was easy to try to stick it out, though after all this time he had his doubts he could really make a career in the big leagues. On May 19, 1994 he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies and was assigned to the Reading Phillies, going 5-8 with a 3.40 ERA in 135 innings pitched. He started being called "Knucksie" the common moniker given to knuckleballers. In 1995 he went 10-11, with a 4.68 ERA in 171 innings with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons before being called up to the Phillies on September 10th. Tyler Green was being dropped from the starting rotation, but Dennis had been struggling so they had him spend some time with future Hall of Fame knuckler Phil Niekro, who had him change his thumb position and he seemed to be getting the hang of it. He would make his ML debut on September 13th making a start against the Montreal Expos. He would pitch 5.1 innings giving up 5 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits and striking out 4. He faced three batters in the 6th before being replaced by Russ Springer, Dennis took the 5-4 loss. He finished the season wih the Phillies taking 4 starts, going 0-3 with a 4.85 ERA in 22.1 innings. He became a free agent on December 21st.



On January 5, 1996 he signed a minor league contract with an invite to spring camp by the California Angels. He split time between the Triple A Vancouver Canadians of the Pacific Coast League and the Angels. He got his first ML win on July 26, 1996 when he went 7.2 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers at Anaheim Stadium. He let up 3 runs (including a home run to Greg Vaughn) on 4 hits, striking out 3 and walking one before giving way to Troy Percival for a 6-5 victory. He would finish with a 5-6 record , 5.51 ERA in 94.2 innings. 1997 would be his first full season in the majors, with the newly renamed Anaheim Angels. He started out the season strong but was struggling again by summer so he would consult with Niekro once again shortly before his induction, his advice was to throw his slowest pitch even slower. He finished the season 9-9 with a 5.18 ERA in 194.2 innings.


On the November 18, 1997 expansion draft he was selected as the 13th pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.



He was named the 5th starter, but made his first appearance as a Devil Ray in the Inaugural opener on March 31, 1998, he came in as relief after Wilson Alvarez and Dan Carlson gave up 11 runs to the Detroit Tigers. He pitched 3 scoreless innings, giving up 3 hits in the 11-6 loss. He started his first game on April 4th, 1998 retiring all three batters in the 1st inning. He would pitch 7.1 innings, giving up 2 runs (including a home run to Frank Thomas in the 4th) on 6 hits, giving up 1 walk, striking out 3 in an 8-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. He went just 3-11 with an 5.45 ERA in 115.2 innings for the season. He was released on November 3, 1998.



He signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins on January 29, 1999, it would be his last full season of play in the majors, going 6-16 (2nd in the NL for losses) with a 4.86 ERA in 196.1 innings. He did manage to pitch 2 shut outs. He was made a free agent on October 6th.



He signed with the New York Mets on February 4, 2000, he had a good spring, pitching well enough to be seriously considered for the starting rotation, but lost the 5th spot to Glendon Rausch. He was optioned to the Triple A Norfolk Tides of the International League. Springer pitched three games for the Tides before being promoted to New York on April 18th when Bobby Jones went to the DL, he got a start on the 22nd pitching five and a third innings with a no decision in a 7-6 win over the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium.




He got another start on April 26th, he was hammered for 8 runs on 13 hits, but with a skimpy bull pen he was left in the game until the 7th inning and was booed as he left the field in the 12-1 loss. He was optioned back to Norfolk on the 27th and never made it back to the Mets. He finished the year going 5-5 with a 4.38 ERA in 25 games for the Tides and was granted free agency on October 18th.




He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 11, 2001, he would split his time between the Triple A Las Vegas 51's of the Pacific Coast League and the Dodgers, he pitched in May but was sent back to the minors when LA acquired James Baldwin from the White Sox. He had only pitched 3 games with the Dodgers when he was called back to the club on September 2nd. When LA would play their final series against their rivals the San Francisco Giants for the final game on October 7th Dennis would get the start. He would be facing Barry Bonds in the first inning, Bonds had already broken Mark McGwire's single season, all-time home run record just two days earlier with his 72nd homer. With a sell out crowd of 41,257 at Pac Bell Park watching, Springer drew the count out full then threw a 43-mile per hour knuckleball that didn't knuckle launching No. 73 over the right field wall. Adding insult to injury the Dodgers lost 2-1. He was granted free agency on October 15th but re-signed with LA on November 21st. He made just once appearance for the Dodgers, pitching 1.1 inning, spending the rest of the season with the 51's going 7-8 with an ERA of 5.85 in 143 innings. He retired at the end of the season making his last MLB appearance May 26, 2002.



In an 8-season career, he had a 24-48 record, with a 5.18 ERA with 296 strikeouts in 655.1 innings pitched. He pitched in 130 games, starting 98, had 9 complete games and 4 shut outs.

He knows his claim to fame is considered to be the big home run to Bonds in 2001, but he considers it a big deal only to Barry, Giants fans and the record book, to him it was just one of many home runs he gave up in his career. Among his own highlights he recalls his 4 career shut outs, one against the Braves especially since his opponent was Greg Maddox and the one he threw against the Rays the season after he was released. The other 2 were against Cleveland and Baltimore.

Springer was inducted into the Fresno State University Hall of Fame in 2008.

He has appeared regularly at banquets and been a guest speaker at events for Reedley College and Fresno State as well as participating in Alumni Baseball games at Fresno.



Reedley College Kick-off Dinner 2013

After he retired Dennis trained to become firefighter, he also manages youth baseball in Hanford, California where he lives with his wife Andrea, they have a son Samuel.

[Tobywan]

We go to the bullpen......

Dan Carlson-#46-RHP

Daniel Steven Carlson was born on January 26, 1970 in Portland, Oregon, he attended Reynolds High School in nearby Troutdale playing ball for the Raiders and graduating in 1988. He furthered his education by going to Mount Hood Community (Junior) College in Gresham where he pitched for the Saints and still holds their record for innings pitched in a season with 92.2 in 1990. He was selected in the 33rd round of the June 5, 1989 amateur draft by the San Francisco Giants but didn't sign until May 26, 1990. He was assigned to the Class A- Everett Giants of the Northwest League going 2-6 in 17 outings including 11 starts.





He moved up to the Class A Clinton Giants of the Midwest League in 1991 where he tied for the league lead with 16 wins as they finished with a 81-56 record giving the team its first play-off berth and Midwest League title since 1963.

In 1992 with the Double A Shreveport Captains of the Texas League he led the league in wins going 15-9 in 27 starts . He was promoted to Triple-A Phoenix Firebirds in the Pacific Coast League for the 1993 season as well as the next 4 years. He led the league in wins with 14 in '94 and tied for the league lead with 13 in 1996. Carlson got the call up in September '96, making his ML debut on September 13th. In a game that was started by William VanLandingham, the Giants were already behind to the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-0, Dan came in to start the 8th. The first batter he faced was Jermaine Allensworth who popped out to short. He pitched 2 scoreless innings, giving up just 2 hits, 1 walk and one strike out, the Giants never scored. In 1996 Dan would join the Firebirds as they played their way to the Pacific Coast League Championship series only to be defeated by the Edmonton Trappers. He pitched in 5 games giving up 3 earned runs in 10 inning, even winning one game.




