John Poloni

On December 14, 1977, the Boston Red Sox traded pitcher Fergie Jenkins, who had clashed with manager Don Zimmer, to the Texas Rangers for 6-foot-5, 210-pound left-hander John Poloni and $25,000 cash.1 Poloni had made his major-league debut with the Rangers in September after spending the season at Triple-A Tucson. “It’s not that we wanted to give Fergie away,” said Boston general manager Haywood Sullivan. “Far from it. But we need a left-handed starter and our scouts think [Poloni] has a chance.”2

It didn’t work out that way. Poloni hurt his arm at training camp the following spring and never pitched again in the major leagues. However, he fashioned a long career in professional baseball. Poloni was a minor-league pitching coach for 13 years, tutoring future All-Stars and a Cy Young Award winner, and a scout for two dozen more. Drawing on his experience as a coach, he developed “a reputation in the [scouting] business for finding pitchers where no one else does.”3

John Paul Poloni was born on February 28, 1954, in Dearborn, Michigan, part of the Detroit metropolitan area. He was raised in nearby Allen Park by his adoptive parents, John Peter Poloni, an ironworker, and Margaret Moritz Poloni, a homemaker.4 At Lutheran West High School in Detroit, Poloni compiled a 26-4 record over his last two years, leading the Leopards to the state Class-B championship in 1971. The team lost in the regional playoffs the next season, when Poloni was named to the all-state team. In June 1972 the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him in the third round, but he opted to attend collegiate powerhouse Arizona State University.5

In his freshman year at ASU, Poloni divided his time between the junior-varsity squad and the varsity. He was 4-0 with a 0.40 ERA for the varsity Sun Devils, allowing one earned run in 22⅔ innings while striking out 15.6 Arizona State was ranked first in the nation going into the 1973 College World Series but fell to Southern California in the championship round. In the summer Poloni played ball in Colorado, leading the Grand Junction Eagles with a 7-2 record, including two victories against the Fairbanks Goldpanners, winner of the National Baseball Congress World Series.7 In December he was a member of the United States team that won the 1973 Amateur World Series in Nicaragua.8

Poloni joined Arizona State’s starting rotation in 1974. Though the Sun Devils slumped to 39-24, he went 9-2 with a 2.89 ERA, led the team in strikeouts, and was the team’s only pitcher named to the Western Athletic Conference’s Southern Division all-star team.9 His best game was perhaps a three-hit shutout of Texas-El Paso that earned him player-of-the-week recognition.10 After the season he again played summer ball in Colorado, this time for the Boulder Collegians, runner-up to Fairbanks in the National Baseball Congress World Series.11

In 1975 Poloni had his best season at ASU, 10-1 with a 2.62 ERA,12 as the team again advanced to the College World Series. In an elimination game against Oklahoma, Poloni pitched a “masterful” 11-inning, four-hit shutout a week after the Texas Rangers picked him in the sixth round of the June amateur draft.13 The Sun Devils lost to South Carolina the next day and finished in third place.14 To top off his season, Poloni was named to The Sporting News All-America team selected by major-league scouting directors.15

After Texas scout Harley Anderson signed Poloni to his first professional contract, the 21-year-old pitcher moved cross-country to Sarasota, Florida, to join the Rangers’ rookie club in the Gulf Coast League. He made his debut on June 30 and in four starts went 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA. His last start was a 1-0 win over the Pirates on July 16,16 and three days later he made his first appearance for the Pittsfield (Massachusetts) Rangers in the Double-A Eastern League, working two innings in relief.17 On July 23 Poloni won his first start, going the distance and allowing two runs on four hits at Three Rivers, Quebec.18 He finished with a 2-3 record for a Pittsfield team that was 32-41 in the season’s second half, but his ERA jumped to 6.55 against the stiffer competition.

