On his 1960s radio show, White Sox owner Bill Veeck once declared, “A ballclub is no better than its scouts.”1 One former White Sox player who found his true calling not on the field, but as a scout for one of the best teams in baseball, is pitcher Jon Adkins.

Born on August 30, 1977, in Huntington, West Virginia, to parents Doug and Peggy Adkins, Jonathan Scott Adkins grew up in the nearby town of Wayne with his older brother, Mark. Doug Adkins taught ornamental horticulture and turf grass management at Wayne High School and ran a community greenhouse where students, including those with special needs, could learn about working and interacting with people. (As of 2024 the greenhouse still operated.)

In high school Jon played basketball and baseball. As a freshman he pitched on the state championship team alongside his cousin, Tim Adkins. Tim later signed with the Toronto Blue Jays and spent 12 years in the minors as a left-handed pitcher. Though he never made it to the major leagues, Tim’s experience gave Jon his first glimpse of a possible major-league career.

The high-school baseball team won the state championship again his junior and senior years, and in the summers he played on the Lexington Dixie travel team, for which he faced better hitters and honed his game. Between travel ball and help from his high-school coach, George Brumfield, Jon, who pitched right-handed, was attracting interest from college programs and pro scouts. Upon graduation, he chose to attend Oklahoma State University and play for coach Gary Ward.

“I knew I would have an opportunity pitch early,” Adkins said about choosing Oklahoma State. “And coming from a small town in West Virginia, I felt comfortable in a smallish town [like Stillwater].”2

After Adkins’ freshman year, he pitched for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod League, alongside college teammate and roommate Josh Holliday. Starting with the 1997 season, Josh’s father, Tom Holliday, Oklahoma State’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, took over as coach of the OSU Cowboys. While Tom Holliday led Oklahoma State to the College World Series in 1999, Adkins wasn’t part of that team. In June 1998 he was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the ninth round of the amateur draft, though injury kept him out of the rookie leagues that year.

And so began Adkins’ journey through the A’s minor-league system as a starting pitcher in Modesto, Midland, and Sacramento. His first assignment was in 1999 to the Class-A Modesto A’s (California League), where he appeared in 26 games (15 starts) and worked 102 innings with a record of 9-5 and a 4.76 ERA. “They did a good job developing and nurturing players,” Adkins said, “and they have a lot of continuity. When I go back as a scout or to the instructional league, I see a lot of the same coaches.”

In 2000 Adkins spent some time with the Arizona League A’s, pitching 15 innings with a 3.00 ERA and a 1-1 record. He then went back to Modesto, where his 1.81 ERA and 5-2 record in nine games jumped him from high-A to Triple A at the end of the season. With the Sacramento River Cats, he pitched in only one game; the resulting 9.00 ERA prompted his start at the beginning of the 2001 season in the Double-A Texas League with the Midland Rockhounds.

Adkins started 24 games in Midland, pitching 137 1/3 innings and finishing 8-8 with a 4.46 ERA. Again at the end of the season he was sent to Sacramento, where he fared a bit better. He appeared in three games and started two, his ERA was 4.26 at the end of the season.

Adkins began the 2002 season back in Sacramento, where he started 20 games with a 6.03 ERA. He was traded on July 25 to the White Sox for second baseman Ray Durham and cash. Durham was a fan favorite and an All-Star in 1998 and 2000, but he was also in the last year of his contract.

“The decision to trade Ray was not an easy one,” White Sox general manager Ken Williams told ESPN. “Ray has been part of our family since 1990, [however,] in Adkins, we are getting a young pitcher with a live, quick power arm.”3

After the trade, Adkins was assigned to the White Sox’ Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights, for the remainder of the 2002 season. He immediately contributed to the team, starting seven of the eight games in which he appeared and finishing with a 3.69 ERA.

He began the 2003 season with the Knights as well. Adkins started 19 of 26 games through mid-August, pitching 122 2/3 innings with a 3.96 ERA. He was called up to the White Sox in August when right-handed reliever Billy Koch was injured.

Adkins had been a starting pitcher until the big leagues, but his major-league debut came in relief when he came out of the bullpen on the road against the Anaheim Angels on August 14, 2003. “That day was a whirlwind of emotions,” he said. “It was a lot of grind to get to that point, but it was a very fulfilling, special day, especially being able to share it with my family.”

Adkins entered the game for manager Jerry Manuel in the bottom of the seventh inning, in a game the Angels were winning 4-0. There were two outs and a runner on first base. Adkins walked designated hitter Tim Salmon, then yielded a ground-rule RBI double to third baseman Scott Spiezio. After Adkins walked Bengie Molina, Manuel took the ball from him and gave it to Scott Schoeneweis, who struck out Adam Kennedy.

It was an inauspicious debut, but Adkins was given another shot the next night, against the Rangers in Texas. He worked 2 1/3 innings, charged with four runs in an 11-5 loss.

Adkins appeared in two late September games, the second one in Kansas City, where he worked the final four innings, allowing just one hit.

For the 2003-2005 seasons, Adkins bounced between Charlotte and Chicago, continuing to answer the call from the bullpen, appearing in four games for the White Sox in 2003. He spent the entire 2004 season in Chicago, pitching 62 innings in 50 games and amassing a 2-3 record with a 4.65 ERA.

“Whenever I think about [moving from starter to reliever], I kind of say, I’d like it in the bullpen,” Adkins told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s an adrenaline rush that you get going. … Whatever they need me to do, that’s what I’ll go out and do.”4

Adkins made the 40-man roster for what became the World Series season in 2005. But with an already loaded bullpen that would finish the year with a 3.23 ERA, he didn’t make the team out of spring training. He did come up for about a month, however, pitching 8 1/3 innings in five games during the team’s drive to the AL Central Division title. He did not make the postseason roster, but did earn a World Series ring.

Released after the season, Adkins signed with the San Diego Padres, spending almost all season with the major-league club, where he appeared in 55 games and finished with a 3.98 ERA. It might be just a coincidence, but he joked in his interview that his year with the Padres was the last time they won the NL West.

At the end of the 2006 season, the Padres traded Adkins and outfielder Ben Johnson to the New York Mets for Heath Bell and Royce Ring. After his brief stint with the Mets and some time with Yaquis de Obregon of the Mexican Pacific Winter League, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent in late 2007.

“That was a really cool couple of years,” Adkins said of his time with Cincinnati. “Growing up in West Virginia, which is Reds country, they were at their peak in 1990 when I was an impressionable eighth-grader.”5 He pitched in only four games for the Reds, though, in the 2008 season, spending most of his time with Triple-A Louisville. Released before the 2009 season, and after pitching in both the Mexican Pacific Winter League and the Venezuelan Winter League, signed with the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball Organization.

“That was a cool experience,” he said of his time in the beachfront city of Busan, where the Giants played. The team “has a really good fan base and are a good organization to play for. The manager was Jerry Royster and the pitching coach was Fernando Arroyo, who I knew from the A’s minor-league system.” Though some of the coaching staff were familiar, playing in Korea was an eye-opening experience, starting with spring training in Sai-Pan. “My grandfather told me how Sai-Pan was a strategic island during World War II, and that’s something I would normally never get to see, being from a small town.” Another new aspect of the KBO was the length of the season – 10 months vs. the six-month US major-league season. Adkins thrived there, leading the league with 26 saves.

His performance garnered another call from the Reds. They signed Adkins again for the 2010 season and sent him to Triple-A Louisville, where he pitched in 34 games before being released right before the All-Star break. At that point, a rookie named Chris Sale was pitching in the bullpen for Triple-A Charlotte and was called up to the White Sox. With a slot to fill, the White Sox signed Adkins and he finished the year (and his playing career) there.

“I wanted to go out on my own terms,” Adkins said. “I didn’t want to bang around Triple A a long time, eating up innings.” He thought he might want to transition to scouting, so he had a conversation with John Farrell, another pitcher from Oklahoma State who later coached there and had just been named manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.

“He advised me to develop my evaluation skills in order to get back on the field,” Adkins said, which he did, and as a result, “I love scouting.”

By the end of the 2010 season, Adkins was hired by the Boston Red Sox as an area scout, the first two years for the Ohio Valley and then three years in South Texas and South Louisiana. He signed Travis Shaw, whom the Red Sox selected in the ninth round of the 2011 draft. In 2015 he was hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers for whom, as of 2024, he was the Northeast regional cross-checker working out of Lexington, Kentucky.

He also went back to school, using MLB’s college scholarship plan. As a native of West Virginia, he chose Marshall University, which many members of his family had attended. In 2010 he earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts. As for his master’s degree, “I’ve had that since I was 20 years old, with all of my life experiences in baseball.”

In his spare time, he said in his 2024 interview, he enjoyed hunting, working out, and spending time with his girlfriend, Jen. They attend football games at the University of Kentucky and of course Oklahoma State, where Jen’s son is on the football equipment staff.

But the majority of his time is spent scouting, where his philosophy is, “If you dominate the job you’re in and be where your feet are, good things will happen.”6 As a high-school pitcher in a small town in West Virginia, he may not have predicted where life would take him, but it seems to be going in the right direction. “I’ve been lucky to be around a lot of good baseball people,” Adkins said. “It’s been a good ride so far.”

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Baseball Almanac.com, ESPN.com, the New York Times, and a number of other publications, as well as the Korean Baseball Organization website at

https://www.koreabaseball.com/record/player.asp?player_id=79596.

Notes

1 Paul Dickson, Bill Veeck Baseball’s Greatest Maverick (New York: Walker Brooks, 2012), 536.

2 Author interview with Jon Adkins on February 20, 2024. Unless otherwise indicated, all direct quotations in this biography come from this interview.

3 “Athletics Acquire Durham for Stretch Run,” ESPN.com, July 26, 2002, accessed October 4, 2024. https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/2002/0725/1410102.html.

4 Doug Padilla, “Ex-Starter Adkins Having Fun in Bullpen,” Chicago Sun-Times, May 18, 2004. Suntimes.com, accessed February 17, 2024. https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/2002/0725/1410102.html.

Brian Nikola Anderson was born on March 11, 1982, in Tucson, Arizona. His parents were Dana and Leslie Anderson, and he had a younger half-sister, Brooke, and a half-brother, Christopher. He described his father as a “typical California laid-back guy,” and said his parents met in Arizona, were married young, and divorced early.2 Dana worked for the D’amore Group Home, a place for kids who faced domestic or mental challenges, by providing mentorship, supervision, transportation, and staying overnight if needed. Leslie sold media advertising. Leslie later married Dave Holmes, who worked construction in marble and ceramic tile.3 Brian always had an easy and outgoing personality with jovial streak; teammates once described him as a surfer dude from the desert.4 He grew up a “diehard Dodger fan” with his father and described a transformational experience when Dodgers pitching coach Ron Perranoski threw him a baseball in the stands: “I flipped my lid.”5 He recalled once trash-talking Larry Walker during a game, said his father yelled at him, and he vowed to never speak ill of another baseball player again.6 As a child he signed his name “Brian Anderson, Los Angeles Dodgers.”7

Anderson attended Canyon del Oro High School, a baseball powerhouse that won three state titles in the 1990s8 and has produced major-league players Shelley Duncan, Chris Duncan, Ian Kinsler, Jason Stanford, Colin Porter, and Scott Hairston.9 Anderson, Kinsler, Hairston, and Chris Duncan were all teammates.10 Kent Winslow, who coached Anderson for his final two years at the high school, said Anderson set the record for punishment drills. “He’d show up for a game with one cleat,” Winslow said. “And no jersey.”11 Anderson was named 5A state player of the year.12

Anderson then attended the University of Arizona with coach Andy Lopez. He started as a pitcher and moved to center field as a freshman.13 He described assistant coach Jerry Stitt as “the best hitting guru.”14 Anderson landed on a scout’s radar with an impressive junior season: .375, 14 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 17 steals.15

Anderson played for the collegiate Cape Cod Baseball League during summers. He said, “That was the place you wanted to go.”16 He recalled playing for the Bourne Braves in 2001, along with future major leaguers Conor Jackson, Joe Blanton, and Ryan Speier.17 He returned to the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2002, playing for the Cotuit Kettleers.18

Selected by the White Sox as an outfielder 15th overall in the 2003 free-agent draft, Anderson was labeled a five-tool player by White Sox scouting director Doug Laumann.19 He joined the Rookie league Great Falls White Sox, playing in 13 games in 2003 before his season ended due to a wrist injury that required surgery in the offseason to repair.20

At the start of the 2004 season, Anderson was moved up to the Winston-Salem Warthogs of the Advanced-A Carolina League for 69 games with a .319/.394/.532 slash line. Promoted to the Double-A Birmingham Barons, he played in 48 games, batting .270/.346/.416. He made only two errors the entire season, an indicator of his defensive prowess.

Anderson was moved up to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights at the start of the 2005 season, where he slashed .294/.358/.470 in 117 games with 16 home runs.

On August 16, 2005, Chicago’s Scott Podsednik was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hip muscle.21 Anderson was promoted to the team to face the Minnesota Twins, where he started in right field and batted ninth. His first hit came in the seventh inning off starter Brad Radke, a line drive to left field. Anderson later scored on a double by Timo Perez. The White Sox lost the game 9-4 in 16 innings. “It was fun, but a long game,” said Anderson, who ended the game with a strikeout. “That first hit was a load off my shoulders. If I had gone 0-for-7, it would have hurt a little bit.”22

Anderson played in 12 other games that season, with his best performance coming 10 days after his debut, on August 26 at Seattle against the Mariners. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs, the first of his career, off Félix Hernández, with three RBIs and a stolen base, and the White Sox won 5-3. He finished the season with a slash line of .176/.176/.382 and was left off the playoff roster.

Aaron Rowand, Daniel Haigwood, and Gio González were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jim Thome during the 2005 offseason. Anderson was slated to take over the day-to-day responsibilities of center field.23 This was a lot of responsibility for the 24-year-old, who still didn’t have a place of his own. Anderson was living with college friend Lindsay Tamblyn’s mother in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.24 He said it was “a lot easier to deal with a bad game when a nurturing mom figure makes you a meal.”25

Anderson began the 2006 season with the White Sox, starting most games in center field. He struggled to find his footing at the plate: This would be a trend throughout his career. “I’m a guy that feeds off success. I’m trying to get something going, but I’ll go 1-for-3, and then the next game I do just crappy. This is by far the biggest challenge of my career, to have to battle through this.”26

Anderson was involved in another infamous White Sox moment of this era on May 20, 2006, in a game against the Chicago Cubs. He hit a fly ball to left field in the bottom of the second inning. A.J. Pierzynski tagged from third and collided with Cubs catcher Michael Barrett. Pierzynski emphatically slapped home plate after the collision, and Barrett took offense. As Pierzynski walked back to the dugout, Barrett exchanged words and punched him in the face. Both benches cleared and Anderson tackled Cubs player John Mabry.27 Barrett, Mabry, Pierzynski, and Anderson were all ejected. This was the only ejection of Anderson’s career. Barrett was suspended for 10 games and Anderson for five, and Pierzynski was fined an undisclosed amount.

Anderson continued to play excellent defense, which kept him on the team.28 He made his first error of the season on August 18 against the Twins, breaking a 111-game errorless streak. While Anderson improved in the second half, the season ultimately ended with disappointment at the plate; he batted .225/.290/.359, with 8 home runs and 33 RBIs.

In the 2006-2007 offseason, Anderson played in the Venezuelan Winter League at the White Sox’ request. “I’m going to go there for a month and work on a better approach to my ballgame,” he said.29 He described the experience as “crazy,” and said it occurred while his relationship with manager Ozzie Guillén was the tensest: “Ozzie wanted the best for me, to get more exposure. He wanted me to get more at-bats.”30 Anderson only last two weeks in Venezuela after losing 20 pounds because of a severe stomach illness. “It’s my career; it’s my swing. I better figure this out or I’m gonna be bagging groceries soon,” he said.31

With spring training getting underway, the message from Guillén was clear: Anderson was promised nothing for the 2007 season. In fact, Guillén said the former first-round pick would have to win his starting job all over again.32 Anderson would make the team in the fourth outfield spot, providing relief for Darin Erstad and Scott Podsednik.33

Anderson once again struggled at the plate at the start of the season. After just 19 plate appearances over the month of April with a .118/.211/.176 slash line, he was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on April 30 to get more at-bats.34 His season ended after 57 games with an injury to his left wrist.35 His .255/.318/.435 slash line was slightly worse than when he was there in 2004.

In 2008 Anderson made the White Sox out of spring training, once again as a fourth outfielder.36 He continued his strong defensive play while playing in 98 games, 59 of them in the later innings as a defensive replacement. His new approach to coming off the bench was noticed by Guillén and showed Anderson’s maturity. “Last year, it was sitting long stretches, combined with the poor attitude I had,” Anderson said. “I was bitter because I wasn’t starting, and I was negative about it. Now, I’m a lot more positive about what I do, and that helps.”37

Anderson again mirrored his 2006 season at the plate: a slash line of .232/.272/.436 with 8 home runs and 26 RBIs. The White Sox finished the season 88-74, tied with the Minnesota Twins for first in the AL Central Division.

Game 163 took place on September 30 in Chicago. The fans arrived in their black gear – black shirts, black pants, black hats, black jackets, and looks of fierce determination. Even the White Sox brass was dressed in black T-shirts with the words “SOX PRIDE BLACKOUT” on them.38 Anderson came in to pinch run in the bottom of the seventh for Ken Griffey Jr. and then replaced him in center field. This set up an Anderson swan dive catch to end the game and send the White Sox into the postseason to face the Tampa Bay Rays, who defeated them in the Division Series three games to one.

Anderson once again found himself in a backup outfield role behind Dewayne Wise to start the 2009 season as the fourth outfielder. A week into the season Wise suffered a separated right shoulder, creating playing time for Anderson.39 He continued to struggle at the plate and after 65 games on July 20 he was sent to Triple-A Charlotte after Carlos Quentin was recalled from his rehab assignment.40 On July 28 Anderson was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Mark Kotsay and was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket.41 Anderson was soon called back up, but he mostly played as a defensive replacement late in games, appearing in 19, pinch-running in two games, and had only 21 plate appearances. “I take a lot of pride playing defense,” Anderson said. “I’ve struggled offensively to stay consistent, but with some at-bats, I can put together some quality at-bats and help this team win some games.”42 On December 12 he was released.

Anderson signed with the Kansas City Royals, and he let the team know that he wanted to try becoming a pitcher.43 He made his pitching debut on July 4, striking out two and allowing a single in one inning for the Arizona Rookie League Royals.44 He was released at the end of the year and signed with the Yankees. Anderson pitched in Double A until he suffered an arm injury in May 2011.45 He also had a rib removed under his collarbone to try to alleviate arm pain.46 He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on February 26, 2012, but was released on March 31. He caught on with the Colorado Rockies on April 7 but was released on the 15th.

Anderson spent 2013 and 2014 working in the medical supply industry.47 He said he was “seeing the handwriting on the wall.” Nick Arroyo, a friend who was the company’s CEO, told him that he was good with people and taught him some talking points. Anderson excelled at selling to doctors, saying it was “not easy when they’re 10 times smarter than you.”48

In 2015 an older and wiser Anderson attempted one last comeback as an outfielder with the White Sox. “If I could talk to these young kids in camp,” Anderson said, “I would tell them to stay focused on the job. Don’t get me wrong, when I was on the field I made sure I did my work and took it seriously. But I guess you could say I had too much fun with other things. I was young and could have handled it better.”49 He was released before the season began.

Anderson joined Chip Hale’s staff at the University of Arizona in 2022 as an undergraduate assistant coach focusing on outfielders and coaching first base as well as providing guidance to younger players.50 “Once I’d reached the major leagues, that was kind of enough; I had reached that pinnacle. I lacked the discipline, the maturity at that time to handle certain situations. When I should have gone right, I was going left, and that caused me to lose the drive to keep playing. And then ultimately, you don’t perform, they don’t want you to be on the field anymore.”51

In August Anderson joined the coaching staff of Pima College in Tucson, Arizona.52 He then moved to Northwestern University, where in 2023 he became interim coach after Jim Foster was fired following allegations of abusive behavior.53 He stayed for the 2024 season under new head coach Ben Greenspan. He left Northwestern after his second season. He described it as a great experience working with young players and said that it gave him a chance to move back to Chicago. In mid-2024 he was pursuing head coaching opportunities.54

Anderson and his wife, Danielle, have a daughter, Scarlett. Of his wife, Anderson said, “I would not be coaching without Danielle. Going every which way, every direction, mostly down. She’s the reason I got into coaching. She did all of this while she was pregnant.”55

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the authors consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Michael Lev, “After ‘Underachieving’ Pro Career, Ex-UA Star Brian Anderson Reinvents Himself as Coach,” Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), February 19, 2022: 1.

2 Brian Anderson telephone interview with Eric Conrad, June 19, 2024. Unless indicated otherwise, all direct quotations come from this interview (Anderson interview).

3 Anderson interview with Mark Morowczynski, October 19, 2024.

4 Tom Verducci, “Brian Anderson, OF-Turned-Pitcher-Turned-OF, Wants One Last Chance,” Sports Illustrated, February 24, 2015.

5 Anderson interview.

6 Anderson interview.

7 Patrick Finley, “White Sox Good Fit for Star from CDO, UA,” Arizona Daily Star, March 1, 2006: A1.

8 Greg Hansen, “Ex-Wildcats in NBA to Play in All-Star Game,” Arizona Daily Star, June 8, 2003: C2.

9 Greg Hansen, “Welcome to Big Leagues, Stefen,” Arizona Daily Star, March 30, 2019: B02.

10 Tom Verducci.

11 Patrick Finley.

12 Chris Davis, “White Sox Rookie Well-Schooled as Tucson Amateur,” Arizona Daily Star, March 20, 2005: C3.

13 Patrick Finley.

14 Anderson interview.

15 Chris Jackson, “Fullerton Regional Team Capsules,” Arizona Daily Star, May 27, 2003: C3.

16 Anderson interview.

17 Anderson interview.

18 Sue Horton, “All-Time Major League Baseball Players from the Cape Cod Baseball League,” https://capecodbaseball.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/2012website/archives/Current%20Year/All_Time_MLB_CCBL_Alumni.pdf.

19 Doug Padilla, “First Choice a ‘Five-Tool Player,’” Chicago Sun-Times, June 4, 2003: 139.

20 Doug Padilla, “Anderson Feeling at Home in Sox Camp – Tucson Resident, 22, Not Putting Pressure on Himself to Succeed,” Chicago Sun-Times, March 11, 2004: 145.

21 Toni Ginnetti, “Sox Want ‘Disabled’ Podsednik Health for Stretch,” Chicago Sun-Times, August 16, 2005: 109.

22 Dave Dyck, “Anderson a Hit in Debut with Sox,” Chicago Tribune, August 17, 2005: 4.

23 Doug Padilla, “Sox Get Thome for Rowand: GM Williams Adds Injury-Plagued Big Bat, Loses Fan Favorite,” Chicago Sun-Times, November 24, 2005: 134.

24 Nina Metz, “Life’s a Ball with 2 Homes and 2 Moms,” Chicago Tribune, February 26, 2005: 15.

25 Anderson interview.

26 Joe Crowley, “Anderson’s Struggles Will Cost Him ABs,” Chicago Sun-Times, May 3, 2006: 113.

27 Mike Kiley, “Mabry Injured after Brawl with Anderson,” Chicago Sun-Times, May 21, 2006: A97.

28 Toni Ginnetti, “Ozzie: Great Expectations Will Be Met,” Chicago Sun-Times, June 10, 2006: 77.

29 Joe Cowley, “Anderson Winter Plan: Small Ball,” Chicago Sun-Times, September 19, 2006: 101.

30 Anderson interview.

31 Patrick Finley, “Showtime Is Now for Ex-CAT Anderson,” Arizona Daily Star, February 20, 2007: C4.

32 Joe Cowley, “Life of Brian on the Upswing: Changes at Bat Keep Anderson in Sox’ CF Picture,” Chicago Sun-Times, February 27, 2007, 92.

33 Joe Cowley, “Ozzie says B.A. Gets to Stay: Anderson Given Spot,” Chicago Sun-Times, March 28, 2007: 106.

34 Toni Ginnetti, “Struggling Anderson Sent Down,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 30, 2007: 105.

35 Joe Cowley, “Painful Pen Collapse – Orioles 7, White Sox 6,” Chicago Sun-Times, July 15, 2007: A74.

36 Joe Cowley, “Springboard to Success? – No-Nonsense Camp Might Be First Step in Turning It Around,” Chicago Sun-Times, March 29, 2008: 49.

37 Joe Cowley, “Cabrera Says Scioscia ‘Is on Another Level,’” Chicago Sun-Times, May 12, 2008: 77.

38 Rick Telander, “Thome, Danks, Pierzynski … Heroes Aplenty in Win,” Chicago Sun-Times, October 1, 2008: A3.

39 Joe Cowley, “Won, Lost, Record – White Sox 10, Tigers 6 Sox Win,” Chicago Sun-Times, April 14, 2009: 58.

40 Joe Cowley, “Anderson Demotion Stirs Usual Emotion,” Chicago Sun-Times, July 21, 2009: 57.

41 Amalie Benjamin, “Learning Curve for Buchholz: He’s Well-Adjusted This Time Around,” Boston Globe, July 29, 2009: C3.

42 Michael Silverman, “Red Sox Notebook – Newcomers in Lineup – Anderson in Right for Drew,” Boston Herald, August 16, 2009: B4.