He would start the 1997 season on the DL with a lower back strain and spent time in rehab with the A+ Bakersfield Blaze of the California League then went to Phoenix before being recalled on June 10th. He got into the game but didn't pitch again for 2 weeks then appeared in just 4 more games before being sent back down on July 27th to make room for the recall of right-hander William VanLandingham and infielder Rich Aurilia in preparation for an upcoming double header. He pitched just 15.1 innings striking out 14 in those 6 appearances. He didn't get called back up. He once again joined the Firebirds at a run for the PCL Championship coming up short a second time to the Edmonton Trappers. 1997 would be the last time a minor league team would play in Phoenix they were being moved with the coming of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They went to Tuscon becoming the Sidewinders and changing from being a SF Giants affiliate to the DBacks.





He was one of the players the Giants left unprotected during the expansion draft. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him as their 14th pick in the first round on November 18th.
Dan spent the winter of '98 in Australia with other major-league players staging free baseball clinics as part of the Athletes Abroad for Christ program.




He had been a starter throughout his long minor league career, but never got a start with San Francisco, now that he had a taste of the majors he was hopeful in spring camp to make the club in whatever role the Rays wanted to use him. He made the 25-man roster as a member of the bullpen.
His first appearance for the Rays was Opening Day, March 31, 1998 replacing Wilson Alvarez, he pitched 2.2 innings, giving up 5 runs on 6 hits including a 2 run homer in the 5th to Luis Gonzalez, 2 walks with 3 strikeouts in the 11-6 loss. His numbers through May were 0-0 with a 7.64 ERA in 17.2 innings, giving up 15 earned runs in 10 outings before being designated for assignment on May 13th, he accepted, spending the rest of the season with the Triple-A Durham Bulls of the IL for the rest of the season going 3-5 with a 6.35 ERA in 19 games with 68 innings pitched. He was made a free agent on October 15th.



He signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 17th. He was assigned to the Triple-A Tucson Sidewinders in the Pacific Coast League for the 1999 season, he was called up in late June made just 2 appearances and sent back to Tucson to finish the season going 4-9 with a 5.43 ERA in 117.2 innings pitched. In 2000 he pitched in just 4 games, starting 3 of them for Tucson never making it back up to the DBacks and was made a free agent again on October 15th.



On January 17, 2000 he signed on to play with the Chunichi Dragons of the Japan Central League for $150, 000. While there his father in -law was diagnosed with cancer, he asked for a leave of absence, but since their season was just about over they gave him his released. His father in-law had successful treatment and he once again was playing for the Tuscon Sidewinders to finish the season. He was a free agent again.

He came back signing a minor league deal with the St Louis Cardinals in 2001 playing for their Triple A affiliate the Memphis Redbirds, he was designated for assignment on May 2nd and released and once again wound up in the DBacks organization playing with the Double A El Paso Diablos of the Texas League. He retired after the season making his last ML appearance June 23, 1999 for the Arizona Diamondbacks .


In parts of 4 seasons he pitched in just 23 games at the major league level starting none, he finished with a 1-0 record, 6.70 ERA, 35 earned runs in 47 innings. In parts of 12 seasons in the minors he went 105-69 with a 4.04 ERA (640 ER in 1,425.2 IP), including 1,240 strikeouts and 15 complete games (5 shutouts) in 311 appearances (202 starts).

He was just one of those that knew how to pitch but couldn't execute in the majors after having some success in the minor leagues. Almost imediately after his retirement the Arizona Diamondbacks put him back to work as a pitching coach in the minor league system.



2002 Pitching coach Missoula Osprey Rookie-Advanced Pioneer League
2003 Pitching coach South Bend Silver Hawks Single-A Midwest League
2004 Pitching coach Lancaster JetHawks Single-A California League
2005-2006 Pitching coach Tennessee Smokies Double A Southern League
2007 Pitching coach Mobile BayBears Double A Southern League
2008-2009 Pitching coach Yakima Bears Short-Season Northwest League
2010-2013 Pitching coach Mobile BayBears Double A Southern League

His top pupil in parts of 2011 and 2012 was Tyler Skaggs, many pitchers who have gone on to the majors credit him not only for his coaching but for the life lessons and spiritual guidance he has provided. During his long career as a pitching coach , due to so many games scheduled on Sundays , he often leads a bible study for those players who wish to participate. He is currently enrolled in Liberty University obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Religious Studies. He was part of the BayBears staff when they won the Southern League Championship in 2011 (breaking several franchise records along the way) and 2012, they went to the final series in 2013 but were defeated by the Birmingham Barrons.




Dan w/ Bay Bears hitting coach Turner Ward June, 2012

In 2012 Carlson and the rest of the Mobile staff traveled to Kodak, Tennessee (Home of the Tennessee Smokies) and given the honor of managing the South Division team in the Southern League All-Star Game on June 19th. The South Division All-Stars consisted of players from the BayBears, Montgomery Biscuits, Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Jacksonville Suns and Mississippi Braves. South defeated the
North, 6-2, before a crowd of 5,406 at Smokies Park.



Dan chats with Andrew Chafin and Rossmel Perez May, 2013

On November 12, 2013, Dan was named the Diamondbacks minor League pitching coordinator, he started his 13th season in the organization in that role for the 2014 season.

Dan and his wife Donna reside in Marana, Arizona, they have 2 sons, one is named Luke Joseph born in 2002 while he was coaching for Missoula (unknown if they have other children).

[Tobywan]

The Closer

Roberto Hernandez-#39-RHP

Roberto Manuel Hernández Rodríguez was born on November 11, 1964 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, though shortly after his birth the family moved to the Dominican Republic, his father's homeland. In 1967 they moved again to New York City. He attended the Chelsea Vocational School, playing baseball, but in his junior year he had to drop out when his mother stopped working due to illness and his father's tailoring business wasn't bringing in enough money. He bagged groceries for a year to help out, because of his job he was able to be part of a program that placed inner-city kids who held good grades with boarding schools. Through this program Roberto was able to obtain a scholarship to the New Hampton Prep School in New Hampshire. He had to repeat his junior year but he played ball with the Huskies and made life long friendships including his coach Lou Gnerre. He was developing into a very good catcher that could hit, but he was interested in becoming a pitcher. No matter how much he asked he got very little encouragement to switch from his coaches. He led the baseball, basketball, and football teams ( he was even courted by Brown) to winning seasons. An excellent student, he served as a member of the student government and ran the student union. During a spring work out in '84 University of Connecticut Head Coach Andy Baylock was watching him catch, throw and hit. Baylock gave him a scholarship, and Hernandez would be attending college by the fall. He was named the starting catcher, once again his pleas to get a chance to pitch fell on deaf ears. Following the 1985 college season, he played in a summer league in Virginia in the hopes he might be on the throwing end of pitches instead of receiving. Once again his ability to call games and hit kept him behind the plate, besides he was pretty much the only catcher, when a new one finally arrived Roberto got his chance, he actually got a start. He pitched seven innings, struck out nine, and allowed only three hits. He got a few more starts but was right back to catching and stayed there for the rest of the season. He wanted to return to UCONN in the fall of 1985, however, he had difficulty contacting Coach Baylock as he was crossing the country with the U.S. National Team so he made the decision to transfer. His first choice, the University of South Carolina in Columbia but he couldn't get a letter of consent and would've been forced to sit out a season if he did attend there, which could have hurt his chances of getting drafted. The pitching coach at Coastal Carolina University, had seen Hernandez pitch and called the pitching coach at the University of South Carolina-Aiken (USCA) asking him to offer Hernandez a scholarship.