Poloni had his best season in Organized Baseball in 1976 at San Antonio in the Double-A Texas League. He started slowly for the Brewers, with an 0-2 record in his first three starts. But he then posted nine consecutive wins, breaking the franchise record set by Dennis Eckersley in 1974 and lowering his ERA to 2.11.19 The ninth win, 1-0 over Lafayette, may have been his best outing of the season. Poloni was in trouble only in the first inning when the visiting Drillers got two of their six hits, and he allowed only two baserunners over the last six innings.20

With a 10-3 record and 2.45 ERA at the all-star break, Poloni was named the starting pitcher for the exhibition contest that pitted the Texas Leaguers against the Texas Rangers. “It’s pretty exciting to show them what I can do,” he said when chosen for the role.21 He allowed one hit – a home run by Jeff Burroughs – and struck out two in two innings of work. Texas manager Frank Lucchesi was impressed. “I liked what I saw from John,” said Lucchesi, who said he would give Poloni a long look in spring training. “He knows how to pitch and stay out of trouble.”22

For the rest of the season, the Brewers struggled to avoid finishing last in their division. Poloni, pitching with a lame arm, struggled as well; he went 1-4 in seven starts to end the season with an 11-7 record and a 3.40 earned-run average. “I got a really sore elbow,” Poloni said later, “but the manager had me pitch anyway.”23 Nonetheless, he was one of the two pitchers named to the Texas League all-star team after the season ended.24

Poloni played in the Florida Instructional League in the fall25 and went to spring training with the Rangers in February 1977. He was one of 21 pitchers in the Texas camp at Pompano Beach, all theoretically competing for 10 roster spots.26 Four starters returned from the 1976 club − Gaylord Perry, Bert Blyleven, Nelson Briles and Jim Umbarger − and Doyle Alexander had been signed in the off-season. Three other new acquisitions were slotted for the bullpen: Darold Knowles, Paul Lindblad, and Adrian Devine. With Roger Moret and other veterans also in camp, the odds were long for Poloni and the other minor leaguers.

When he got the chance to pitch, Poloni acquitted himself well. On March 14, for example, he was one of a quintet of Texas pitchers who shut out the Atlanta Braves B team on six hits.27 And in three innings against Atlanta regulars on March 24, he allowed one run on two hits with one strikeout and one walk.28 Not surprisingly, however, the Rangers dispatched Poloni and the other minor-league pitchers to Plant City, site of the club’s minor-league camp, when the spring’s first cuts were made the next day. He was assigned to the Tucson Toros, the Rangers’ affiliate in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.29

Poloni was 8-13 with a 5.15 ERA for the Toros, who finished out of the PCL playoffs with a 65-73 record. He led the club in innings pitched with 187, fifth in the league, and in strikeouts with 101. His earned-run average was second among the Tucson starters to Bob Babcock’s 4.57. No PCL starter who pitched at least 100 innings had an earned run average under 4.00. “It’s a hitter’s league, simple as that,” one sportswriter observed. “Some of these umpires’ strike zones are the size of a cigar box. Pitchers are constantly behind batters and are forced to throw the ball where it can be hit.”30

The Toros starters were frustratingly inconsistent throughout the season, and Poloni was no exception. He got off to a shaky start. In the first inning of his first game, 20-year-old Pedro Guerrero of the visiting Albuquerque Dukes rocked him for a two-run triple, setting the tone in the 11-2 Toros’ loss.31 Over his first five starts, Poloni’s record was 0-3 and his earned-run average a shade over 6.00.32 But he went 3-1 in his next five starts with a 3.82 ERA and two complete games.33

After this stretch, however, Poloni went 0-3 with an ERA above 6.00 – almost a repeat of his first month’s work. He again turned things around and, after a no-decision to end June and another to begin July, had his most effective period of the season, winning four of six starts and pitching well in a Toros win in which he did not figure in the decision. While he was hit hard in the two losses, his ERA was 3.56 overall and 1.78 in the four wins and the no-decision.34

The last of those seven games was perhaps Poloni’s best of the season, a 3-2 win over Albuquerque in which he worked 7⅔ innings and allowed one earned run on four hits. He shut out the Dukes for seven innings, walked none, and struck out eight. The Toros got “splendid pitching from starter John Poloni,” commented a Tucson sportswriter, adding that the left-hander had “pitched more innings than any other hurler on [the Toros’] staff” and “never missed a turn.”35

At the end of August, the Rangers announced that Poloni was being called up when the rosters expanded in September, along with pitchers Tommy Boggs and Bobby Cuellar, first baseman Pat Putnam, and outfielders Lew Beasley and Keith Smith.36 Before departing for Texas, Poloni pitched his last game for the Toros on September 3 at Albuquerque, allowing one earned on five hits in seven innings. However, the Toros were shut out 2-0.37