43 Greg Hansen, “Dough Rising Fast for Coaches,” Arizona Daily Star, April 4, 2010: C2.

44 Patrick Finley, “Ex-Cat Gets the Royal Treatment,” Arizona Daily Star, July 12, 2010: B7.

45 Greg Hansen, “Hansen’s Sunday Notebook: Miller Is Fine Doing Quiet, Dirty Work,” Arizona Daily Star, December 4, 2011: B2.

46 Greg Hansen, “Hansen’s Sunday Notebook: Recruiters Like Cochise,”Arizona Daily Star, February 19, 2012: B2.

47 “CDO Grad, ex-Cat Anderson Working on a Comeback,” Arizona Daily Star, February 28, 2015.

48 Anderson interview.

49 Tom Verducci, “Brian Anderson, OF-Turned-Pitcher-Turned-OF, Wants One Last Chance,” Sports Illustrated, February 24, 2015.

50 Michael Lev, “After ‘Underachieving’ Pro Career, Ex-UA Star Brian Anderson Reinvents Himself as Coach,” Arizona Daily Star, February 19, 2022: 1.

51 Michael Lev.

52 “Pima Adds Ex-Wildcat Brian Anderson, Tucson High’s Oscar Romero to Coaching Staff,” Arizona Daily Star, August 19, 2022: 1.

53 Michael Lev, “Arizona OF Mac Bingham Headed to LSU; Ex-Wildcat Brian Anderson Named Interim coach at NU,” Arizona Daily Star, July 14, 2023: 1.

54 Anderson interview.

55 Anderson interview.

Harold Douglas Baines was born to Linwood Jr. and Gloria Baines on March 15, 1959, in Easton, Maryland. He grew up in nearby St. Michaels, on the state’s Eastern Shore, with four siblings: Linwood III was a year older; the late Irving and Curtis were his younger brothers, with sister Bertha arriving in between. Their father was a mason. “He worked from dawn to dusk. By the time I saw him it was night,” Harold recalled.1 “He showed me what was important in life. We didn’t have those extra things, but we had what we needed.”2

Linwood Baines had played baseball for the Eastern Shore Negro League’s St. Michaels Red Sox.3 “He was my hero,” Harold said.4 “Not from a baseball aspect, it was just from the way he raised his kids.” Nevertheless, the sport helped form a strong bond between father and son. “Harold’s glove was bigger than he was, but he’d be dragging me down to the diamond,” the elder Baines recalled.5  “I think I played the game professionally for my dad, because he couldn’t,” Harold reflected.6

By the time Harold was a 12-year-old Little Leaguer, his hitting ability was undeniable. Former major-league owner Bill Veeck, who owned a home in the area, went to see him play at the suggestion of a friend, Bob Boinski.7 “[Baines] was hitting the ball 400 feet,” Veeck recalled.8 “You didn’t forget a bat that quick or a swing that compact and powerful. I didn’t.”9

Baines starred in three sports at St. Michaels High School, including soccer during his senior season. “He scored 15 goals and took us to the state final,” said coach Denver Leach.10 Baines captained the basketball squad and considered hoops his best sport. “I played forward, center and guard. I could dunk the ball and I averaged 22 points a game,” he said. “Nobody called with any scholarship offers, so I started turning my thoughts to baseball.”11

By his sophomore year, big league scouts knew about the promising first baseman/outfielder (who also occasionally pitched). The field at St. Michaels wasn’t fenced, so right field ended when the ground sloped into a drainage ditch after about 390 feet. A running track sat atop a hill another 100-feet away. One day, after the scouts’ plans to observe Harold were frustrated by an opponent’s intentional walks, they asked the teen to take postgame batting practice. “He took eight or 10 swings and hit three balls over the ditch,” recalled Coach Leach. “A couple of them bounced up onto the track.”12 They had seen enough.

Veeck, meanwhile, had repurchased the White Sox in 1975 and moved to Chicago. He continued to receive reports from Eastern Shore sources and a scout who’d seen Baines play in an American Legion tournament.13 Following a last-place finish in 1976, the White Sox held the first pick in the 1977 amateur draft, just as Baines was completing his senior season with a .532 batting average.14 Veeck had seen him only a few times, so he sent Chicago’s most trusted scouts to crosscheck: Walt Widmayer, Bennie Huffman and Paul Richards.15 “Bill wanted to be sure we were doing the right thing,” explained Roland Hemond, then the Sox’s vice president.16

“Harold wasn’t exactly playing in what you’d call a ‘class’ league,” Richards explained. “His swing was a natural, but there’s no way you could measure that against the pro pitchers until he actually hit against them.”17 Though Chicago’s need for pitching was more acute, and Bill Gullickson from nearby Joliet Catholic Academy was a local favorite, the White Sox made Baines the number-one overall pick in the country.

Veeck and Hemond traveled to Maryland the night before the draft and signed Baines minutes after the pick became official. “I doubt he’d ever been off the Eastern Shore much until the day he signed with us,” Veeck recalled. “They were a century behind there in race relations during the time Harold grew up. It was like growing up in the Deep South.”18

When the White Sox played in Baltimore that weekend, Baines took batting practice with them but didn’t show his ability. Veeck told Hemond that the new draftee was nervous but promised, “Don’t worry, he’ll be OK.”19

Baines debuted with the Appleton (Wisconsin) Foxes, batting .261 with five home runs in 69 games for the worst club in the Single-A Midwest League. Promoted to Double A in 1978, he got off to a miserable start with a sub-.200 batting average into June.20 He raised it to .275 by season’s end as the Knoxville Sox won the Southern League title. Next, in the Florida Instructional League he hit .333 with 38 RBIs in his first 32 games to help the White Sox clinch their division.21

When Baines struggled early again after advancing to the Triple-A Iowa Oaks of the American Association in 1979, teammate Rusty Kuntz recalled that the media was hard on the number-one pick. “They subjected him to a lot of abuse: ‘What are they doing sending us a 20-year-old who can’t hit?’”22

Unfazed, Baines kept improving and finished the year batting .298 with 22 homers and 87 RBIs. Two of the four-baggers came in the same inning on August 4, and he hit two more round-trippers two nights later.23 “I’ll give my best effort every day,” he explained. “The only way to do that is by eliminating the negatives and concentrating on being myself.”24

“Each time I thought I was pushing him beyond what he was capable of doing the last two years, he has responded,” remarked Tony La Russa, Baines’s manager at both Knoxville and Iowa.25 “From day one, he’s always been his own man. Nobody can lead him astray.”26

La Russa took over as the White Sox skipper that summer, and many believed Baines could join him in 1980. Orlando Cepeda likened the 21-year-old’s swing to that of Billy Williams. Jimmy Piersall compared him to Al Kaline. After working with Baines in spring training, Piersall gushed, “Give him the bat and ball and see you in 15 years. He’s not only got all the tools, but he’s got instinct. When you talk to him about baseball, you don’t have to tell him what base to throw to. He KNOWS that.”27 “This kid is going straight into the starting lineup and then straight to Cooperstown,” insisted Richards.28 Yet as Baines himself observed looking back in 2019, “I inherited athletic ability but you have to put in the work.”29

At the time, however, he recognized that he was still just a prospect. “How can people be calling me a superstar when I haven’t even made the team?” he protested.30 He worked his way into Chicago’s Opening Day lineup at Comiskey Park, batting sixth and playing right field. He went hitless against Baltimore’s Jim Palmer. “The first game I ever played in the big leagues stands out in my mind the most because my father was there to see it,” he said.31

Baines started 0-for-19 before ripping an RBI double against the Yankees’ Jim Kaat on April 17 for his first hit. Two nights later in Baltimore, he went deep against Palmer. One week after his sudden-death homer beat the Rangers’ Ferguson Jenkins on July 26, Baines was in Cooperstown…albeit it for the Hall of Fame exhibition contest against the Pirates. He stroked three extra-base hits including a home run.32 In the games that counted, he homered 13 times as a rookie and batted .255.

In 1981, Baines rarely played against left-handers after hitting only .159 against southpaws in his first year. Yet he hit .320 against them, which helped raise his average to .286 overall. After the season, he added 16 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame through a diet of 3,300 calories a day and a regimen of free weights.33 The White Sox hired renowned batting coach Charlie Lau, who spent two years with the team before succumbing to cancer. “Charlie taught me what pitches to look for on the particular ball-strike count,” Baines explained. “I turned my stats around immensely after that.”34 Describing his approach to hitting in 2019, he cited one thing above all: “Concentration.” He added, “I would give the pitcher a part of the zone but the other part of the zone was mine.”35

Playing every day in 1982, Baines become the youngest player in franchise history to drive in 100 runs.36 In July, he homered six times –including two grand slams—and drove in 15 runs in a six-game span. “He’s going to be the kind you’ll pay to see in a few years,” La Russa predicted. The White Sox signed him to a new contract guaranteeing $3.25 million over four seasons.37 “He’s the most unchanged player by success I’ve ever known,” marveled Veeck the following summer.38

The 1983 White Sox won 99 games – one shy of the franchise record. Baines was in the middle of a career-best, 19-game hitting streak when his game-ending sacrifice fly clinched the club’s first post-season appearance in 24 years. The RBI set off a raucous celebration at Comiskey Park in which fans flooded the field to celebrate with the players, but Chicago fell to the Orioles in the ALCS.

Baines married the former Marla Henry that fall, months after she earned her Bachelor of Education degree from Bowie State University. When they had met in high school, she’d been the scorekeeper for some of his teams.39 Their first child, daughter Toni, arrived in 1984, followed by sisters Britni and Courtney, with brother Harold, Jr. in between, over the next six years. They decided to raise their family in St. Michaels, a place Baines described as “the kind of place where you can have peace of mind.”40

In 1984, one of Baines’s bats went straight to the Hall of Fame. On May 9, he homered to end the longest game in American League history, a 25-inning marathon that took 8 hours and 6 minutes. The hit also generated one of his signature moments. When a reporter tried to elicit a comment by noting that he’d gotten all of the ball, the taciturn Baines simply replied, “Evidently”. He became “Mr. Evidently” to his teammates and, in 2019, the White Sox gave away Baines bobbleheads that played a recording of the single word.

But he had been in the worst slump of his career at the time. The historic blast was his first homer in a month, and his batting average didn’t get over .200 until Memorial Day weekend. In 81 games from May 29 through the end of August, however, he batted .364 and slugged .655, including eight four-hit contests. “The way he’s going now, he could hit a golf ball,” said teammate Rudy Law. “He had flaws when he was rushed to the majors, but he corrected them all,” Hemond observed.41 Baines insisted that he was just being more selective.

He finished the season as a .300 hitter for the first time, with personal bests in triples (10), homers (29) and a league-leading .541 slugging percentage. “To do what Harold does, his fire has got to be burning very brightly, whether anyone can see it or not,” said La Russa.42

In 1985, only nine of Baines’s 22 homers came before the end of July. “I have to go to left field. I have to take what they give me,” he explained.43 Nevertheless, he played in his first All-Star Game, raised his average to .309, and drove in a career-high 113 runs. He impressed Tom Seaver, his teammate that season. “He’s in the lineup every day and always has the same mental approach, whether he was 0-for-4 the previous day, or 4-for-4,” said Seaver. “Mental discipline is tough, but he shows it every day.”44

Chicago’s incoming GM, Ken Harrelson, remarked, “There are some teams out there that I wouldn’t take straight up for Harold.”45 The White Sox endured a disappointing 1986 that cost La Russa his job, but Baines returned to the All-Star Game, and became the first player in franchise history with at least 20 homers in five consecutive years.46 His season ended early, however, because of a right knee injury sustained on the next-to-last weekend. “A pitcher covering first base had his foot on the bag the same time I reached the base, and I stepped on his ankle,” Baines explained.47

Looking back in 2019, Baines added, “I had eight knee surgeries during my career starting from that injury.”48 He missed half of spring training in 1987 while rehabbing from an arthroscopic procedure. Yet he was in the lineup on Opening Day and banged out two hits from his customary third spot in the batting order. He left the contest early for a pinch-runner, however, and underwent another operation. In July, he became the White Sox’s all-time home run leader. As of 2024, he ranks fourth behind Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko, and José Abreu, but ahead of Carlton Fisk, who temporarily passed him in 1990.49

Throughout his career, Baines had been considered just above average as a right fielder with a strong arm. But in 1987 his knees forced him into the DH role. From then until the end of his career, he played in just 81 games in the field, and never more than 25 in any single season.

After a third operation on the same knee that winter, Baines arrived at spring training early each morning and split his days between swimming and physical therapy.50 He struggled early in 1988, but the White Sox still extended his contract that summer and made him the club’s first player with a $1 million annual salary.51 He earned a second straight Outstanding Designated Hitter award.52  “The first thing I thought about when I realized that I physically couldn’t play defense in the outfield on a regular basis was what I could do to help the team,” he explained. He studied pitchers and catchers intently, searching for clues. “I put all that concentration on offense.”53

After a down year statistically, Baines ran all winter to strengthen his knees.54 He also worked with incoming hitting coach Walt Hriniak.55 “[Hriniak] refreshed my memory of what Charlie Lau taught,” he said.56 Though Baines’s return to right field mostly ended after April, the notorious slow starter was the AL’s leading hitter into late May. For the fourth time in five seasons, he returned to the All-Star Game, which allowed designated hitters for the first time in 1989. He started for the American League and became the first DH to hit safely in a Midsummer Classic with an RBI single off the Cubs’ Rick Sutcliffe.

Less than three weeks later, however, he was traded to the Texas Rangers. The last-place White Sox acquired future All-Stars Sammy Sosa and Wilson Álvarez in the five-player deal, but many of Chicago’s fans and players were upset. “Baines comes as close to anyone as being Mr. White Sox,” acknowledged GM Larry Himes.57 “As a person, it will not be possible to replace him,” remarked club owner Jerry Reinsdorf.58

“After being in place for 10 years, you thought you could stay here your whole career, but it didn’t work out,” Baines said. “I wasn’t happy with the way [Himes] was doing things, but I was never mad at the fans or the organization itself.”59 When the Rangers visited Comiskey Park three weeks later, he received two standing ovations and went 3-for-3.60 The White Sox surprised him by retiring his uniform number 3 before the series finale.

The trade proved disappointing for both the Rangers and their new DH. The team never climbed above fourth place, and his 16 RBIs in 50 games were fewer than those tallied by Fred Manrique, the utility infielder Texas also received in the deal.

In 1990, Baines was batting .290 with 13 homers in late August, but he was sitting more frequently against left-handers. “I just wasn’t happy,” he admitted. “I didn’t feel I was being utilized the right way.”61 On August 29, Texas traded him to Oakland for two pitchers who combined to win three big-league games. The Athletics were on their way to a third straight American League pennant led by La Russa, the ex-White Sox skipper.

In Game Three of the World Series, La Russa gave Baines his first start against a southpaw in almost eight weeks. He responded with a two-run homer off Tom Browning of the Reds, but Cincinnati upset the Athletics in a four-game sweep.

Baines remained with Oakland for the next two seasons. In 1991, he walked more than he struck out for the first time in his career, batted .295 and drove in 90 runs. Seven of the RBIs came in a three-homer performance against the Orioles on May 7 in which he set an Oakland record with 14 total bases.62 On May 18, 1992 in Baltimore, his father was on hand to witness his 1,000th RBI.63 Baines hit just .253 that season, but batted .440 in Oakland’s ALCS loss to Toronto, including a game-winning, ninth-inning homer off Jack Morris in Game One.

On January 9, St. Michael’s celebrated Harold Baines Day, which grew into an annual event with a golf tournament to raise scholarship money for dozens of local high schoolers to attend college or trade schools.64 Five days later, he was traded to the Orioles for two young pitchers shortly after he’d re-signed with Oakland. The arrangement allowed Roland Hemond –who’d become Baltimore’s GM—to avoid losing a draft pick. Veeck had died in 1986 but Bob Boinski, who’d recommended Baines to him, remarked, “I guess Bill’s smiling now that Roland got him back.”65

Baines had reason to smile, too. All four of his children would still be under age 10 on Opening Day and playing in Baltimore meant he could commute from St. Michael’s, just a 90-minute drive away. “Not too many guys get a chance to play in their home state, so playing with the Orioles meant a lot to me,” he said. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”66

In 1993, he reached base in 13 straight plate appearances (eight hits and five walks) to tie a Baltimore record.67 He notched his 2,000th hit in August, and finished the season batting a career-high .313. “When I left Texas, they assumed I was done. When I left Oakland, they assumed I was done,” he said. “That has been my motivation.”68

He underwent another operation –this time on his left knee—but had two more strong years for the Orioles.69 By the end of 1995, he’d become the first big leaguer in history to appear in at least 1,000 games at both a single defensive position and as a DH.70

Baines had to find a new team in 1996 after Pat Gillick replaced Hemond as Baltimore’s GM. He signed with the White Sox as a free agent, rejoining the club that displayed his retired number at the ballpark. “I’m taking it down,” he said. “A retired number means you’re supposed to be dead and done already.”71 At 37, he was the oldest Chicago player on the roster for the entire season, but he enjoyed an excellent year, batting .311 with 22 homers and 95 RBIs. “I can’t run, but I can still see,” he quipped.72

“Harold’s amazing,” raved teammate Frank Thomas. “He hits with authority and he takes care of himself.”73

The articular cartilage in both of Baines’s knees was so worn down that bone ground against bone in spots. He spent time each day with trainer Herm Schneider, who believed the way he planted his front foot after lifting it before swinging exacerbated the stress on his knees. “I give myself a lot of credit for staying in there and fighting all the obstacles I’ve had,” Baines said. “I’ve had to work to get on the field.”74

In 1997, Baines played what proved to be his final two innings of defense in June. On July 11, he homered in Kansas City for his 2,500th hit. Three weeks later, he was batting .305 when the sub-.500 White Sox traded him back to the Orioles. He hit .364 in two rounds of playoffs as Baltimore advanced to the ALCS, but the club fell two wins short of reaching the World Series.

Baines hit .300 again in 1998 but missed nearly a month with a strained hamstring. At age 40, however, he still commanded respect. The Scouting Notebook 1999 said, “Baines remains a productive hitter with outstanding plate coverage.”75 That year, a red-hot first half gave him a .355 batting average with 21 homers in 234 at-bats by mid-July. One memorable blow came against the White Sox on May 4 — a game-ending homer (his 10th) that was also a grand slam (his 13th).76

On July 16, Baines passed Hal McRae as the all-time hit leader among designated hitters with a four-hit performance. The next day, he homered to move ahead of Don Baylor atop the position’s home run leaderboard.77 Though David Ortiz surpassed both marks in 2013, Baines’s teammate Cal Ripken noted, “Harold helped define the DH in baseball. It’s a position now. That was a discovery to a lot of people.”78

“Nobody wants to be a DH,” Baines said. “I loved playing the outfield. But with my knees, I’ve known for a long time the way I can help a baseball team is with my offense, not my defense…I’m lucky there’s still a DH in the American League. If there wasn’t, I would have been done.”79

Hopelessly out of contention, the Orioles traded him to the first-place Indians on August 27. With Cleveland, he surpassed the 100-RBI mark for the first time since 1985. His .533 slugging percentage shattered Stan Musial’s 1962 mark for 40-year-olds.80 He batted .357 with a homer in the Division Series, but the Indians fell to the Red Sox.

Baines re-signed with the Orioles for 2000, even though it wasn’t clear exactly how much he’d be utilized. “From what I know about baseball, if you’re hitting, you’ll play. If you’re not hitting, you won’t play,” he said.81 He platooned at DH again but struggled through a poor first half for a losing club. At the end of July, he was traded for the third time in four seasons, back to the White Sox, who were leading the AL Central. On a visit to Baltimore on August 15, he hit his 384th and final homer. In Chicago’s ALDS loss, he went 1-for-4 to complete his post-season career with a .324 batting average in 31 games. 

The 2001 season was Baines’ 22nd in the majors. When he lined a single off Cincinnati’s Jim Brower for his 2,686th career hit in an interleague game on June 14, his average was an awful .133. Even worse, he severely pulled a hip flexor on a checked swing.82 He returned for his 2,830th and final game on September 27 in Chicago but struck out looking in his only at bat.

Baines tried to keep playing in 2002, but he couldn’t find any takers. “I didn’t know it [2001] was going to be my last season,” he said in 2019, “but the reality is at age 42 you don’t expect the phone to ring.”83

He finished his career with a .289 batting average, 384 home runs and 1,628 RBIs. Only Al Kaline, with 399, hit more longballs among players without a single 30-homer season. When he retired, only two dozen major leaguers in history had driven in more runs.84

A word often associated with Baines is “clutch” – he had a rep for coming up big in tough situations. Yet according to one analysis, “Baines’s numbers at crucial moments were about the same as in all other situations.”85 This underscores that he was quite simply a very consistent and reliable hitter.

After his playing days ended, Baines became a roving minor league hitting instructor for the White Sox. When coach Joe Nossek retired during spring training 2004, Chicago skipper Ozzie Guillén asked his former teammate to become his bench coach, and Baines agreed. He led the club for four games when Guillén was suspended, just long enough to confirm to himself that he didn’t want to manage.

Baines finally earned a World Series ring when the 2005 White Sox became the first Chicago team in 88 years to win the Fall Classic. It meant a lot to him to accomplish a longstanding goal and to be there every day working with the players.86 He remained in uniform for another decade, as the first base coach and later the assistant hitting instructor.

In 1984, a 25-year-old Baines had said, “I want to be remembered as somebody they enjoyed watching at the ballpark, but it doesn’t have to be a superstar or anything like that.”87 Nevertheless, in 2008, the White Sox unveiled a bronze statue of him outside U.S. Cellular Field. He was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame the following year. As for his chances to make it to Cooperstown, he remarked in 1997, “The only thing I can control is when I’m at the plate. Other people vote for stuff. If it happens, great. If not, I’ve had a very good career.”88

Baines was considered on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for five consecutive years beginning in 2007. His candidacy received support from the likes of Cal Ripken, who’d entered the Hall himself in 2007.89 Yet he never received more than 6.1% of the votes from members of the Baseball Writers Association of America – far short of the 75% required for induction. After receiving less than 5% support in 2011, he dropped off the writers’ ballot entirely. The numbers he’d compiled were deemed closer to good than great, lacking the milestone totals or league-leading figures usually achieved by the game’s immortals. To some, the fact that he’d been a platoon player for a significant part of his career neutralized the benefits of his 22-season longevity. The stigma of being primarily a DH after suffering a career-altering injury at age 27 certainly factored in as well.

After the 2015 season, Baines retired from coaching. Late in 2018, he learned that he would finally receive a plaque in Cooperstown. The Today’s Game Era Committee – including his longtime supporters Tony La Russa and Jerry Reinsdorf – gave him the 12 votes he needed out of 16 required to earn induction. Even La Russa admitted, “There were some very candid discussions” during the voting process.90 Baines himself was widely quoted as being “shocked.” It was a secret ballot and nobody else besides Reinsdorf or La Russa has gone on the record. But it’s noteworthy that eight other members of the Committee besides La Russa were also members of the Hall.

When the news broke, the other most prominent and vocal defender of Baines and his worthiness was former White Sox teammate Paul Konerko, who cited mental strength and leadership by example along with performance.

The election of Baines remains as controversial – one especially heated exchange featuring La Russa took place on MLB Network91 – as it is irreversible. Yet in his quiet and humble way, Baines expressed his gratitude to the voters and for the existence of the Committee.92

Baines became the third player picked number-one overall in the June amateur draft to enter the Hall, after Ken Griffey, Jr. and Chipper Jones – even though he was drafted a decade ahead of Griffey and 13 years ahead of Jones.

Baines’s father had died in 2014, prompting the remark, “The only thing missing when it comes to being elected to the Hall of Fame is my dad’s not here to see it.”93 On July 21, 2019, he took his place among the game’s all-time greats, closing his uncharacteristic 9 minute 54 second speech with a lesson that his father taught him when they played catch: “Words are easy, deeds are hard. Words can be empty. Deeds speak the loudest, and sometimes they echo forever.”94

In May 2021, Baines had heart replacement surgery, followed by a kidney transplant the next day.95 After recuperating, he returned to Chicago in 2022 to throw out the ceremonial first ball before the White Sox’s home opener.96 As of 2024, Baines still lived in St. Michaels and worked for the White Sox as a Community Relations Representative.

Last revised: January 30, 2024

Acknowledgments and photo credits

Special thanks to Harold Baines, who graciously granted several telephone interviews to Tim Deale, including one on his 60th birthday in 2019.

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Norman Macht and fact-checked by Chris Rainey.

Photo credits: National Baseball Hall of Fame Library and Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also consulted www.baseball-reference.com, www.retrosheet.org, and www.tcdb.com.

Notes

1 Jerome Holtzman, “Low-keyed Baines Still Doing Talking with His Bat,” Chicago Tribune, June 22, 1995: E3.

2 Mike Kiley, “Baines Appears Set to Make Some Noise – On the Field,” Chicago Tribune, April 7, 1985: C1.

3 “Harold Baines,” https://libapps.salisbury.edu/nabb-online/exhibits/show/friends-rivals-baseball-delmar/national-baseball-hall-of-fame/harold-baines, (last accessed November 13, 2020).

4 Bert Lehman, “For Harold Baines, Chicago Was Always His Kind of Town,” https://sportscollectorsdigest.com/news/harold-baines-chicago-town, (last accessed November 13, 2020).