He worried for several years that his coach at New Hampton, Lou Gnerre might be upset about the switch. He would start USCA in the fall of 1985 without even seeing the campus, but he hurt his arm pitching and underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. Once he recovered from surgery, he pitched well in the spring. He began pitching well enough to draw scouts and by 1986 there were scores of them coming to see him and others play.



He was selected in the first round of the 1986 June 2nd draft (the 16th pick overall) by the California Angels and signed on June 11th. Before his assignment with the Salem Angels in the Northwest League, Hernandez made a stop at a Pro camp in Fullerton, California that was being headed by Angel's coach Joe Maddon. Just before the short season ended he developed tendonitis and was shut down. Originally set to be a major league invite to spring training he was sent to the minor league camp instead. While pitching in a squad game he was hit in the elbow by a hard liner, x-rays were negative so they sent him to single A Quad Cities in the Midwest League. He pitched in just seven games and his elbow locked, after discovering bone chips he had microscopic surgery and spent the majority of the season on the DL. He was sent to instructional league for a throwing program then played winter ball in Puerto Rico and even though he only pitched in a handful of games he got a lot of advice that he feels helped him a great deal in his career. In the spring of 1988 he pitched an inning in the Caribbean World Series, while his father was in attendance. He played winter league ball in Puerto Rico from 1987 to 1996 with the Mayaguez Indians.



He reported to the Angel's ML camp where he developed a good relationship with teammates like Bob Boone and George Hendricks. He admits he was fearful of getting hurt again and didn't throw as agressively as he had done in the past. He was sent to the Double A Midland Angels in the Texas League and didn't fare much better there. He headed back to Midland in 1989, he began to struggle even more, his ERA ballooning to 6.89 and was demoted to High A Palm Springs in the California League. On August 4, 1989 he was traded along with another minor leaguer, Mark Doran to the Chicago White Sox for Mark Davis much to the chagrin of Joe Maddon. He would report back to the Midwest League but with Chicago's affiliate the South Bend White Sox. They worked on his mechanics and altered his delivery, his ERA started to come down and they made it to the Midwest League Championship defeating the Springfield Cardinals. He started 1990 with the Double A Birmingham Barons of the Southern League, mid-season he was promoted to the Triple A Vancouver Canadians in the PCL, he started 28 games (18 quality starts) between the two posting a 11-10 record with a 3.31 ERA in 187.1 innings pitched.



In the beginning of spring 1991 he began to feel numbness in his right hand, but he kept it to himself and made four starts putting himself in serious contention to make the ML club, but he ended up being assigned back to Vancouver, the numbness got worse and by the time the team went on a road trip to Edmonton a few weeks later his thumb was turning purple. The coach thought it was just the cold weather, he pitched four less than stellar innings and went to the hospital after the game. A vascular surgeon thought it was a blood clot, the Sox had him flown to Chicago where he had surgery, an 11 hour procedure of having veins transplanted from his inner thigh to his forearm, reportedly the first athlete to have this particular kind of surgery. Afterwards, he was told there was a 50/50 chance he might be able to pitch. In a few weeks he was rehabbing in Chicago, about 6 weeks after surgery he spent time with the Gulf Coast Rookie Sox, Birmingham and Vancouver. He had a remarkably quick recovery.
He was 4 innings into his 7th start for the Canadians when he was removed, coach Buddy Bell told him he had been promoted.



Hernandez was understandably excited, his battery mate for his ML debut on September 2nd would be future Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk against the Kansas City Royals. His appearance though was overshadowed by the return of Bo Jackson, playing in his first game after hip surgery, but midway through the game the focus would shift more toward Roberto. The first batter he faced was Kirk Gibson, he got him to strike out looking, when he walked off the field at the end of the 6th inning he had given up no hits, 2 walks, had struck out 4 and his team had a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 6th Fisk got injured so Roberto started the 7th with C Ron Karkovice, leading off the inning was Bill Pecota who promptly hit a line drive double to right, he would later score, that was the only hit and run of the game. Hernandez didn't return for the 7th, but he got the 5-1 win. He made 8 more appearances (2 of them starts) but that first game was the only win he recorded. He took his first trip to Cooperstown with the White Sox for the the Hall of Fame Game, playing against the Mets, though he didn't get in the game.



He would soon find out that Coach Gnerre held no ill will about him leaving UCONN when he heard from him after reaching the majors, Lou had seen him on television and was very proud. From then on Hernandez made sure he got tickets whenever he played at Fenway.

He was put in the bullpen for 1992, but was sent down briefly in May, though was back in a few weeks and stayed the rest of the season with the White Sox, this was the beginning of establishing himself as a reliever and soon a formidable closer. It was an exciting year for Roberto, he was finally a major league pitcher, he was healthy and in June he and his wife welcomed their first child, a daughter. He went 7-3 with a 1.65 ERA in 43 games and 71 innings pitched and 12 saves.



1993 he came under the tutelage of Bobby Thigpen, who in 1990 had set the record for most saves during a season and he taught Roberto well enough to take his job as he would get 38 saves (4th in the AL) while posting a 2.29 ERA, striking out 71 batters in 78 innings pitched. The White Sox went on to the postseason after they won the AL Western Division, Hernandez earned a save in Game 4 at the SkyDome in Toronto, but they were eliminated 4-2.

In 1993 his alma mater USCA built a new stadium naming the field after Hernandez to thank him for his generous donations to the athletics program.

He became fast friends with team mate Ozzie Gullien and in 1994 when his son was born he made Ozzie the baby's godfather. In the strike shortened season he went 4-4, with a 4.91 ERA, 45 games (43 finished) and 14 saves. In 1995 he went 3-7 with 32 saves, in '96 he went 6-5 with 38 saves and brought his ERA down to 1.91. He was named to the 1996 AL All-Star team, but things started off badly when during the AL team photo shoot Roberto lost his footing on a tarp and hit Cal Ripken Jr. in the face, breaking his nose. Thankfully, it had no effect on Cal's playing streak. Hernandez pitched a scoreless 8th giving up just one hit, a triple to Ellis Burks, but the American League was already down by the losing score of 6-0. He finished 6th in the AL Cy Young voting that season.

In 1997 he was 5-1 with 27 saves when as part of a nine player deal he was sent to the San Francisco Giants on July 31st. The Sox traded him along wih Wilson Alvarez and Danny Darwin in return for six minor league players Brian Manning, Lorenzo Barcelo, Mike Caruso, Keith Foulke, Bob Howry and Ken Vining. There was grumbling over the trade as the Sox were just 3 1/2 games out of first, it was known as the White Flag trade.He finished the year out as a set up man to Rod Beck as the Giants took the NL West. He made three brief appearances in the NLDS against the Florida Marlins, giving up 5 hits and 3 earned runs as they were swept. He was released on October 30th.


On the eve of the November 18th expansion draft he signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He liked the thought of being reunited with Wilson Alvarez and Dave Martinez. At the time of the signing he was ranked fourth in the majors over the past five seasons with 153 saves and was one of only six pitchers with 30-plus saves in each of the past three seasons. He had held left-handed batters to a .217 average over the past five seasons. When he reported to the 1998 camp he was suffering from tendinitis, but got healthy enough to make the opening day roster.



