Alomar Leads Ex-Indians Parade Catcher’s All-Star Season Highlight Of His Career

It may be hard to define the so-called career year, but it’s fairly certain Cleveland Indians catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. just had one.

This has been a very good year in professional baseball for former Spokane Indians and area high school and college baseball players. Alomar, who began his pro career with Spokane in 1984, probably outdid them all, excelling at the plate and behind it for Cleveland’s American League Central champions. However, he wasn’t alone.

Retired Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda became the fourth ex-Indian elected to the Hall of Fame. Seattle Mariners second baseman Joey Cora and Anaheim Angels third baseman Dave Hollins, both former Spokane Indians standouts, had fine offensive seasons and scored more than 100 runs apiece.

Even Jim Tatum, a longtime Triple-A standout who played for Spokane in 1985, got into the act. He played a starring role as the Yakult Swallows won the Japan Series.

Former Washington State Cougars John Olerud, a standout of the present, and Mike Kinkade, a possible star of the future, had big years, too.

However, most of these present-generation players are well-established. Who will follow in their footsteps?

As the last of the San Diego farmhands filter through the Padres system, players from Spokane’s first three seasons with the Kansas City Royals will begin to make their mark.

Right-handed starting pitcher Matt Clement leads the pack of future Padres big-leaguers who began their careers with Spokane in the Northwest League. However, don’t count out relievers Todd Schmitt and Bubba Dixon, shortstop Juan Melo or center fielder Chris Prieto.

To date, reliever Jose Santiago, who managed to wear three uniforms and overcome chicken pox in one summer, is the only prospect to advance from Spokane to Kansas City. Santiago worked four innings for the Royals at mid-summer and spent the rest of the season at Wichita of the Texas League and Wilmington of the Carolina League.

Outfielders Jeremy Giambi and Mark Quinn and slugger Kit Pellow may not be far behind him. Starting pitcher Matt Saier may be a hot prospect, too.

Clement had a splendid season. He spent the first two months at Rancho Cucamonga of the California League, going 6-3 with a 1.60 earned run average. He led the league in ERA and strikeouts when he was promoted to Mobile of the Southern Association, where he went 6-5 with a 2.56 ERA. For the year, the Pennsylvania native struck out 201 in 189 innings.

Schmitt and Dixon, both strikeout pitchers, had solid years at Las Vegas of the PCL and Mobile, respectively. Prieto, whose career has been compromised by injuries, started at Rancho Cucamonga, but spent most of the season at Mobile, hitting .320 with 80 runs and 26 stolen bases in two-thirds of a season. Melo, excellent defensively, performed decently with the bat at Las Vegas and Mobile.

Kansas City prospect Quinn split the season between Wilmington and Wichita, boosting his average to .375 at Wichita. He finished the year with 35 doubles and 90 runs batted in.

Giambi and Pellow, Spokane teammates in 1996, split the year between Lansing (Mich.) of the Class A Midwest League and Wichita.

Giambi’s older brother, Jason, just completed a fine season with the Oakland A’s. The younger Giambi, a sixth-round draft pick out of Cal State Fullerton, went through the Midwest League like a fast freight. A .336 hitter with the Lugnuts, he batted .321 at Wichita and ran his season totals to 26 doubles, 16 home runs, 83 runs scored and 73 batted in.

Although Lansing has a line-drive hitter’s ballpark, Pellow hit 10 home runs before his promotion. His full-season production included 29 doubles, 21 home runs and 93 RBIs.

Saier won nine games and averaged more than a strikeout per inning at Wilmington and Wichita.

One former Indian who may be more noticeable in the future is Tim Johnson, who played for Spokane’s last Dodgers-affiliated Pacific Coast League team in 1971. He, as is former Baltimore Orioles manager Davey Johnson, is reportedly on the short list of candidates to succeed Cito Gaston as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Even if he doesn’t land the job, Johnson often is mentioned when vacancies occur. He played several seasons in the show and he’s an experienced minor league manager, scout and big-league coach.

On the major league fields in 1997, Alomar was the dominant local alumnus.