Poloni made his major-league debut on September 16 at Arlington Stadium, allowing one run (earned) in two innings of relief as the Rangers lost 9-7 to the Minnesota Twins.38 He did not figure in that decision but picked up a win on October 2, the last day of the season, against Oakland. Poloni started the afternoon game at Arlington Stadium and went five innings, allowed four runs, all earned, on six hits, and departed with an 8-4 lead. The Rangers held on to win 8-7, completing what was then the best season in franchise history with a 94-68 record. Predictably, Poloni was pleased with the win. “I wasn’t all that sharp, but I’ll take it,” he said. “It’s hard to be sharp when you’ve worked only two innings in a month.”39

The trade to Boston came 2½ months later. “At the time it happened, I was kind of disappointed because I liked the Rangers and thought they had plans for me,” Poloni said several years later. “I saw the people [the Red Sox] already had in the big leagues and didn’t think there was any place for me.”40 To make matters worse, Poloni developed shoulder trouble during spring training, and Boston optioned him to Triple-A Pawtucket.41 He spent considerable time on the disabled list, finished with a 1-6 record, and was released.42

Poloni was out of baseball the following year but signed a minor-league contract with Toronto in the spring of 1980. He spent the season at Double-A Knoxville, the first Blue Jays’ affiliate at that level.43 The team fared poorly, finishing last in its division both halves of the season with the worst overall record, 57-87, in the Southern League. Toronto President Peter Bavasi visited Knoxville in August and shouldered part of the blame for the poor record: “I believe we underestimated the strength of the Southern League,” he said. “We now know that it takes a blend of youth and some veterans to win here.”44

For his part, Poloni posted a 10-12 record with a 4.24 earned-run average. His 172 innings led the club, as did his nine complete games and 105 strikeouts. His best start of the season came against visiting Charlotte on May 26, a complete game in which he allowed one unearned run, struck out seven, and walked one. Yet Knoxville trailed 1-0 after eight innings before winning in the ninth, with Jesse Barfield and Ike Hampton igniting the rally.45

In 1981-1982, Poloni was again out of baseball, the Toronto organization having released him.46 He was employed by a precious-metals broker in Scottsdale, Arizona, when on February 27, 1982, he married Lynn C. David, a New Jersey native then working for a computer company in Phoenix.47 In college, Lynn had majored in psychology, and that background later helped her husband at what turned out to be pivotal point early in his scouting career.

A year after the wedding, Poloni began working as a pitching coach in the Seattle organization. He spent the 1983 season in Wausau, Wisconsin, in the Class-A Midwest League before moving the following year to Salinas in the Class-A California League. He also pitched in a few games at each stop as the managers sought to rest their tired hurlers.48 At Salinas in 1986, he picked up his last professional win, a complete game against the visiting Modesto A’s on August 18. Relying on a variety of off-speed pitches, he allowed seven hits (five of which didn’t leave the infield), walked two, and struck out six. “Salinas Coach Teaches Modesto a Lesson,” read the headline in the next day’s Modesto newspaper.49

Poloni joined the Toronto organization in 1987, beginning at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in the Class-A South Atlantic League. Myrtle Beach won the pennant, defeating Asheville in the playoffs.50 Doug Linton of Myrtle Beach was named the league’s outstanding pitcher, and Poloni was chosen as the all-star team’s coach alongside manager Keith Bodie of Asheville.51

For the next three seasons Poloni was back at Knoxville before joining the staff at Triple-A Syracuse in 1991. He finished his coaching career in 1995 with Toronto’s Class-A team in Dunedin, Florida, where he tutored future Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter.52 During his tenure with the Blue Jays, Poloni coached other pitchers who went on to the major leagues, including All-Stars Juan Guzmán, Pat Hentgen, Al Leiter, and Woody Williams. He also received a World Series ring after Toronto bested Atlanta in 1992.53

From 1996 through 2019, Poloni was a scout, starting at Oakland. He established his reputation for finding pitchers when he persuaded the Athletics to take Tim Hudson in the sixth round of the 1997 amateur draft. Hudson, a 6-foot, 165-pound right-hander for Auburn University, played center field on Friday and Saturday games when most scouts were watching. But Poloni stuck around on Sundays for Hudson’s turn on the mound.