His first appearance with the D-Rays was on April 1, 1998 when he came in to pitch the 9th inning, the Rays were ahead 11-7. He faced Tony Clark to lead off and he lined out to right field. He he gave up a walk, a run, hit a batter and stuck one out, but got out of the inning with no further damage. His first save didn't come until April 12th in Chicago when he closed out a very good 8 innings by Wilson Alvarez, with the Rays up 4-1 Roberto entered to face the heart of the White Sox line up. He proceeded to let up a walk to Frank Thomas, then Albert Belle, he got Robin Ventura to flyout and then loaded the bases with a walk to Ruben Sierra, thankfully Magglio Ordonez hit into a double play giving him the save. He finished the '98 season with a 2-6 record, 4.04 ERA with 26 saves in 67 games. He was nominated for the Florida Sports Awards Hometown Hero Award in 1998.
He helped organized an autograph show to benefit the hurricane disaster relief fund for Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in the winter of 1998.





Celebrating a win w/ John Flaherty

In 1999 Hernandez would have his best season, he would represent the Rays in the All-Star game where he pitched a scoreless, hit-less and walk-less 8th inning as the AL defeated the NL 4-1. He recorded a career-high 43 saves (2nd in the AL to Mariano Rivera's 45) in 72 games, which stood as the Rays' single season record for saves and games pitched until 2010. Hernandez struck out 69 and finished the season with a 3.07 ERA, allowing just 1 home run the entire year. He was the only D-Rays pitcher (with the minimum 25 innings) that year to manage an ERA under 4.00. His 43 saves are even more impressive when you consider the Rays only racked up 69 wins for the season. He finished 10th in the AL Cy Young voting. Roberto led the league in games finished (66-still the team single season record) going 2-3 with a 3.07 ERA. He also currently holds the team records in all time saves with 101 (in 111 opportunities) and all time games finished with 182, currently 8th on the team list of game appearances for a pitcher and fourth for ERA with 3.43.


One bone of contention between Hernandez and the Rays was they didn't feel he participated enough in representing the team in the local community, though that wasn't quite accurate. He and his wife were very involved with charities and youth groups they were just more private and not programs associated directly with the team. He donated yearly to the Puerto Rican All-Star's Fund which provides education and character building programs for the youth. He donated a chunk of salary to other charities in Puerto Rico, as well as some money to kid's programs in the Tampa Bay area. He has also given to inner city programs in New York, gave back to all the schools he attended and teamed up with other major league players to form "Gloves for Kids" and "Project Warmth".



Though 2000 didn't quite have the stellar numbers as the previous season, he had another good year collecting 32 saves, in what was yet another horrific season for the team. The Rays were sinking after the spending spree of 1999-2000 didn't transfer to on field performance, looking to shed payroll, the Rays made Roberto part of a lopsided three team deal, they sent him to the Kansas City Royals and Corey Lidle to the Oakland Athletics. KC sent Johnny Damon and Mark Ellis to Oakland, the As sent Angel Berroa and AJ Hinch to the Royals and their ROY Ben Grieve to the D-Rays on January 8, 2001. The Royals had suffered 59 blown saves in the 1999-2000 seasons. KC was so desperate they made a closer their highest paid player at $6M a year, though he started the season on the disabled list with a right strained elbow suffered in spring training. He pitched a couple of innings for the Omaha Royals Triple A club in the PCL and made his 2002 season debut on May 2 in relief before moving to the closer role on May 7th. He posted his 300th career save on May 25th against the Texas Rangers becoming the 15th pitcher in ML history to reach the mark and the first not born in the US.




He was honored as a "Good Guy in Sports" by The Sporting News for the 3rd straight year for his civic dedication and community service. He racked up 28 saves out of 34 chances in 63 games, then 26 saves of 33 opportunites in 2002. He was made a free agent on October 28th.


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[Tobywan]

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On January 23, 2003 he signed with the Atlanta Braves, his big league salary going from $6M to $600,000 in one season, at the beginning of the year he was mainly in the set up role for John Smoltz. He was excited to participate in an unusual series as part of a home stand for the Montreal Expos in Puerto Rico in mid-April. He was born there but most of his family had already moved to the US mainland settling mostly in New York and San Francisco, though his wife also born in PR had family still on the island. He split time with the team and the disabled list, on June 12th he strained his right abdomen and was out for a couple of weeks, then strained his left hamstring on August 13th which also took a couple weeks to heal. He pitched in 6 rehab games for the Triple A Richmond Braves of the International League. In between injuries he was a spot reliever pitching in 66 games with a 5-3 record, 4.35 ERA in 60 innings, posting no saves, something that hadn't happened since his brief call up at the end of '91. Atlanta would win their division and he pitched a scoreless inning in the NLDS against the Cubs, but they were eliminated 3-2. He was made a free agent on October 30th.



On December 18, 2003 he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, in spring of '94 he was nursing a sore leg through the end of spring, but started the season with the team. Early in April he really aggravated it when fielding a ball and by May 5th was on the DL with a calf strain for a couple of weeks. He went 3-5 with a 4.76 ERA and was a free agent on October 29th.



On January 17, 2005 he signed with the New York Mets, he mostly shared the set up role for Braden Looper going 8-6 with a 2.58 ERA (leading the staff) and 19 holds in 67 games (most of the staff) and collected 4 saves. He struck out 61 batters walking 28 in 69.2 innings of work. He was a free agent on November 4th.



He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on December 15, 2005 with a $2.75M deal to be a closer again, but after 43 games (14 finished) he had gotten only 2 saves with a 0-3 record, so on July 31, 2006 he made a return trip to the New York Mets when he was traded with Oliver Perez for Xavier Nady. The Mets needed arms, they were in Miami to face the Marlins when Duane Sanchez got injured in a traffic accident, a cab he was riding in was hit by a drunk driver on I-95, the pitcher's right shoulder was separated and he was never really the same. Since it happened on the off day before the start of the series the Mets scrambled for a trade. In his first game back with the Mets he would be credited with a hold against the Marlins on August 2nd, though he allowed 2 runs in one inning of work.



He got 3 more holds, all in August, he would have 22 appearances posting a 3.48 ERA with 15 strike outs in 20 innings pitched. He was once again a free agent on October 31st.



On December 2nd he signed a one-year $3.3 M contract with the Cleveland Indians which included a $3.7M club option for '08. He would be joining Rafael Betancourt as the main right-handed eighth-inning relievers.



Roberto's ERA blew up to 6.23 in 28 games and he was designated for assignment on June 20th, placed on waivers and release on the 28th leaving the Tribe having to eat his salary.


A week later he was in LA on a minor league deal, he pitched in one game for the Triple A Las Vegas 51s and was called up to the Dodgers on July 18th. On August 16, 2007, Hernandez appeared in his 1000th game against the Houston Astros becoming the 11th pitcher in major league baseball history to reach the milestone.




He finished out the season with 22 appearances and was a free agent on October 11th. He thought he might try another year thinking he could be a mentor/player, but he decided to hang it up.


He made his last ML appearance on September 25, 2007 at age 42.

On October 27, 2007 Hernandez was inducted into the New Hampton School Athletic Hall of Fame.
He was also inducted into the USC-Aiken Hall of Fame n 2007, he played just one season with the Pacers posting a 10-2 record with 97 strikeouts in 94 innings , he hit 19 home runs and led them to it's first appearance in the NAIA World Series. His #35 jersey was retired by the Pacers in 2001.