5 Peter Schmuck, “Baines’ Happy Landing,” Baltimore Sun, January 29, 1993: 1C.

6 Lehman, “For Harold Baines, Chicago Was Always His Kind of Town.”

7 Bill Veeck, “Maryland, My Maryland,” Chicago Tribune, October 4, 1983: C3.

8 Mike Kiley, “The Big RBI Goes to Baines,” Chicago Tribune, September 18, 1983: B3.

9 Veeck, “Maryland, My Maryland.”

10 Schmuck, “Baines’ Happy Landing.”

11 Dave Nightingale, “Naturally, Baines is a Success,” Chicago Tribune, April 27, 1980: C1.

12 Schmuck, “Baines’ Happy Landing.”

13 Veeck, “Maryland, My Maryland.”

14 Harold Baines, 1981 Topps Baseball Card.

15 Veeck, “Maryland, My Maryland.”

16 Kiley, “The Big RBI Goes to Baines.”

17 Nightingale, “Naturally, Baines is a Success.”

18 Kiley, “The Big RBI Goes to Baines.”

19 Ken Rosenthal, “The Beginning for Baines Was Humble One,” Baltimore Sun, October 10, 1990.

20 Bob Verdi, “Sox’s Baines Dazzles All – Except Baines,” Chicago Tribune, March 18, 1980: D1.

21 Richard Dozer, “Sox Notes,” The Sporting News, December 9, 1978: 42.

22 Nightingale, “Naturally, Baines is a Success.”

23 “Baines’ Blasts,” The Sporting News, August 25, 1979: 40.

24 Bob Logan, “Can’t Miss Baines Becomes Sox Hit,” Chicago Tribune, May 6, 1983; D2. 

25 Richard Dozer, “Bleak Outlook for Claudell,” The Sporting News, February 9, 1980: 40.

26 Jerome Holtzman, “Shell Still Perfect Fit for Baines,” Chicago Tribune, February 24, 1983: B5.

27 Verdi, “Sox’s Baines Dazzles All – Except Baines.”

28 Nightingale, “Naturally, Baines is a Success.”

29 Harold Baines, telephone interview with Tim Deale, March 15, 2019 (hereafter Baines-Deale interview).

30 Verdi, “Sox’s Baines Dazzles All – Except Baines.”

31 Lehman, “For Harold Baines, Chicago Was Always His Kind of Town.”

32 Harold Baines, 1982 Topps Baseball Card.

33 “Cubs Rough Up Gaylord,” The Sporting News, April 3, 1982: 38

34 Kiley, “Baines Appears Set to Make Some Noise – On the Field.”

35 Baines-Deale interview.

36 Another 23-year-old, Frank Thomas, was 10 weeks younger than Baines when he drove in 100 runs for Chicago in 1991.

37 Murray Chass, “55 Players Rate ‘Super Rich’ Tag,” The Sporting News, February 14, 1983: 39.

38 Kiley, “The Big RBI Goes to Baines.”

39 Veeck, “Maryland, My Maryland.”

40 Schmuck, “Baines’ Happy Landing.”

41 Joe Goddard, “Patience at Plate Pays Off for Baines,” The Sporting News, July 2, 1984: 19.

42 Dave Van Dyck, “Baines Critics Out of Ammo,” The Sporting News, August 27, 1984: 32.

43Dave Van Dyck, “Over the Long Run, Baines’ Stats Better,” The Sporting News, May 20, 1985: 17.

44 Kiley, “Baines Appears Set to Make Some Noise – On the Field.”

45 Joe Goddard, “Sox Seek to Make Baines a ‘Lifer’,” The Sporting News, March 31, 1986: 37.

46 “A.L. West,” The Sporting News, September 15, 1986: 16.

47 Baines-Deale interview.

48 Baines-Deale interview.

49 In 1990, Fisk passed Baines to become the White Sox’s all-time home run leader. By the time Baines moved back in front of Fisk in 1997, Frank Thomas had surpassed both players.

50 “White Sox,” The Sporting News, January 25, 1988: 48. 

51 “White Sox,” The Sporting News, July 4, 1988: 21.

52 Since 2004, it’s been called the Edgar Martinez Award.

53 Lehman, “For Harold Baines, Chicago Was Always His Kind of Town.”

54 “White Sox,” The Sporting News, January 16, 1989: 44.

55 “White Sox,” The Sporting News, January 2, 1989: 64.

56 “A.L. West,” The Sporting News, August 14, 1989: 23.

57 Joe Goddard, “‘Mr. White Sox’ Goes to Texas,” The Sporting News, August 7, 1989: 23.

58 Goddard, “‘Mr. White Sox’ Goes to Texas.”

59 Joe Goddard, “Chicago White Sox,” The Sporting News, August 19, 1996: 27.

60 “Rangers,” The Sporting News, August 28, 1989: 22.

61 “Gonzalez’s Progress Means Bye-Bye Baines,” The Sporting News, September 10, 1990: 14.

62 Kit Stier, “Oakland Athletics,” The Sporting News, May 20, 1991: 17. In 1932, Jimmie Foxx had a 16-total base game for the Philadelphia Athletics.

63 Harold Baines, 1993 Topps Baseball card.

64 Schmuck, “Baines’ Happy Landing.”

65 Schmuck, “Baines’ Happy Landing.”

66 Lehman, “For Harold Baines, Chicago Was Always His Kind of Town.”

67 2000 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 51.

68 Phil Rogers, “Baines Tips Cap to Trainer,” Chicago Tribune, March 9, 1997: 3

69 Peter Schmuck, “Baines Hurting but Should Return,” The Sporting News, October 18, 1993: 22.

70 Harold Baines, 1996 Collector’s Choice Baseball Card. Baines played 1,042 games in right field. While both Paul Molitor and Chili Davis exceeded 1,000 games played on defense, neither player saw action in 1,000 games at any single defensive position.

71 Dave Van Dyck, “Back to Future,” The Sporting News, February 19, 1996: 27.

72 Joe Goddard, “Chicago White Sox,” The Sporting News, June 3, 1996: 32.

73 Joe Goddard, “Chicago White Sox,” The Sporting News, August 19, 1996: 27.

74 Rogers, “Baines Tips Cap to Trainer.”

75 John Dewan, ‎Don Zminda, ‎and Jim Callis (editors), The Scouting Notebook 1999, Chicago: STATS Inc. (1999): 47.

76 Chris Bodig, “Harold Baines Hall of Fame Moments,” Cooperstown Cred, July 21, 2019 (https://www.cooperstowncred.com/harold-baines-hall-of-fame-moments/)

77 2000 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 50.

78 Bonnie DeSimone, “Pursuit of the Ring, Forget Sentiment,” Chicago Tribune, September 30, 1997: 4, 1:4.    

79 Rogers, “Baines Tips Cap to Trainer.”

80 2000 Baltimore Orioles Media Guide: 50.

81 Dave Buscema, “Baines Home, Again,” York [Pennsylvania] Daily Record, December 10, 1999: B01.

82 Scot Gregor, “Hip Injury Sidelines Baines and Might End His Career,” The Sporting News, June 25, 2001: 33.

83 Baines-Deale interview.

84 Harold Baines, 2005 Donruss Classics Stars of Summer Baseball Card.

85 Bill Deane, Baseball Myths, Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press (2012) : 145.

86 Baines-Deale interview.

87 Phil Hersh, “Baines is a Star Lost in the Shadows,” Chicago Tribune, September 9, 1984: C1.

88 Bonnie DeSimone, “Pursuit of the Ring, Forget Sentiment,” Chicago Tribune, September 30, 1997: 4.

89 Mike Klingaman, “A Classy Guy Who Could Hit,” Baltimore Sun, August 28, 2009.

90 David Schoenfeld, “Harold Baines wasn’t ‘sitting around thinking about’ Hall of Fame nod,” ESPN.com, December 10, 2018.

91 For further discussion, see the biography of Al Oliver on the SABR BioProject.

92 Baines-Deale interview.

93 Lehman, “For Harold Baines, Chicago Was Always His Kind of Town.”

94 “National Baseball Hall of Fame Weekend,” http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=152264 (last accessed November 18, 2020).

95 Scott Merkin, “Baines Thankful for Second Chance with New Heart, Kidney,” MLB.com, April 11, 2022, https://www.mlb.com/news/harold-baines-heart-kidney-transplant (last accessed January 30, 2024).

96 Jasmine Smith, “MLB Legend Harold Baines Receives Second Chance with New Heart,” BlackDoctor.org, April 19, 2022, https://blackdoctor.org/mlb-legend-harold-baines-recieves-second-chance-with-new-heart/3/ (last accessed January 30, 2024).

Jeff Bajenaru achieved the dream of every little boy who has ever played baseball seriously – he made the big leagues. And while his time in the majors was short, derailed by injuries, he not only achieved the ultimate prize – being a part of a World Series champion – but he used his playing days as a springboard to a career as a pitching coach, a vocation that had him working in 2024 with the Triple-A Reno Aces.

Jeffrey Michael Bajenaru was born on March 21, 1978, in Pomona, California, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. The oldest of three children born to Ed Bajenaru, a firefighter, and his wife, Debbie, a teacher, Jeff was initially unhappy about his father initially signing him up for Little League.1 According to one story, at 8 years old he would hide under the table and refuse to play.2 Only when his father said he had to try it, that he had to play one season – at which point if he did not like it he did not have to play again, did he give it a try.3 In a telephone interview with the author, he acknowledged his initial reluctance, recalling that having never played before, and not being sure he would like it, he had very real reservations. But looking back, he said almost ruefully that it took no time at all for him to “absolutely fall in love with it.”4 He had found his passion, and through ups and downs it would be the centerpiece of his life for the next two decades.

As much as Bajenaru loved the game, the idea of playing in the big leagues was not something he initially imagined. He played high-school baseball at Senator Ruben S. Ayala High School in Chino Hills, a school that boasted an outstanding program. Indeed, Bajenaru recalled that in his junior year Ayala High was ranked number two in the country in preseason polls, a ranking it could not maintain but which nevertheless reflected both the team’s talent and the aspirations of the program.5 In the midst of such a talent-laden squad, Jeff, who had skipped the fourth grade, was an undersized but driven competitor.6 And displaying his characteristic approach to the game – “I would simply outwork everybody”7 – he responded to the challenge in fine form, crafting a solid career for a talented team. But in the end, while he aspired to win a college scholarship to continue his career, despite his best efforts he was “overlooked in high school and did not get any offers for anything.”8

Bajenaru was disappointed but he was also determined to continue playing baseball and so after graduating at age 17 in 1995, he walked on at the University of California, Riverside, making the team as an outfielder.9 However, before the season started, he hurt his shoulder, had to have surgery, and missed the season. Happily, he was able to play summer ball and with the extra year allowing him to get stronger, he transferred to Riverside City College.10 In the end a more mature Jeff Bajenaru took RCC by storm, turning in a performance that in 2015 earned him induction into the school’s hall of fame.11 In his two years at RCC, he hit .380 with 153 hits, 115 runs scored, 111 RBIs, 35 doubles, and 202 total bases. He was a critical cog in the team’s 74-24 record and one conference title.12 In addition he became a pitcher when, early in his sophomore year, while messing around throwing in the outfield he caught the eye of one of the coaches and the idea of his possibly pitching was born.13 Despite compiling a 1-1 record with 20 strikeouts in 10 innings, he never imagined that the experiment would become his ticket to the pros.14 But first there was the big-time college baseball to which he had long aspired. While his RCC record caught the attention of the Oakland Athletics, who selected him in the 13th round of the 1998 amateur draft, it had also attracted the attention of big-time college programs; and having finally gotten the scholarship offer he had long desired, Bajenaru opted to stay in school, heading to the University of Oklahoma.

The versatile right-hander crafted an impressive college career in Norman, Oklahoma, earning first team All-American honors as a utilityman as well as first team Big 12 honors as an outfielder while also being selected to the second team as a relief pitcher. He left Oklahoma having set both school and conference records for the most saves.15 At one point he converted 19 save opportunities in a row.16 While he had been selected by the White Sox in the 36th round of the June 1999 draft, he again opted to continue his education, returning to Oklahoma for his senior year, but in the aftermath of an outstanding 2000 collegiate season, Bajenaru signed with the White Sox before the 2000 draft. Comfortable with John Kazanas, the White Sox scout who had pursued him, and unsure of what the draft would yield, the admittedly “naïve” Bajenaru decided to take the sure thing and begin his professional career.17

While Bajenaru loved being fully involved in the game and missed hitting, as he embarked on his professional career it was clear that being a reliever represented the quickest route to the big leagues.18 In that quest, his first stop was the Bristol White Sox, Chicago’s Rookie League affiliate. The 6-foot-1 right-hander pitched in 12 games, all in relief, compiling a record of 1-1 with an ERA of 3.77 in 14⅓ innings. He struck out 31 batters while picking up five saves before he was promoted to the Winston-Salem Warthogs in the high A Carolina League. There Bajenaru posted a 2-0 record with two saves in 10 games out of the bullpen. In 12⅓ innings his ERA was 4.38 and he struck out 15.

Bajenaru returned to Winston-Salem for the start of the 2001 season and in 35 appearances he was 2-4 with 10 saves, an ERA of 3.35, and 51 strikeouts in 40⅓ innings. This performance earned him a promotion to the Birmingham Barons of the Double-A Southern League. But after only two appearances and 4⅓ innings, Bajenaru was shut down, had Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2002 season. The 2003 season saw Bajenaru back in Birmingham where he turned in a performance that showed he had made a full recovery from the surgery. Appearing in 50 games and pitching 64⅔ innings, he went 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA, 62 strikeouts, and 14 saves.

While Bajenaru’s 2003 season reflected clear progress, he was nevertheless back in Birmingham at the start of the 2004 campaign. However, after chalking up 12 saves in 32 games with an ERA of 1.34 and 51 strikeouts, he was promoted to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights (International League). There he was no less impressive. He finished 15 of the 16 games in which he pitched while earning 10 saves in 20 innings with an ERA of 1.80. All of this led to a late season call-up by the White Sox.

On September 4, 2004, against the Seattle Mariners at U.S. Cellular Field, Bajenaru made his major-league debut. Looking back, he remembered coming out on the field before the game, looking around the ballpark, seeing Ichiro Suzuki among others, and feeling “in awe of it all.” Like so many, making the majors was, he said, “always my dream, but I never thought it would happen.” Then it was game time, and sitting in the bullpen, every time the phone rang, he hoped it was for him. Finally, with the White Sox holding a commanding 8-4 lead, Bajenaru took the mound in the top of the ninth following Neil Cotts, who had surrendered one run in the top of the eighth in relief of starter Mark Buehrle. It was he said, “a dream come true,” but at the same time “kind of scary.” But once the first pitch was thrown, he recalled, it was no different from any other time. It all narrowed down to him and the batter.19

With his wife, Alysa, and his parents in the stands cheering him on, Bajenaru got off to a strong start, retiring the first batter he faced, Mariners shortstop José Lopez, on a groundout to the third baseman. But things quickly went awry as the number-nine batter, Willie Bloomquist, hit a groundball single. He was followed by Ichiro Suzuki, who grounded a single to right field that advanced Bloomquist to third. With runners on first and third, Bajenaru gave up a line-drive single to right to Randy Winn that scored Bloomquist while moving Suzuki to third base. Suddenly the Mariners had the tying run at the plate and White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén brought in Shingo Takatsu from the bullpen in an effort to blunt the Mariners’ momentum and seal the victory. Takatsu struck out Mariners DH Edgar Martínez for the second out, but he walked Bret Boone to load the bases. Raúl Ibañez followed Boone and he lined Takatsu’s 3-and-2 pitch to right field, scoring Suzuki and Winn. However, the White Sox escaped with a victory when Boone was thrown out at third trying to advance after the runs had scored. For Bajenaru, a rookie too excited to notice that his name was misspelled on his first White Sox jersey, it was a memorable if inauspicious debut; he was charged with three earned runs in one third of an evening, leaving him with an ERA of 81.00.20

But now that he was on the major-league roster, Bajenaru had a number of chances to show he truly belonged. He pitched in eight more games, logging a total of 8⅓ innings and being charged with one loss, while reducing his ERA to a 10.80. He struck out eight.

With a taste of the big leagues behind him, Bajenaru wanted more but he started the 2005 season back in Charlotte. He was a stalwart for the Knights, pitching in 61 games and earning 19 saves while posting a 1.41 ERA with a 4-6 record. He pitched 70⅓ innings, striking out 83 batters and walking 29. This effort earned him a spot in the Triple-A All-Star game and a late-season call-up to the White Sox. He pitched 4⅓ innings of mop-up duty in four losses and had a 6.23 ERA as the White Sox finished 99-63 to lead the Central Division of the American League by six games over the Cleveland Indians. While Bajenaru was disappointed at not being on the postseason roster, he understood the realities of big-league baseball by this time in his career.21 In an effort to be better positioned for the future, he went to Mexico after the regular season to get in some additional work. He followed the postseason on Spanish-language television as the White Sox defeated the defending champion Boston Red Sox in the Division Series and the California Angels in the Championship Series before sweeping the Houston Astros in the World Series to claim their first World Series championship since 1917. He watched the World Series victory on a Mexican version of ESPN, joyful for his teammates and knowing that he was part of that championship team.22

For Bajenaru, the euphoria of being a part of a World Series championship team was tempered a bit when early in spring training, on March 8, 2006, as the White Sox prepared to defend their crown, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for infielder Alex Cintrón. But Bajenaru said he initiated a “good conversation” with White Sox GM Kenny Williams, letting him know that if he was not in the White Sox’ future plans he would appreciate being traded to a place where he might have more of an opportunity – and that was what happened.23 He was “appreciative of the trade” – one that could not have been easier since both teams shared the Kino Sports Complex, a multiple-use sports complex in Tucson, Arizona, for spring training. Bajenaru had to simply cross to the other side of the parking lot.24

It was an easy transition. He remained in Tucson after quickly switching teams and started the 2006 season with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate, the Tucson Sidewinders. He pitched 80 innings in 52 games for Tucson with an ERA of 4.50 before getting a call-up during which he made what proved to be his final appearance in the big leagues, throwing a single inning on August 7 against the San Francisco Giants. Entering the game in the top of the sixth with the Diamondbacks leading 3-2, Bajenaru gave up four hits, three of them home runs, and four runs, to take the loss.

Bajenaru did not anticipate that the outing against the Giants would be his last effort. But unable to continue due to a rotator cuff injury and a torn labrum – injuries that he had tried to pitch through, but which resulted in having two surgeries as well as a third cleanup operation – he missed all of the 2007 season while undertaking a rigorous rehab program in hopes of saving his career.

It was not to be. He said his arm and throwing “never felt the same” after the surgery.25 At one point he took a bucket of balls and just went out to throw, wanting to just let it all go and see how it felt.26 But ultimately after the “long year of rehab,” with the hope that it would feel right and he could “come back, it was still hurting,” and he just walked into the Diamondbacks offices and told A.J. Hinch, the team’s director of player development, that he was retiring.27 In a professional baseball playing career that had spanned seven seasons, he had played parts of six seasons in the minor leagues, earning 79 saves with a 2.91 ERA and a 20-18 record. His major-league career, curtailed as it was by injuries, was significantly less robust as he appeared in just 14 games, spread out over three seasons. He pitched a total of 13⅔ innings, lost two games, and posted an unsightly ERA of 11.20.

Given how things had unfolded, the end of Bajenaru’s playing career came quickly and yet as he looked back, “it was a slow progression.”28 It was not easy, for while he recognized that physically he could no longer compete, he “was not ready to be done, [he] did not want to be done.” He had “hoped to play longer.”29 And while it was an end he knew would eventually arrive, he was unsure of what lay ahead. Almost a decade later he acknowledged that he still “didn’t kn[o]w if he knew what he was doing,” but unable to play, he nevertheless did know that he “wanted out of the game for a little while, at least.”30

Almost 30 years old, unsure of what the future held but with a growing family, after his retirement he got a job on the staff of the family’s church. Passionate about his faith, he thought the job was a way to give back while he tried to figure out what came next.31

He quickly discovered that he really enjoyed the work at his church, and recognized that “helping … kids live this difficult life” was not only something he found very rewarding, but that it was something he realized could also be done at the same time that he taught the game, “which I love.”32 The two-year hiatus away from baseball ultimately left Bajenaru, a rare player who loved the game’s history so much that he had, at the urging of the legendary baseball executive Roland Hemond, joined SABR while he was playing, anxious to get back into the game.33 He realized that not only did he miss the game a lot, but he came to feel that, while in working for the church he was, in a sense working for God, being out of baseball he was not doing what God had intended him to do, so he determined to see about getting back into the game.34 Looking back, both he and Alysa said it was “a weird two years” and Jeff and his wife, who had weathered the frequent moves alongside him, recalled that “being settled felt very unsettling.” After two years they were, in Alysa’s words, “ready to jump back in.”35 At the same time, they were grateful for the break, one during which their two children were born.

Once he decided to return to the game, Bajenaru began the search for an appropriate position and after a brief appointment as an assistant baseball coach and physical fitness instructor at his alma mater, Riverside City College, at the end of 2010, he joined the Diamondbacks organization, where as of 2024 he had been a pitching coach of one form or another ever since. His rise up the ladder has mirrored that of many young coaches and former players. Bajenaru did three stints on the back lots of the Arizona Summer League for the Diamondbacks before he was named pitching coach of the team’s Rookie League affiliate, the Missoula Osprey of the Pioneer League, at the start of the 2014 season, a post he held for two seasons with the team winning the Pioneer League championship in 2015. Bajenaru then spent three seasons (2016-18) with the Class-A Visalia Rawhide (California League) before moving to the Triple-A Reno Aces in 2019. While he lost the 2020 season when the schedule was canceled during the pandemic, he was back with the Aces in 2021, before moving to the Hillsboro Hops (High-A Northwest League) in 2022. He was back with Reno in 2023 and remained a part of their staff in 2024.

Central to his career is the fact that for Bajenaru professional baseball has always been a family proposition. Jeff met Alysa when they were both students at the University of Oklahoma but just a few weeks before he signed his first pro contract in the spring of 2000. They were married in 2002 just before Jeff headed to spring training, while Alysa finished at Oklahoma, earning her degree in nutritional science and starting work as a clinical dietician.36 However, when he began the 2003 season with the Double-A Birmingham Barons, Alysa put her professional aspirations aside and jumped headfirst into the baseball world. A grateful Jeff, who unabashedly said that “she’s way smarter than me,” recognized the sacrifices she has made, observing that “she could be doing so many more things.”37 But she has happily been at Jeff’s side throughout his professional baseball odyssey, even at one point serving beer at the games in Birmingham where she had a beer stand on the stadium concourse, a location that allowed her to both watch the game and make additional money – enough in tips to pay their rent.38

A trained dietician, as well as a skilled photographer, Alysa has been nothing but a supportive baseball wife, but she has also recognized and worked to address some of the challenges that come with that life. In helping found the online community “Our Baseball Life,” she has sought to help others deal with those same challenges.39 The idea came to her when she was, as she remembered “sitting in nowhere, Montana, when I realized that I couldn’t be the only baseball wife or girlfriend feeling alone at that moment.”40 Acting on the thought, she started an Instagram account called WAGS in Real Life, designed “to connect women in baseball, and over the years it has grown into a vibrant community, a place to share stories and meet other women who get this life.”41 As the organization grew, she got help from Paige Murphy and in the late 2010s they joined forces with Lory Ankiel, who since 2010 had been running “Our Baseball Life,” a resource guide for professional baseball families in an effort to help serve this distinctive community.42

These efforts shine an even greater spotlight on the way that family has been a critical factor in Jeff and Alysa’s relationship from the start. With the early months of their marriage being a distance relationship they determined to try not do that again, vowing to sacrifice financially to stay together as best they can and as they have had children that has only reinforced their determination to stay together and do things as a family, whether it is Alysa’s home schooling the children when they were younger or now that they are living in Arlington, Texas, working to take advantage of their surroundings like visiting Sequoia when Jeff was with Visalia or simply going to visit him during the children’s spring break from school or during the summer. Their son has often joined Jeff on the field before the game and he has even had some time as a batboy, while Alysa and their daughter regularly attend games. Too, Alysa takes the kids on at least one road trip a year where they get to see Jeff as well as experience the area where the team is playing.

It is against this backdrop that Jeff Bajenaru pursues this second phase of his professional journey. His work as a coach has drawn praise and attention. After helping make the Rawhide staff statistically one of the best in the league in his second year, Bajenaru was named the 2017 California League Coach of the Year, an honor he also received in 2018.43 And it wasn’t just the locals who noticed his good work. Over the winter before the 2018 season, Bajenaru had an interview for the Philadelphia Phillies’ assistant pitching coach position, and he has subsequently interviewed with the Diamondbacks and the Texas Rangers about MLB jobs.44 But he is not in a rush. In 2018 he stayed in Visalia, an area he was familiar with and enjoyed, and while he appreciated the interest from the Phillies, as well as the subsequent interest from other teams, he said he is no rush to move up, saying it was different from being a player when it was all about advancing to the next level.45 At the same time, he has no interest in moving in another direction. He says he once thought about it, but he has come to see that coaching pitching is his “niche.”46 While he admits he would love to be able to do it at the major league level, he says he finds it tremendously rewarding to be able to work with a young pitcher and help them take the next step towards achieving their dream. In fact, he says he had not anticipated the satisfaction that he says come from “the chance to see someone else get their dream.”47 And Jeff Bajenaru knows about dreams. While he “wishes his playing career had been longer,” the part of him that is still the 8-year-old who fell in love with the game, the kid who was able to not only achieve his big-league dream but also win a World Series ring has found that every time he gets to tell a young pitcher that he is being called up it is special. You can hear it in his voice as he notes, “to be a part of someone’s dream, there’s nothing like that!!” Jeff Bajenaru has clearly found his niche!

