Bobby Mathews (1851)
Charlie Bennett (1854)
Billy Clingman (1869)
Andy High (1897)
Freddie Lindstrom (1905)
Paul Richards (1908)
Stan Musial (1920)
Warren Hacker (1924)
Tom McCraw (1940)
Bill Almon (1952)
Rick Peters (1955)
Mike Mason (1958)
Mark Eichhorn (1960)
Dick Schofield (1962)
Ken Griffey (1969)
Todd Erdos (1973)
Brian Meadows (1975)
Hank Blalock (1980)
Charlie Bennett (1854)
Billy Clingman (1869)
Andy High (1897)
Freddie Lindstrom (1905)
Paul Richards (1908)
Stan Musial (1920)
Warren Hacker (1924)
Tom McCraw (1940)
Bill Almon (1952)
Rick Peters (1955)
Mike Mason (1958)
Mark Eichhorn (1960)
Dick Schofield (1962)
Ken Griffey (1969)
Todd Erdos (1973)
Brian Meadows (1975)
Hank Blalock (1980)
Rick Peters was drafted by Minnesota in the eighteenth round in
1973, but did not sign.
Left-hander Michael Paul
Mason made five appearances for the Twins in 1998, at the end of his major
league career. A native Minnesotan, he was born in Faribault and went to high
school at Benilde-St. Margaret's of Minneapolis. He then attended Oral Roberts
University. He was drafted by Texas in the first round of the secondary draft
in June of 1980. Mason moved quickly through the Rangers' system and made his
major league debut as a September call-up in 1982. He began 1983 in the
Rangers' bullpen, but after three lackluster appearances he was returned to
AAA, where he spent the rest of the season until another September call-up.
Mason made the Rangers' rotation in 1984, and stayed there for over three
years. 1984 was his best year: he posted a 3.61 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 184
innings, although his record was only 9-13. That was his only year with an ERA
under four, however, and when Mason got off to a poor start in 1987 he was
traded in May to the Cubs for a player to be named later. He did little for the
Cubs and was let go after the season. Minnesota signed him in April of 1988. He
made five appearances with the Twins, pitching 6.2 innings and giving up eight
runs. He went to Portland, but did not pitch well there. Mason's career was
effectively over after that season, although he made sporadic minor-league
appearances through 1996. He has been a pitching coach most of the time since
1991, serving as pitching coach of the Iowa Cubs from 2008-2013. In 2014,
Mike Mason became the assistant minor league pitching coordinator for the
Chicago Cubs.
Right-hander Todd Michael Erdos did not play for the Twins, but
was in their farm system in 2003 and early 2004. He was born in Washington,
Pennsylvania, went to high school in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and was drafted
by San Diego in the ninth round in 1992. Initially a starter, he pitched very
well in rookie ball in 1992 and low A in 1993, but flopped when promoted to
high A midway through 1993. He then missed all of 1994 with an injury. When he
returned in 1995, he was in the bullpen. He did pretty well there in Class A in
1996 and AA in 1997. He made his big-league debut in the latter season, coming
up for a week in June and then getting a September call-up. He was left
unprotected in the expansion draft and chosen by Arizona. He went to spring
training with the Diamondbacks, then was traded to the Yankees in March of
1998. He did not pitch well in AAA in either 1998 or 1999, but got cups of
coffee in the majors both seasons. In 2000, he made the big club and stuck all
season, his only full year in the majors. It wasn’t all with the Yankees,
though; they put him on waivers in mid-July and he was selected by San Diego,
where he finished the season. It was not a good season, as he posted an ERA of
nearly six, and he became a free agent after the season, signing with Boston.
He had a fine year in Pawtucket and came up to the Red Sox in mid-August,
finishing the season there. He again had a good AAA season in 2002, but this
time he did not get a call to the majors and became a free agent after the
season. Minnesota signed him and sent him to Rochester. He did nothing to
attract anyone’s attention in 2003 and in late April of 2004 was sold to
Milwaukee. He pitched poorly in AAA Indianapolis and was released. Erdos then
pitched three seasons for the independent Long Island Ducks and also played
briefly in Taiwan before ending his playing career after the 2007 season. At
last report, Todd Erdos was a financial advisor for Edward Jones in the
Pittsburgh area.
Right-hander Matthew Brian Meadows did not play for the Twins, but
went to spring training with them in 2002. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama,
went to high school in Troy, Alabama, and was drafted by Florida in the third
round in 1994. He pitched well in the low minors, but struggled some when he
reached AA in 1997. Still, he made the Marlins at the start of 1998 and
was a major league rotation starter for three full seasons despite never
posting an ERA below five or a WHIP below 1.5. The Marlins traded him to San
Diego after the 1999 season, and the Padres traded him to Kansas City at the
end of July of 2000, but he still remained in the rotation. He began 2001 in
the starting rotation, too, but after ten starts in which he posted an ERA
of nearly seven he was finally sent to AAA. Meadows was a free agent after that
season and signed with Minnesota for 2002, but was released at the end of
March. Pittsburgh picked him up and sent him to AAA, where he pitched fairly
decently, getting called up to the majors in August. He was in the Pirates’
bullpen for most of 2003 and all of 2004 and 2005 and had the only major league
“success” of his career, putting up an ERA of 4.28 and a WHIP of 1.32. He was a
free agent after the season, signed with Los Angeles for 2006, was released in
spring training, signed with Tampa Bay, but had a bad year in the bullpen. He
went to spring training with Cincinnati in 2007, but was released in spring
training and his playing career was over. When you see guys who succeed in the
minors for years but can never get a shot, it’s hard to understand how Brian
Meadows was able to make 122 starts in the major leagues. At last report, it
appeared that Brian Meadows was involved in doing a variety of charitable work
in Alabama.
No comments:
Post a Comment