He had a 17 year career with 10 different teams, during 1,010 appearances (13th all time) he posted a 3.45 ERA, 326 saves (14th all time) finishing 667 games (9th all time) going 67-71 with 945 strike outs 462 & walks in 1071.3 innings pitched. He posted six 30 save seasons 1993, 1995-1997, '99 and 2000 and one 40 save season in 1999.

In June of 2012 he took a second trip to the Hall of Fame with his Cooperstown Dreams Park players fom St Pete for a full tour.



Visiting the HOF in Cooperstown

He became eligible for election to the Hall of Fame in 2013 but did not receive any votes and was dropped from the ballot.


He is a member of the Board of Trustees at Academy Prep in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is currently the head coach of the Catholic School of St Jude's baseball (also in St Pete) team who finished their last season 8-3 as well as coaching his son Jose's ball teams. He also helps out with the Rays' relievers at all levels of the organization especially the younger ones, he is credited for helping to stabilize Jake McGee and Fernando Rodney and tried to help get the other Roberto Hernandez (formerly known as Fausto Carmona) back on track.



2014 St Jude's Baseball Team

Roberto is expected to join many other former Rays for a baseball camp in January 2015 at the Oceola County Complex as part of the Tampa Bay Stars Coaches.

Roberto and his wife Ivonne reside in Gulfport they have 3 children, daughter Kairy and two sons, Roberto Jr. and Jose, also at least one grandson, Emanuel.


Roberto Jr is a graduate of St. Petersburg Catholic High School where he played for the Barrons baseball team, was awarded the Team Player Award and was on the Honor Roll all 4 years. He is currently attending USC-Aiken, he did not play his freshman year due to an injury that put him behind but he is on the 2014 roster for the Pacers. The team took Sr's number out of retirement so Jr could don the 35 jersey on the field named after Dad.



2014 USC-Aiken Pacers roster

[Tobywan]

Albie Lopez-#32-RHP

Albert Anthony Lopez was born on August 18, 1971 in Mesa, Arizona, he attended Westwood High School where he twice earned team MVP honors with the Warriors and graduated in 1989.




He was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 46th round of the June 5, 1989 draft, but did not sign. He decided to attend Mesa Community College where he earned 2nd-team All-America honors and a place on the Junior Olympic team. He went 1-0 pitching 4 innings, giving up no runs in the 1989 World Junior Championship as the US took the silver medal. He was majoring in Education when during his sophomore year he was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 19th round of the June 4, 1990 amateur draft but once again he did not sign. He was selected in the 20th round of the June 3, 1991 amateur draft by the Cleveland Indians and signed on June 12th. He had dual roles as a starter and reliever in their organization. He was sent to the Rookie Burlington Indians in the Appalachian League, then moved up to the Single A Columbus Red Stixx in the South Atlantic League and A+ Kinston Indians of the Carolina League in 1992, going 12-4 as he posted a 3.13 ERA in 26 starts with 2 complete games and 1 shutout in 161 innings.



He started the 1993 season with the Double A Canton-Akron Indians in the Eastern League before being called up for his major league debut on July 6th, starting a game against the Oakland Athletics. The first batter he faced was Rickey Henderson who grounded out. Albie pitched 6.1 innings, gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. When he entered the 7th inning he had a 6-1 lead, but quickly let up 2 singles then an RBI double to Dave Henderson, he was followed by Jerry Dipoto and Derek Lilliquist, all the runners charged to Lopez scored putting the game close at 6-5. He got a no decision as the A's tied the game in the 8th, the Indians came back to win 11-8. He got his first ML win on July 18th against the California Angels. He made just 4 starts going 1-2, with one complete game. He spent the majority of the season with Canton-Akron even making the Eastern League All-Star team. He also made 3 appearances or the Triple A Charlotte Knights of the IL.




He would head back to Triple A with the Buffalo Bisons in the American Association for 1995 with a call up in to the Tribe near the end of June after going 5-10 with 18 starts. He appeared in 6 games with 2 starts for the Indians before losing the regular bull pen spot to Julian Travarez and was not an integral piece of their division win, pennant win and World Series Championship. He started the 1996 season back with Buffalo, but when injuries mounted among the pitching staff he was recalled to Cleveland at the end of April. He continued to struggle in 10 starts (13 appearances) he finished with a 6.39 ERA and a 5-4 record before heading back to the Bisons posting a 10-2 record, 3.87 ERA, 2 complete games with 104.2 innings pitched. Meanwhile, the Indians went on to another division win, but were eliminated 3-1 in the ALDS by the Baltimore Orioles. Once again injuries would force Cleveland to utilize Lopez in 1997, he served as a long reliever and set up man as well as a handful of starts. He went to the DL with a right calf strain from July 2nd-July 29th, then he went down again from August 14th-September 1st with rehab assignments in Buffalo and the Akron Aeros in the EL.




He finished just 3-7 in 37 games with bloated 6.93 ERA. For the third straight season the Indians won the AL Central Division and once again Albie was not name to the ALDS roster, however this time manager Mike Hargrove wanted him to travel with the team in case of injury. Lopez threw a fit, refused to go and left, that doesn't usually set well with those in charge so it is no surprise that he was left him unprotected for the upcoming expansion draft.

He was the Devil Rays 24th pick in the 2nd round on November 18th.




Albie made his first appearance as a Ray in the 2nd game of the season on April 1st, 1998, he entered in relief after Rolando Arrojo and Ramon Tatis in the 7th inning. Tatis had just given up 2 runs and was responsible for first baseman Tony Clark occupying second base, Lopez facing Damion Easley gave up a single to center-field, but Quinton McCracken threw a rocket to catcher John Flaherty to gun Clark down at home plate. Lopez then got Joe Randa to ground out to end the 7th. He came back in for the 8th with a 8-6 lead, he faced 3 batters walking 2 before being lifted for Jim Mecir. The Rays went on to win 11-8. He had brief rehab assignments with Durham and St Pete as he recovered from heel bursitis but he posted a career best 2.60 ERA in 54 games going 7-4 in 54 games (12 starts) and even recorded a save. After the season he and the Rays avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year $1.35M deal.



He reported late for spring training camp in 1999 for "personal reasons", he pinched a nerve during a BP session just before exhibition games were to begin so his starts got pushed back. He finally started pitching but struggled, he strain his oblique in mid-May and was out over a month, a 2 rehab games at St Pete he was back on June 20th. His ERA went up to 4.64 as he went 3-2 in 51 games. Stories started coming out through the season that it was a family tragedy that kept him from the start of spring camp as well as speculation that this issue was why he arrived in poor shape. Shortly after he signed the new contract, back home in Arizona his younger bother David was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, allegedly shooting a man leaving him paralyzed. The younger Lopez maintained his innocence claiming a case of mistaken identity. Albie and the family had spent the off season trying to get him out on bail which in their view had been set unreasonably high due to his status as a pro ball player. However, according to the defense attorney was in line with the charges, which if convicted the younger Lopez could be sentenced to 15 or more years in prison. Albie nor the family could come up with the bail. Sitting in a Phoenix jail David wasn't formally charged until February causing Albie to ask to be excused from the reporting date to camp. Understandably, Albie didn't which to speak at length about the ordeal to the media at least until things were more resolved. So a culmination of the personal issues, the team issues and his own non-specified pitching role certainly didn't help his on field performance. During camp in 2000, more details would become public about the case and the toll it was taking on the Lopez family, their father AL, mother Gloria and sister Amanda. By this time David had been in jail for 18 months, authorities maintained that he shot a man during an argument that came to a head following several months of "bad blood" between the parties. Trial dates kept getting postponed so nothing was being resolved.