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted baseball-almanac.com and Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 Author telephone interview with Jeff Bajenaru, July 26, 2024; Unless otherwise indicated, all direct quotations attributed to Bajenaru come from this interview.

2 Ryan Chamberlain, “SABR Nine: Chicago White Sox’s Jeff Bajenaru,” December 22, 2005; https://sabr.org/latest/sabr-nine-chicago-white-soxs-jeff-bajenaru/; Bajenaru interview.

3 Chamberlain; Bajenaru interview.

4 Bajenaru interview.

5 Bajenaru interview.

6 Bajenaru interview.

7 Bajenaru interview.

8 Chamberlain.

9 Email, Jeff Bajenaru to author, August 12, 2024.

10 Bajenaru interview; email, Jeff Bajenaru to author, August 12, 2024.

11 “Jeff Bajenaru,” Riverside City College Sports Hall of Fame; https://www.rccathletics.com/alumni/hof/bios/Jeff_Bajenaru.

12 “Bajenaru,” RCC Sports Hall of Fame.

13 Bajenaru interview.

14 “Bajenaru,” RCC Sports Hall of Fame.

15 “Bajenaru,” RCC Sports Hall of Fame.

16 John E. Hoover “Bajenaru’s Breakdown Is Unusual,” Tulsa World, May 2, 2000.

17 Bajenaru interview; email from Rod Nelson, SABR Scouts Committee, September 24, 2024.

18 Bajenaru interview.

19 Bajenaru interview.

20 Sydney Daniel, “Touching Home with Alysa Bajenaru – Our Baseball Life,” AATB: All About That Base, July 14, 2020; https://allaboutthatbasedotcom.wordpress.com/category/interviews/touching-home/.

21 Bajenaru interview.

22 Bajenaru interview.

23 Bajenaru interview.

24 Bajenaru interview.

25 Bajenaru interview.

26 Bajenaru interview.

27 Benjamin Hill, “On the Road: Marriage, Kids and Baseball,” Milb.com, September 9, 2016, https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-200292520; Bajenaru interview.

28 Hill.

29 Bajenaru interview.

30 Hill.

31 Bajenaru interview.

32 Hill.

33 Email, Jeff Bajenaru to author, July 26, 2024.

34 Bajenaru interview.

35 Hill.

36 Hill.

37 Hill.

38 Hill.

39 See the website at Our Baseball Life.com.

40 Daniel.

41 Daniel.

42 Daniel.

43 Email, Jeff Bajenaru to author, August 12, 2024.

44 Vongni Yang, “Jeff Bajenaru Leads Visalia Rawhide’s Attack-Minded Pitching Approach,” Visalia (California) Times-Delta, April 5, 2018, https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/sports/2018/04/05/jeff-bajenaru-leads-rawhides-attack-minded-pitching-approach/484306002/; Bajenaru interview.

45 Yang.

46 Bajenaru interview.

Geoff Blum’s baseball life has featured many highlights, but he will always be best remembered for one dramatic at-bat. In Game Three of the 2005 World Series between Blum’s Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros, he belted a home run in the top of the 14th inning to break a 5-5 tie and propel the White Sox to a three-games-to-none lead. Chicago closed out the Series with a 1-0 win the next night. The Game Three homer proved to be the final plate appearance of Blum’s 87-day (regular and postseason) White Sox career – but it made him an immortal hero to South Side fans. A monument outside Guaranteed Rate Field celebrating the 2005 World Series championship includes an image of Blum in his home-run swing.

Born on April 26, 1973, in Redwood City, California, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, Geoffrey Edward Blum moved with his family to Chino in Southern California’s San Bernardino County when he was three years old. His father, Bill, held a number of jobs during his working career; his mother, Connie (née Johnson), worked as an office manager, first for a construction company and then at junior high schools in the Inland Valley near their home. Bill and Connie’s other child, Greg, was born in 1978, and both Blum brothers were star athletes at Chino High. A catcher and first baseman, Greg Blum played ball at the University of Arkansas and then spent four seasons (2000-03) in the Montreal Expos and Minnesota Twins’ farm systems, never advancing past the Class-A level.

Geoff Blum played both baseball and basketball at Chino High before attending the University of California in Berkeley. Cal’s longtime baseball coach, Bob Milano, was a major influence on both Blum’s career and life. One of Milano’s key moves was to turn Blum, who previously had batted exclusively from the right side, into a switch-hitter. “I owe everything to that man when it comes to baseball, switch-hitting and becoming a better human being,” said Blum.1 With Blum at shortstop in 1992, his freshman year, the Golden Bears reached the College World Series in Omaha, but were eliminated in the first round. Blum also played amateur ball for the Mat-Su Miners in the Alaska Baseball League and the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod League.2

After his junior year at Cal, Blum was selected by the Montreal Expos in the seventh round of the 1994 amateur draft. Assigned to Vermont of the Class-A New York-Penn League, he made an impressive debut, batting .344, the second-highest average in the league, in 63 games. Baseball America chose him as shortstop on the league’s all-star team. Blum steadily advanced up the Montreal farm system over the next five years, including parts of three seasons (1997-99) with the Expos’ top farm team, the Ottawa Lynx of the Triple-A International League. When Expos shortstop Orlando Cabrera sprained his ankle in August of 1999, Blum was summoned to Montreal. Blum was surprised by the call-up. “(Director of player development) Don Reynolds called me at 11 (Sunday) night,” he told the Montreal Gazette. “I wanted to know who was crank calling.”3

He made his major-league debut against the San Diego Padres at Stade Olympique on August 9, 1999, batting eighth as the starting shortstop against right-hander Matt Clement. “I was nervous as hell and excited as hell,” Blum recalled about that first plate appearance. “Everything was moving pretty fast. He struck me out on a curveball and I went back to the dugout with a smile on my face.” He fared better against Clement the next time up, doubling to right-center to drive in two runs; he also singled in the sixth inning against Carlos Almánzar as the Expos went on to an 8-0 victory. Four days later, at Denver’s Coors Field, Blum hit the first of his 99 regular-season major-league home runs, a fly ball down the right-field line against Colorado Rockies right-hander Mike DeJean. He hit two more homers at Coors Field the next night. Blum finished his rookie season for the Expos with 8 home runs in 45 games, and his .504 slugging percentage that year was his highest for a single season.

Blum was the starting shortstop for 40 of the Expos’ 54 games after joining the club in 1999, but with Cabrera healthy again in 2000, he became more of a utility player, starting games at all four infield positions. He also pinch-hit in 26 games. This would become a familiar role for Blum. Over the course of his career, he qualified for the league batting title only once (in 2001), and more than 20 percent of his games (297 of 1,389) came in a pinch-hitting role. He appeared in the starting lineup at seven different positions (including designated hitter) during his career, but never started more than 94 games at a single position in any season. His versatility and ability to contribute after coming off the bench helped him last in the majors until he was 39 years old. Though Blum was never a big-time slugger, his power was also an asset, as he posted five seasons with 10 or more home runs. Blum described himself as a “line-drive, gap-to-gap hitter. A lot of my at-bats were late in games against closers, so I just tried to make do with what I have. I knew I was going to be an asset the more contact I made, so I focused more on line drives with occasional power.”

Blum batted .283 in 124 games for the Expos in 2000, his first full major-league season, then played in a career-high 148 games the next year while starting games at third base, second base, first base, and left field. However, his batting average dropped to .236, and in March of 2002 he was traded to the Houston Astros for third baseman Chris Truby. “I’m obviously shocked,” Blum said after learning of the trade. “I was born and raised a Montreal Expo.”4 It was the first of two stints (2002-03, 2008-10) in Houston for Blum, which would prove to be his favorite major-league stop. “The fan base embraced me when I played here,” Blum said of Houston, “and I just saw the ball good at Minute Maid Park. It was also kind of cool getting to play with the likes of Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Billy Wagner, and a group of veteran, All-Star type players who had a history of winning. I gleaned a lot of information from those guys that helped me throughout my career.” Blum hit 10 home runs with 52 RBIs for Houston in both 2002 and 2003. He matched his career high with a .283 batting average in ’02, followed by a .262 mark the next year.

Although Blum had played well in his two seasons with Houston, the Astros were looking to reduce payroll, and they also wanted give more playing time to Morgan Ensberg, who had shared third base with Blum in 2003. In December of 2003, the team traded Blum to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for pitcher Brandon Backe. The trade saved the Astros more than $1 million in salary.5 Blum spent one year in Tampa Bay, batting .215. Handed his release by the Devil Rays after the 2004 season, he signed a free-agent contract with the San Diego Padres.6 The signing marked a homecoming for the California native, whose house in San Clemente was about 60 miles north of Petco Park, the Padres’ home park. At the time Geoff’s wife, Kory, was pregnant, and in May of 2005, she gave birth to triplets: daughters Audrey, Ava, and Kayla. The Blums also have a daughter, Mia, who is 16 months older than her three sisters.

Blum got into 78 games for the Padres in 2005 before being dealt to the White Sox at the July 31 trade deadline for minor-league pitcher Ryan Meaux.7 “I met the team on the road in Baltimore,” Blum recalled. “And having been traded a couple of times, I knew that some of these environments could be tough. There could be guys that say, why is this guy here, we don’t want him. And there’d be other guys that would just ignore you because you weren’t there to start the season. But it was unique in Chicago because, to a man, they all came up to me and shook my hand and said welcome to the ballclub. I really appreciated how they all took me in, from Paul Konerko to Pablo Ozuna. That made it really easy.”

At the time of the trade, the White Sox were leading the Cleveland Indians by 14½ games in the American League Central Division race, and the versatile Blum’s primary role was to fill in for the regular infielders, along with occasional pinch-hitting assignments. Blum got into 31 games over the final two months of the season (95 at-bats), hitting .200 with one home run. He was a member of the team’s postseason roster, but prior to Game Three of the World Series, he’d had only one postseason at-bat. “I had faced Bronson Arroyo in a Division Series blowout [Game One] against the Boston Red Sox,” Blum recalled. “That was my only at-bat until 21 days later, when the World Series moved to Houston for Game Three. The four of us who were on the bench – myself, Chris Widger, Pablo Ozuna, and Willie Harris – had hardly played up to then. But with the Series now in a National League park, pitchers would have to bat. We were going to be ready, because we knew there would be some opportunities for us now.”

Blum entered Game Three with the score tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 13th inning, taking over for Tadahito Iguchi at second base as part of a double switch. When the Astros failed to score and the game moved to the 14th, Blum was scheduled to bat third in the inning against Astros right-hander Ezequiel Astacio. “Jermaine Dye got on base with a hit,” Blum recalled, “and I’m sitting on deck thinking that if Paul Konerko gets on as well, I’m gonna have to bump Jermaine and Paul over in my only World Series at-bat. I felt a little bit of trepidation because I couldn’t remember the last time I’d bunted [Blum’s last successful sacrifice bunt had come in August of 2004]. Konerko hits the ball, third baseman Morgan Ensberg makes a great backhand stop, [second baseman] José Vizcaíno makes a crazy good turn and they turn the double play. And there was almost a sense of relief because I was like, I don’t have to bunt.”

Freed from worrying about having to lay down a bunt, Blum relaxed. “I had a good relationship with Jerry Layne, the home-plate umpire, and the Astros catcher, Brad Ausmus, was a former teammate and a great friend,” he recalled. “Digging in and talking to him kind of settled me down.” When Astacio missed with his first two pitches, Blum thought, “I’m just gonna try to hit a line drive to left field, maybe shoot the gap in left-center and get to second base. But, as luck would have it, Astacio missed his spot by a good foot and a half down and in. I squared it up.”8 Blum’s fly ball cleared the right-field fence for a home run that put the White Sox ahead, 6-5. They scored another run before the half-inning ended, then set down the Astros in the bottom of the 14th to finish off the win. Less than 24 hours later, the White Sox were World Series champions for the first time in 88 years.

The team’s victory parade in downtown Chicago on October 28, Blum said, “was absolutely incredible. I drank in every possible moment. I remember standing up there with Joe Crede and Aaron Rowand; Ed Farmer, the White Sox radio announcer, was next to me. We kept looking at each other going, ‘This is unbelievable.’ It was remarkable to see the turnout and how grateful everybody was to have us be World Series champions. That’s something I’ll never forget.”

Three days after the parade, Blum became a free agent, and on November 16 he rejoined the San Diego Padres for a two-year stint.9 “I loved my time in San Diego,” said Blum. “It was another ballclub that was established. They were winning. There was a good mix of older and young talent. Guys like Trevor Hoffman, who’d been around for more than a decade, and Adrián González, who was just breaking in. The environment there was very good, and of course the weather was beautiful.” With Blum getting into 109 games – 60 as a starter – and batting .254 in his usual handyman role, the Padres won the National League West title in 2006; however, they lost the Division Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, three games to one. Blum was the Padres’ starting shortstop in all four games, going 1-for-8 but drawing four walks and posting a .385 on-base average. Blum had a similar season in 2007, hitting .252 in 122 games while playing five different defensive positions, as the Padres dropped to third place.

A free agent after the 2007 season, Blum rejoined the Astros.10 In 2008 he had his major-league highs in home runs (14) and RBIs (53), despite playing in only 114 games. “It helped to come back from Petco Park, which is a graveyard for hitters, to a more hitter-friendly ballpark in Minute Maid Park,” said Blum. “I also liked being in the NL Central.” He followed up with 10 homers and 49 RBIs in 120 games – most of them at third base – in 2009. His playing time dropped to 93 games, only 42 of them as a starter, in 2010, the year in which he turned 37. Blum spent his final two seasons (2011-12) with the Arizona Diamondbacks;11 hampered by a knee injury that required surgery in April of 2011, he appeared in only 23 games in 2011 and 17 in 2012. He was a member of the Diamondbacks’ postseason roster in 2011, when the team won the National League West title under Kirk Gibson, and was hitless in two pinch-hitting appearances in the team’s Division Series loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Blum played his final major-league game on July 17, 2012, singling as a pinch-hitter against José Arredondo of the Cincinnati Reds. He was released by the Diamondbacks three days later.

Although Blum’s career numbers – 99 regular-season homers, a .250 career batting average, career OPS+ of 81 in 1,389 games over 14 seasons – were not those of a major star, his ability to handle a number of roles helped make him a player whose skills were always in demand. “He’s a valuable commodity,” said one of Blum’s managers, Bruce Bochy. “Everything he does, he does well, which is a bigger plus for someone who can play shortstop. And a switch-hitter in that utility role, he’s the perfect double-switch candidate and pinch-hitter.”12 Blum was also regarded as a positive influence on a club. “It’s tough to say goodbye to a guy like Geoff,” Astros general manager Gerry Hunsinger said after Houston traded Blum to Tampa Bay in 2003. “Geoff is a terrific person and a good player who was well-liked by his teammates.”13

“I never went into a season where I didn’t feel like I belonged in the starting lineup,” Blum said about his major-league career. “As much as it can create some disappointment, I think that attitude helped me be a good role player. I had a good work ethic and a good mentality, and I was always prepared when the manager called on me, whether to come off the bench or to start that day.” The list of managers whom Blum played for includes such successful skippers as Bochy, Felipe Alou, Lou Piniella, Jimy Williams, Bud Black, Kirk Gibson, and Ozzie Guillén. Asked to name his favorite manager, Blum selected Alou, who gave him his first major-league job, but he also has fond memories of playing for Guillén with the White Sox in 2005. “I had played against Ozzie after coming to the big leagues, and then he was my third-base coach in Montreal, so I knew who he was,” said Blum. “There was a brutal honesty about Ozzie both as a player and as a manager. On your best day, he was gonna say you were an All-Star; on your worst day he was gonna say you didn’t belong on the team, but I didn’t mind that that mentality in a manager. I thought he did a great job with the group he had in ’05.”

Blum said he’s thought at times about taking on the responsibility of managing a team. “I think you get to the point, maybe a little bit later in your career, where you wonder if you could have an impact and be able to lead a team,” he said. “It would be a pretty daunting task, but I think it’s something that I wouldn’t shy away from if the opportunity came about.” In the meantime, Blum settled into a successful post-playing career as a member of the Houston Astros’ broadcast crew. After retiring as a player in 2012, he said, “I wanted to stay inside the game, and I told my agent that if he knew of any openings in coaching, scouting, media, or whatever, I would love an opportunity.” The 2012 season happened to be the final season for longtime Astros broadcaster Milo Hamilton; another veteran member of the team’s broadcast crew, Bill Brown, was interested in reducing his schedule to home games only. Blum landed a spot as a television color analyst for Astros road games beginning with the 2013 season, and became the team’s full-time TV color analyst four years later. He has been awarded two Lone Star Emmy awards for his work.

As a player, Geoff Blum played in more games (580), recorded more hits (440), and hit more home runs (46) for the Houston Astros than for any of the other six major-league teams he played for. He has continued to represent the Astros as a broadcaster for more than a decade since his retirement as a player in 2012. By contrast, Blum’s entire White Sox career consisted of those 87 days in 2005. Yet Blum will always be remembered for the World Series home run he hit against the Astros – as a member of the White Sox. Two decades after his dramatic homer, Blum said that White Sox fans still stop and thank him at games, card shows and offseason events for his vital contribution to the team’s only World Series championship in the last 100-plus years. “You know, maybe the only reason I was on that team was for that swing in Game Three,” he said. “If you’re going to write a script where you’re only in town for three months, and you’re able to have an impact like I did, I don’t think you could write a better script.”

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Sources

Statistics and play-by-play are from Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.com.

Notes

1 Unless otherwise indicated, all quoted material is from the author’s interview with Geoff Blum, February 5, 2024.

2 Geoff Blum Howe Sportsdata questionnaire, National Baseball Hall of Fame Geoff Blum file.

3 “Expos Story,” Montreal Gazette, August 10, 1999: 10.

4 Stephanie Miles, “Minaya Makes His First Trade,” Montreal Gazette, March 13, 2002: 11.

5 Jose De Jesus Ortiz, “Astros Deal Blum to Rays,” Houston Chronicle, December 15, 2003: 48.

6 Bernie Wilson, “Williams Headed Back to San Diego, Palm Springs (California) Desert Sun, December 9, 2004: 29.

7 Mark Gonzales, “All-Purpose Blum Will Come in Handy,” Chicago Tribune, August 1, 2005: 3-3.

8 www.mlb.com/news/geoff-blum-world-series-home-run; accessed August 28, 2024.

9 Mark Gonzales, “Sox Series Hero Blum Goes Home to Padres,” Chicago Tribune, November 17, 2005: 4-3.

10 “Astros Bring Back Geoff Blum,” Victoria (Texas) Advocate, November 21, 2007: 17.

11 Nick Percoro, “D-Backs Finalize 2-Year Deal with Infielder Blum,” Arizona Republic (Phoenix), November 16, 2010: 17.

12 Bill Canter, “A Super Sub,” San Diego Union-Tribune, April 29, 2005: 13.

13 Ortiz, “Astros Deal Blum to Rays.”

In the 2001 Baseball Prospectus annual, this comment was penned for a White Sox prospect:

“He’s credited with a strong arm and the athleticism to play center field and has been compared to Larry Walker and Dale Murphy.”1

Joe Borchard didn’t have a career on the level of those greats, but still managed to put together a noteworthy athletic résumé.

Joseph Edward Borchard was born on November 25, 1978, in Panorama City, California, to Joseph and Janice (Beckman) Borchard. Joe the elder was drafted by the Kansas City Royals out of Moorpark (California) College in the 48th round of the 1969 major-league amateur draft, though he didn’t sign. He is a descendant of German immigrants who arrived in theVentura County area in the 1860s.2 Janice was born in Guam; her family moved to California when she was in the sixth grade.3 Janice and Joe, who ran a farm growing tomatoes and strawberries in Camarillo (California), had three children, Julie, Joe, and Jill.4

Young Joe was a three-sport athlete at Camarillo High School, playing football and baseball as well as basketball. He finished as Camarillo’s all-time leading passer, with over 6,000 yards and 51 touchdowns, including 2,906 yards and 30 TD as a senior.5 He was named the 1996-97 Ventura County High School Male Athlete of the Year by the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame. On the hardwood, he suffered torn ligaments in his left ankle during a layup drill in midseason, which shortened his senior season.6

Borchard was a switch-hitter; “I started switch-hitting when I was 12,” he told a sportswriter. “My dad was also a switch-hitter. He taught me how to do it. He just saw a lot more advantages than disadvantages with it, and I agreed with it.”7

As a junior, Borchard hit .341 with 31 RBIs for Camarillo, adding a 3-1 record and a 2.48 ERA on the mound.8 As a senior he was even better, with a .415 batting average, 11 home runs, and 42 RBIs.9

On January 3, 1997, Borchard committed to Stanford over California; he had also considered UNLV, San Jose State, and Oregon State.10 The Baltimore Orioles took a flier on Borchard in the 20th round of the June 1997 amateur draft, presenting him with a dilemma – sign with the Orioles or accept the football scholarship at Stanford, where he would continue to play baseball, admittedly his favorite sport. However, he did have the option to change his scholarship to baseball if he decided to drop football.11 Ultimately, Borchard chose Stanford.

Borchard, a history major, was a legitimate two-sport star for the Cardinal, following in the footsteps of Stanford legend John Elway. In three seasons on the diamond, he hit .346/.446/.594 with 40 homers and 187 RBIs in 186 games. He was First-Team All-Pac 10 in 1999 (.372 BA, 11 HR, 56 RBIs) and 2000 (.333 BA, 19 HR, 76 RBIs).12

On the gridiron, he tossed 10 touchdowns vs. one interception in 16 games at Stanford. A redshirt as a freshman in 1997, he first saw game action in 1998 as backup to Todd Husak. On September 19, Borchard entered the game in the fourth quarter of a 34-34 game with 34 seconds left, after Husak was injured on a sack on the North Carolina 43-yard line. The Tar Heels had just turned the ball over and were looking to hold on and send the game to overtime, but Borchard had other ideas. On his first play of the game, Borchard scrambled for a 41-yard gain all the way to the two-yard line, which set up a game-winning field goal.13 On September 25, 1999, he came off the bench to throw for 324 yards and five touchdown passes in a 42-32 win over UCLA.

Borchard has the distinction of appearing in both the Rose Bowl (2000) and the College World Series (1999 and 2000). He juggled baseball and football – even occasionally on the same day. On April 29, 2000, he played a few series in a Stanford football spring scrimmage, then jumped on a golf cart and went over to the baseball field, where he rapped a few hits against Cal.14

Three football scouts contacted by White Sox GM Ron Schueler projected Borchard as a late first-round or a second-round NFL draft pick as a quarterback. White Sox scouting director Duane Shaffer said Borchard had “the best power from a college player since Mark McGwire.”15

In the 2000 draft, the White Sox took a gamble on Borchard with the 12th overall pick. There was uncertainty as to whether Borchard would play for the White Sox or be the starting quarterback for Stanford in his senior season. Otherwise, he would have gone even higher in the draft, as scouts from at least three teams reportedly ranked him the top player in the draft.16

Borchard finished his Stanford baseball career in the College World Series on June 17, 2000, failing to collect a hit in four at-bats in the 6-5 loss to LSU, though he was named an outfielder on the All-Tournament team. In total, he went 7-for-14 with a home run, four RBIs, and five runs scored in four tournament games.

Borchard signed with the White Sox on August 8 for a $5.3 million bonus, the largest ever given to a player acquired through the draft, at the time. The next largest bonus was given to the first overall pick, Adrián González ($3 million). Borchard’s record bonus stood until Justin Upton’s $6.1 million topped it in 2005.

According to Borchard’s agent, Jim McDowell (brother of former major-league pitcher Jack McDowell), “The White Sox asked what it would take, we gave them a range and they responded. There was NFL interest in Joe, the extent of which would have been clearer after the upcoming season. Joe loves football, but when you talk about this kind of money, it’s a business decision. All signs point to taking this and going to the diamond.”17

The White Sox bonus was contingent on Borchard’s commitment solely to baseball. His career as Stanford quarterback was over. According to McDowell, the record bonus would be paid over 2½ years, with payments ceasing if Borchard returned to football.18

Borchard’s professional baseball career started on August 9, 2000, in Tucson in the Arizona Rookie League. He hit .414 (12-for-29) in a brief seven-game showing. He was quickly promoted to the Advanced-A Winston-Salem Warthogs of the Carolina League. Starting at DH, he collected an RBI double batting fifth for manager Brian Dayett in his first game, on August 17, despite not getting to the ballpark until 4:30 P.M.19

Borchard’s first pro home run came on August 25, off right-hander Steve Bechler of the Frederick Keys, one of two homers he would get in 14 games at Winston-Salem.20 He hit .289 for the Warthogs before moving on yet again, this time to Double-A Birmingham, where he went 5-for-22 (.227) in six games, filling in because of injury.21

Borchard struggled in the spring of 2001, and ended up spending the entire season with Birmingham, where the 6-foot-4 center fielder started on his road to the majors. At the Southern League all-star game on June 20 in Kodak, Tennessee, Borchard won a pregame home-run derby (his pitcher was none other than Tommy John, then a radio analyst for the Charlotte Knights, who often tossed batting practice),defeating Corky Miller in the finals. Then in the actual game, Borchard hit a two-run walk-off homer in the 10th inning of a 4-3 win West Division victory, garnering game MVP honors.22

On July 8 Borchard went 1-for-2 with a single for Team U.S. in the MLB Futures Game at Safeco Field in Seattle. For the season he had a slash line of .295/.384/.509 with 27 homers (second in the league) and 98 RBIs (leading the league) in 133 games. A high number of strikeouts (158) and errors (12) may have prevented a late-season call-up, but the highly touted prospect was on his way.

