Minor League Baseball Players

[Pinetarpress]

He is listed in Baseball Reference as Robert K. Mestek but his Waterbury cards have him as Barney

He started 74 games for the Dodgers AA team at Waterbury between 1974-76 closing out his career with 5 games in relief for AAA Albuquerque...

[Cusick]

Gene Raymond Conaway was a catcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers' farm system who appeared on the Dodgers' spring roster in 1960. During his pro career, he had the experience of catching both Drysdale and Koufax. He died a few days ago on December 11. The photo comes from a 1959 publication of his high school in New Orleans.

[Cusick]

Pitcher Lincoln Holdzkom was killed on December 13 in a car accident. He appeared on the Marlins' spring roster in 2004 and the Astros' spring roster in 2007. The obit article indicates that he was on the Red Sox 40-man roster in 2008, but my two copies of the Red Sox spring roster for that year do not show him there when they were published.

LIncoln was born in the US, but his father emigrated from New Zealand. Lincoln maintained a close connection with that country, which is why he is shown in a New Zealand uniform in the second photo. Lincoln's brother, John, was the first major leaguer representing New Zealand, when he made his MLB debut in 2014.

P.S. Knowing now what happened in 2008, I can relate that Lincoln was on the Phillies' spring roster that year as a Rule 5 draftee from the Red Sox. He appeared in three Grapefruit League games for the Phils. They tried to return him to the Red Sox. The Red Sox declined, so he became a free agent. A day later, after Curt Shilling was injured, the Red Sox changed their mind and he was added to the Red Sox 40-man roster on March 13, 2008. A photo of him with the Phillies has been added.

[rico43]

The Atlanta Braves employed two different men named Eddie Mathews. The first, of course, was their Hall of Fame captain and third baseman in 1966, also a coach before becoming manager from 1972-74.
The other, not related but spotlighted in the Topps Vault for the first time this month, was a right-handed pitcher from Peoria who the Braves signed as a free agent in 1986. In college, at 6-3 he was a two-sport star, part of Bradley Braves' NIT championship team (his dad Donald played on Bradley's 1954 NCAA hoop championship team).
He worked his way through the Atlanta system, alternately being used as a closer, set-up man and starter. And he seemed ready to break through in 1988, when he appeared in a team record 57 games for Class AA Greenville and was 8-0,1.99 in the second half of the season. In '89, after an early season promotion to AAA, he struggled and then found himself out of baseball early in 1990 when he managed only an 11.37 ERA despite being demoted to Durham.

[Cusick]

Pitcher Philip Henderson, who was on the Houston Astros' spring roster in 1965, died two days ago on December 15. He also appeared on the Cincinnati Reds' spring roster in 1964 and 1966.

[rico43]

Fixing an ID for a twice-misidentified TV player. This is James MacDonnell, a career minor league lefty with the White Sox, who had the double indignity of being called Harold McClain (obviously wrong) in our BB Birthdays checklist and Jim McDonald when posted on the OOTP thread (page 971). My guess is that was the name his images were posted on eBay under.

Posted in Topps Vault at GC 784-785.

[Cusick]

Nice work, Rico43. I'm developing a list of non-roster invitees for the last part of the 20th century, and had missed MacDonnell. The attached clipping from The Pantagraph newspaper (Bloomington, Illinois) of March 20, 1972 shows that Jim MacDonnell was a NRI with the White Sox in 1972.

[Cusick]

Outfielder Emmanuel Floyd "Tookie" Spann died on December 16 in Jackson, Louisiana at age 48. He had been a non-roster invitee as a replacement player with the Anaheim Angels in 1995. He is shown here in the uniform of the Bristol Tigers. He was a two-sport All-American (baseball and football) at Tulane University.

[rico43]

A career minor league backup catcher (1948-55) at his professional pinnacle: an invite to major league camp, 1954. Photo found in Lexibell files.

[Cusick]

More well known as the major league manager of the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, Vern is shown here as a minor league player (catcher) with the Denver Bears during the 1958-1960 period. Vern died yesterday on December 31, 2015.

[rico43]

Lexibell photo find of Class D Tifton Blue Sox pitching staff for 1952. Finishehd 78-61 record in Georgia-Florida League, finishing in fourth place, only three games back in the closest finish in minor league baseball that year. None reached the majors, but several of rthese pitchers enjoyed legthy careers.
Pictured, left to right, Bradley Clapham (18-12 in 1952), Tony Sarmiento (16-3), Joseph Johnson (19-12), Richard Griffith (5-5), Tony Pfeifer (5-9) and Jim Cater (6-9). Sarmiento was league ERA champ (1.26), throwing eight shutouts among 18 complete games.