On the field, 2000 would be a bit better for Lopez as he developed a dual role of starting and bull pen relief and occasional closer. He had 24 starts out of 45 games posting a career high 11 wins with 4 complete games and 2 saves. Two of his complete games were back to back victories on August 8 and August 13.However, by the end of June the frustrations mounted to the point that Albie could no longer keep silent, he publicly made statements about the poor bull pen quality and even extended his complaints to the manager and GM for not providing the starters with that support. He was right to a point but it still didn't set well with management to be so vocal in the media about how the majority of games were being lost in the 8th inning. Tensions were mounting from field to front office, from stands to the press box as the Rays began to slip 10 plus games back in the AL East Division.

A group of players billed as the Major League All Stars traveled to Japan to face the Nippon Professional Baseball All Stars in a tournament in early November.of 2000. Lopez was included in a star studded line-up along with Barry Bonds, Shawn Green, Troy Glaus ,Omar Vizquel ,Sandy Alomar, Jr, Ryan Dempster, Roberto Alomar ,Luis Gonzalez ,Mike Sweeney, Randy Johnson, Derek Lowe, Livan Hernandez and more. Hideki Matsui was playing for Japan. The Major League team came out victorious.


When spring training rolled around in 2001 the uncertainty surrounding his brother's legal problems would be over. Albie had stood by his brother the entire 2 1/2 years he had been in prison, but at the end of January, David pleaded guilty to a felony count of aggravated assault and given a reduced sentence of 8 1/2 years including credit for time served. Though sad that his brother would be incarcerated another 5 years it was a relief to know there would be an end date and it wouldn't be decades away.

He got really good news at the end of spring when he was named as the Opening Day starter for 2001, especially since he had been nursing a bit of a sore leg. On April 3rd, Lopez brought the first home opening win to the Devil Rays in a 8-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, in front of the second biggest crowd of 41,546 at Tropicana Field. The win also put him in the lead as the winningest pitcher in the Devil Rays short history.
He played on even after tweaking his knee in the 2nd inning.



Albie is congratulated by Manager Larry Rothschild after he pitches the first home opening win.



He made his next starts, he played a month through discomfort but on May 9th in the fourth inning of a match against the Orioles he pulled his groin muscle. He had been lights out in 3.1 innings, he hadn't given up a hit or a walk and had struck out 2 batters. The game was given away by the bullpen.



Manager Larry Rothschild and Trainer Jamie Reed flank Lopez as he exits the game on May 9th after injury.

He was sent to the DL and a brief rehab stint with the Rookie class Princeton Devil Rays in the Appalachian League. He came back and injured hs thumb missing a start. By June he seemed healed and it was showing on the field, he twisted his ankle on July 20th right in the middle of contract extension talks, which quickly soured so on the 25th the Rays shipped his 5.34 ERA, 5-12 record off to the Arizona Diamondbacks along with Mike
DeFelice in exchange for Nick Biebrodt, Jason Conti and cash.





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[Tobywan]

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Just days after the trade he re-injured the ankle missing time, then re-injured the groin in August. When he did pitch he didn't pitch well for the D-Backs winning just 4 of his 13 starts, but the team landed in first place in their division. Lopez posted a career high 205.2 innings pitched for the year and though not official due to pitching in both leagues that season he led the majors with 19 losses.





The 2001 post season was a bit of a healing process after the events of 9/11, Arizona muddled through the play-offs, beating the Cardinals in the NLDS 3-2, then the Braves in the NLCS 4-1 ending with a magical defeat of the Yankees in Game 7 of the World Series. To put it mildly, Albie stunk, he pitched a game in each series including a 12th inning loss in Game 5 against the Yankees. His post season line is 0-2, with a 9.95 ERA.
Though he was the victim of scorn by many of the Diamondback fans he got a ring and looks back at the experience with pride. He was granted free agency on November 6th.


On December 20th he signed with the Atlanta Braves to a $4M one year contract. They worked with him to adjust some of his mechanics, he did well in the 2002 spring season.




He suffered another groin injury in the first week of the season and headed to the DL, rehabbing with the Double A Greenville Braves of the Southern League. He came back at the end of April, then developed tendinitis in his shoulder the end of June then returned mid- July. He posted just a 1-4 record in 30 games, starting 4 and finishing 14 with a 4.37 ERA in 55.2 innings of work.



With Javey Lopez

He was left off the post season roster, the Braves were eliminated in the NLDS by the wild card Giants. The Braves declined to offer him arbitration an he was a free agent again on December 28th.

On January 7, 2003 he signed a one year deal with the Kansas City Royals. News began to spread around the spring camps with the news that Orioles prospect Steve Bechler had died from heatstroke found to be due in part to a diet supplement containing Ephedrine that Bechler had been taking to battle a weight problem. This struck a chord with Lopez as he had been using the product as well because along with helping in weight loss it was also suppose to give you pep, he didn't like the way it made him feel jittery and stopped taking it. He had a decent spring but struggled again during the first month of the season, he once again injured that right groin in mid-May and rehabbed with the Triple A Omaha Royals in the Pacific Coast League returning on June 19th.



With Joe Randa

In his first start back he allowed seven earned runs and six hits in just two-thirds of an inning on June 19th against the Minnesota Twins. He had posted a 4-2 record in 15 games though his ERA blew up to 12.71 so this seemed to be the last straw and he was released after the game, though technically it was as soon as he walked off the field.




The Royals had to eat his $1.5M guaranteed salary. He sat out the rest of the season.



On January 26, 2005 he signed a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but was released on March 23th. He then signed with the Seattle Mariners on April 19th, making three appearances for their Triple A affiliate Tacoma Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League going 0-1 with a 12.60 ERA in just 5 innings before being released on May 15th. Discouraged, he didn't seek employment from another ML team.

He made his last MLB appearance with the Kansas City Royals on June 19, 2003.

He retired from the game after 11 seasons with a 47-58 record, 4.94 ERA in 297 games pitched, 92 saves, 841.1 innings pitched, 47 wins and 558 strikeouts.




Attending a Celebrity Softball Game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium
June 2010




After 5 years away fom baseball at the age of 38 Lopez joined the independent Tucson Toros of the Golden Baseball League. He went 7-5 in 15 starts (out of 16 games) with one complete game posting a 3.93 ERA in 91.2 innings. In 2011 he pitched for the Edmonton Capitals of the North American League from May 31st-June 30th going 3-0 in 6 starts with a 4.15 ERA. He only went 2 innings in the first game when his calf tightened up.




Lopez looks on as Capitals teammate Brent Metheny makes an out in a game against the Yuma Scorpions. June 2011




In 2012 he coached/managed the Sonoma County Grapes while simultaneously serving as pitching coach for the San Rafael Pacifics both of the North American Baseball League. Lopez became part-owner of a new team in the newly formed independent American West Baseball League in 2012 with a Mesa area businessman and sports agent Eddie Marin. They were set to begin play in 2014 but ran into financial problems throughout 2012 and some teams were having trouble securing stadiums so the league was disbanded at the end of May 2013.

On November 14, 2012 he was named the pitching coach for the White Sands Pupfish of the Pecos League for the 2013 season as well as the Manager of the Coastal Kingfish.