After the season, Borchard participated in the 2001 Baseball World Cup, playing for Team USA. He hit a two-run homer in a 4-1 semifinal win against Chinese Taipei, though Cuba won it all with a 5-3 win over the US team.

Entering 2002, Borchard was 12th overall on the Baseball America top 100 prospect list – in between Austin Kearns and Nick Johnson. (Josh Beckett topped the list.) He made a strong bid to make the White Sox roster out of spring training, hitting .375, but a hairline fracture suffered when he fouled a pitch off his foot sealed his fate.23 Borchard played in the 2002 MLB All-Star Futures Game in Milwaukee on July 7, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. Through August, in 117 games with Charlotte, he hit .272/.349/.498, with 20 home runs (fifth in the International League), though he still had a high strikeout total (139).

On September 1 Borchard was pulled in the fourth inning of Charlotte’s game against Durham. The White Sox were bringing him up to the majors.

“It was a huge surprise,” Borchard said. “The way things have gone this year, it just seemed like it wasn’t going to be the right time.”24

Borchard hit sixth in the White Sox lineup the next day, starting in right field for manager Jerry Manuel. He fouled out against the Blue Jays’ Corey Thurman in the second inning. Then he followed a Carlos Lee double with a home run in the fourth inning. He became only the fourth player in White Sox history (after Russ Morman, Craig Wilson, and Lee) to hit a home run in his major-league debut. Miguel Olivo would join that list less than two weeks later. Matt Skole has the only such White Sox debut home run since (May 28, 2018). Career base hit number two – and career homer number two came a week later in Kansas City, of the inside-the-park variety off Paul Byrd. It was the first White Sox inside-the-parker since Chris Singleton on September 29, 2000.

After that, Borchard had six starts and seven games where he came in off the bench, finishing his 16-game introduction to the majors with a .222/.243/.389 slash line, 2 homers, and 5 RBIs. He got a few reps after the season, appearing with Mayaguez in the Puerto Rican Winter League.25

Borchard started the 2003 season at Triple-A Charlotte. He earned another 16-game taste of “The Show” following a May 23 promotion, but took a step back, hitting .184/.246/.265 with one home run and 18 strikeouts in 57 plate appearances. (The homer was off the pitcher who went on to win the Cy Young Award, Roy Halladay.) In early June, Borchard was sent back to Charlotte, where he finished his Triple-A season with a .253/.307/.398 slash line, 13 homers, and 53 RBIs in 114 games.

Borchard began the 2004 season at Charlotte, where he regained some of his power stroke, batting .266/.333/.495 with 16 home runs in 82 games. On May 17 he homered from both sides of the plate, including a grand slam in 13-5 rout of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons.

On July 9, the White Sox placed Frank Thomas on the disabled list with an ankle injury; he was done for the year. Magglio Ordoñez returned after missing 37 games with a knee injury. Borchard was called up, but not for long. Nine days later, the White Sox made a deadline deal with the Rangers for Carl Everett, and Borchard was the odd man out. He headed back to Charlotte after going 3-for-19 (.158).

However, Ordoñez’s knee still wasn’t quite right, and after just 10 games back, he was done for the season (As it turned out, his White Sox career was over; he left for Detroit for 2005.) Borchard ended up with his first long look in the majors, taking over as the primary right fielder for the remainder of 2004.

Big-league pitching baffled Borchard; he posted a meager .174/.249/.338 line with nine home runs and 57 strikeouts in 222 plate appearances (25.7 percent strikeout rate; well above the major-league average of 16.9 percent) in 63 games for the South Siders. However, he did finish the season on a bit of a power surge, homering four times in his final eight games.

It might be considered that Borchard’s signature major-league moment came on August 30, 2004, as he etched his name in the White Sox record book. He launched a Brett Myers offering 504 feet to the right-field concourse. It surpassed the previous ballpark record of 495 feet by Frank Thomas in 2002. When told of his record-setting achievement, his reaction was “complete shock.”26 As of 2004, it remained the longest home run in what since 2016 has been called Guaranteed Rate Field.

After the 2004 season wrapped up, Borchard played for Mazatlán in the Mexican Winter League, but struggled mightily in 14 games, hitting .140 (7-for-50).

While the White Sox went wire-to-wire in 2005, Borchard hit .265/.338/.484 with 29 home runs … in Charlotte. Despite hitting .261 with five home runs in spring training, there wasn’t a spot on the roster for him, with Scott Podsednik, Aaron Rowand, and Jermaine Dye holding down the three starting outfield spots. Timo Pérez was the backup outfielder, with Ross Gload and Willie Harris as additional bench depth.

Borchard was a September call-up, going 5-for-12 in what proved to be his last action with the White Sox. He made one start – on September 30, the day after the White Sox clinched the AL Central Division championship – and went 1-for-6 with a double and four strikeouts in a 13-inning 3-2 win over Cleveland. It was his last regular-season hit in a White Sox uniform.

Borchard was dealt to the Mariners in exchange for lefty reliever Matt Thornton on March 20, 2006. He was barely given a chance in Seattle, logging only six games and nine plate appearances (he went 2-for-9) before being designated for assignment on April 23. The Marlins claimed him off waivers on May 3. The White Sox did well in the trade with Seattle; Thornton through 2024 is the White Sox franchise leader in relief appearances, with 512.

Borchard finished 2006 with 114 games (108 with Florida) and hit .230/.319/.393 with 10 home runs. It was the only time he played in as many as 100 major-league games in a season. He was used 51 times as a pinch-hitter; 49 times with the Marlins for 2006 NL Manager of the Year Joe Girardi. He hit a respectable .250 (11-for-44) with a solid .353 on-base percentage in pinch-hit plate appearances in 2006.

A fun piece of trivia: Borchard is the last player to homer off Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz in the same season, although only Smoltz was still pitching for the Braves at the time. Glavine was now with the Mets and Maddux had returned to the Cubs. On September 6, 2006, Borchard hit a solo homer to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. It would be all they needed, as Anibal Sánchez completed a no-hit, 2-0 win against the Diamondbacks that day.

In 2007 Borchard was the Marlins’ Opening Day starting right fielder – the only time he made an Opening Day starting lineup. He went 0-for-3 with a pair of walks, one with the bases loaded. He appeared in 85 games (41 as a pinch-hitter), putting together a .196/.287/.313 slash line. The strikeouts remained a problem, with 60 in 202 plate appearances; he was designated for assignment on August 8. His most recent hit had been a single on July 25 off reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb. It wound up being his final major-league hit.

Borchard finished the 2007 season with Triple-A Albuquerque, where he hit a torrid .355/.452/.711 with 8 home runs and 28 RBIs in 22 games, collecting Pacific Coast League Player of the Week honors August 20-26, when he hit .520 with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

Borchard signed with the Braves for 2008 and ended up starting the season at Triple-A Richmond, where he hit .274/346/.453 in 33 games before undergoing Tommy John surgery in May. Borchard had struggled with elbow pain since the spring of 2006, but as he battled for roster spots, he kept quiet on his injury and fought through it.27 Hoping for a pain-free fresh start, Borchard began 2009 playing for the Braves Triple-A affiliate Gwinnett. He was released in May, though he quickly signed with the Giants, where he reported to Triple-A Fresno.

On May 3, 2010, in Colorado Springs, Borchard became the second player in Fresno Grizzlies history to hit for the cycle (after Nate Schierholtz in 2008). He played in 125 games for Fresno in 2010, hitting .263/.340/.469 with 17 home runs.

In 2011 Borchard signed with the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League. He played in 24 games for manager Willie Upshaw, hitting .229 before announcing his retirement in June.

“You do this for 12 years and really see every end of the spectrum, it seems like,” Borchard said. “I really gave it every chance possible. At the end of the day, you really have nothing to be ashamed of. It’s just things go a certain way and that’s it and it’s time to move on and get into whatever’s next.”28

In 301 major-league games over six seasons, Borchard batted.205 with 26 home runs and 77 RBIs. He never attained All-Star status, but his career had some memorable moments. College World Series and Rose Bowl in the same season. Record-setting bonus. Th longest home run hit at a major-league ballpark. Not too many players can boast a 500-foot home run AND an inside-the-park home run on their résumé.

After his playing career Borchard worked as a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual in Charlotte and for several years served as the director of sales at Ventura Coastal LLC, which sells citrus juices, pulps, oils, purees, and more.29

Borchard was inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2019 he was inducted into the Charlotte Knights Round Table of Honor. As of 2024 he was the Knights’ career leader with 78 home runs and 227 RBIs. The Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame came calling next, in 2023 – for both baseball and football.

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 Baseball Prospectus 2001 Edition (Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s, 2001), 314.

2 Steve Henson, “Borchard: Despite a Relatively Low Passing Percentage, He Shows He’s No Average Joe,” Los Angeles Times, December 13, 1996: C9.

3 Jose Cepeda, “ChiSox Draft Borchard, Chamorro Taken With 12th Pick Overall in First Round,” Pacific Daily News (Agana Heights, Guam) June 7, 2000: 56.

4 Earl Gault, “Not Your Ordinary Joe: Son of Farmer Hasn’t Forgotten Working-Class Roots,” Rock Hill (South Carolina) Herald, May 30, 2002: 4C.

5 David Lassen, “They’re First Class All the Way,” Ventura County Star (Camarillo, California), January 19, 1997: 19.

6 Jim Parker, “Borchard Ponders the Question,” Thousand Oaks (California) Star, July 12, 1997: B5.

7 George Castle, “Borchard Happy With Switch to Baseball,” Hammond (Indiana) Times, March 16, 2001: 123.

8 Jim Parker, “Borchard to Stanford, Nielsen Chooses USC,” Los Angeles Times, January 4, 1997: C11.

9 Parker, “Borchard Ponders the Question.”

10 Parker, “Borchard to Stanford, Nielsen Chooses USC.”

11 Parker, “Borchard Ponders the Question.”

12 https://gostanford.com/news/2013/04/17/player-bio-joe-borchard-3.

13 Steve Elling, “Triangle’s Three-Sided Fall; Heels Let Another One Slip Away,” Raleigh News and Observer, September 20, 1998: C1.

14 Dave Newhouse, “No Ordinary Joe: Stanford’s Borchard a Two-Sport Success,” Oakland Tribune, April 30, 2000: 14.

15 Phil Rogers, “No. 1 Pick Borchard Gets Big Bonus,” Chicago Tribune, July 29, 2000: 51.

16 Jack Magruder, “Borchard’s Big Bonus,” Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), August 6, 2000: 38.

17 “Borchard Signs for Record Bonus,” Los Angeles Times, July 29, 2000: 121.

18 “Borchard Signs for Record Bonus.”

19 “Borchard Gets Hit in Debut,” Ventura County Star, August 19, 2000: C7.

20 “Warthogs’ Homers Too Much for Keys,” Winston-Salem Journal, August 26, 2000: 33.

21 Paul Sullivan, “Sox’s Pitching Staff Turns Things Around,” Chicago Tribune, August 31, 2000: 51.

22 Nick Gates, “West Is Best In 10: Borchard Has Final Swing in Home Run Duel,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, June 21, 2001: 39, 43.

23 Bob Buttitta, “Minor Delay,” Ventura County Star, March 19, 2002: 27.

24 Associated Press, “Borchard’s No Ordinary Joe: Rookie’s HR Powers Sox,” Hammond Times, September 3, 2002: 37.

25 https://www.mlb.com/player/joe-borchard-400021.

26 Associated Press, “Sox Ride Borchard’s Blast,” Chicago Tribune, August 31, 2004: 33, 19.

27 Bob Buttitta, “Borchard Hopes to Make Pain-Free Bid for the Bigs,” Ventura County Star, January 24, 2009: 29

28 Rich Elliott, “Bluefish’s Borchard, Missing His Family, Retires From Baseball,” Connecticut Post (Bridgeport), June 2, 2011. https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/bluefish-s-borchard-missing-his-family-retires-1407525.php.

29 Scott Merkin, “Where Are They Now? Get to Know Joe Borchard,” MLB.com, May 19, 2020. https://www.mlb.com/news/where-are-they-now-white-sox-joe-borchard.

Left-hander Mark Buehrle pitched in 518 games, starting 493 of them, over a 15-year career. He finished his career with a 214-160 career record with a 3.81 ERA and 1,870 strikeouts in 3,283⅓ innings pitched. Buehrle was a five-time All-Star, and won four Gold Gloves and one World Series championship. He pitched two no-hitters, one of them a perfect game.

Mark Alan Buehrle was born on March 23, 1979, in St. Charles, Missouri to John and Pat Buehrle. John was an ex-Marine who became a paramedic, then the manager of the St. Charles City Water Department. Pat worked in the lunchroom at Barnwell Junior High, where her children attended school. Mark was the youngest of the three boys; they had a younger sister. St. Charles is about 30 minutes northwest of Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. Mark grew up rooting for the Cardinals, watching them make the World Series three times before he turned 9 years old and admiring pitchers John Tudor and Joe Magrane, both lefties, and closer Todd Worrell, who was his favorite even though he threw right-handed.

Buehrle played a lot of baseball in his youth. “Just like any kid playing baseball, I loved everything about it,” he said. “Waiting for school to end to get dressed into the uniform and get out on the field. I just really enjoyed the competition involved with it.”1

Unlike most kids, Buehrle had superior control. His sister, Amy Buehrle English, fondly remembered:

A story I’ve heard a lot my whole life is when he was like one or two (years old), my parents took him to a church picnic or fair. He played one of those games where you throw a ball and knock something over. He just sat there and threw the ball over and over and over hitting the target each time. People would stop to watch because he was so young and so good. So, I’m pretty sure it was known since he was little that he would be a great ballplayer.2

His control even impressed 1983 Cy Young Award winner John Denny, who agreed to coach him privately. Denny was drafted by the Cardinals in 1970 and was a starting pitcher for them for five seasons before being traded to Cleveland.

In an era before travel ball, the first real test a young man will pass is to make his high-school baseball team. However, Buehrle did not make his freshman baseball team at Francis Howell North high school.

English teacher Neil Berry was the freshman baseball coach. He explained: “The only thing I can tell you is that FHN had a program wide pitching coach who loved Mark from his first day as a freshman. I remember his evaluation of Mark was glowing, and he was so impressed that Mark had pinpoint accuracy. The problem was that he was only 5 feet tall and his pitches were hit back harder than he threw them. The reason he didn’t make the team as a freshman was that he was a pitcher only and threw batting practice speed. He also had a bit of an attitude problem as a freshman.”3

Buehrle tried out again his sophomore year, but still did not make the team even with the new coaching from John Denny. “After I got cut those first two years, I pretty much decided I was done,” Buehrle said. “I just felt like getting cut, not being able to make your freshmen and sophomore teams, then there was going to be no way I’d make the varsity team. I basically just decided that I was done, baseball wasn’t going to be my thing and I should move on.”4

Incidentally, it wasn’t Mark Buehrle who was supposed to be cut from the junior varsity team that year. It was another Mark B. instead. This led to the creation of the “Mark Buehrle rule” at Francis Howell North that declared all cuts in the baseball program had to go through the head coach before being finalized.

However, after his father scolded him for his defeatist attitude, letting him know that he did not raise a quitter, Mark found redemption his junior year after growing nearly a foot during the offseason. During his junior year, he worked out of the bullpen as a lefty specialist and put up a 2-0 record with a 0.60 ERA.

Buehrle worked as a starter his senior year, gaining the attention of local scouts as he continued to fill out and gained velocity on his fastball and stronger bite in his curveball. He chose to attend nationally ranked Jefferson College in nearby Hillsboro, Missouri.

“It was a pretty easy sign,” said Dave Oster, former Jefferson College baseball coach, of landing Buehrle as a recruit. “We saw him play one day, asked him to come down for a visit and the next day he came down, he liked the place and committed, and then it kind of went from there.”5

The scouts quickly took notice. “I remember the first tournament we had was down at Southwest Missouri State,” Buehrle said. “I threw a couple of innings down there and the next thing I knew, there were a few scouts handing me index cards asking me to fill out information on myself. At first I thought someone was playing a joke on me. At the time, there was another lefty who pitched for us that threw harder than I did and was a sophomore. I had thought they mistook me for him.”6

After that first year, the Chicago White Sox selected Buehrle in the 38th round of the June 1998 amateur draft with the 1,139th overall pick. Buehrle did not sign initially. The White Sox used the “draft and follow” strategy, which allowed them to retain his rights for a year. Buehrle was undeterred. He underwent a more rigorous offseason training program, becoming the ace of the Jefferson College pitching staff the following season. Just before their draft rights expired, the White Sox made him an offer of $150,000, and he signed.

Buehrle did not spend much time in the minor leagues. In 1999 he started 14 games for the Burlington Bees of the Class-A Midwest League and went 7-4 with 91 strikeouts in 98⅔ innings. The next season Buehrle started 16 games for the Birmingham Barons of the Double-A Southern League and was 8-4 with a 2.28 ERA. That production was good enough to get a call to the big leagues.

On July 16, 2000, Buehrle made his major-league debut, pitching the ninth inning of a blowout win for the White Sox over the Milwaukee Brewers. He allowed two hits and one earned run. He made his first start three days later against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis. Over seven innings he allowed six hits and two earned runs and earned his first major-league victory, 3-2.

Buehrle spent the first 12 years of his career with the White Sox. He mostly worked out of the bullpen his rookie season, After defeating the Twins, he started two more games. However, after getting knocked around by the California Angels in the second of those starts, his next 24 appearances were all in relief.

The White Sox won the American League Central Division title in 2000 but were swept by the Seattle Mariners in the Division Series. Buehrle pitched in one game, getting the call in the top of the ninth inning of Game Two and allowing an inherited runner to score.

Buehrle made the starting rotation in 2001 and became a steady presence on the pitching staff, starting 362 games and going 157-118 with a 3.82 ERA (120 ERA+) over an 11-year period (2001-2011). He was named to four All-Star Games and finished fifth in the Cy Young Award vote in 2005.

Buehrle made his first All-Star Game appearance in 2002, having started 19 games with a 12-7 record while producing a 3.57 ERA in the first half of the season. He pitched two innings, allowing one run. In what ended up being one of the strangest All-Star Games, the game ended in a tie after both teams ran out of pitchers in the 11th inning.

In 2003 Buehrle’s 14-14 record with a 4.14 ERA was better than average (112 ERA+), but not as good as his career average (117 ERA+). In 2004 he led the American League in innings pitched (245⅓) while producing a 16-10 record with a 3.89 ERA (121 ERA+). This was his fourth consecutive season with at least 200 innings pitched, an achievement that would become the norm for him rather than the exception.

Buehrle was a major contributor to the White Sox in 2005, with a record of 16-8. His 3.12 ERA was the best among White Sox starters. Only Jon Garland, with 18 wins, topped Buehrle in victories. Buehrle started the All-Star Game and earned the win for his two innings pitched as the American League scored in the bottom of the second and never gave up the lead, winning 7-5.

Beginning in 2001, Buehrle started each of the remaining 490 games of his career, with one notable exception: On October 25, 2005, after throwing 100 pitches over seven innings in Game Two of the World Series two days before, Buehrle was called upon to close out Game Three. He needed only three pitches to induce the Houston Astros’ Adam Everett to pop out and end the game.

That appearance was notable because of what happened before the event. Assuming that he would not be needed during the game, Buehrle had a few beers.

“Yes, I did have a few beverages on the bench, and I went up to (pitching coach) Don Cooper in the sixth, seventh, or eighth inning. I don’t remember what it was,” Buehrle said. “They were starting to use the bullpen. This guy came in for a third of an inning and this guy came in for a third, so it was getting thinner and thinner there. “I’m like, ‘Will you need me?’ and Coop said, ‘No.’ So I go get another beer. I did that a few times, and it was like, when he said, ‘Yeah, get [your] crap on,’ I thought he was just saying it because he was sick of me asking him. I got ready and went down there.”7

Buehrle’s 2006 season was reminiscent of the tale Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He was good in the first half, putting up a 9-4 record in 16 games started with a 3.22 ERA through June. His final three months was a completely different tale. He finished 3-9 with a bloated 7.12 ERA. Overall, he finished 12-13 with a 4.99 ERA, the highest of his career. The White Sox missed out on the playoffs, finishing five games behind the Detroit Tigers for a wild-card spot..

On April 18, 2007, Buehrle was virtually perfect when the Texas Rangers came to town. The only blemish on his record that day was a walk to Sammy Sosa. Nonetheless, two pitches later, Buehrle caught Sosa leaning in the wrong direction and threw to first baseman Paul Konerko to pick him off, and didn’t allow another baserunner. In a book published in 2008, he said, “When I see my name connected to a no-hitter, it seems unreal. You see “last no-hitter pitched in the Major Leagues” and you see my name. It’s kind of overwhelming.”8

In 2007 Buehrle had 201 innings pitched in 30 starts, producing a 10-9 record with a 3.63 ERA. The White Sox, on the other hand, were the worst they would be in Buehrle’s time with them, going 72-90 and finishing fourth in the AL Central Division with only the Kansas City Royals faring worse.

The White Sox got back to their winning ways in 2008, finishing first in the division with an 89-74 record. Buehrle went 15-12 with a 3.79 ERA. He started Game Two of the American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Buehrle threw seven-plus innings and was the losing pitcher, giving up five runs and 10 hits in a 6-2 loss.

On July 23, 2009, at US Cellular Field, Buehrle was perfect against the Rays. Notoriously a quick worker, he mowed through the Tampa Bay lineup almost effortlessly. He breezed through the first inning, using only 10 pitches to induce two groundouts and a strikeout. He used 18 pitches in the second, the most he required for an inning, but was able to get Carlos Peña to pop out, Ben Zobrist to strike out, and Pat Burrell to fly out. (Peña did push him into a full count.) Buehrle settled back down in the third inning, retiring the Rays with only 11 pitches. In the fourth, B.J. Upton worked a full count before striking out. Buehrle quickly retired the next two batters, Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, getting through the inning having thrown just 11 pitches. He was even better in the fifth, needing only 10 pitches. After getting through the first two batters in the sixth without much trouble, Jason Bartlett pushed him into a full count before grounding out to shortstop. Buehrle needed only nine pitches to get through the seventh inning, inducing two groundouts and a fly ball. In the eighth inning, Buehrle struck out Peña, then Zobrist worked a full count before fouling out to the third baseman, Gordon Beckham, requiring seven pitches. Buehrle needed seven more pitches to retire the next batter as well, retiring Pat Burrell on a lineout to Beckham.

Statcast has a statistic called Tempo, which measures the median time between pitches. Their data exists since 2010. With the bases empty, no one has a faster tempo equivalent to throwing a pitch every 5.9 seconds. Fast pitchers keep defenses on their toes. That proved to be necessary during the ninth inning. Manager Ozzie Guillén brought Dewayne Wise into the game in the ninth inning to help shore up the defense, moving Scott Podsednik from center field to left field while sending bad-fielding Carlos Quentin to the bench. Guillén’s move proved to be the right one. The first batter Buehrle faced in the ninth inning was Gabe Kapler. On a 2-and-2 pitch, Kapler hit a drive to deep left-center field. It looked like the ball was headed over the wall. However, Wise raced back diagonally to the wall, leapt up, and caught the ball, robbing Kapler of a home run. Broadcaster Ken Harrelson described the play as “(u)nder the circumstances, one of the greatest catches I have ever seen in 50 years in this game.”9

Buehrle cinched the major leagues’ 18th perfect game by striking out Michel Hernandéz and getting Jason Bartlett on a weak grounder to shortstop.

“I can’t believe that happened to me,” Buehrle recalled. “I’m not a guy who should be throwing perfect games, with not striking guys out, not hard throwing. Just the same thing with the no-hitter. I said I would never throw a perfect game, or a no-hitter, and I ended up doing both of them. So, it was, ‘No way. That just didn’t happen.’”10

(Coincidentally, the home-plate umpire for the perfect game was Eric Cooper, who worked behind the plate for Buehrle’s no-hitter against the Rangers.)

In his next start, Buehrle retired the first 17 batters he faced. Combining his final out in Baltimore on July 18 with his perfect game and those 17 Twins batters on July 28 summed up to 45 straight batters retired. This was a major-league record, later broken by San Francisco Giant Yusmeiro Petit over a course of eight games in 2014.

In 2010 the White Sox finished with an 88-74 record, seven games behind the New York Yankees for a wild-card spot. Buehrle was 13-13 with a 4.28 ERA, the second worst of his career. This ERA was exactly league average, something that Buehrle was not accustomed to, producing an average ERA+ of 117 during his 15 seasons as a starter with only two seasons below 100.

Buehrle did have one notable moment in the sun that season. On June 19 a poll was conducted by the MLB Twitter account asking “Which pitcher made the best play?” The poll offered the following options: Greg Maddux (2008), Mark Buehrle (2010), Bartolo Colon (2015), and Vince Velasquez (2018) with videos showcasing each pitcher’s impressive defensive play. While this was not a scientific poll since the respondents were self-selected, Buehrle was the winner for his kick save on April 5, 2010 – a through-the-legs glove flip to prevent Cleveland Indians catcher Lou Marson from legging out a single up the middle.11

Buehrle’s defensive prowess was widely recognized. The play on Marson came in one of his four straight Gold Glove years (2009 to 2012). Only 11 pitchers have won the award more often.

