Josh Kinney and Some Other Baseball Stories.

 I don't think it's in service anymore, but any one or two day trip to see my parents in Eldred often resulted in a lunch at the ABC- the best bread around. My grandfather had a dairy farm just up the road and Cases's Store was across from the ABC. Very few people in Coudersport (where Josh was born), Roulette (where he played Little League), Oswayo Valley (his first high school baseball) and Port Allegany, where he graduated from high school and played high school baseball don't know his major league story. He was undrafted from Quincy University (Il.), signing first with an independent team, then the Cardinals and played a pivotal role as a reliever for the 1986 World Series Champion.

Most people though, don't know my Josh Kinney tale.

  Kinney and his QU teammate, Josh Rabe, both played major league baseball. Rabe signed and played in the majors with the Twins. He was drafted in the 11th round of 2000.

Several days prior to the 2001 draft. I drove to Quincy to have Josh Kinney throw a bullpen workout for me. An all-day rain followed me the entire trip and Coach Pat Atwell, Josh, a catcher and I went to the north end of campus to an old gymnasium where the baseball and softball teams held their winter workouts. It had seen its better days. Dark, dingy and dirty were the most appealing features. I stood behind a screen set up behind the catcher and watched Josh throw 30-35 pitches. He threw mostly 88-89 with a below average breaking ball (that one got better). His command was solid and my evaluation was that I thought he could pitch in the low levels of pro ball.

In the meantime, Josh had signed with the River City Rascals of the Frontier League and had several good outings. When Josh's name came up at our scouting meeting, our director said, "I think we'll just let him keep playing for the River City Rascals."- meaning we had no interest.

Lisa, Melissa and Pat Atwell.

 Josh, actually did not have any plans on furthering his career past his days as a star pitcher at Quincy. His car was packed and ready to head eastward when Pat encouraged him to pitch some independent ball, something he would remember in future years.

During his time with River City, the Cardinals were having a difficult time filling all their minor league clubs with enough pitchers as several recent draft picks had not signed yet. They needed some help at a couple of their class A affiliates. 

Scott Melvin, an ex-player and manager in the Cardinals' system, lived in Quincy, had seen Josh pitch several times and was certain Kinney could certainly fill a role at the lower levels. Scott took Josh out to Kelly's Restaurant, Josh had a prime rib sandwich and signed a Cardinals' contract.

I can't speak for Scott, but I never dreamed that Kinney would get out of Single A ball, but.......Midway thru the summer, Josh was now pitching in the Midwest League for the Peoria Chiefs Il.) I saw five games in a row, saw their entire staff of 11-12 pitchers and thought Josh fell at least in the middle of that pack. That didn't mean he was on his way to Saint Louis, but he was more than holding his own in "A" ball.

I know Josh has received plenty of recognition for his accomplishment, but I'm not certain everyone completely understands what a ML rarity this really is. I'm quite sure in my 25 years of scouting I've never seen or been aware of any circumstance that compares to what Josh Kinney did. 

I had an opportunity to see Josh at least once a year, during his early minor league career and all the way to major league spring training.  Sometimes, you're taught as a scout to keep your emotions in check- don't let the player, coach, parents, etc. know everything you may be thinking. You HAD to root for this kid, how far he had come, but more importantly, how he conducted himself. He never forgot where he was from and what was really integral in his life. 

It's a story that should be told to every young athlete, no matter what the sport. This guy, who gave up a home run on the first pitch he ever threw in a ML game, never hung his head. He did something that was nearly impossible and is one of the greatest inspirational anecdotes in baseball history. That is not an overstatement.

Josh Rabe, ex big-leaguer, and now the head coach of his alma-mater, Quincy University, and his wife Debbie.

My coaching days at Quincy University, 1989-91 

Some more information on scouting and draft picks. I signed eight draft picks during my 14 years as a free agent scout (evaluating primarily high school, community colleges and colleges/universities) who eventually made it to the big leagues. My last 11 years were as a professional scout, watching only minor and major leagues, all-star and playoff games.

The eight ML players were: Jason Hart, Missouri State, Shane Komine, University of Nebraska, Neal Cotts, Illinois State, Jeff Gray of Missouri State, Dan Johnson of Nebraska, Tim Hamulack of Montgomery C.C(Maryland), Jason Green of Port Hope, Ontario and Chipola Junior College and lefthander, John Rhinenecker from Missouri State.

Hart and Johnson were first basemen and the others were pitchers.

Jason Hart, a fifth round draft pick in 1998, made his debut in 1998 with the Rangers.

Neil Cotts was a second round pick by the A's in 2001, made his debut with the White Sox and became the left-handed setup man for closer, Bobby Jenks in the 2005 White Sox World Series win

Jason Green was a right-handed pitcher from Port Hope, Ontario who attended Chipola Junior College (Fl) after the draft. The Astros maintained his rights until the next draft and Green signed after the Chipola season was over and the next draft had not begun. He made his debut with the Astros on July 23, 2000.

Jason also represented Canada in the Pan-American Games.

