Sunday, March 26, 2017

March 26

Jack McCarthy (1869)
Bill Zuber (1913)
Ben Mondor (1925)
Harry Kalas (1936)
Mel Queen (1942)
Kevin Seitzer (1962)
Jarvis Brown (1967)
Shane Reynolds (1968)
Jose Vizcaino (1968)
Jason Maxwell (1972)
Brendan Ryan (1982)
Eric Hacker (1983)
Ben Mondor was the owner of the Pawtucket Red Sox from 1977-2010.  He is a member of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame and the International League Hall of Fame and won numerous minor league Executive of the Year awards from various organizations.
Outfielder Jarvis Ardel Brown played for the Twins in parts of two seasons, 1991 and 1992.  Born in Waukegan, Illinois, Brown was drafted by the Twins with the ninth pick of the January draft of 1986.  A small man (5'7", 165), he was known for speed rather than power, although he did hit 14 home runs in AA Orlando in 1990.  He did not hit for much of an average his first couple of years, but hit .294 for Class A Kenosha in 1988.  He then dropped back into the .250 range for a couple of years before hitting .289 at AAA Portland in 1991.  That got him two months in the big leagues, including a spot on the Twins' post-season roster.  He was used primarily as a pinch runner and a defensive replacement, playing in 38 games but getting only 37 at-bats.  He started 1992 in the majors in a similar role, and again played there for about two months before being sent to the minors.  He became a free agent after the season and signed with San Diego for 1993.  As a Twin, he hit .173/.246/.173 with nine stolen bases in 52 at-bats (73 games)  He hit .308 at AAA Las Vegas in 1994 and came up to the Padres in late July, staying the rest of the season.  He got the most major league playing time of his career that season, hitting .233 in 133 at-bats.  Brown was placed on waivers after the season and was selected by Atlanta for 1994.  He was in the majors for about two months again, once again filling the pinch runner/defensive replacement role, and in AAA the rest of the year.  A free agent after the season, he signed with the Mets for 1995, was released in late May, signed with Cincinnati in mid-June, and was sent to Baltimore two days later "as part of a conditional deal."  He played well enough that year to get a September call-up, starting eight major league games and playing as a defensive replacement in several others.  He again played in the minors for the Orioles in 1996, moved to the Brewers' organization in 1997, and played for Waterbury in the independent Northeast League in 1998 before ending his playing career.  Since then, he has done some managing and coaching.  Jarvis Brown coached in the Twins’ organization from 1999-2001, was the manager of the New Haven County Cuggers of the Northeast League, head coach of the University of Wisconsin--Parkside for three years, and then was an assistant coach at Carthage College of Kenosha, Wisconsin.  At last report, Jarvis Brown was an inside portfolio manager for USABlueBook, "the foremost supplier for water, wastewater, and utility operations" in Waukegan, Illinois.  He is one of two major league players with the first name "Jarvis" (Jarvis Tatum).
Infielder Jason Raymond Maxwell played for Minnesota in 2000 and 2001.  Born and raised in Lewisburg, Tennessee, he attended Middle Tennessee State and was drafted by the Cubs in the 74th round in 1993.  He hit fairly well, though not outstandingly, during his minor league career, posting decent averages with moderate power.  His best year in the minors was 1998, when he hit .298 with 15 homers and 40 doubles for AAA Iowa.  He earned a September call-up that year, going 1-for-3 as a pinch hitter.  In late March of 1999, Maxwell was placed on waivers and taken by Detroit.  He had a poor year at AAA, became a free agent, and signed with the Twins for 2000.  He played for Minnesota for two years as a reserve infielder.  He had 179 at-bats as a Twin, hitting .223/.294/.313.  A free agent after the 2001 season, he signed with Texas for 2002, was released in late March, and signed with Cincinnati the next day.  He was in AAA for the Reds for two years, hitting .301 in 2002, but did not reach the majors.  He moved on to the Tampa Bay organization for 2004, and then his playing career was over.  At last report, Jason Maxwell was a teacher and baseball coach at Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tennessee.  He also was an instructor with Big E Camps, offering instruction in various sports and also located in Nashville.
Right-hander Eric Lynn Hacker appeared in two games for the Twins in 2011.  Born and raised in Duncanville, Texas, he was drafted by the Yankees in the twenty-second round in 2002.  He pitched very well in the low minors when he was able to pitch, but he missed a lot of time with injuries.  He was out the entire seasons of 2004 and 2006, and going into the 2007 season had appeared in only twenty-two minor league games and pitched just one hundred three innings.  He finally had a full minor league season in 2007 and pitched well in high A ball, but did not do as well when tried at higher levels.  He had a solid 2008 split between A and AA, but by then he was twenty-five years old.  He has never really pitched well above AA.  His best year in AAA was 2009, when he went 5-5, 4.02, but he had a WHIP of 1.56.  He was traded away from the Yankees in May of that year, going to the Pittsburgh organization.  He got a September call-up in 2009, giving up two runs on four hits in three innings.  A free agent after the season, he was in AAA for San Francisco in 2010.  A free agent again, he signed with Minnesota for 2011.  He made two appearances with the Twins in April and actually pitched well, allowing no runs on four hits and four walks in 5.1 innings.  It was a different story in Rochester, as he went 7-14, 6.10 with a 1.56 WHIP.  He was a free agent after the season and signed a minor league contract with San Francisco for 2012.  He had a fairly good year for AAA Fresno and got back to the majors for four more games, going 0-1, 5.59.  He was released in January and signed with the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization, for whom he has pitched since 2013 and has actually done quite well.  It's anyone's guess what he might have done if not for the injuries, but as it is it's a pretty long shot that anyone will give him another chance at the majors.  Stranger things have happened, but probably not a lot of them.


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