Part of good defense in the pitching position is picking off baserunners. According to MLB.com, Buehrle was the best at it, getting 100 pickoffs in his career, one better than Steve Carlton.12 It should be noted that pickoffs did not become an official statistic until 1974. It is widely recognized that Carlton accumulated some 45 more pickoffs in his full career.13

Info Solutions developed a defensive runs saved statistic in 2003. Since that year, the only pitcher who saved more runs than Buehrle is Zack Greinke – 98 to 88. The next closest is Jake Westbrook with 62.14

Buehrle became a free agent after the 2011 season. He signed a four-year contract with the Miami Marlins worth $58 million.15 In 31 starts for the Marlins in 2012, Buehrle posted a 13-13 record with a 3.74 ERA and won a Gold Glove for the fourth consecutive year. His time in Miami was short-lived. After finishing in last place with a 69-93 record, the Marlins decided it was time to trim the fat reminiscent of their post-championship sells of 1997 and 2003. Along with shortstop José Reyes, starting pitcher Josh Johnson, John Buck, and Emilio Bonifacio, Buehrle was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in what appeared to be a salary dump.

“I’m upset with how things turned out in Miami,” Buehrle said in a statement issued through his agent, Jeff Berry.” Just like the fans in South Florida, I was lied to on multiple occasions. But I’m putting it behind me and looking forward to moving on with my career.”16

In his three seasons in Toronto, Buehrle started 97 games and produced a 40-28 record with a 3.78 ERA. He was selected to the All-Star team in 2014.

On October 2, 2015, two days before the end of the regular season, Buehrle threw 6⅔ innings against Tampa Bay and picked up his 15th victory. Many, including Buehrle, thought that this might be the final game of his career. He saved the game ball.

Manager John Gibbons had other ideas. Buehrle had pitched 198 innings. Two more would put him at 200 innings pitched for the 15th consecutive year, a feat that only four other pitchers – Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton, Warren Spahn, and Cy Young – had accomplished. On October 4, the last day of the regular season, Buehrle started against the Rays again. He did not survive the first inning, giving up eight runs (all unearned, thanks to two Blue Jays errors), getting just two outs and giving up five hits and a walk.

“Sad thing, I felt better today than I did on Friday, better than I’ve felt in the last month, month and a half,” Buehrle said afterward. “This game is crazy. I didn’t feel great on Friday and went 6⅔, and today I felt great and they had to take me out in the first inning.”17

After the game, Buehrle was informed that he had not made the Blue Jays’ postseason roster. The Blue Jays decided to carry just four starting pitchers – David Price, R.A. Dickey, Marcus Stroman, and Marco Estrada along with seven relief pitchers. Those 45 pitches thrown on a pleasant day in Tampa Bay would prove to be his final major-league tosses.

“I was told I was retiring,” Buehrle said. “I got about 400 text messages today from friends who are, ‘Sad to see you go, to be retiring.’ And I’m like, ‘What’s going on here?’ Apparently I’m done, and what a way to go out. Nowadays we don’t have a decision. It’s what people tell us.”18

In 2017 the White Sox retired Buehrle’s number 56. It is one of 12 numbers retired by the team. Nine of the players have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said the 38-year-old Buehrle, who was flanked by his wife, his two children, and his mother and father at the 30-minute ceremony. “I really can’t put it into words how I feel. … It’s a special day.”19

In retirement Buehrle devoted himself to being the best father he could be to his two children. Said his sister, Amy Buehrle English, “He is a dad first and foremost.”20 Buehrle spent time hunting, traveling, and woodworking. Buehrle has always enjoyed the outdoors. His sister cited an article from when he was a player that said, “Whenever he has time, sometimes around the All-Star break in July, Buehrle races back to St. Charles to laze around the 18-acre pond on his property. He might take out a boat or just sit on shore with a fishing pole and a worm for bait, watching his bobber.”21

Buehrle and his wife, Jamie, displayed a passion for dogs. While living in Chicago, they provided public service announcements for animal rescue facilities, appeared on pet adoption billboards, and headed a Sox for Strays promotion at US Cellular Field.

When Buehrle signed his contract with the Marlins in 2012, he bought a house in Broward County approximately 30 minutes from the Marlins Stadium in Miami-Dade County because pit bulls are prohibited in the county.22 Once he was traded to the Blue Jays, things got even more complicated since pit bulls are banned in the Province of Ontario. The Buehrles opted to keep their family in the St. Louis area, living with their four dogs while Mark lived by himself during the baseball season.

Since 2000, no one has approached Buehrle’s consistency in producing 14 seasons of at least 200 innings pitched and falling four outs short of a 15th. As of 2024, Justin Verlander was the closest to this level of production, posting 12 seasons of at least 200 innings pitched. Nine of the 10 pitchers with more than 14 (Don Sutton, Greg Maddux, Phil Niekro, Warren Spahn, Bert Blyleven, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Gaylord Perry, and Grover Cleveland Alexander are in the Hall of Fame; the sole exception is Roger Clemens.

Since 2000, Buehrle ranks seventh among all starting pitchers in WAR (as of 2024). The top four – Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, and Zack Greinke – were active in 2024. The sixth, CC Sabathia, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2025.

In his book One Hundred Years of White Sox Baseball, author Mark Pienkos summarizes Buehrle the player: “Mark Buehrle is one of those rare breeds of pitchers that only comes around once in a lifetime. He was special in so many ways: reliable, great fielder, didn’t waste time between tosses, great command of his pitches so as not to allow lots of walks, yet able to strike out batters without having a great deal of velocity.”23

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and a number of other sources including the following:

Chicago Sun-Times, White Sox: 2005 World Series Champions (Chicago: Sports Publishing, LLC. 2005).

Lee Jenkins, “Miracle on the South Side,” Sports Illustrated, August 3, 2009.

Colleen Kane, “Mark Buehrle on His Quiet Retirement: ‘I Wanted to Sneak My Way Out,’” Chicago Tribune, February 24, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2024, from https://www.chicagotribune.com/2017/02/24/mark-buehrle-on-his-quiet-retirement-i-wanted-to-sneak-my-way-out/.

Elliot Lee, Red-Tagged: Dirty Diamonds (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform), 2015.

Mark Buehrle | MLB Contracts & Salaries. (n.d.). Spotrac.com. Retrieved September 10, 2024, from https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/169/mark-buehrle.

Tom Stone, Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises (Chicago: ACTA Publications, 2017).

Notes

1 Jeff Strange, “From Being Cut in High School to an MLB All-Star Team: Mark Buehrle Shares His Story,” Patch.com (St. Peters, Missouri), March 6, 2011. https://patch.com/missouri/stpeters/from-being-cut-in-high-school-to-an-mlb-all-star-teamab0e9608ea.

2 Amy Buehrle English, interview by author, September 19, 2024.

3 Neil Berry, interview by author. December 15, 2021.

4 Strange.

5 James Fegan, “Before Mark Buehrle Made the Hall of Fame Ballot, White Sox Scouts Saw Potential,” New York Times, November 22, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2191063/2020/11/22/mark-buehrle-hall-of-fame/.

6 Strange.

7 Scott Merkin, “Remembering Mark Buehrle’s Perfect Game,” MLB.com, July 22, 2019. https://www.mlb.com/news/remembering-mark-buehrle-s-perfect-game.

8 Lew Freedman, Game of My Life: White Sox: Memorable Stories of Chicago White Sox Baseball (Chicago: Sports Publishing, 2008), 199.

9 Scott Merkin, “Oral History of Mark Buehrle’s Perfect Game,” MLB.com. Retrieved October 10, 2024, from https://www.mlb.com/news/mark-buehrle-perfect-game-2009-an-oral-history.

10 Scott Merkin, “Remembering Mark Buehrle’s Perfect Game.”

11 Video can be seen on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujUdP7H81no.

12 MLB.com stats. https://www.mlb.com/stats/pitching/pickoff/all-time-totals?expanded=true.

13 Kevin Czerwinski, “The Pickoff Artist,” BallNine, September 27, 2022. https://ballnine.com/2022/09/27/the-pickoff-artist/.

14 Bill James, “Fielding Bible,” Fielding Bible, n.d.. Accessed November 20, 2024. https://archive.fieldingbible.com/DRSLeaderboard.

15 The 2012 Marlins were managed by Ozzie Guillén.

16 Associated Press, “Mark Buehrle: Marlins Lied to Me,” ESPN.com, November 21, 2012. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/8661291/mark-buehrle-says-miami-marlins-lied-multiple-occasions.

17 G. Chisholm, “Buehrle Falls Short of eat, Postseason Roster Spot,” MLB.com, October 4,2015 Retrieved November 14, 2024, from https://www.mlb.com/news/mark-buehrle-falls-short-of-feat-alds-roster/c-153295414.

18 Chisholm.

19 Associated Press, “White Sox Retire Mark Buehrle’s No. 56 Jersey,” USA Today, June 24, 2017. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/06/24/white-sox-retire-former-star-pitcher-buehrles-no-56-jersey/103167590/.

20 English interview.

21 English interview.

22 Jerry Crasnick, “Outlawed Pit Bull Will Keep Buehrle Away From His Family,” ESPN.com, February 7, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2024, from https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/8921726/outlawed-pit-bull-keep-mark-buehrle-away-family.

23 Mark Pienkos, 1917-2017: One Hundred Years of White Sox Baseball: Highlighting the Great 1917 World Series Championship Team (Sarasota, Florida: Pepperpot Press, 2017), 90.

“An average day in the minors is far superior to the best day pulling green chain and risking life and limb in a stifling sawmill,” said Jamie Burke, commenting on his first seven years in the minors. “It’s my job; I’m getting paid for something I love to do.”1

That attitude is what kept Burke in professional baseball for 18 seasons.

James Eugene Burke was born in Roseburg, Oregon, on September 24, 1971, to Walter and Marilyn Burke. Walter worked in the timber industry.2 Marilyn was a secretary at Douglas Community Hospital in Roseburg for many years.3 Walter and Marilyn were both involved in church activities while raising Jamie and his three older sisters; Julie, Gina, and Jodi.4

Jamie honed his baseball skills at an early age. He played wiffle ball5 in a neighbor’s backyard which helped his hand-eye coordination and as an 8-year-old he skipped summer school classes to practice baseball with the older kids before going to his own practice later. His mother was not happy when she was told that he skipped summer school 37 times that summer.6

Jamie played baseball and football at Roseburg High School, and helped lead both programs to the state title games three times before he graduated in 1990. In the 1988 state quarter-final game, Burke kicked a 27-yard field goal in overtime to give Roseburg a 10-7 victory over Barlow High School.7 Roseburg lost the state title game to Benson (Portland). Burke was a first-team all-state defensive back and a third-team selection at kicker for the 1989 team that lost to Ashland (Oregon) in the state title game. Thurman Bell, Burke’s high school football coach said of Burke, “Jamie was a coach’s player because he loved to compete and he dedicated all of his time and energy into whatever sport he was playing.”8 He was the starting shortstop for the 1990 Roseburg High School baseball team that made it to the state championship game before losing to Klamath Union High School, 5-2. His baseball coach, Ron Goodell, said of Burke, “Not only was he talented, but he was also the hardest working kid on the team.” Goodell continued, “Jamie was serious about being as good of a player as he could be.”9

Burke was second-team all-state in baseball (shortstop) in 1990, Roseburg Legion MVP in 1990, all-conference place-kicker in 1988-89, all-league safety in 1989, all-state free safety in 1989, and third-team all-state placekicker in 1989.10 He received an athletic scholarship to Oregon State University.11

Burke’s scholarship at Oregon State was in baseball, but he walked on the football team with the understanding with the coach that if he didn’t win the job he would go right into fall baseball. Burke won the starting kicker job.12 This kept him busy. Burke’s schedule consisted of taking 15 credit-hours of classes as well as football and baseball practices. “I’m keeping busy,” Burke said. “Right now there is a lot of stress – I’m either studying or playing sports.”13

Burke red-shirted the 1991 baseball season and played his freshman season in 1992. He switched from shortstop to third base at Oregon State because he had a good arm and the Beavers already had a shortstop. In a game on April 14 against Linfield College, Burke broke a little finger sliding into home in the seventh inning.14 After missing 14 games, Burke returned and was hot. In his first five games back, he was 8-for-20 with 9 RBIs.15 He finished the season batting .333 in 39 games.

With the 1992 football season approaching, the Oregon State football coach was presented with a pleasant surprise. Burke was the placekicker and Tim Kollas was the punter for the coming season. The pleasant surprise was that Kollas could back up Burke and Burke could back up Kollas in case of injuries. The backups from the previous season graduated and transferred, thus leaving the two juniors with enough experience to back up each other. That came in handy during road games when the team could take a maximum of 60 players, per league rules. Instead of taking 56 position players and four kickers, the Beavers could take 58 position players and two kickers.16

Burke finished the 1992 football season with 13 extra points and five field goals made.17

While back at third base for the Oregon State University Beavers in 1993, Burke improved on his 1992 batting average of .333 by hitting .346. On June 3 Burke was drafted by the California Angels in the ninth round of the amateur draft. Burke signed the following day, finished his finals as a redshirt freshman at Oregon State, and after a week at the Angels’ camp in Mesa, Arizona, he reported to the Boise Hawks of the short-season Class-A Northwest League.18 After 30 games, Burke ranked fifth in the league in hitting (.311) and was starting to play third base on an everyday basis.19

Even though Burke had a hard time sleeping on the long bus rides of the Northwest League, he was very positive about his experience in minor-league baseball. He said, “It’s a boy’s dream to play baseball every day, and it really is fun. It’s so fun it’s hard to explain. It’s such a different life than ever before.” He added, “You eat, sleep, and just play baseball … and get money for it. There really is no bad part to this, it’s a dream come true.”20

The Angels were concerned about Burke playing football and the possibility of getting injured. “They told me I’m a prospect and don’t want anything to happen to me,” said Burke. It turned out that the Angels won, and Burke would not be playing football at Oregon State that fall. He finished the season at batting .301, third best in the league.21

Burke was promoted to the Angels Low-A affiliate Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Midwest League for the 1994 season and batted .264 with one home run and 47 RBIs in 127 games. He split time at first base (64 games) and third base (61 games).

In 1995 Burke played for the Lake Elsinore Storm of the High-A California League, batting .274 with 2 home runs and 56 RBIs in 106 games while appearing in 89 games at third and 21 games at first. He survived the early season concern when the major-league teams reduced their rosters from 40 to 25 players. When the players are reassigned, there is a trickle-down effect. “The only thing that hurts us is, in two weeks from now, we’re going to have a different team,” said Storm manager Mitch Seoane.22 “I really don’t know what’s going on,” said Burke. “It’s not going to bother me. Some of my teammates were talking about it today, but it’s something I’m not going to worry about.”23 From 1996 through 1998, Burke moved back and forth between Midland of the Double-A Texas League and Vancouver of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He started to catch in 1996, with five games behind the plate in Vancouver and eight games catching for Midland. The coaches saw his soft hands and throwing ability as a catcher in spring training and decided to move him to the catcher position to add to his versatility.24

In 1996 Burke hit .319 with 2 home runs and 16 RBIs in 45 games with Midland and .250 with one home run and 14 RBIs in 41 games with Vancouver. He spent most of 1997 with Midland, batting .329 with 6 homers and 72 RBIs in 116 games. His batting average dropped in 1998: .244 with Midland, and .216 with Vancouver.

After the Angels switched Triple-A affiliates from Vancouver to Edmonton for the 1999 season, Burke played for the Edmonton Trappers and hit .336 in 46 games. He was sidelined after getting hit by a pitch on June 13, shattering his left elbow and sidelining him for the remainder of the season.25 Before his injury, Burke had a 16-game hitting streak, and a 28-game on-base streak.

Burke played 56 games at third base and caught 19 games for Edmonton in 2000, hitting .240. He returned from his broken elbow but sustained multiple injuries including fouling a ball off his foot, landing him on the disabled list on June 1. He was activated on June 16.26

This was the 28-year-old Burke’s fourth year in Triple A and his attitude and work ethic were what kept him going. He said of his time in the minor leagues, “It’s my job; I’m getting paid for something I love to do. I’m having a great time here, day in and day out, 138 games a year.” “We just got done with a stretch of 52 straight games, and just got a day off yesterday. But I’ll tell you this much, I’d rather do that, playing baseball seven days a week, than actually sitting behind a desk or going out there to work in the lumber mills or something like that. This is something that happens once in a lifetime, so I’m going to give it my all.”27

Burke believed he was close to a call-up because of his versatility; he could catch and play third base, first base, and the outfield. “Right now it is important to have a third catcher who can play a lot of other positions,” said Edmonton manager Gary Templeton. “A lot of rosters carry three catchers, but the third catcher is a very versatile guy. If a guy like Burke can prove he can do the job catching – the Angels already know he can play third and first – there’s a spot for him. They’re finally realizing he’s one heck of a catcher.”28

The Angels moved their Triple-A affiliation to Salt Lake for the 2001 season and became the Stingers. Burke caught 36 games for the Stingers in 2001 and played first, third, and outfield in 21 games. On May 9 he finally got his big break. Angels catcher Benji Molina strained his right hamstring and was placed on the 15-day DL. Molina was expected to miss two or three weeks. Burke was called up and made his major-league debut on May 9 against the White Sox in Chicago, when he came into the game in the ninth inning to catch. His next appearance was on May 13, when he pinch-hit for David Eckstein in the ninth inning and collected his first big-league hit, off the Tigers’ Matt Miller. He stayed in the game and played first base. Burke was sent back down to Salt Lake for a brief time on May 31. He was back up a few days later and finished three more games at catcher before Molina was activated from the disabled list. He finished his brief first year in the majors playing in nine games and collecting one hit in five at-bats.

Burke was back in Salt Lake for the 2002 season. In 88 games he hit .304. On October 15 Burke was granted free agency by the Angels and on October 31, he signed with the White Sox.

Sent to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights in 2003, Burke played in 94 games and batted .322. On August 9 he was summoned to join the White Sox. He served as a backup for catchers Sandy Alomar and Miguel Olivo. Olivo had hurt his shoulder in a home-plate collision and was day-to-day. Burke’s call-up was to buy time with hopes of Olivo not having to go on the disabled list.29

Alomar caught on August 8, so it would be Olivo’s turn on August 9. Since he was still hurting, Burke got the call. He responded by going 1-for-2 with his first major-league RBI. On the 11th, in a game against his former team in Anaheim, Burke entered the game to catch in the eighth inning. The 31-year-old Burke was finally caught up in some real major-league excitement. With the White Sox down 10-4 in the top of the ninth against the Angels and star reliever Troy Percival, Carlos Lee singled. Frank Thomas homered to make the score 10-6. Singles by Magglio Ord and Carl Everett and an RBI single by Paul Konerko made the score 10-7. José Valentin flied out to center, the first out. Tony Graffanino was hit by a Percival pitch. Burke singled to center, driving in Everett from third, Konerko advancing to third and Graffanino to second to make the score 10-8. Roberto Alomar struck out looking and Carlos Lee popped out to short to end the rally and the game.

Burke was sent back to Charlotte when pitcher Neal Cotts was called up to make his major-league debut the next night. “I was really encouraged with the way he handled himself and the pitching,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “And he looked like a professional hitter.”30

Burke was back with the White Sox as a September call-up and played in four games. In his brief call-up, he was 3-for-8 with 2 RBIs.

Burke started the 2004 spring-training campaign with a bang. In mid-March, he was hitting .385 in 13 at-bats, but after some roster juggling, Burke was sent back to Charlotte.31 The 32-year-old Burke played 37 games with Charlotte and a career-high 57 games with the White Sox in 2004, batting .333 with 40 hits in 120 at-bats. His versatility enabled Burke to catch 45 games and play right field, first base, third base, and designated hitter two games each.

On January 6, 2005, A.J. Pierzynski was signed as a free agent by the White Sox. He remained with the White Sox for eight seasons. The White Sox also picked up free agent catcher Chris Widger over the offseason, blocking Burke from becoming a White Sox mainstay for the 2005 season. He was called up from Charlotte on May 4 and in the eighth inning of the May 5 game against the Royals, Burke pinch-hit for Pierzynski and grounded out. Burke was designated for assignment on May 8 and returned to Charlotte for the rest of the 2005 season, appearing in 101 games with the Knights before he was granted free agency on October 5. In November he signed with the Texas Rangers.

Burke spent the 2006 season with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma RedHawks, where he hit .278 with 10 home runs and 49 RBIs while dividing his time as a catcher (55 games), third baseman (24 games), and first baseman (18 games). He became a free agent on October 15 and signed with the Seattle Mariners.

After beating out Rene Rivera for the backup catcher position, Burke played in 50 games with the Mariners in 2007, of which 48 were behind the plate. He was primarily the backup to starting catcher Kenji Johjima. Burke hit .301 (34-for-113) with 8 doubles, a homer, and 12 RBIs.

In the last game of the season, the 36-year-old Burke hit his first major-league home run, off A.J. Murray of the Texas Rangers in the second inning. He also executed a sacrifice squeeze bunt in the fourth inning. The Mariners did not make the playoffs, but they did manage to crack open cans of beer and sprayed the beer on Burke in a postgame celebration.32

With Johjima the starting catcher in 2008, Burke shared the backup catcher position with Jeff Clement. Burke hit .261 (24-for-92) and made an appearance on the mound. In the eighth inning on July 6 against the Detroit Tigers, after reaching on an error, starting catcher Johjima was lifted for pinch-runner Jeremy Reed. In the top of the ninth, Burke replaced Reed and stayed in the game to catch. The ninth inning ended with the score tied, 1-1. With the score still 1-1 going into the 15th inning and the Mariners already having used six pitchers, Mariners manager Jim Riggleman called on Burke to switch from catcher to pitcher. It did not go very well for Burke; he gave up a leadoff double to Miguel Cabrera, who advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Marcus Thames’s sacrifice fly. Burke did retire Iván Rodríguez and Edgar Rentería, but the one run given up by Burke was the difference as the Mariners did not score in the bottom half of the 15th inning.

The 37-year-old Burke was granted free agency by the Mariners on December 12, 2008, and signed a minor-league deal with the team on December 23.

Burke started the 2009 season with the Tacoma Rainiers, but on April 15 the Mariners’ Johjima suffered a hamstring strain. Burke was called up to back up catcher Rob Johnson. Manager Don Wakamatsu said of Burke’s call-up, “I’ve known Jamie from three different organizations and I trust his ability to call a game and his relationship with the pitching staff. He’s a good fit to bring up. He was in competition all spring to make the club and it’s nice to bring up somebody who I know personally and trust.”33

Burke hit .284 with Tacoma in 22 games and .122 with Seattle that season before being sold to the Washington Nationals on September 18. Three Nationals catchers were injured and the team needed help. Burke played in six games for the Nationals and was granted free agency on October 29 before signing a minor-league deal with the club three weeks later.

The 38-year-old played most of the 2010 season with the Syracuse Chiefs of the Triple-A International League, batting .234 in 47 games, and was granted free agency on October 5, 2010. He had been called up once, on June 6 when catcher Carlos Maldonado was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured left thumb. As the third-string catcher, Burke got into only one game, with no at-bats. Burke retired as a player after the 2010 season, and after taking a year off from baseball, managed the Cedar Rapids Kernals in 2012 and the Burlington Bees in 2013, both Single-A affiliates of the California Angels.

Burke retired from baseball after the 2013 season to be with his family. Burke is now divorced and is the father of three teenage boys – Parker, Paxton, and Payson. Burke finished his degree at Oregon State in 2005 and received a teaching degree in 2024. He teaches physical education in the Oakland, Oregon, School District, where he also coaches football for the middle school and baseball at the high school.34

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Sources

The author used Retrosheet.org and Baseball-Reference.com for stats and game information, and had a phone interview with Jamie Burke on December 8, 2024.

Notes

1 Brooks Hatch, “A Few Minor Details,” Albany (Oregon) Democrat-Herald, July 23, 2000: 11.

2 Walter Eugene Burke obituary, Roseburg (Oregon) News-Review, August 28, 2022, www.nrtoday.com/obits/walter-eugene-burke/article_c5960402-ef8d-586f-9e7d-5ea09f28729c.html.

3 Telephone interview with Jamie Burke on December 8, 2024.

4 Walter Burke obituary.

5 Wiffle ball is a scaled-back version of baseball. “The Wiffle Ball Inc. – A Brief History,” www.wiffle.com.

6 Jamie Burke interview.

7 Associated Press, “Prep Teams Steam Toward State Grid Championships.” Albany (Oregon) Democrat-Herald, November 28, 1988: 13.

8 “DC Greats,” www.douglascountysportsonline.com/dc-greats/15-dc-greats/dc-greats/700-jamie-burke. (DC is Douglas County.)

9 “DC Greats.”

10 Brooks Hatch, “A Few Minor Details.”

11 “DC Greats”’ Brooks Hatch, “Getting the Skinny on New Posts,” Corvallis (Oregon) Gazette-Times, August 21, 1991: 9.

12 Capi Lynn, “Freshman Has Toehold on Starting Kicking Spot,” Salem (Oregon) Statesman-Journal, August 30, 1990: 3D.

13 Jason Quick, “OSU’s Burke Gets Kicks in Two Sports,” Corvallis Gazette-Times, November 7, 1990: 13.

14 “Beavers Lose Ballgame, Burke,” Corvallis Gazette-Times, April 15, 1992: 13.

15 “Hot Spot: Pac-10 North Baseball,” Salem Statesman-Journal, May 14, 1992: 27.

16 Brooks Hatch, “OSU’s Kickers Ready to Back Each Other Up,” Corvallis Gazette-Times, August 26, 1992: 11.

17 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jamie-burke-1.html.