“He didn’t have the prototypical body type you see in a pitcher,” Poloni said later. “But what he had was moxie, intensity, competitiveness, a big heart and a good work ethic. I mean, he wasn’t afraid of anything.”54 Poloni’s wife, Lynn, accompanied him to Auburn on one trip and, drawing on her psychology background, told her husband that she noticed a swagger and confidence in Hudson, “an aura that set him apart from the rest of the other Auburn players.”55

Hudson also had two outstanding pitches, a “turbo sinker” and a “wicked splitter,”56 as well as an effective slider. “His stuff was so nasty,” Poloni said.57 On the scout’s recommendation, Oakland’s national cross-checker, Ron Hopkins, visited Auburn to see for himself. “There was nobody on [Hudson], other than us,” Hopkins recalled. “I knew John’s background [as a coach], that he’d probably seen 5,000 pitchers, and he’s saying this guy’s got the best sinker he’d ever seen.”58 Back in Oakland, Poloni pushed hard for Hudson at the draft meeting. “He was adamant about it,” recalled Grady Fuson, then the club’s scouting director. “John saw the athlete in him, and I give him a lot of credit not just for his evaluation but for his conviction.”59 The A’s drafted Hudson in the sixth round, the 185th overall pick. He won 222 games in the major leagues.

With Oakland, Hudson teamed with Mark Mulder and Barry Zito in a dominant rotation, not that you would know much about them from reading Moneyball or watching the film based on the book. “Moneyball tells a fascinating story, but it is also misleading,” wrote the baseball economist Andrew Zimbalist. “Clearly, the main explanation for the team’s recent success [1999-2003] lies in its superlative starting pitching. How these remarkably proficient hurlers were identified, obtained, and developed … remains largely untreated. Tim Hudson, the dominant right-handed starter, was identified by Oakland A’s scout John Poloni, denigrated by author Michael Lewis in the book as the ‘fat scout.’”60

Poloni left Oakland after the 2002 season, when he had scouted Florida for the club, to join the Texas Rangers. He was a cross-checker for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2004-2005, with an emphasis on pitching, and East Coast supervisor with the New York Mets in 2006-2007. Poloni returned to the Rangers the next two years and from 2010 to 2019 was with the Cincinnati Reds as scouting supervisor for Georgia and northwest Florida.61 In addition to Hudson, Poloni signed other players who advanced to the major leagues, including pitchers Chad Harville, Robbie Ross, and Mike Wood, as well as catcher Tyler Stephenson and outfielder Taylor Trammell.62 But as Poloni recognized, “there are no guarantees” in scouting, and every scout’s résumé is full of draft choices that did not make the grade.63 “A lot of times, it’s pure luck,” he said.64

As for the “fat scout” label, Poloni looked back on Moneyball with a sense of humor. “I’ve always been a little on the chunky side, [and] I’m 6-5,” he told a reporter with a chuckle in 2013. “Other people in the room [at Oakland] had the same weight as mine but were half a foot shorter. I guess you’ve got to be known for something.”65 And when he opened a Twitter account the following year, he chose @fatscout as his handle.

Sources

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

Photo credit: John Poloni, courtesy of Arizona State University Sun Devil Athletics.

Notes

1 “Sox Trade Jenkins to Rangers for Lefty,” Boston Globe, December 15, 1977: 39; Randy Galloway, “Fergie Due Relief as Ranger Again,” Dallas Morning News, December 15, 1977: 6B. Ironically, the Rangers hired Zimmer as manager in November 1980, thereby reuniting him with Jenkins for the 1981 season.

2 Larry Whiteside, “Sullivan Gets High Marks as Bosox’ Chief Exec,” The Sporting News, January 7, 1978: 45.

3 Gerry Fraley, “Rangers’ Key Pickup Got His Start in 1977,” Dallas Morning News, March 17, 2003: 1B.

4 Obituary, John P. Poloni, St. Petersburg Times, January 26, 2001: 8B; Obituary, Margaret M. Poloni, St. Petersburg Times, October 19, 2005: 7B; Polk’s 1956 Lincoln Park, Allen Park, and Melvindale Directory (Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co., 1957), 337; Polk’s 1960 Lincoln Park, Allen Park, and Melvindale Directory (Detroit: R.L. Polk & Co., 1960), 333; John Poloni player questionnaires, 1975 and 1984.

