Andy Cooper pitched in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1939. He managed the Kansas City Monarchs to four consecutive Negro American League Championships from 1937-1940. He also holds the Negro Leagues career record for saves with 29.
The brother of Stan Musial, Ed Musial played in the minors in 1941 and from 1946-1950.
Frank Lucchesi managed in the minors for twenty-three seasons and in the majors for seven seasons.
Lou DiMuro was an American League umpire from 1963-1982.
Terry Tata was a National League umpire from 1973-1999.
Left-hander William Culp Krueger was with the Twins for five months in 1992. He was born in Waukegan, Illinois, but attended high school in McMinnville, Oregon. He attended the University of Portland and signed with Oakland as a free agent in 1980. He rose rapidly through the Oakland system and made his debut with the Athletics in 1983, jumping from AA to start the season in the majors. He pitched pretty well but was injured in early August, missing the rest of the season. He was a mediocre starter for Oakland in 1984 and 1985 and was injured much of 1986. He continued to pitch poorly 1987 and was traded to the Dodgers in June. Krueger spent much of 1987 and 1988 in AAA, but after a strong 1988 in Albuquerque he was traded to Pittsburgh. The Pirates released him in spring training and he signed with Milwaukee. He pitched well in the Brewers’ bullpen in 1989, having his first good season in six years, and by mid-June of 1990 he was placed in the starting rotation, where he continued to pitch well. After the 1990 season, Krueger became a free agent and signed with Seattle, where he had another good year. He was a free agent again after 1991 and signed with Minnesota. He made 27 starts as a Twin, going 10-6, 4.30 with a 1.31 WHIP. In late August, the Twins traded Krueger to Montreal for Darren Reed. Once more a free agent after the 1992 season, he signed with Detroit. He made four starts at the beginning of the season and three at the end, pitching out of the bullpen the rest of the time, and did pretty well. It was to be his last good season, however. He got off to a poor start in 1994, was released in June, signing with San Diego ten days later. He remained with the Padres until May of 1995, was released again, and signed with Seattle in mid-June. He spent most of his time with the Mariners in AAA, coming up to make five starts. His playing career came to an end after that. At last report, Bill Krueger was the Strategic Relationship Officer for Northwest Center, a nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities. He was also a broadcaster for Root Sports Northwest.
Right-handed reliever Todd Barton Givin Jones made 24 appearances for the Twins in 2001. Born and raised in Marietta, Georgia, he went to Jacksonville State and was drafted in the first round by Houston in 1989. He was a starter for his first three years in the minors, then shifted to the bullpen in 1992. His minor league numbers are pretty underwhelming, but he was called up to the majors in July of 1993 and had immediate success. His role in the bullpen gradually increased in importance, as did his save total: in his four years with Houston, his save numbers are 2, 5, 15, 17. Despite the saves, 1996 was his worst year as an Astro: an ERA of 4.40 and a WHIP of 1.62. After that season, he was traded to Detroit as part of a nine-player swap. His first year as a Tiger was a good one, but after that had a fairly high ERA and a fairly high WHIP. By this time, however, he was an established closer, and he remained in that role through 2000, when he led the league with 42 saves. In 2001, however, he lost the closer role and then was traded to Minnesota at the end of July for Mark Redman. Jones appeared in 24 games for the Twins, going 1-0, 3.26 with a WHIP of 1.76 in 19.1 innings. He became a free agent after the season and signed with Colorado. He stayed with the Rockies for a year and a half, but did not pitch well and was released at the end of June of 2003. He made one start as a Rockie in 2003, giving him the record for most appearances prior to his first start (632). He finished the year with Boston, continuing to not pitch well. He moved on to Tampa Bay for 2004, was released in spring training, signed with Cincinnati, and was traded to Philadelphia in July. He signed with Florida for 2005 and had his first good season in many years, posting a 2.10 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 73 innings. He had 40 saves that year. He was once again a free agent after that season and went back to Detroit. He was the Tigers closer for three years and did about what he had done in his previous stint, posting high ERAs and high WHIPs but getting a good number of saves. He finally lost the closer role in 2008 and retired after the season. He is probably the worst closer to compile 300 saves, but he still has the saves, and they put him in some pretty good company. At last report, Todd Jones was living in Pell City, Alabama. He was coaching local youth baseball teams and was very active in a number of charities. He also was part of a Jimmy Buffett tribute band called "Come Monday". He is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
Outfielder John Delbert Barnes played in 20 games for the Twins from 2000-2001. He was born in San Diego and went to high school in El Cajon, California. He then attended Grossmont College in El Cajon and was drafted by Boston in the fourth round in 1996. He put up decent but unspectacular numbers in the minors for two and a half years for the Red Sox, rising as high as AA, and then was traded to Minnesota along with Joe Thomas and Matt Kinney for Orlando Merced and Greg Swindell. He was okay, but no more, for New Britain. Then, in 2000, Barnes hit .365 with 13 homers at AAA Salt Lake. He got a September call-up and hit .351 in 37 at-bats. He fell to .293 in 2001 at AAA Edmonton, but got another two weeks with the Twins. The Twins put him on waivers in September, however, and he was chosen by Colorado. As a Twin, John Barnes hit .241/.313/.310 in 58 at-bats. He played in AAA for the Rockies in 2002, then was let go. He moved on to Pittsburgh for 2003 and hit .323 with 13 homers in AAA, but was not brought up to the majors. In 2004, he hit .348 in AAA with the Dodgers, but it again did him no good. He moved on to the Braves’ AAA team in 2005. He then signed with Boston and tried, at age 30, to become a knuckleball pitcher. He had some success, rising as high as AAA, but not enough to convince the Red Sox to bring him to the majors, and he called it quits after the 2007 season. At last report, John Barnes was a Representative for Kindred Healthcare in Modesto, California. He also was the executive director of Againstalloddsfoundation.org,
No comments:
Post a Comment