18 Phil Smith, “Angels Sign Oregon St. Third Baseman,” Idaho Statesman (Boise), June 10, 1993: 3B.

19 Jason Quick, “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” Corvallis Gazette-Times, July 18, 1993: 9.

20 Quick, July 18, 1993: 12.

21 Brooks Hatch, “Burke Return Possible, but Not Likely,” Corvallis Gazette-Times, September 13, 1993: 9.

22 “Storm Watch,” The Californian (Salinas, California), April 13, 1995: 10.

23 “Storm Watch.”

24 Jamie Burke interview

25 “Solid Redbirds Bring Drew to Town,” Edmonton (Alberta) Journal, June 26, 1999: 41.

26 Norm Cowley, “Jamie Burke Getting His Swing Back After Pitch Drilled Him on the Elbow,” Edmonton Journal, June 17, 2000: 42.

27 Brooks Hatch, “Burke: Hopes His Versatility Will Get Him to ‘The Show,’” Albany (Oregon) Democrat Herald, July 23, 2000: 13.

28 “Burke: Hopes His Versatility Will Get Him to ‘The Show.’”

29 Bill Jauss, “Sox Summon Burke as Olivo Insurance,” Chicago Tribune, August 9, 2003: 3-4.

30 Teddy Greenstein, “Quick Hook Keeps Snagging Garland,” Chicago Tribune, August 13, 2003: 4-4.

31 https://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player/jamie-burke-6682.

32 Gregg Bell, “Burke’s First Career HR Leads M’s,” Corvallis Gazette-Times, October 1, 2007: 11.

33 Ryan Divish, “Burke to Replace Injured Johjima,” Tacoma (Washington) News Tribune, April 17, 2009: C3.

34 Jamie Burke interview.

Thanks to Giacomo Girolamo’s lecherous lifestyle, “Casanova” has become shorthand for a lothario prone to incorrigible womanizing. The term, however, literally translates “new house” or “new home” in Italian. This meaning is much more adequate for Raúl Casanova, whose 21-year professional career included stints with nearly 30 teams in the major, minor, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Mexican leagues.

Raúl Casanova was born on August 23, 1972, in Humacao, a town on Puerto Rico’s eastern coast. Casanova and his older brother were raised in Ponce by his maternal grandmother, Bertha Irizarry, after their mother, Silvia Pou, left the island to pursue better economic opportunities in New York City.

Raúl would hurry home after school to watch the New York Mets on television. His New York City-raised grandmother was a devoted fan, thanks to the abundance of telecasts on cable television, and together they cheered the 1980s Mets.

When he was about 8 years old, Casanova attended a clinic by former Ponce Leones player Enrique “Quique” Rivera, who promptly assigned the skinny, tall kid to catching duties.1 Casanova took to the position quickly: “Since then, I only played as a catcher. I liked it because you’re always in the action, receiving the pitches, paying attention to the manager’s signals … and giving signals to my own teammates.”2 Irizarry would attend her grandson’s baseball practice and avidly cheer from the sidelines: “I remember one time I hit a long home run and she almost fainted, she was so happy. They had to bring her water! She was famous in the parks we played, everyone could her rooting, ‘C’mon Rául, hit it in the hole!’”3

Casanova idolized Rubén Sierra, with whom he would later play with the Santurce Cangrejeros (Crabbers) in 1994-1995 and the Detroit Tigers (in 1996). Montréal Expos scout Pepito Centeno took Casanova under his wing and encouraged him to play with a team in the San Juan metropolitan area. Casanova would play Saturday and Sunday and then return to his grandmother’s house on Sunday evenings. He credits the 90-minute car ride with facilitating his career, as “baseball was more competitive in the San Juan area than in the southern portion (of the island). That helped me develop as a player … and to be determined about improving my skills.”4 In 1989, he played for the Río Piedras 134 team, which lost in the title game against Woodland Hills in the American Legion Baseball tournament.5

By his late teens, Casanova had grown to 6-feet and 200 pounds. Besides Centeno and the Expos, Kansas City Royals birddog Johnny Ramos scouted the prospect. Shortly after Casanova’s Ponce High School graduation, Luis Rosa and Rosendo “Junior” Román persuaded the New York Mets to choose the youngster in the eighth round of the 1990 amateur draft.

Casanova was shocked by the news: “I was young, so I didn’t know how (the baseball business) worked. My grandmother was very emotional, since it was her team. … It was a great blessing. I ran out to the streets and told everyone I had been drafted!”6 The $40,000 signing bonus, paltry by today’s standards, greatly helped the family, which lived in Section 8 housing and received additional government assistance.

Within a week of signing, Casanova reported to the instructional league. Away from his family for the first time, he struggled in 23 games with the Gulf Coast League Mets (5-for-65, no extra-base hits). Cuban American John Tamargo and Puerto Rican Román, Casanova’s first two managers in the Mets organization, helped him transition to the new culture.

In 1991 Casanova improved to .243 in 32 games in the GCL but managed only one hit in 18 at-bats for Kingsport in the Appalachian League. He improved to .270/.401/.438 for Kingsport in 1992 and enjoyed a five-game call-up with Class-A Columbia. More importantly, he tried switch-hitting: “I had finished my batting cage routine and started messing around from the left side. Our catching instructor, John Gibbons, saw me and said, ‘Wait a second, let me get the hitting coach.’ A few swings later, they suggested I try it, reasoning I had nothing to lose since it was still the instructional league.”7

On December 7, 1992, the Mets sent Casanova to San Diego as the player to be named later to complete a trade for infielder Tony Fernández.8 Casanova hit .265 in 76 games with the Class-A Waterloo Diamonds in 1993. He played with Santurce in the 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 Puerto Rico Winter League (PRWL) seasons.

Casanova enjoyed his finest professional campaign in 1994 with the Class-A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Minor-league hitting coach Tom Robson, who had worked with Sierra in the Texas Rangers organization, altered Casanova’s batting stance to unlock his power. Because of a nagging injury to his throwing elbow, he was the primary DH in the first half of the season, which allowed him to concentrate on hitting. By July 14, he had broken the team’s single-season home-run record and had driven in 87 runs. However, he also excelled behind the plate and threw out four baserunners in the first three innings of a June 11 game.9

Casanova was chosen as the Padres’ minor-league player of the year, made the California League all-star team, and won the batting title. He did not go two straight games without a hit in last the 56 games of the season to finish at .340 with a team-high 23 home runs and 120 RBIs.10 He was even more dominant in the postseason (.485, 3 home runs, 12 RBIs in eight games) as the Quakes won the California League title. League managers named him the “Most Dangerous Hitter” and the runner-up in the “Hitter with the Best Power,” “Best Batting Prospect,” and “Best Defensive Catcher” awards.11

Teammate Bill Anderson singled out Casanova as the player who awed him the most: “What an unbelievable presence in the locker room and on the field.”12 The Padres added him to the 40-man roster after the season, and manager Tim Flannery was effusive in his praise: “You build ballclubs around guys like him. In my mind, he has made himself the top prospect in the organization.”13 Casanova was grateful for Flannery’s vote of confidence: “He fought for me to be the DH … and he helped me to better understand the game. He was very positive, always keen on the little things. He greatly boosted my confidence and was key in my development.”14 Casanova returned to Puerto Rico and played with Santurce in the 1994-1995 season but saw sporadic playing time as Junior Ortiz’s backup.15

In 1995 Baseball America ranked Casanova the 60th best prospect in the minor leagues (and second-best in the San Diego system).16 He was solid with Double-A Memphis, but not spectacular, slashing .271/.330/.448 in 89 games. Since the Padres had Brad Ausmus, a capable young catcher, as their starter, they felt no need to rush Casanova. He played with the Caguas Criollos under Sandy Alomar Sr., whom he credited as his best PRWL manager: “He gave me the opportunity as a rookie. He always taught and spoke about the positive aspects of the game. I learned a lot from him, and my confidence grew. I only played for a year with him, but afterwards, whenever he’d see me, he would continue to give me advice.”17

On March 22, 1996, San Diego traded Casanova to the Tigers in a six-player transaction. The Padres received Cade Gaspar, Sean Bergman, and Todd Steverson while Detroit also obtained Richie Lewis and Melvin Nieves. Tigers GM Randy Smith, newly hired from San Diego, was well-versed in the Padres farm system. He called the swap a “foundation for the future” despite “a lot of inexperienced players on both ends.”18

Casanova played eight games with Double-A Jacksonville (10-for-32) and was soon promoted to Triple-A Toledo. He was 3-for-4 with a double and a home run in a May 20 exhibition game between Toledo and the Tigers, prompting a call-up to the major leagues. According to Casanova, manager Bill Plummer “called me a few days later and asked me to come to the park very early … so I arrived, and I’m told, ‘You’re going to the big leagues.’ I got goosebumps … started crying, and my mind raced to memories of those who helped me get to this stage, but first and foremost was my grandmother, who raised me. In Detroit, my locker was next to Cecil Fielder’s. … All I did was listen to him, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker.”19 Sadly, Casanova’s grandmother had died and was unable to see their dream fulfilled.

Casanova debuted for the Tigers on May 24, 1996, against the Cleveland Indians as the designated hitter. He fought the customary nerves: “Even though people couldn’t see it, my knees were shaking, but I settled down after that first at-bat. Detroit was predominantly an African American city and I was given a Barry White song (“Casanova”) that stuck with me. The fans liked the song and started singing along when I came to the plate.”20 He struck out on three pitches against Brian Anderson in his first at-bat and was hitless in the next three, but almost got a hit in his last appearance with a line drive that Albert Belle, a notoriously poor fielder, caught before it hit the grass. He was the starting catcher the next day and walked in his last plate appearance.

Casanova started 0-for-10 as Baseball Weekly fretted that he “might represent management’s first premature call-up,” though it noted “[G]ood defensive mechanics but needs work at the plate.”21 He broke through against Kansas City with a single off Tim Belcher on May 27 for his first major-league hit. Two days later, a seventh-inning solo home run off Kevin Appier tied the game before Nieves drove in the winning run in the eighth.

On June 6 Casanova became the 73rd player to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.22 Both his third-inning shot against right-hander Jimmy Haynes and his seventh-inning blast against left-hander Rick Krivda were in vain as the Orioles bested the Tigers, 13-6.23 It was be the only time in his major-league career that Casanova hit two home runs in one game, and the feat may have bought him some additional time on the big-league roster. But a freak injury derailed his rookie season. While swinging a bat in the clubhouse, Casanova fractured a bone in his left wrist and spent two months on the disabled list. In his absence, Smith traded for Ausmus, but Detroit recalled Casanova in September. He ended the season with a .188 batting average in 25 games.

Detroit traded Ausmus to Houston during the winter meetings. While the Tigers envisioned Casanova as their future catcher, they optioned him to Toledo to begin the 1997 season. After 12 games in Triple A, he was called up when Matt Walbeck broke his wrist. Despite trepidation given his struggles the prior year, Bell and Smith “would rather see Casanova get at-bats every day, but they didn’t want to send a message that would affect his confidence.”24 Casanova caught a career-high 92 games (and appeared in nine others). He enjoyed a trio of three-hit games and a nine-game hitting streak in late May to early June but cooled off in July to end the season with .243/.308/.332 averages.

In 1998 a poor start (.143 in April) and injuries limited Casanova to 16 games with the Tigers and 50 with Toledo. Detroit had signed veteran Joe Oliver to “push Casanova a little bit,” but Paul Bako ended up catching most of the team’s games.25

A rib fracture sidelined Casanova in the first half of 1999. He appeared in 44 games with Toledo, a pair with the GCL Tigers, and four with Class-A Advanced Lakeland. He became a free agent on October 15, and two months later signed with the Colorado Rockies.

Casanova hit .331 and won the 1999-2000 PRWL batting title for his hometown Leones.26 At the time, he was the fifth catcher to pace the league in hitting.27 He cherished the opportunity to play at home: “The stadium was five minutes away from my house. The owners (the Muñoz family) treated me very well, with a lot of respect. Those years were spectacular. … I had a lot of fun and developed greatly as a player.”28 Santurce added him to its roster for the Caribbean Series, which the Crabbers dominated (unbeaten in six games) as Casanova hit .313 with 6 RBIs.29

Despite his winter-league success, the Rockies released Casanova at the end of spring training. He signed with Milwaukee and had a strong comeback year in 2000. He played in 86 games and drove in a career-high 36 runs while sharing catching duties with Henry Blanco, a better defender but weaker hitter.

On June 12 Casanova had three hits and three RBIs against the Montréal Expos. He hit his first career grand slam a day later, the only runs Milwaukee scored in a 9-4 defeat. On August 2 he doubled to break a 4-4 tie against the San Francisco Giants in a 6-4 Brewers victory. Manager Davey Lopes lauded his catcher, noting, “He’s been doing an outstanding job ever since we brought him up the big leagues. He’s had several chances before but has failed. … This is a new lease on life for him. … Right now, he’s a guy you like to see at the plate on these situations.”30

In the last game at Milwaukee County Stadium, on September 28, 2000, Casanova had the team’s last two hits and last run, the lone Brewer to cross the plate in an 8-1 loss to San Diego.

In 2001 Casanova slashed .260/.303/.484 in 71 games with a career-high 11 home runs but missed the last two months of the regular season with cartilage damage in his left knee. The Brewers re-signed him for $800,000 during the offseason.

Before the 2002 season, the Brewers traded Blanco to the Atlanta Braves for Bako, but Casanova endured his worst year since 1998. A rare highlight came on April 7, a single off Curt Schilling in the third inning of a scoreless game. Schilling allowed no other safeties, walking two and striking out 17 for his second career one-hitter.

Casanova hit a grand slam on May 12 against the Cubs but suffered a miserable start (16-for-87). After a three-month stint on the disabled list with a torn UCL, Milwaukee released him on September 3. Eight days later, he signed with Baltimore and appeared in two games but struck out in his sole plate appearance. The club released him on October 1.

Casanova spent the next two years in the minors with the Rockies (2003), Orioles (2003), Red Sox (2004), and Royals (2004) organizations. Though he hit .296 in 2003 and .310 in 2004, he was not promoted to the major leagues. In 2004 he led the PRWL in RBIs as the primary DH (sharing catching dues with José “Cheo” Molina) for the title-winning Ponce team, managed by José Cruz Sr.

The White Sox signed Casanova to a minor-league deal on February 17, 2005. He was solid in 70 games with Triple-A Charlotte (.266/.326/.489) but the parent club, which led the AL Central wire-to-wire, was set at catcher with A.J. Pierzynski (18 home runs in 460 at-bats) and capable backup Chris Widger (.241 in 45 games). On the last day of spring training, GM Ken Williams had told Casanova, “Raúl, if you do a good job, I’ll bring you up.”31

The club called up Casanova in September once rosters expanded. He appeared in six games, five as a defensive replacement and one as a pinch-hitter. Behind the plate, he fielded nine chances without an error in 14 innings. Chicago was 5-1 in his appearances and Casanova went 1-for-5 at the plate, his lone hit being a single against the Angels on September 10.

Casanova recalled his White Sox experience fondly: “It was a wonderful learning experience. I had the opportunity to be surrounded by many talented teammates. It was an unforgettable year. Once the game started, we were unbeatable. Ozzie Guillén kept the team relaxed and with a good attitude.”32 The manager “did not pressure us, he gave us good advice. … Whenever he would get upset with us, it was with the goal of improving our play.”33

Casanova enjoyed the camaraderie with Guillén, third-base coach Joey Cora, and pitchers Orlando “El Duque” Hernández, José Contreras, and Freddy García. Though he was not on the postseason roster, he was on the reserve list, capable of being activated in case of injuries to the White Sox catchers, and received a World Series ring.

Granted free agency after the World Series, Casanova signed with the Oakland Athletics on January 5, 2006. He played eight games in the minors (9-for-34). Oakland did not call him up and did not re-sign him at the end of the season. Casanova won the MVP award in 2006-07, this time with Caguas.34

Casanova agreed to terms with Tampa Bay on January 12, 2007. He was solid with Triple-A Durham (.291/.346/.461) and received a midseason promotion to the major leagues when backup receiver Josh Paul sprained his left elbow. Casanova appeared in 21 games in June and July and hit six home runs. He returned to the majors in mid-September but managed only one extra-base hit in 24 at-bats. In 89 plate appearances with Tampa Bay, he hit .253/.315/.519.

Casanova played in the Dominican Republic Winter League during the 2007-08 season. His .355 on-base percentage was solid, but he had only four extra base-hits among his 28 singles for the Leones (Lions) del Escogido.

Casanova signed with the New York Mets organization on December 4, 2007, coming full circle to his first professional franchise. He broke camp with the parent club in 2008 and played in 20 games through early June. In his last major-league game, on June 8 against the San Diego Padres, he was 1-for-3 with a single and a walk. His last home run, off John Smoltz, was memorable: “I went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. … I thought, ‘Hey, today I’ll be the Player of the Game … but then Carlos Delgado hit two home runs!”35

Although Casanova’s.344 OBP was respectable for a catcher, the Mets optioned him to Triple-A New Orleans given his anemic power output (one home run, two doubles in 61 plate appearances). He hit .295 with the Zephyrs in 44 games but did not return to the major leagues, despite lackluster numbers from Brian Schneider, Ramón Castro, and Robinson Cancel with the parent club.

The Mets granted Casanova free agency on September 30, and he ended his major-league career with 387 games played, 255 hits, 98 runs scored, and a .236 batting average. Though he wished his career had been more successful, he nevertheless “gives thank to God. When a player suffers a lot of injuries, he is typically sent down to the minors and eventually released. I had many opportunities as people saw my talent, the sacrifices I made, and how seriously I approached the game.”36

Casanova played in the (summer) Mexican League in 2009 with the Tigres (Tigers) of Quintana Roo. After 64 games (.267/.373/.403) the club released him on June 15. He signed with Reynosa for the stretch run 10 days later and was spectacular in 31 contests for the Broncos (.342/.418/.513). He went 6-for-22 as Reynosa fell in the first round of the playoffs to Saltillo.37

Casanova retired from the PRWL after the 2010-11 season, which he split between Mayaguez and Ponce. To Casanova, the PRWL “was everything. It helped me develop as a player. I worked at all of things I need to improve, especially hitting from the right side and throwing to second base. … When you play against such fine competition, it’s imperative to learn as otherwise you’ll be on the bench.”38

Casanova concluded his playing career with the Patillas Leones of the Puerto Rico semiprofessional league (Liga Béisbol Doble-A de Puerto Rico) in 2010. A year later, he managed the Maunabo Jueyeros (Crabbers) to the championship, and led the Las Piedras Artesanos (Artisans) in 2014 and the Fajardo Cariduros in 2022.

In 2021 Casanova served as an envoy to Ecuador as part of the US State Department’s sports diplomacy program.39 As of 2024, he lived in the San Juan metropolitan area with his second wife, Mariela González, and five sons. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior in 2011 and operates two businesses named El Shaddai (a name for God found in the Book of Genesis): a restaurant and a hitting center that offers batting and catching instruction. The latter, a lifelong ambition, is a source of pride and joy: “I love what I do. I understand the need to teach. … Puerto Rico lags in the production of baseball players. I met with Commissioner (Rob) Manfred (and others) and was asked, ‘How come Puerto Rico is not producing many players?’ My answer was that Puerto Rico has a lot of talent … but the coaching from ages 8-14 is lacking. You can’t expect a young kid who does not get the right training to suddenly become a stud at 15. I’d love to run seminars for coaches.”40

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Acknowledgments

Raúl Casanova for answering the author’s questions via text message.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, thebaseballcube.com, and beisbol101.com.

Notes

1 Rivera played eight seasons in the minor leagues, mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals.

2 “Raúl Casanova, un maestro con el bate que comparte la palabra de Dios en el mundo del béisbol,” Baseball Ahora, YouTube, July 6, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GKCavDjW58.

3 “Raúl Casanova, un maestro con el bate que comparte la palabra de Dios en el mundo del béisbol.”

4 “Raúl Casanova en vivo,” Baseball Fogueo PR, https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=280342146414113.

5 American Legion Baseball National Champions, https://www.legion.org/documents/baseball/national_champions.pdf.

6 “Raúl Casanova en vivo,” Baseball Fogueo PR.

7 “Raúl Casanova, un maestro con el bate que comparte la palabra de Dios en el mundo del béisbol,” Baseball Ahora.

8 Casanova was the player to be named later; Wally Whitehurst and D.J. Dozier had been originally included in the transaction.

9 Back of 1996 Bowman Foil #352 baseball card, https://www.tcdb.com/GalleryP.cfm/pid/20195/Raul-Casanova?ColType=0&sYear=0&sTeam=&sCardNum=&sNote=&sSetName=&sBrand=&PageIndex=4#google_vignette.

10 Bruce Chick (.372) and Jason Thompson (.360) had fewer than 300 plate appearances.

11 “Quakes’ Casanova Wins Honor,” San Bernardino (California) Sun, September 21, 1994: C2.

12 David Blow, “Blow by Blow,” Lulu Publishing Services, 2013: 157.

13 Baseball Digest, March 1995, https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/trades.php?p=casanra01

14 “Raúl Casanova en vivo,” Baseball Fogueo PR.

15 After winning the 1994-1995 PRWL title, Santurce outscored its opponents, 55-15, in the Caribbean Series, winning all its six games.

16 The Baseball Cube, Raúl Casanova page, https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/prospects_team_year/1995~24~BA/.

17 “Raúl Casanova, un maestro con el bate que comparte la palabra de Dios en el mundo del béisbol,” Baseball Ahora.

18 Associated Press, “Tigers Swap with A’s, Padres,” Kokomo (Indiana) Tribune, March 23, 1996: B4.

19 “Mi primera tacita de café (My first cup of coffee),” February 2023, https://open.spotify.com/episode/3QF3vK7IMP9ku0hxjPthKw.

20 “Mi primera tacita de café.”

21 Reid Creager, “Detroit Tigers, A.L. East,” USA Today Baseball Weekly, June 3, 1993: 31.

22 “Home Runs from Both Sides of the Plate in One Game,” Baseball Almanac, https://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats20.shtml.

23 Baltimore Orioles 13, Detroit Tigers 6, June 6, 1996, https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1996/B06060BAL1996.htm.

24 Redi Creager, “Catch-22: Casanova Gets Reluctant Call,” The Sporting News, April 28, 1997: 34.

25 Tom Gage, “Baseball: Tigers,” The Sporting News, January 5, 1998: 68.

26 Jorge Colón-Delgado, “Valores del año 2020-21,” Béisbol101, January 11, 2021, https://beisbol101.com/valores-del-ano-2020-21-johneshwy-fargas-hace-historia/.

27 He was preceded by Josh Gibson (1941-42), Brian Harper (1982-83), Orlando Sánchez (1984-85), and Héctor Villanueva (1990-91). Jonathan Morales (2020-2021) was the sixth (and last through 2023).

28 “Raúl Casanova, un maestro con el bate que comparte la palabra de Dios en el mundo del béisbol,” Baseball Ahora.

29 Tom Van Hyning, “Comparing the February 1995 ‘Dream Team’ to February 2000 Santurce Cangrejeros,” Béisbol 101, March 8, 2019, https://beisbol101.com/comparing-the-february-1995-dream-team-to-february-2000-santurce-cangrejeros/.

30 Associated Press, “When Good Road Tips Go Bad: Giants Lose Finale,” Santa Cruz (California) Sentinel, August 3, 2000: D1.

31 “Raúl Casanova en vivo,” Baseball Fogueo PR.

32 Text message conversation between Raúl Casanova and the author, May 4, 2024.

33 “Raúl Casanova, un maestro con el bate que comparte la palabra de Dios en el mundo del béisbol,” Baseball Ahora.

34 Jorge Colón-Delgado, “David Vidal: Jugador Más Valioso 2018,” Béisbol 101, January 27, 2018, https://beisbol101.com/david-vidal-jugador-mas-valioso-2018/.

35 “Raúl Casanova en vivo.”

36 “Raúl Casanova en vivo.”

37 https://www.milb.com/es/mexican/stats/games/2009/postseason-cumulative?page=2&sortState=asc.

38 “Raúl Casanova en vivo.”

39 “Raúl Casanova,” Sports Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State, https://sportsenvoy.org/cpt_alumni/raul-casanova/

40 “Raúl Casanova en vivo.”

“Pressure-tested.” The label suited José Contreras, the ace of the formidable Cuban national team of the 1990s that dominated international competition. Fidel Castro himself had deemed the pitcher “el titán de bronce” (the bronze titan), a nickname first bestowed upon Cuban Revolutionary hero Antonio Maceo, one of the country’s founding fathers.

How could José Contreras wilt under pressure? “People would tell me, ‘Wow, you pitched in a sold-out Yankee Stadium.’ But I’d already pitched in a full park, the Estadio Latinoamericano. I trained for three months to go to Atlanta and win the Gold Medal in a 10-game competition. If you get off to a bad start, if you lose two games, you’re out of the tournament. … You have to wait four more years … (and) cost you four years of work.”1

José Ariel Contreras Camejo was born on December 6, 1971, in Las Martinas, an agricultural town in the westernmost Cuban province, Pinar del Río. As the youngest child, he helped his parents, Florentino and Modesta, and eight siblings grow tobacco on the family farm, which lacked electricity until his late teens. Contreras, who rode his horse to school, dreamed of becoming a veterinarian until he was discovered by former Cuban national team pitcher Jesús Guerra Hernández in a sandlot game.

Barefoot and shirtless, Contreras played third base and threw a perfect strike to first – from his knees. Impressed, Guerra Hernández said, “Come with me to the Youth Academy, and in two years you’ll be on the Cuban national team.”2 Until then, Contreras preferred volleyball to the Cuban national pastime.