5 Hal Schram, “Three Titles for City,” Detroit Free Press, June 20, 1971: 1C; Hal Schram, “It’s Detroit Teams, 3-1, in ‘A’ Regionals,” Detroit Free Press, June 11, 1972: 5D; “Two Strong Pitchers Head First UPI Baseball Team,” Ludington (Michigan) Daily News, June 29, 1972: 7; “Pirates Draft Cal Shortstop, Two Locals,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 7, 1972: 23; “Devils Sign Talented Trio,” Arizona Republic (Phoenix), June 27, 1972: 59.

6 “Arizona State University 52 Game Baseball Statistics,” Arizona Republic, May 3, 1973: 93. His best game for the varsity may have been his first start, a complete game against Michigan in which he struck out seven and did not allow an earned run. “Devils Rally To Win,” Arizona Republic, March 8, 1973: 82.

7 “Eagles Edge Fairbanks 3-2,” Grand Junction (Colorado) Daily Sentinel, June 26, 1973: 2A; “Eagles Trip Fairbanks in Ninth,” Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, August 11, 1973: 8; Grand Junction Eagles 1974 Yearbook: 8, 10.

8 “Poloni Picked for U.S. Nine,” Arizona Republic, November 8, 1973: E3; “U.S. Nine Wins Final in Nicaragua,” New York Times, December 7, 1973: 53.

9 “Sun Devil Statistics,” Arizona Republic,” May 23, 1974: E6; “UA Places 7 on WAC All-Star,” Arizona Republic, May 23, 1974: E3.

10 Jay Coleman, “ASU Sweeps Pair,” Arizona Republic, April 28, 1974: D1; “Ute, Sun Devil Win WAC Baseball Honor,” Tucson Daily Citizen, April 30, 1974: 33.

11 Gary Scharrer, “Eagles, Top-Rated Boulder Ready for Battle,” Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, July 18, 1974: 1A; Russ Corbitt, “‘Panners End Long Day as Champs,” Wichita (Kansas) Eagle, August 23, 1974: 1C.

12 “Sun Devil Statistics,” Arizona Republic, June 26, 1975: D-5.

13 Bob Jacobsen, “Devils Win in 11th, 1-0, as Poloni Stops Sooners,” Arizona Republic, June 13, 1975: D1.

14 Bob Jacobsen, “Sun Devils Derailed, 4-1, Wind Up Third in Series,” Arizona Republic, June 14, 1975: E1.

15 “Campus Cream,” The Sporting News, July 12, 1975: 20. Poloni was named to the second team.

16 “Rain Washes Out 2 GCL Contests,” Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune, July 17, 1975: 2D.

17 “Rangers Meet West Haven After Splitting Four Games,” Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts), July 21, 1975: 26.

18 “Rangers Avenge Three Rivers Sweep,” Berkshire Eagle, July 24, 1975: 22. The game, the second of a doubleheader, was a seven-inning affair.

19 Gary Gossett, “Poloni Captures Ninth Straight,” San Antonio Light, July 17, 1976: 1B; Jeff Grossman, “Poloni Wins Record Ninth Straight, 1-0,” San Antonio Express-News, July 17, 1976: 1C.

20 Gossett, “Poloni Captures Ninth Straight, 1-0.”

21 Kevin O’Keefe, “Poloni Will Start for TL All-Stars,” San Antonio Express-News, August 1, 1976: 4S.

22 Galen Wellnicki, “Rangers Demolish TL All-Stars, 18-4,” San Antonio Light, August 3, 1974: 1D.

23 Steve Weston, “Poloni’s Planning a Move,” Tucson Citizen, April 9, 1977: 10A.

24 “Poloni Makes All-Star Team,” San Antonio Express, September 22, 1976: 2D.

25 “Brewer Notes,” San Antonio Express, October 19, 1976: 2C.

26 Jim Reeves, “Ranger Problem: Too Many Hurlers,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 28, 1977: 1D.

27 “Rangers Blank Braves’ B Team,” Atlanta Constitution, March 15, 1977: 5D.

28 Wayne Minshew, “Messersmith Sharp in Victory,” Atlanta Constitution, March 25, 1977: 2D.

29 “Trade Winds Blow in Ranger Camp,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 26, 1977: 2D; “Toros Get Nine Players from Rangers,” Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), March 25, 1977: 6F. Poloni pitched once more for the Rangers in the spring, brought in with David Clyde from the Tucson camp at Plant City for an exhibition game against the University of Texas Longhorns in Austin on April 5. Kirk Bohls, “Where Were the Rangers? ’Horns Lose to Scrubs, 9-4,” Austin American-Statesman, April 6, 1977: D1. Poloni pitched 2 innings and gave up one run, earned, on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 2.