He was inducted into the Mesa Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Albie was an honorary coach for a week long event of the Big League Experience in Phoenix AZ, when a team from the Nelson Minor Baseball Association from Nelson, British Columbia, Canada played in a tournament in March 2014.



Albie w/ Nelson Little Leaguer Quin Hall
March 2014

Albie is currently an instuctor for National Pro Baseball and resides in Mesa, Arizona with his wife Crystal, they have 3 children Kelli Ryan, Albie Jr, and another daughter born in 2003.

[Tobywan]

Jim Mecir-#45-RHP


James Jason Mecir was born on May 16, 1970 in Bayside, New York. He was born with two club feet and was just 3 weeks old when he had a procedure to straighten his left foot. He had several surgeries done during his childhood, one when he was eight was unsuccessful, his right calf muscle atrophied leaving his right leg an inch shorter than the left. He was able to walk, but it left him with a pronounced limp and a fused right ankle. Walking seemed to be the only thing he had trouble doing, he participated in many sports growing up, basketball, baseball, he even ran track in high school. He grew up on Long Island and loved the New York Yankees. He attended Smithtown East High School (St. James, NY) and won the 1988 Carl Yastrzemski Award and MVP of Long Island, N.Y. honors as a player for the Smithtown Bulls and graduated in 1988.

He attended Eckerd College in St Petersburg, Florida, impressing coaches when after learning about his foot, were skeptical until they saw him, not only could he pitch but he was a switch hitter that could hit home runs. To help Jim ease his delivery the Tritons pitching coach, former big-leaguer Rich Folkers showed him how to throw a change-up and a screwball to go with his fastball. Jim still ranks in the top 4 spots in almost every pitching category at Eckerd. He graduated in 1992 with a Bachelors Degree in Economics and having met his future wife Pamela.




He was selected in the 3rd round of the June 3, 1991 amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners and signed the next day. He was sent to the A+ San Bernardino Spirit in the CALL and spent 1992 there as well. After pitching in just 28 games the first 2 seasons he would get 26 starts in 1993 with the A+ Riverside Pilots of the CALL going 9-11 with a 4.33 ERA recording one complete game in 145.1 innings pitched.








He moved up to the Jacksonville Suns in the SOUL going 6-5 with 13 saves in 1994. He also went to the Arizona Fall League pitching for the Peoria Javelinas in 1994. In 1995 was promoted to the Triple A Tacoma Rainers in the PCL bringing his ERA down to .200.





He got the call up for September just as the Mariners were heading to New York to play the Yankees. He would make his debut at Yankee Stadium on September 4th. The Mariners were in trouble early as starting pitcher Salomon Torres was hammered with 6 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 1.1 innings, he was relieved by Bobby Ayala who gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in an inning of work. When Mecir took over to face the third batter in the 3rd inning the M's were already behind 9-2, he went 3.2 innings giving up one run, but he was proud that Don Mattingly went 0-2 against him, but the game was already lost, the final score was 13-3. He made just one more appearance for the M's before the end of the season.

A lifetime dream came true when on December 7th, the Mariners sent him along with Tino Martinez and Jeff Nelson to the New York Yankees for Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock. He went up and down between the Yankees and their Triple A Columbus Clippers in the IL, making 26 appearances before he injured his right knee.






He underwent arthroscopic surgery in August missing the rest of the season and the play-offs as the AL East Division winners stormed their way to their 23rd World Championship. He started the 1997 season back at Columbus but went up and down a few times, making 25 appearances holding lefties to a .175 batting average and righties to .326. On September 29th the sent Mecir to the Boston Red Sox to complete an earlier deal made on August 13th when the Yankees sent Tony Armas and a PTBNL for Randy Bown (minors) and Mike Stanley.

He was left unprotected and selected as the 18th pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the November 18, 1997 expansion draft. At the time of the draft Jim and Pamela were in Aruba on their honeymoon.



He made his first appearance as a Devil Ray on the March 31, 1998 inaugural season opener closing out an 11-6 loss, he pitched a scoreless 9th with 2 strikeouts. He appeared in 68 games going 7-2 with a 3.11 ERA in 84 innings.




In 1999 after 17 games he injured his elbow at the end of April and required surgery that kept him out the rest of the season.




During the last game of spring training in 2000 he strained his bicep, he would start the season with the team but end up on the DL for almost a month, returning near the end of May.









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[Tobywan]

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At the end of July he had a 7-2 record, 3.08 ERA in 38 appearances with one save in 49.2 innings of work when on the 28th he was traded along with Todd Belitz to the Oakland Athletics for Jesus Colome. His .198 against right-handers and .204 against lefties was prompting a lot of offers at the trade deadline. It just happened to be bad timing for Jim in respect to his personal life. Pamela was expecting their first child and he hated leaving her behind in Gulfport, professionally it was great, he was going from the bottom dwelling Rays to the play-off contending A's.





He pitched 35.1 innings in 25 games for Oakland as they won the AL West, Jim pitched in 3 games with 5.1 innings posting a 0.0 ERA giving up just one hit and striking out 2 but the Athletics were eliminated by the Yanks 3-2 in the division series. He was now firmly established in the A's pen, though he suffered a right knee injury in early August just as the play-off hunt was in full swing, He needed surgery and just one rehab game with the


w/wife Pamela


Sacramento River Cats in the PCL before he was back with the team on September 6th, just in time for the home stretch. Oakland would take the wild card spot, unfortunately they once again had to face New York, Jim didn't pitch quite as well as the season before, he got in 2 games pitched just 3.1 innings, let up 4 hits, 2 runs including a homer to Tino Martinez in Game 1. The A's fell 3-2 in the series.




2002 would start out anything but exciting for Oakland, under GM Billy Beane the thrifty Athletics had managed to make it to the play-offs two seasons in a row, they just couldn't get past the first round and hadn't won a championship since 1989, then got swept in the series by the Cincinnati Reds in '90. Ownership had auctioned off just about everyone on the team that had any kind of production, they had a young pitching staff and in mid-August they were in third place in the division. Then on August 13th, they won, then, they won the next game and the game after that. On August 17th the game had gotten kind of rough between them and the Chicago White Sox, both teams had been warned so when Mecir came into the game in the 9th and hit Royce Clayton, in retaliation for Miguel Tejada being plunked twice, he was bounced immediately. He received a three day suspension and fined for his actions. The A's continued to win and on September 4th it looked as if they would break the record previously held by the 1906 White Sox and the 1947 Yankees, they had racked up a huge lead but let it slip away. They went into the bottom of the ninth tied with Kansas City 11-11 when Scott Hatteberg came off the bench hitting a walk off homer for number 20. They headed to the post season winning 103 games and the American League West, Mecir got into just one game against Minnesota striking out 2, no runs, no hits and no walks. As with the previous seasons the A's would be eliminated 3-2 in the first series. California would rule the post season as the Anaheim Angels' "Red October" defeated the SF Giants to win the rings.




Near the end of spring camp in 2003 Mecir tore the patellar tendon in his right knee and was placed on the DL, he played in one rehab game with Sacramento and was back on April 23rd. He returned to the disabled list on July 24th with inflammation in the same knee and was game ready by mid-August. He finished 2-3, his ERA ballooned to 5.59, second highest of his career. The A's headed to a 3rd straight postseason and another AL West division title, Jim pitched one game gave up one hit and a walk against Boston in game 1 of the division series, the A's lost 3-1. For the fourth straight time, the A's would be booted out in the first round as the Red Sox would move on after taking the series 3-2.