Two years later, the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Contreras debuted in the Cuban Serie Nacional (National Series)1991-1992 season. Under the tutelage of Guerra Hernández (whom Contreras considered a second father) and Juan Carlos Oliva (Tony Oliva’s brother), Contreras blossomed into the top starter of his hometown Vegueros (Tobacco Growers) and a formidable one-two punch with fellow flamethrower Pedro Luis Lazo.

Coach Maximiliano Gutiérrez suggested a new pitch: the forkball. A quick study, Contreras fanned contact hitter Lourdes Gurriel Sr. twice. The stunned batter asked Contreras about the pitch. “Oh, that’s a forkball I’m learning,” said Contreras. “Learning it? That’s your pitch!” replied Gurriel. Contreras, who had “heard the bat blowing in the wind” in the two at-bats, marveled at the praise from one of Cuba’s all-time greats.3

Now blessed with two devastating pitches, Contreras appeared in 232 games from 1991 through 2002 and posted a 117-50 record with a 2.82 ERA in 4,419 innings.4 The team won the National Series Championships in 1996-1997 and 1997-1998.

Contreras represented Gold Medal-winning selección nacional in the 1998 and 2001 World Baseball Cup, the 1996 Olympic Games, the 1995 Intercontinental Cup, the 1998 Central American & Caribbean Games, and the 1999 Pan-American Games. Only twice, in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup and the 2000 Olympics, did the squad finish as runners-up.

In the 1999 Pan-American games, Contreras pitched six innings in a Saturday semifinal game against the Dominican Republic and fanned 13 Americans in eight innings two days later.5 Perhaps his finest amateur hour was in the 2000 Summer Olympics, when he struck out 13 opponents in 12 innings in the first round.6 The Cubans thought Japan was their toughest opponent and opted to start Contreras, who tossed a six-hit, nine-strikeout shutout in the semifinal. But it meant he was not available for the final, won by the Tommy LaSorda-managed Team USA. As Contreras recalled, “We were in shock. … At that time we were beating everybody easily. … We had that streak. We had a very good team. And the US was playing with minor leaguers. The Cuban National Team wasn’t prepared to lose that game.”7

Fans wondered how Contreras would fare against US major-league talent. A relative thaw in US-Cuba relations under President Bill Clinton presented the opportunity to use baseball as a diplomatic tool, and the Baltimore Orioles agreed to take part in a two-game series. In the Havana opener on March 28, 1999, the Orioles chased Cuban starter José Ibar after two innings. Contreras, in relief, dominated the major leaguers, striking out 10 in eight shutout frames. Although Baltimore won, 3-2, in 11 innings, stateside press was awed by his performance.8 Milton H. Jamail noted that it “may have been the most widely seen tryout camp in the history of baseball.”9 A 56-minute rain delay and demonstrations by Cuban exiles (including one who ran onto the field in the fifth inning and tussled with a Cuban-born umpire) marred the second game, held in Baltimore on May 3, 1999. While Contreras struggled (three runs, two earned, in 1 1/3 innings), the Cuban team outslugged the Orioles, 12-6.

Contreras was constantly approached by well-meaning agents as well as charlatans. He was stoic in his determination: “For this sum ($50 million), not any other, would I turn my back on my family, on my people, or on my homeland? I have a lot of respect, confidence, and admiration for Fidel.”10 El Comandante had a soft spot for his bronze titan and gifted him a Peugeot 406, a veritable luxury in 1990s Cuba, when the island’s economy sputtered after the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the disappearance of economic subsidies.

Although officially the Cuban socialist government believes in equality, athletes receive “considerations” for their feats. Contreras, who lived in a “sports hotel” (essentially a dormitory), was promised a home but it was much delayed. Additionally, it was in dire need of repairs, and for two years he waited for the promised assistance. When his car broke down in the summer of 2002, Contreras asked sports Minister Humberto Rodríguez for money to pay for its repairs. Not only was the plea rebuffed but Rodríguez nonchalantly told Contreras to find his own way home. The humiliation was too much to bear for a proud man who had nothing left to prove in amateur baseball.

Contreras resolved to defect but was torn about losing the support of his countrymen: “Cubans love baseball and I would see how not the people but the government would insult those who ‘deserted’ via the state media.”11 Before he departed for Saltillo, Mexico, for the American Series in October, his father told him to stay loyal. He could not tell his family, an unfathomable burden.

On October 1 Contreras tossed a complete-game, six-hit, one-run victory against the Dominican Republic.12 Only he knew it would be the last of his 14 wins for the national team. Contreras and coach Miguel Valdés eluded their chaperones at their hotel and traveled over 1,300 miles to Tijuana, near the US border. They hid for a week amid rumors that Castro was offering a reward for his kidnapping and return to the island.

By then news spread quickly in Cuba, and the government bitterly castigated its one-time star. Contreras spoke with his siblings over the phone but was concerned about the reaction of his wife, Miriam Murillo-Flores, and his father. The elder Contreras assuaged him: “You were my José in Cuba and you will be my José in the United States.”13

Had Contreras stayed in the United States, he would have been subject to a nine-month wait before the amateur draft. By moving to Nicaragua, he was deemed an international free agent. Teams skipped the traditional tryout and jumped into negotiations. Agent Jaime Torres counseled his client to be calm, but the pitcher, who had earned $1 a month in Cuba, could hardly believe his ears. When Torres rebuffed Pat Gillick’s Toronto offer, Contreras screamed. “I jumped from the chair. … I asked ‘Jaime, what did he say?’ … He told me to remain calm, but I answered, ‘How can I be calm? I heard $19 million, and that’s the same in English, Spanish, or Russian!”14

The acrimonious bidding war led Boston Red Sox President Larry Lucchino to comment, “The evil empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America” as the Yankees signed Contrera to a $32 million, four-year contract.15

Introduced to the New York press in early February, Contreras sought to avoid politics and concentrate on baseball: “I could talk about Cuba. I could talk about Cuban baseball, but I am not here as a politician, to talk about politics.”16 During a difficult spring training (10.38 ERA),17 Orlando Hernández counseled him “Don’t read the New York press too much or else it’ll drive you crazy.”18 As if the tabloid frenzy were not enough, his father, Florentino, suffered a stroke in Cuba, and Contreras did not see him again before his death in 2004.19

Contreras debuted in the major leagues on Opening Day, March 31, 2003, against the Toronto Blue Jays. He relieved Roger Clemens and allowed a leadoff double to Eric Hinske to start the seventh inning but struck out Orlando Hudson, Chris Woodward, and Ken Huckaby to escape the jam. In the eighth inning, he left the bases loaded with two outs. Two runs scored, charged to Contreras, but the Yankees won, 8-4.

By mid-April, Contreras’s 10.80 ERA prompted the Yankees to send him to the minor leagues. GM Brian Cashman noted, “We can’t afford for long stretches of time to provide the learning curve at the major-league level. If it’s best for him to go down, so be it.”20 After merely six games (2-0, 41 strikeouts, seven walks in 27 2/3 innings), Contreras rejoined New York but a sore shoulder sidelined him most of the summer. He finished the season with a 7-2 record, one hold, one blown save, and a 3.30 ERA. More importantly, the Yankees won 13 of his 18 appearances.

Contreras did not pitch in the AL Division Series against the Minnesota Twins and struggled against the Red Sox in the Championship Series (four appearances, 5.79 ERA) and the Marlins in the World Series (four games, 5.68 ERA). Pressed into emergency relief in Game Five after starter David Wells suffered back spasms, he allowed four runs in three innings and took the loss.

Contreras was uncomfortable in the bullpen: “All my career, I was a starter. … When I went to the bullpen to relieve, I thought it would be easy, but it wasn’t. I thought I’d throw two innings and just try to get outs. I did that, but it wasn’t that simple. To prepare yourself psychologically, it’s not the same. To prepare yourself physically, it’s not the same.”21

A revamped Yankee starting rotation in 2004 opened a spot. Contreras contributed eight victories in 18 starts, but puzzled pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre with his inconsistency: “From the windup, I’m really happy with him,” Stottlemyre said. “From the stretch, he still rushes a little bit.”22 Contreras acknowledged that he “would go to the mound and (I) would load myself up with too many thoughts. … In the past, I was never like that.”23

Contreras, in fact, battled more than just hitters. It had been more than 18 months since he had last seen Miriam and daughters Naylenis and Naylan. Contreras would “come (home) after a game and often cry. I’d come back to an empty sofa, an empty house.”24 As is customary when athletes desert, the Castro government made life difficult for relatives left behind. Contreras bitterly remembered that “[t]hey were making life very difficult, accusing her or just thinking of leaving. They threatened not to give her an exit visa for five years, and I’m sure they threatened to put her in jail on whatever trumped-up charges they could come up with.”25 Contreras believed Castro himself was behind the decision: “I think he’s disappointed in the decision I made, and he’s taking it out on my family. It bothers me. During eight years, I gave all I had to the team and the country. If (the Cuban government) thought about that, they would think to release my family.”26

In June 2024 Miriam, the girls, and 18 other Cubans escaped on a speedboat that landed on Big Pine Key, about 100 miles southwest of Miami.27 At the time, under the so-called “wet foot, dry foot” policy, Cubans who reached the mainland would be allowed to apply for political asylum, while those intercepted at sea would be returned to the island. The reunited couple welcomed a third child, José Florentino, in 2006.

On June 27, 2004, with his wife and daughters in attendance, Contreras pitched six shutout innings in the Yankees’ 8-1 victory over the New York Mets. Catcher John Flaherty remarked, “It actually seemed like he was having more fun doing his job today. Obviously, his family has a lot to do with that. But there have been more smiles in that corner the last three days than we’ve seen in the last year and a half.”28 Ominously, Torre told reporters, “When things aren’t going well, there’s a tendency to think of all the bad things in your life. That’s a huge thing that hadn’t been settled. Now it has been. That should help. But he still has to go out and pitch.”29

The Yankees traded Contreras to the Chicago White Sox on July 31, 2004, for Esteban Loaíza. Cashman was diplomatic: “José Contreras has a great deal of talent and a ceiling, and you see it and you get excited. But we just felt that, right now, in our situation, Esteban Loaíza would be more reliable for us in accomplishing what we’re trying to accomplish.”30 The New York Post, not known for its tact, proclaimed, “[T]he Yankees got rid of a big headache. … This club has designs too grand to keep playing camp counselor to Contreras. … And he still is battling all kinds of cultural and language differences, even with his wife and children now by his side.”31 Few questioned the decision-maker: “George (Steinbrenner) got tired of Contreras, plain and simple,” wrote one newsman.32

Although heartbroken about the trade, Contreras understood the rationale, saying, “Any team would have traded me for two sacks of oranges because I was not doing well.”33 Contreras was warmly welcomed by his new White Sox teammates, and despite his uneasiness, he shared a tequila shot with manager Ozzie Guillén the night before his first start.34 Guillén told him, “I’m sticking with you because you are going to give me what I need,” boosting his confidence.35

Contreras was 4-1 in August for the White Sox despite allowing 15 earned runs in 38 1/3 innings. He struggled in September (three losses, three no-decisions) before an impressive eight scoreless innings against the Royals in the season finale.

Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso, Chicago’s Cuban ambassador, was a huge supporter. When Contreras first met him, “I started crying. It was history. That smile too. I will never forget that smile. Minnie is our Jackie Robinson. He was one of the first Latinos in the big leagues.”36 While in the United States Miñoso is rightly recognized as a pioneer, Cubans on the island were admonished for mentioning his name: “It was a crime to watch (major-league) baseball. I learned about (Miñoso, Luis Tiant, Atanasio “Tony” Pérez) when I got here in 2002.”37

Though not seen as preseason favorites, the 2005 White Sox won an AL-leading 99 games and 11 more in the postseason. Starters Mark Buehrle (16-8), Freddy García (14-8), Jon Garland (18-10), and Contreras (15-7) reached double-digit victories and Orlando Hernández added nine.

On August 9 Contreras handcuffed the Yankees in seven innings, yielding only three singles and two walks for a 2-1 victory. Derek Jeter noted, “Contreras (has) done it for us before. He pitched well. … He didn’t do it as consistently as he probably would have liked to, but he’s got great stuff and he mixes it up.”38 Contreras began to throw side-arm more often: “I had that angle in Cuba, but I hadn’t thrown with it much here. Being around El Duque (Hernández) so much, I’ve gotten to work at it and gotten results from it.”39

After an August 15 loss against Minnesota to drop his record to 7-7, Contreras won his next eight games and was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for September. To Contreras “[T]he biggest adjustment was the strike zone. It’s larger in amateur (Cuban) baseball. I also had to study the hitters, which I didn’t do in Cuba. There, I knew what I had to throw. … But here (in the majors) there are 30 teams, and sometimes they call up someone from Triple A and you wonder where he came from.”40 His streak couldn’t have come at a better time. Chicago’s 15-game lead over Cleveland in the Central Division had shrunk to a mere game and a half by September 24.

Contreras was superb in the postseason and started each series opener. He allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings against Boston in the Division Series. In the Championship Series against the Angels, he lost the first game, 3-2. After the White Sox hurlers tossed three consecutive complete-game victories, Contreras won the clincher, 6-3, going the distance despite an hourlong rain delay in the fifth inning. After the interruption, Contreras retired the last 12 Angels in a row. He won Game One of the World Series as Chicago swept Houston.

Contreras said of the Windy City: “Chicago is home. … I feel like this is where I belong, and this is my forever home.”41 Among his professional feats, “the best moment was 2005, when we won the World Series. … It’d been 89 years since the city had last won, and we were able to win with a team no one thought was capable.”42

Contreras started strong in 2006. He won his first nine decisions and was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for April. His July 14 loss snapped a streak of 17 consecutive victories that dated back to the prior August. Although he missed two weeks in May with a pinched nerve in his right leg and his ERA increased to 4.27, Contreras won 13 games and was named to the All-Star Team, his sole appearance in the midsummer classic. Pitching coach Don Cooper marveled: “I’ve never seen anyone improve that much. Thank God he did, because we’ve all got rings.”43

Contreras regressed in 2007 (5.57 ERA, 10-17) and 2008 (7-6, 4.54 ERA). He struggled in 2009 (0-5, 8.19 ERA) and was briefly demoted to the minors. Upon his return, he won two straight starts (16 shutout innings) but by the end of August, he fell out of favor with a 5-13 record and a 5.42 ERA.

The White Sox traded Contreras on August 31, 2009, to the Colorado Rockies for minor leaguer Brandon Hynick. For the Rockies, Contreras contributed 17 strong innings (3 runs, 17 strikeouts, 8 walks) in seven games during the stretch run. The surprising Rockies finished 92-70 but lost in the Division Series to the Philadelphia Phillies. Contreras tossed two innings in the postseason (two walks, three strikeouts, one run) but Colorado declined to offer him a contract for 2010.

Philadelphia was impressed by the 37-year old’s performance and signed him in February 2010. As a middle reliever, Contreras was 6-4 in 67 games with a 3.34 ERA and tossed four scoreless innings in the postseason, but the Phillies lost to the World Series champion San Francisco Giants. Contreras returned to Philadelphia in 2011 (3.86 ERA) and 2012 (5.27 ERA) in 34 games and won his last major-league decision on May 16, 2012, against the Chicago Cubs. Pitching against the Miami Marlins, he suffered a torn ulterior cruciate ligament and a torn flexor pronator tendon in his pitching elbow in a game on June 1 that was his last appearance with the Phillies.44 He underwent Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter.

Contreras signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on February 23, 2013. He was released after seven games (five runs in five innings). Though he inked a deal with the Boston Red Sox the next day, he struggled in Triple-A Pawtucket and was released.

In 11 years in the major leagues, Contreras pitched in 299 games (175 starts, 78-67). Although his 4.57 ERA, 4.29 FIP, and 100 ERA+ reflect an average performance, one must consider that he debuted in the major leagues at age 31 after many years of overuse. He was better in the postseason (4-3, 3.49 ERA, 38 strikeouts, 11 walks in 49 innings). Contreras also played in Mexico, Taiwan, and the Dominican Republic.

In 2024 Contreras and his second wife, María Isabel Silva, lived in Atlanta with their teenage son, Joseph, a coveted baseball prospect who played in the 2024 Double Duty Classic, a showcase of the nation’s best inner-city baseball talent.45 (The name honors Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, a Negro League player who would routinely pitch both games of a doubleheader.)

Contreras is also a proud stepfather to Walter Lenys and Kevin, María Isabel’s children from a prior relationship. In 2024 the elder Contreras also played in the Cooperstown East-West Game, a tribute to the pioneers that included 30 former big-leaguers.46

Contreras has served as an assistant to the White Sox general manager and mentors young Cuban talent, such as Yoán Moncada, Luis Robert, Bryan Ramos, and Oscar Colás.47 In his free time, he helps aspiring young hurlers through Contreras 52 Pitching & Consulting. More than a business, he considers it a calling: “Baseball has given me a lot.”48 His desire to “pay it forward” was shaped by his relationship with Miñoso.49

Last revised: March 1, 2025

Acknowledgments

José Contreras for graciously agreeing to a phone interview with the author on October 10, 2024.

Michael Marsh for sharing his research on José Contreras with the author.

Don Zminda, whose contacts with the Chicago White Sox helped the author connect to José Contreras.

Sources

Besides the sources referenced in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Unless otherwise noted, quotations are from the author’s telephone interview with José Contreras on October 10, 2024.

Notes

1 “The Global Game Podcast: Episode 1,” World Baseball and Softball Confederation, April 16, 2021, https://open.spotify.com/show/4yY2L3mJmPzuFT3aGkypFe.

2 “Capítulo 30: José Contreras,” Modo Béisbol, July 31, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PFVn_aOux4

3 Daniel de Malas, “Nunca antes contando: Mano a mano con José Contreras, de Pinar a Chicago,” FepCuba Canal Oficial de YouTube, July 4, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8yjLdw1QNo.

4 “Estadísticas José Contreras,” Béisbol Cubano, accessed October 6, 2024, https://www.beisbolcubano.cu/estadisticas/Jugador?idJugador=3201.

5 Associated Press, “Plus: Pan American Games; Cuba Beats U.S. for Baseball Gold,” New York Times, August 3, 1999, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/03/sports/plus-pan-american-games-cuba-beats-us-for-baseball-gold.html.

6 “Baseball: Official Report of the XXVII Olympiad-Results,” LA84 Foundation, accessed October 6, 2024, https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/50011/rec/6.

7 Adam McCalvy, “Baseball’s ‘Miracle on Grass’: An Oral History,” MLB.com, September 27, 2024, https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/oral-history-team-usa-wins-gold-at-2000-olympics.

8 Richard Justice, “Orioles Leave Cuba With a Win,” Washington Post, March 29, 1999: D1, https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/orioles/daily/march99/29/os29.htm.

9 Milton H. Jamail, Full Count: Inside Cuban Baseball (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 2000), 145.

10 Wright Thompson, “Jose Contreras’ Long Road from Las Martinas, Cuba,” Kansas City Star, March 30, 2003, https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mlb/article73764467.html.

11 Aliet Arzola, “Contra Reloj: José Ariel Contreras, el Titán al descubierto,” OnCuba News, May 10, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9axPOd7U4u8Ierto.

12 Associated Press, “Contreras Confirmed as Defector, Coach Valdés Missing,” ESPN.com, October 4, 2022, https://www.espn.com/oly/news/2002/1004/1441357.html.

13 Thompson, “Jose Contreras’ Long Road from Las Martinas, Cuba.”

14 Alfre Alvarez, “Qué Pasa MLB: José Ariel Contreras: Así fue como me escapé de CUBA para jugar GRANDES LIGAS.” Que Pasa MLB/Amor beisbolero, March 14, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G8UEHLBhkc.

15 Murray Chass, “Baseball: What’s $32 Million More? Yanks Sign Contreras,” New York Times, December 25, 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/25/sports/baseball-what-s-32-million-more-yanks-sign-contreras.html.

16 “‘El Titán’ llega finalmente al estadio de los Yanquis,” Laredo (Texas) Morning Times (LMT Online), February 5, 2003, https://www.lmtonline.com/lmtenespanol/article/El-Tit-n-llega-finalmente-al-estadio-de-los-10367562.php.

17 Charlie Nobles, “Baseball: Like That, Contreras Ends Talk of Slump,” New York Times, March 15, 2003, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/15/sports/baseball-like-that-contreras-ends-talk-of-slump.html.

18 Rafael Hermoso, “Baseball: Hernández Counsels Contreras,” New York Times, March 12, 2003, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/12/sports/baseball-hernandez-counsels-contreras.html.

19 Buster Olney, “Baseball: Yankees React to Contreras’s Slump with Caring,” New York Times, March 10, 2003, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/10/sports/baseball-yankees-react-to-contreras-s-slump-with-caring.html.

20 “Baseball: Contreras May Go to Minors,” New York Times, April 19, 2003, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/19/sports/baseball-contreras-may-go-to-minors.html.

21 Bill Finley, “Baseball: How to Get to Rivera? Go Right with Contreras.” New York Times, October 11, 2003.

22 Tyler Kepner, “Baseball: Contreras Trying to Carry On Without Family,” New York Times, June 20, 2004, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/20/sports/baseball-contreras-trying-to-carry-on-without-family.html.

23 Kepner, “Baseball: Contreras Trying to Carry on Without Family.”

24 Tyler Kepner, “Baseball: A Reunited Contreras Is Ready to Settle Down,” New York Times, June 24, 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/24/sports/baseball-a-reunited-contreras-is-ready-to-settle-down.html.

25 Kepner, “Baseball: A Reunited Contreras Is Ready to Settle Down.”

26 Associated Press, “Contreras’ Family Not Allowed to Leave Cuba,” ESPN.com, February 19, 2004, https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=1739263.

27 Jack Curry, “Baseball: Contreras Eager to Pitch With Family on Hand,” New York Times, June 26, 20024, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/26/sports/baseball-contreras-eager-to-pitch-with-family-on-hand.html.

28 Jack Curry, “Baseball: Contreras’s Big Victory: His Family,” New York Times, June 28, 2004, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/28/sports/baseball-contreras-s-big-victory-his-family.html.

29 Curry, “Baseball: Contreras’s Big Victory: His Family.”

30 Tyler Kepner, “Unable to Acquire a Cy Young Winner, Yanks Settle for All-Star,” New York Times, August 1, 2004, https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/01/sports/baseball-unable-to-acquire-cy-young-winner-yanks-settle-for-all-star.html.

31 Joel Sherman, “Yankees Sending Jose on His Way; Trade Value: Addition by Subtraction,” New York Post, August 1, 2004, https://nypost.com/2004/08/01/yankees-sending-jose-on-his-way-trade-value-addition-by-subtraction/.

32 George A. King III, “Yankees Deal Contreras to White Sox For Righty Loiza,” New York Post, August 1, 2004, https://nypost.com/2004/08/01/deal-contreras-to-white-sox-for-righty-loaiza/.

33 Scott Merkin, “White Sox Legend Returns to Chicago,” White Sox Beat Newsletter, MLB.com, April 20, 2023, https://www.mlb.com/news/white-sox-legend-jose-contreras-returns-to-chicago.

34 Author’s interview with José Contreras, October 10, 2024.

35 Merkin, “White Sox Legend Returns to Chicago.”

36 José de Jesus Ortiz, “José Contreras Honored by Hall’s Invite to East-West Classic,” Our Esquina, February 15, 2024, https://ouresquina.com/2024/jose-contreras-honored-by-halls-invite-to-east-west-classic/.

37 Clemson Smith Muñiz, “José Contreras: A ChiSox Ambassador with Stories to Tell,” La Vida Baseball, March 27, 2018, https://www.lavidabaseball.com/jose-contreras-cuba-journey/.

38 Tyler Kepner, “Yankees Blinded by Flashy Contreras,” New York Times, August 10, 2005, https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/sports/baseball/yankees-blinded-by-flashy-contreras.html.

39 Kepner, “Yankees Blinded by Flashy Contreras.”

40 Daniel de Malas, “Nunca antes contando: Mano a mano con José Contreras, de Pinar a Chicago.”

41 Merkin, “White Sox Legend Returns to Chicago.”

42 Rubén Castro, “José Contreras pensó en el retiro.”

43 Andrew Seligman, “Contreras Finally Displaying All His Talent on the Mound,” Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania), June 25, 2006.

44 Kevin Cooney, “Elbow Tear Leaves Future in Doubt for Contreras,” Phillyburbs, June 3, 2012, https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/sports/columns/2012/06/03/elbow-tear-leaves-future-in/17856474007/.

45 “Hijo del lanzador Cubano José Ariel Contreras firma contrato con importante agente de MLB,” CiberCuba, April 25, 2024, https://www.cibercuba.com/noticias/2024-04-26-u1-e208933-s27066-nid280996-hijo-lanzador-cubano-jose-ariel-contreras-firma.

46 Dan Cichalski, “East West Classic a True Throwback Celebration at Cooperstown,” MLB.com, May 25, 2024, https://www.mlb.com/news/hall-of-fame-2024-east-west-classic-recap.

47 James Fegan, “White Sox Great José Contreras Mentors Cuban Pitching Prospect Norge Vera: ‘This Is Personal to Me,’” New York Times, November 17, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/2960899/2021/11/17/white-sox-great-jose-contreras-mentors-cuban-pitching-prospect-norge-vera-this-is-personal-to-me/.

48 Author’s interview with José Contreras, October 10, 2024.

49 Tyler Kepner, “Baseball Gets Another Chance to Honor a Legend,” New York Times, November 15, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/sports/baseball/minnie-minoso-hall-of-fame.html?searchResultPosition=2.