To reach the majors, a ballplayer must not only possess natural ability and world-class skills but must also overcome nearly insurmountable odds. The journey is not possible without extreme dedication. Along the way mentors play a large role, and circumstances must align. For an elite few, years of effort and perseverance culminate with putting on a big league uniform. Drawing on original interviews with more than 100 players who debuted between 1961 and 2018, this collection presents their first-person stories of how they were called up to play Major League Baseball.

Zak Ford is a chapter leader with the Society for American Baseball Research and serves on the advisory committee of the Pacific Coast League Historical Society. He lives in Cameron Park, California.

Zak Ford

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 228
Bibliographic Info: 38 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9279-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5085-2
Imprint: McFarland

Preface  1
Introduction  3

1. 1960s and 1970s  5
Sam McDowell (Indians) 5
Bill Denehy (Mets) 7
Bill Plummer (Cubs) 8
Gene Tenace (Athletics) 9
Jerry Reuss (Cardinals) 11
Bobby Grich (Orioles) 14
Roe Skidmore (Cubs) 16
Kurt Bevacqua (Indians) 19
Steve Luebber (Twins) 21
John D’Acquisto (Giants) 22
Jack Kucek (White Sox) 24
Jim Kern (Indians) 25
Nyls Nyman (White Sox) 27
Randy Lerch (Phillies) 28
Al Woods (Blue Jays) 31
Randy McGilberry (Royals) 32
Dave Machemer (Angels) 34

2. 1980s  38
Vance Law (Pirates) 38
Chris Bourjos (Giants) 41
Atlee Hammaker (Royals) 42
Jose Alvarez (Braves) 43
Ron Kittle (White Sox) 48
Bip Roberts (Padres) 49
Bobby Witt (Rangers) 50
Bob Tewksbury (Yankees) 51
Ed Hearn (Mets) 53
Greg Mathews (Cardinals) 54
Ed Vosberg (Padres) 56
Mike Campbell (Mariners) 58
Jeff Schaefer (White Sox) 60
Greg Litton (Giants) 62
Pat Combs (Phillies) 65

3. 1990s  68
Bill Sampen (Expos) 68
Kip Gross (Reds) 69
Joe Grahe (Angels) 71
John Briscoe (Athletics) 74
Jeff Nelson (Mariners) 75
Jeff Reboulet (Twins) 77
Kurt Knudsen (Tigers) 78
Eric Fox (Athletics) 80
Jeff Frye (Rangers) 82
Bret Boone (Mariners) 84
Mike Trombley (Twins) 86
Matt Walbeck (Cubs) 87
Dave McCarty (Twins) 89
Tim Worrell (Padres) 89
Jerry Spradlin (Reds) 90
Scott Sanders (Padres) 92
Steve Trachsel (Cubs) 94
Ray Holbert (Padres) 96
Andy Carter (Phillies) 97
Jeff Cirillo (Brewers) 99
Mark Acre (Athletics) 100
Marty Cordova (Twins) 103
Gary Wilson (Pirates) 104
Jim Mecir (Mariners) 105
Shawn Estes (Giants) 106
Jason Kendall (Pirates) 110
Jason Hardtke (Mets) 112
Scott Spiezio (Athletics) 114
Josh Booty (Marlins) 116
Micah Franklin (Cardinals) 118
Rick DeHart (Expos) 119
Mike Misuraca (Brewers) 122
Steve Woodard (Brewers) 124
Sean Lowe (Cardinals) 127
Kevin Millar (Marlins) 128
Geoff Jenkins (Brewers) 129
Bob Howry (White Sox) 131
Creighton Gubanich (Red Sox) 133
Ray King (Cubs) 135
David Lee (Rockies) 137
Juan Alvarez (Angels) 139
Chad Hermansen (Pirates) 141

4. Since 2000  143
Tarrik Brock (Cubs) 143
Scott Forster (Expos) 146
Jose Ortiz (Athletics) 147
Tom Wilson (Athletics) 149
Nick Johnson (Yankees) 150
Cory Aldridge (Braves) 151
Jalal Leach (Giants) 154
Andy Shibilo (Padres) 157
Jason Jimenez (Devil Rays) 158
Jim Rushford (Brewers) 160
Josh Stewart (White Sox) 163
Lance Niekro (Giants) 165
Vinnie Chulk (Blue Jays) 167
Travis Hughes (Rangers) 169
Kameron Loe (Rangers) 170
Adam Greenberg (Cubs) 171
Jason Bergmann (Nationals) 176
Craig Hansen (Red Sox) 179
James Loney (Dodgers) 181
Zach McClellan (Rockies) 181
Ryan ­­Rowland-Smith (Mariners) 184
Josh Newman (Rockies) 186
Steve Holm (Giants) 188
Jonathan Van Every (Red Sox) 190
Tim Dillard (Brewers) 192
Jared Wells (Padres) 196
Justin Thomas (Mariners) 197
Freddy Sandoval (Angels) 198
Casper Wells (Tigers) 201
Mike Belfiore (Orioles) 203
A.J. Achter (Twins) 205
Chris Heston (Giants) 207
Deck McGuire (Reds) 208
Nick Kingham (Pirates) 210
Patrick Wisdom (Cardinals) 213

Index  217