In 2003, Mecir received the Tony Conigliaro Award, given annually to the player who most effectively overcomes adversity to succeed in baseball.

The Athletics and their streak was prominently mentioned in Michael Lewis's bestselling book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game released in 2003. There was criticism over the way Manager Art Howe was portrayed.




In 2004 he was still a presence on the Athletic roster, he was out briefly from May-June, he went 0-5 with a 3.59 ERA in 65 games (finished 17) recording 2 saves in 42.2 innings. Oakland's post season streak was done and Jim was seriously thinking about retirement. The A's didn't offer him arbitration and he became a free agent on October 28th.

By the time spring was rolling around Mecir decided to give it one more year and on February 2, 2005 he signed with the Florida Marlins for a $1.1M one year deal with bonus incentives. On May 15th he was having a poor performance against the San Diego Padres, when Jim returned the mound, ESPN analyst John Kruk noticed the limp (unaware of Mecir's birth defect) and remarked how irresponsible it was for the Marlins to insist an injured player keep pitching. Kruk came under fire from fans and the media as being insensitive. It is reported that Jim was not offended, in fact he was pleased that not everyone knew about his "infirmary". In August he developed right shoulder inflammation and sent to the disabled list he had a frayed rotator cuff but decided he would rather pitch through it, since he had decided it would be his final year. He was reactivated on September 5th and he finished out the season going 1-4 in 43.1 innings with a 3.12 ERA in 52 games. He announced his retirement on October 2, 2005, following the Marlins' last game of the season.

His last ML appearance was September 28, 2005.

He had 11 seasons with 5 different teams, made 474 appearances with a 29-35 record, a 3.77 ERA, 12 saves, 450 strike outs in 527 innings.

In June of 2008 Mecir was inducted into the Sunshine State Conference Hall of Fame for his participation in Eckerd College Athletics. Jim did not attend the ceremony at the Walt Disney World Hilton in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

When he first left the game he was working as a physical education teacher as well as a private pitching instructor for Players Edge Baseball & Softball Academy in Mundelein, Illinois, where he is still a member of the staff.

When the global financial crisis hit he decided he needed to do something a little more lucrative, he thought about business or sales. He had lots of experience in talking to the media over the years but the thought of public speaking made him nervous and a new career meant he needed strong communication skills. He joined Toastmasters becoming a member of the Long Grove/Lake Zurich club. He started writing and giving speeches and became a motivational speaker. Along with other members of his family he formed Sea Change Capital and in 2010 he became the Managing Partner and Director of Finance and Operations of the company.



He was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame along with Frank Catalanotto on May 3, 2011.


On Aug 19 2012, Jim along with many of the 2002 Oakland A's gathered at Network Associates Coliseum to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of "The Streak". Relievers Jeff Tam, Micah Bowie, Jim Mecir, and Chad Bradford and outfielder Terrance Long, Scott Hatteberg and former manager Art Howe were there for the pre-game festivities. Barry Zito, David Justice, and Eric Chavez sent video messages shown on the scoreboard. After the game and a victory against the Indians everyone was invited to view a screening of the movie "Moneyball" that had been released in 2011.




Jeff Tam, Scott Hatteberg, Jim, Chad Bradford, Micah Bowie and Terrance Long


During the June 6-8 , 2013 First-Year Player Draft, Mecir represented Oakland when they made their 24th overall pick in Secaucus, NJ.














Jim and Pamela reside just outside of Chicago, they have three children Jason, Ava and Ryan.

[Tobywan]

Ramon Tatis #52-LHP


Ramón Francisco Tatis Medrano was born on January 5, 1973 in Guayubin, Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic. He attended Los Limones High School and was signed by the New York Mets on September 6, 1990 as an amateur free agent from the Dominican League, he played there for rest of the season. He started moving through the Mets minor league system, his first stop in the Rookie class Gulf Coast League in 1992. He spent 1993 and 1994 with the advanced roookie Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League. He moved up to the A minor and single A classes in 1995, splitting time between the Capital City Bombers in the SAL and Pittsfield Mets of the NYPL going 6-8 with a 4.20 ERA, he started 15 of 31 games, recording one complete game and one shut out in 111.1 innings of work. He was promoted to Class A+ for the 1996 season with the St. Lucie Mets down in the FSL, he posted a 4-2 record with a 3.39 ERA, he appeared in 46 games, but only made one start and had 6 saves in 74.1 innings. St Lucie went on to win the Watson Spoelstra Florida State League Championship Trophy that season.





After spending 6 seasons in New York's minors he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the rule 5 draft on December 9, 1996. Ramon made his major league debut on April 5, 1997 against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field, he only faced one batter Michael Tucker getting him to line out to second base to end the 8th inning. The Cubs were already down 11-5 and didn't score in the 9th. He stayed with the big club all of the '97 season, he went 1-1 posting a 5.34 ERA in 56 appearances, though his road ERA was 2.35 in 24 games and 9.00 at Wrigley. He was third in appearances among rookie pitchers for the 1997 season.




During the November 18, 1997 draft he was selected as the 21st pick in the second round by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.



He was originally part of the 25 man roster and made his first appearance for the D-Rays on April 1, 1998 relieving Rolando Arrojo in the 7th, the Rays were leading the Tigers 7-4, he allowed 2 runs, giving up 3 hits and a walk letting the Tigers close the gap 7-6, but was still credited with a hold. He was lifted for Albie Lopez who got out of the inning with no further damage, the Rays went on to win 11-8. He was optioned to the Durham Bulls on May 16th and spent the rest of the season splitting time between the Rays and the Bulls in the IL. He also went to the DL with tendinitis in his left elbow from the end of August until September 8th. He finished with a 0-0 record, posting a whopping 13.89 ERA in 22 appearances in 11.2 innings of work with the Rays. He pitched in 19 games for the Bulls going 1-3 with a 3.67 ERA making 9 starts recording 2 saves in 61.1 innings.




He would not make the 25 man roster for 1999, being assigned to minor league camp on March 13th in order to get him some pitching time. He made 28 starts for Durham that season going 12-8 with a 5.50 ERA in 155.1 innings, but never made it back to the Rays. He was designated for assignment on November 19th and picked up on waivers by the Detroit Tigers. They released him on March 15th.


He signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees, making just 7 appearances for the Columbus Clippers in the IL going 0-1 posting a 10.72 ERA in 22.2 innings of work. He accepted a deal in July to play for the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japan League he pitched in just one game giving up 4 runs on 3 hits and 4 walks in just 0.2 inning.


In 2003 made one start for the Los Dos Laredos Tecolotes in the Mexican League giving up 4 runs including a home on 6 hits and 4 walks. He was released after an injury. There are no reports that he ever played again in any league after 2003.

His last Major League appearance was September 27, 1998 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he was 25.

In parts of two seasons he posted a 1-1 record, 6.82 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 78 appearances and 67.3 innings pitched, he gave up 89 hits, 51 earned runs, 15 homers, 45 walks and 7.06 FIP.




There is not a lot of information available about his personal life, though his Facebook page is very active, he settled in New York City, he appears to have at least one son named Angel Jimenez. His page states he is employed at Jeniffer Cruz Boutique JCB in New York.