Shane Komine may have been one of the best college pitchers I have ever seen. He was 5'9"and probably a 165 lbs with a 90 mph fastball and a full assortment of other pitches plus a tremendous competitor. He was drafted in the ninth round of 2002 and made it briefly to the big leagues before a series of injuries finally took its toll- just a tremendous college pitcher.

Tim Hamulack was a 6'4, 220 pound pitcher. He was drafted by the Astros in 1995 and pitched in the Houston system from '96- 2003. He made his big league debut with the Mets on September 2, 2005. He made his final MLB appearance on September 16, 2006 with the L.A. Dodgers.

Mark Corey's path to the big leagues may not have been quite as unusual as Josh Kinney's, but almost every player's journey is not without detours and even with the determination and work ethic of both Josh and Mark, no one does it alone.

I was in my first year of scouting (1992), sitting in my upstairs apartment in Carlisle, Pa. on a miserable rainy day trying to figure out some route to take to try and escape the weather conditions. In those years, The Weather Channel was my favorite television show.

Someone had told me a few weeks earlier, it might have been someone in Eldred or maybe I saw it in a newspaper about this kid named Corey from Austin.

I wasn't responsible for western Pennsylvania coverage, but since I was familiar with the area I took the ball and ran with it a little.

The name Corey was not new to me although I wasn't absolutely sure of the connection. My brother had played basketball for Otto-Eldred HS in '64-65 and I remembered Ed Corey was a key component of the Coudersport team that went undefeated until the state finals. I actually remembered seeing Coudersport with Dan Wetzel, Scott Partridge and Corey play and also recalled Butch Stilson of Smethport. I was eight or nine years old, but the memories were locked in.

1992 was pre-cell phone days so I remember going through the operator (Jim Croce song) and finding an Ed Corey in Austin. Later that day, I spoke to Ed and expressed my interest in driving out and watching Mark play or workout. Austin did not have a high school or American Legion team. Mark played for the Coudersport Legion.

I had never seen Mark, but there were some good signs. He was a multiple sport athlete, a good student, an athletic background, no major injuries-just lots of positives you could check off a list on the plus side.

Ed was very cordial and appreciative of the call, but he and Mark had decided that Mark would attend Edinboro University the next fall and they were very committed to that choice. I've never tried to change anyone's mind when it came to a college selection, heck I was a college coach at one time, and for the majority of young players it is a good decision. 

Kinney, Brian Stavisky, Ben Copeland and other students in the Big 30 chose that route and they all had stellar professional experiences.

I never saw Mark pitch in college. He was selected in the June free agent draft after his junior year and made his professional debut with the Mets in 2001. I did get an opportunity to see the big right-hander throw in AAA and most people will remember him as a late inning reliever for the Pirates.

A few years ago, I spent a lot of time talking to and emailing Ed and Mark for the biography I wrote about Mark. It was time very well spent for me because we had so much common with the towns, communities and people we knew.

It was a pleasure for me to talk to the entire Corey family (it made me a little homesick also), but like Kinney, Mark showed that it could be done. They never allowed those moments (and there are a lot of them) of disappointment and doubt stop them- they fought through them and with the help of some others became major league baseball players. 

Josh, Mark and others-they all have inspirational stories that should always be told even as the years speed by. 

The following photos will be a hodge-podge of players with some explanations and descriptions, All shapes and sizes, home and away, national or local,

This is kind of a scary one right off the bat. Our meetings in Oakland broke early one afternoon so several of us took the tourist boat out to Alcatraz. It was at least 15 degrees colder on the water than the shoreline and even colder on the island. We received the full tour from the cells, to solitary to the exercise yard which was just half of a basketball court of concrete-no baskets and at least another ten degrees colder with the constant wind. The draft meetings didn't seem so bad after that trip.

I first saw "The Bull" play for the AA Elmira Pioneers and, of course, later with the Phillies. Ironically, my first year of scouting in 1992, I scouted his son, Ryan, who looked very similar to Greg (size and facially) Ryan was a catcher and drafted by the Dodgers in the first round, but never made it to the ML. He played eight seasons of minor league ball.

Elmira was a AA affiliate of the Orioles in '68. If I recall correctly, Tony Conigliaro's brother, Billy played in this game and Whitey Ford's son, Eddie, was the shortstop. Tony Conigliaro was a young home run star or the Red Sox before being struck by a fastball in the eye by Jack Hamilton.

I was coaching with the Astros in 1996 when Julio was our shortstop in Quad Cities (Ia.). He had a lot of pop in his bat for a thin frame guy. There was some talk about moving him to the outfield from shortstop, but he stayed in the middle of the infield and had a fine ML career. 

Okay, Why did I put up a photo of Steve Swisher? Steve, a former big leaguer, was the father of Nick Swisher, the A's outfielder who was an important cog of the A's 2002 "Moneyball" Draft. A draft with such notoriety that it later became a motion picture with Brad Pitt playing the Oakland general manager, Billy Beane. Nick Swisher played for several clubs, including the Yankees and had a fine career.

My nephews, Shane and Brett, were walking outside of Cleveland Stadium before a game and accidentally ran in to Jim "Mudcat" Grant, who was on his way to an autograph session. He was kind enough to snap a photo with us. Probably, the mid-80's.