The rangy receiver overcame a long series of injuries to hit .324. He just missed qualifying for fourth place in the A.L. batting race while producing 37 doubles, 21 home runs and 83 runs batted in. His late-inning home run made him the MVP in the All-Star Game. He performed brilliantly, defensively and offensively, in the postseason and might have been the MVP had the Indians won the World Series.

Lasorda was inducted into the Hall of Fame in July, where a plaque bearing his likeness joined those of former Spokane players Stan Coveleski, George Kelly and Hoyt Wilhelm.

Tatum, who has appeared in the big leagues with San Diego, Colorado and Boston, had an interesting year.

He began the season in the Padres organization at Las Vegas, where he hit .317 with good power numbers in barely 50 games. Then, he signed with the Yakult Swallows and batted .309 with 13 home runs in 51 games. In the opening game of the Japan Series, Tatum broke a scoreless tie with an eighth-inning homer that allowed the Swallows to win 1-0. The Pacific League powerhouse went on to win the series, four games to one.

Olerud and Kinkade swung their bats with authority.

Olerud, a former A.L. batting champion, perked up his career by driving in 102 runs with almost 60 extra-base hits in what may be his only season with the New York Mets.

Kinkade continued to look like a prodigy with the bat, leading or ranking with the top five in almost every category in the Texas League. He hit .385 for El Paso, drove in 109 runs, scored 112 and stole 17 bases. Unfortunately, he has not established himself defensively, and the parent Milwaukee Brewers just moved to the National League, where they’ll no longer have a designated hitter.

And, from the local prep scene, future Hall of famer Ryne Sandberg made the big news, retiring after 15 seasons as the second baseman of the Chicago Cubs.

Even more Cougars

Terrel Hansen and Tom McGraw may be near the end of long pro careers, but the former WSU standouts can’t be called quitters.

Hansen, who spent several years as a valued Double-A and Triple-A slugger, caught on with Chico of the independent Western League. In 58 games, he hit .321 with a .674 slugging percentage and belted 22 homers and drove in 60 runs.

McGraw, after almost a decade of trying, had a taste of big-league coffee. The southpaw reliever, Olerud’s college teammate, worked a single scoreless inning for the St. Louis Cardinals, then spent the rest of the summer with Louisville of the Triple-A American Association.

Hoop dreams

It looks as if Trajan Langdon, one of Spokane’s third basemen in 1994, should stick to his basketball career at Duke University.

Langdon returned to baseball after a twoyear absence this summer and, in 22 games for Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League, hit .189 with 36 strikeouts in 90 at-bats.

Old times’ sake

Colorful former minor-league stars Hub Kittle and Edo Vanni were among almost four dozen ex-pros who turned out in Puyallup, Wash., late last spring for a 50th anniversary reunion of men who played in the Western International League.

Spokane won four championships in the WIL, which operated from 1937-54.

Kittle, 80, retired last winter after 60 years in the game as a player, manager, general manager, major league pitching coach and scout. Vanni, a former Seattle prep star who played for Spokane’s 1948 and 1951 Willy League champs, spent almost two decades as a Northwest minor league star.

A second reunion has been scheduled for next May 17, also in Puyallup.