30 Steve Weston (untitled column), Tucson Citizen, June 15, 1977: 1D.

31 Dave Adam, “Albuquerque Batters Again Tee Off on Toro Pitching,” Arizona Daily Star, April 16, 1977: 1F.

32 Steve Weston, “‘New’ Toros Getting Old Fast,” Tucson Citizen, April 16, 1977: 10A; “Toros’ Hurlers Shaky,” Tucson Citizen, April 21, 1977: 5D; “Toros’ Pen Minus Bull,” Tucson Daily Citizen, April 26, 1977: 3D; Dave Adam, “Phoenix Continues Mastery of Toros,” Arizona Daily Star, May 2, 1977: E1; Steve Weston, “Lew Beasley’ Trio of Threes Pushes Toros Past Salt Lake,” Tucson Citizen, May 5, 1977: 2D.

33 “Toros Enjoy a Win Streak,” Tucson Citizen, May 10, 1977: 1D; Steve Weston, “Bacsik Getting in on the Fun,” Tucson Citizen, May 16, 1977: 1D; Steve Weston, “Toros Beaten by Own Tactics,” Tucson Citizen, May 20, 1977: 1D; “Toros Win in a Walk,” Tucson Citizen, May 25, 1977: 1E; “Toros’ Hitters Silent,” Tucson Citizen, May 30, 1977: 3D.

34 “Twins Bring Out Best in Toros,” Tucson Citizen, July 7, 1977: 1D; “Putnam’s Hitting Helps Toros Snap Loss String,” Tucson Citizen, July 12, 1977: 1D; “Toros Get 15 Hits in Rout of Spokane,” Arizona Daily Star, July 12, 1977: C1; Steve Weston, “Bevacqua Tough on Tacoma,” Tucson Citizen, July 18, 1977: 1D; Steve Weston, “Inconsistent Pitching Keeps Toros at .500,” Tucson Citizen, July 23, 1977: 7A; “Hawaii Nicer on This Trip,” Tucson Citizen, July 29, 1977: 1D; Steve Weston, “Toros Still in Position to Win East,” Tucson Citizen, August 5, 1977: 1D; Steve Weston, “Toros Looking Better for Run at Phoenix,” Tucson Citizen, August 8, 1977: 1D.

35 Steve Weston, “Toros Looking Better for Run at Phoenix.”

36 “Ranger Notes,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 1, 1977: 7D. 

37 “Toros Close Out PCL Slate Today,” Tucson Citizen, September 5, 1977: 2D.

38 Jim Reeves, “Twins Pin 9-7 Defeat on Rangers,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, September 17, 1977: 1D.

39 Jim Reeves, “Rangers Close with Win,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 3, 1977: 1D.

40 Matt Michael, “Sharing a Claim to Fame,” Syracuse Post-Standard, July 20, 1991: F1.

41 “Bosox Trim Roster, Poloni, Bowen Cut,” Hartford Courant, March 25, 1978: 28; Ken Leiker, “A Look at Baseball,” Arizona Republic, May 4, 1980: G3; Matt Michael, “Sharing a Claim to Fame,” Syracuse Post-Standard, July 20, 1991: F1.

42 On July 19, after being on the disabled list for three weeks, Poloni appeared in relief against Charleston and recorded a save. Five days later, the Red Sox reassigned him to Double-A Bristol, where he spent the rest of the season on the disabled list. The Red Sox dropped him from their 40-man roster in November and released him in April 1979. Associated Press, “IL Roundup,” Lancaster (Ohio) Eagle-Gazette, July 20, 1978: 14; Peter Gammons, “Who Pitches? Answer Depends on Campbell,” Boston Globe, November 26, 1978: 94; John Poloni player contract card, The Sporting News.

43 The previous year, Toronto, which began play in 1977, had a rookie-league team, three Class-A teams, and a Triple-A club at Syracuse.

44 “Southern League,” The Sporting News, August 30, 1980: 44.

45 “Knoxville’s Rally Costs O’s 2-1 Loss,” Charlotte (North Carolina) Observer, May 27, 1980: 5B.