[rico43]

Bous baby signed at age 18 by the Braves in 1950, who reportedly outbid 14 other teams for the Illinois-raised righty. He was a 16-game winner at Evansville in 1952 and was added to the big league roster during the winter leading up to the 1954 season. But on March 23, he was cut the same day as Bill Casey (see above) and never appeared in a big league game. His minor league career lasted until 1958, the last two seasons in the Cubs' system.
But in 1980, he started the season's final game for the Class AAA Phoenix Giants, pitching a scoreless inning at age 48. He was the sports anchor for KPNX in Phoenix at the time.
Denney died in August of 2000 at age 68.
(Photo from the Lexibell files. They will be available for only two more weeks, so we're peeking into as many as time allows).



Denney with Braves coach Bucky Walters, shortly after signing in June of 1950.

[Cusick]

The Topps Vault presentation on eBay lists this pitcher as "Phil Meyers." He is actually Phil Meyer, the first round draft choice of the Phillies in 1967. See Phil Meyer Register Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com

Phil Meyer was on the Phillies' spring roster four different years, which is a substantial length of time for any prospect who keeps approaching major league status without making it. His spring roster status covered 1969 through 1972.

[rico43]

He was in multiple big league camps, to be sure. In the TV CC folder, under his correct name, he was shown from what looked like several different springs besides this recent release. Appreciate others for finding his ID.

[Pinetarpress]

Bob Tufts, former big leaguer, is pretty good follow on Twitter....he is a very bright, engaging man and he posted this gem yesterday of himself and 2 of his teammates with the 1978 Waterbury Giants

In the picture are Bob Tufts, David Mendoza (minor leaguer who pitched thru 1979 in the minors) and Gorman Heimuller who would end up pitching in 22 games including 14 starts with the A's inn 83-84...Tufts was a Princeton grad who threw 27 games in relief for the Giants and Royals from 81-83

[rico43]

In 1969, Vida Blue was 10-3, 3.20 for the Class AA Birmingham Barons. His right-handed teammate. LaDon Boyd, was the league Pitcher of the Year with a record of 13-5, 2.19. Yet it was Blue who received the accolades and the Topps Rookie Stars card in 1970. Boyd, who was only 22 in '69, never broke through despite four seasons in Triple-A. In 1970, he was one of the final two players cut on April 1.
His career ended after only three games in 1973 and he returned to his native Florida to serve as a coach and teacher.

[Cusick]

Jack Paepke was a pitcher who appeared on the Brooklyn Dodgers' spring roster in 1947. The attached photo shows him with the Dodgers, and comes from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of February 9, 1947.

Jack was known for a couple of other reasons. He was the coach of the Los Angeles Angels from 1961 through 1966 (OK, they were the California Angels in 1966). He was the father of major league catcher Dennis Paepke.

Baseball-reference.com does not give a date of death for Jack. He died on November 7, 2014.

[rico43]

Carl DeRose was a big (6-4, 220), strong right-hander who could curse his bad luck that he did not have a chance to be part of the mighty Yankees' post-WWII run. Signed as a teen out of Minnesota, he won 19 games in his pro debut, but then was drawn into the war effort. He returned in 1946, pushed up to Triple-A, and was a solid 12-6, 3.16. Knowing he had the eye of the Yankees, he overdid it in spring training the following year and blew out his arm.
Shelved for much of the first two months of the 1947 season, he declared himself ready to go to make a start for Kansas City against his hometown team, Minneapolis, on June 26. The compelling game account reads like a Hollywood script:
"DeRose, 25, pitched the first perfect no-hit, no-run game in the long history of the American Association -- and he pitched it with a "dead arm." DeRose, who hadn't pitched in more than a month, was in such pain that tears streamed down his face from the third inning on. Unless a successful operation is performed on his arm, he must give up baseball. DeRose threw only 93 pitches in retiring the Millers' 27 batters in order."
He went to a three-ball count only once, and got a called third strike.
LaRose did pitch again, as his career lasted until 1950, but he was never the same and did not have another winning season.

[rico43]

In 1965, mere days after beginning his pro career as a Senators' free agent, he was acquired by the Kansas City Athletics. Johnson, a right-hander, never got above Double-A before ending his career in 1969. But after going 6-1, 2.15 in limited 1966 action, he was still promising enough a prospect to be invited to spring training in 1967, which was when this photo was made.

[rico43]

How nearly was Jerry (or Gerry, or Gerald) Nelson a member of the original Houston Colt 45s? In January of 1962, the would-be rookie right-hander was among a handful of players introduced to fans for the first time at a banquet. Nelson, who was out of baseball for over a year when signed in mid-1961, was there along with manager Harry Craft, catcher Hal Smith, infielders Norm Larker, Bob Aspromonte and Don Buddin, outfielder Al Spangler and fellow pitchers Turk Farrell and Jim Umbricht. Tal Smith rated he and Dave Giusti the best two right-handers in the farm system.
But he was returned to AAA for the 1962 season, won 37 games over the next three seasons for Oklahoma City, then retired at age 31 without ever getting a big-league inning -- even after going 14-8 in 1963.