No, this is not Dave Parker visiting the ABC-just a photo error, but there is a short Parker story.

I pulled in to the back parking lot at the Tampa field very early and as I opened my trunk, a ball landed right in front of my car and rolled behind it. I'm always careful on parking distance from stadiums and I wondered how that ball had found my car, sitting 75-100 feet behind the outfield wall. I grabbed my bag, jogged to the front just as Dave Parker stepped out of the cage.

This was part of our 40 day summer trip with the collegiate baseball team. I am in an intense battle of Connect 4. I'm not exactly sure where this photo is taken , but I am exactly sure I lost convincingly. I hated that game.

One of my favorite baseball cards, a '59 Hank Aaron.

What I remember most about this game besides Aaron's record-breaking home run was that my dad couldn't watch it because he was out plowing snow in Pa., probably Barnum Hill among other roads. Henry's homer off Al Downing was caught in the bullpen by relief pitcher, Tom House.

The three M's- Maris, Mays and Mantle

Stan "The Man" Musial

Our instructional facility in the Quad Cities- the Sandlot Baseball Center, opened in 1998. We owned and operated it for six years until my scouting responsibilities grew too large. We sold it to one of my staff, who later sold it to one of his. The Sandlot name stood for almost 15 years here in the QC.

Cory Harris was a graduate of Davenport Assumption High School and later a professional player in the Mets' farm system. He played for the Greek Olympic Baseball Team in 2004. He was a long-time instructor at Sandlot and now operates his own facility.

The Eldred Library has several of my scrapbooks, some memorabilia and I think. all of my published books-located right on Main Street

I used to collect all the ticket stubs from games I saw as a youngster and carried on the tradition when I began scouting. Eventually, I ran out of shoe boxes. These are Pirates' home games of '72 and '73.

Mario Mendoza- where the Mendoza Line came from, anyone hitting under .200

Bob Robertson was a first baseman and a power guy for the Pirates in the early 70's. He once hit three home runs in a playoff game. This piece is not about Bob, only that he was there this bright and warm day in the Frostburg, Maryland area, up in Northern Maryland. The local high school team had a not so well-known player, a pitcher named Walker Chapman.

Three or four scouts were present and we all picked out Walker as he stepped off the visiting bus. He had that look; 6'2", 180 lbs., athletic and loose. His team took an impromptu batting practice on the field, very unorganized with the players throwing b.p. to each other. That rarely works and with Walker at the bat, his smaller teammate couldn't find the plate so Walker just caught the ball barehanded and threw it back to him time and time again. He was catching it right handed and he threw right handed.

The game started and Walker was legit. He threw up to 92-93 mph, nice and loose. The issue was his catcher couldn't handle him so several third strikes went by the little receiver plus most balls that were hit were kicked around. Walker's team was trailing 10-1 after six innings and Walker pitched the entire game.

The next day I called the coach, who was a nice man, but not a seasoned head coach. I didn't want to ask him point blank about Walker's pitch count which I knew was huge, but we mentioned something about him staying strong through a long game. The coach brought up that he had a young lady on the bench keeping a pitch count chart and his final total was 172! That might be the highest total I've ever heard of at any level. The coach then added, "At the end of the game, she told me she wasn't keeping track of foul balls!" This kid must have thrown somewhere in the range of 190 pitches.

Somehow, he got through the season with no arm difficulties and ended up being a sixth round draft pick by the Twins. I saw him pitch once in single A ball and I believe he may have advanced to AA, but that was his ceiling. It's remarkable that he survived the season. His athleticism and loose arm action kept him injury-free this time. Walker Chapman.

Jason Hart, being honored at an Oklahoma City AAA game for most home runs in a career there.

One of our favorite Lithuanian kids, Donatas, a second baseman when he visited us, but now a high ranking coach in the country.

With Brad Moore, a late round pitcher from Northern Iowa University. Many players are signed as "organizational type" players, guys who probably aren't prospects, but are solid enough to fill out a roster and do a good job. Most of the time they may play a year or two or three, but, as we know, there is a very rare occasion when they become Josh Kinney.

Three Timberjacks: Jim Pransky, hitting coach, Aaron Nieckula, catcher and Gil Lopez, pitching coach

Jed Morris was another fine organizational player for the Athletics, a left handed hitting catcher from the University of Nebraska. Here he is on the cover of Baseball Weekly.

I had to get these two guys in there-they do fit the baseball profile. That' Sandy Koufax on the left and Ted Williams. By some oddity, they have the personality of their namesakes.

This is a collector's item, my only baseball card. It was one cent when it was published in 1998 and has climbed recently to two cents. There is a better than average chance it will climb to three cents by 2035.

I can't forget where a lot of this began for me. We played Little League, Babe Ruth and American Legion ball then. There were a couple of years in Babe Ruth when Otto played Eldred and that always made for an interesting game, sort of bragging rights for the next school year. I know we must have played five or six times, and honestly I recall Eldred winning two and Otto winning two. That's my memory and I'm sticking to it. I'm fortunate to still have some good friends back home and I'd like to keep it that way.