46 John Poloni player contract card, The Sporting News.

47 “Weddings, Poloni-David,” Central New Jersey Home News (New Brunswick, New Jersey), February 28, 1982: C18.

48 His record: 0-0 in five games with a 0.00 ERA at Wausau in 1983; 0-1 in five games with a 1.93 ERA at Salinas in 1985; and 1-1 in three games with a 1.59 ERA at Salinas in 1986.

49 Modesto Bee, August 19, 1986: D1.

50 “Title Escapes Tourists, 3-2,” Asheville (North Carolina) Citizen, September 8, 1987: 1C.

51 “Whited Leads SAL Stars,” Greenville (South Carolina) News, August 28, 1987: 2C.

52 Chris Marti, “Former Top Draft Pick Carpenter Honing Skills in Dunedin,” Tampa Tribune, May 31, 1995: 5-Polk. The article quoted Poloni’s assessment of Carpenter: “He’s been pitching up to the potential we projected for him. With a kid his age you have to take things slow. But he’s learning quickly.” Carpenter, a three-time All-Star, won the Cy Young Award with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005.

53 The Jays ordered 235 of the $8,000 rings, and general manager Pat Gillick traveled the country to hand out many of them. Before a night game at Syracuse in May 1993, he presented rings to Chiefs manager Nick Leyva, coaches Poloni and Rocket Wheeler, and the star-crossed Bill Buckner, then a hitting instructor in the Toronto farm system. Sean Kirst, “World Series Finally Rings True for Buckner,” Syracuse Post-Standard, May 13, 1993: C1.

54 John Shea, “As Hudson Nears 200 Wins, Credit A’s Scout,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 21, 2013: B6.

55 Brian Murphy, “Hudson Stands Tall on the Mound,” San Francisco Examiner, September 10, 1999: D1.

56 Jonah Keri, “Baseball’s Big Three: A Look Back at Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, and Barry Zito in Oakland,” Grantland, September 23, 2015, https://grantland.com/the-triangle/mlb-oakland-as-big-three-tim-hudson-barry-zito-mark-mulder-billy-beane-moneyball/.

57 Murphy, “Hudson Stands Tall on the Mound.”

58 Shea, “As Hudson Nears 200 Wins, Credit A’s Scout.”

59 Daniel Brown, “Throwback Weekend – The Big Three Reunites at Bay Bridge Series, With Anticipated Hudson-Zito Matchup Saturday,” San Jose Mercury News, September 25, 2015: 1C.

60 Andrew Zimbalist, May the Best Team Win: Baseball Economics and Public Policy (Washington: Brookings Institution Press, 2004), 168. Zimbalist is not alone in these criticisms; e.g., Sheldon and Alan Hirsch, The Beauty of Short Hops: How Chance and Circumstance Confound the Moneyball Approach to Baseball (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2011), 17-18 (“[The book] distorts the reason for Oakland’s success. The team thrived primarily because of superb pitching. … At the heart of the pitching staff were three dominant starters: Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito.”); Mike Berardino, “Book on Beane Misses the Mark,” Orlando Sentinel, June 8, 2003: C12 (“There’s also an undercurrent of meanness that surfaces at several points in the book. The repeated references to the ‘Fat Scout’ are particularly distasteful, especially when everybody in the game knows it was that very scout, John Poloni, who delivered a skinny Auburn right-hander named Tim Hudson to the A’s out of the sixth round in 1997”).

61 2002 Oakland Athletics Information Guide, 354; 2005 Milwaukee Brewers Media Guide, 219; 2007 New York Mets Media Guide, 298; 2008 Texas Rangers Media Guide, 297; 2010 Cincinnati Reds Media Guide, 172; 2019 Cincinnati Reds Media Guide, 220; Fraley, “Rangers’ Key Pickup Got His Start in 1977.”

62 Poloni is listed as the scout for each of these players at The Baseball Cube: Harville, https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/1097/draft/; Ross, https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/142989/draft/; Wood, https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/7496/draft/; Stephenson, https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/197346/draft/; Trammell, https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/203939/draft/.

63 Fraley, “Rangers Key Pickup Got His Start in 1977.”

64 Shea, “As Hudson Nears 200 Wins, Credit A’s Scout.”

65 Shea, “As Hudson Nears 200 Wins, Credit A’s Scout.”