Notes

Outfielder Tony Miranda, who had spent the past two seasons with Spokane, saw his career blossom at Lansing, where he won the Midwest League batting title with a .341 mark … Ex-Gonzaga University outfielder and basketball standout Scott Morgan teed off on Carolina League pitching for 58 extra-base hits and a .315 average, but cooled off in a brief trial at Double-A Akron in August. … Pat Hallmark, who played here in 1995, won’t remain a catcher if the Royals decide to take advantage of his speed. Hallmark stole 30 bases at Lansing and Wilmington… . Spokane’s 1991 first baseman, David Mowry joined Terrel Hansen as one of the Western League’s top sluggers, driving in 82 runs for Sonoma County in barely 100 games… . Ed Vande Berg, the last active player from Spokane’s PCL days, worked a couple innings for DuBois County of the independent Heartland League… . Former Community Colleges of Spokane left-hander Russ Swan, a longtime big-league reliever, has been hired as the pitching coach at Washington State University… . Minor-league power hitter Tate Seefried, who spent one year at Central Valley High, belted 29 homers for Binghampton, Double-A farm club for the Mets. … Texas Rangers outfielder Warren Newson, a 1986 Indian, missed the final six weeks of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn biceps.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Where are they now? Former Spokane Indians and ex-area high school or college players active as professional baseball players during the 1997 season. Major-league players are listed chronologically. Because their representatives still hold a prominent place in the ranks of former Indians, minor-league teams are San Diego affiliates, except for Wichita, Lansing and Wilmington, which are affiliated with Kansas City. Players in other organizations are grouped by leagues. Their years with Spokane or, where appropriate, their major-league organization or school, are shown in parentheses. MAJOR LEAGUE PLAYERS American League: Mitch Williams (1983) Kansas City 0-1, 10.80 earned run average, 6-2/3 innings pitched, 7 walks, 10 strikeouts/Omaha 0-0, 2.08, 1 Sv, 8 IP, 5 W, 8-2/3 K; Sandy Alomar Jr. (1984) Cleveland .324 batting average, 37 doubles, 21 home runs, 83 runs batted in; Joey Cora (1985) Seattle .300, 40 D, 105 runs; Ricky Bones (1986) Cincinnati 0-1, 10.19, 17 IP/Kansas City 4-7, 5.97/Tucson 5-0, 2.79, 42 IP; Doug Brocail (1986) Detroit 3-4, 3.23, 61 games; Warren Newson (1986) Texas .213, 169 at-bats, 10 HR/ Tulsa .143 2 G; Dave Hollins (1987) Anaheim .288, 29 D, 85 RBI, 101 R, 16 stolen bases; Jose Valentin (1987) Milwaukee .253, 17 HR, 19 SB/ Beloit .500 2 G; A.J. Sager (1988) Detroit 3-4, 4.18; Bryce Florie (1989) Milwaukee 4-4, 4.32; Matt Mieske (1990) Milwaukee .249; Scott Sanders (1990) Seattle-Detroit 6-14, 5.86, 120 K; Melvin Rosario (1992-93) Baltimore .000, 3 AB/ Bowie .263, 60 RBI; Glenn Dishman (1993) Detroit 1-2, 5.28, 29 IP/Toledo 7-6, 3.87; Greg Keagle (1993) Detroit 3-5, 6.55, 45 IP/Toledo 11-7, 3.81, 140 K. National League: Thomas Howard (1986) Houston .247, Pedro Martinez (Aquino) (1987-88) Cincinnati 1-1, 9.45, 6-2/3 IP/Indianapolis 4-3, 3.47, Luis Lopez (1988) New York .270, 78 G/Norfolk .330 48 G; Lance Painter (1990) St. Louis 1-1, 4.76, 17 IP/Louisville 1-0, 5.23, 18 G; Todd Erdos (1992-93) San Diego 2-0, 5.27, 13-2/3 IP/Mobile 1-4, 3.36, 27 Sv; Heath Murray (1994) San Diego 1-2, 6.75, 33-1/3 IP/Las Vegas 6-8, 5.45. MINOR LEAGUES TRIPLE-A Las Vegas (Pacific Coast): *Joey Long (1992) 0-0, 4.82, 18-2/3 IP/San Diego 0-0, 8.18, 11 IP; Todd Schmitt (1992) 5-2, 5.03, 48 G, 4 Sv 53-2/3 IP, 59 K. American Association: Scott Bream (1991) Toledo (Detroit) .231, 30 G/Lakeland (Detroit) .216/Jacksonville (Detroit) .273, 55 AB. Pacific Coast League: Jerrey Thurston (1991) Vancouver .236, 195 AB (Anaheim)/Lake Elsinore .500, 6 AB(Anaheim). DOUBLE-A Mobile (Southern): Matt Clement (1994) 6-5, 2.56, 88 IP, 92 K/Rancho Cucamonga 6-3, 1.60, 101 IP, 109 K; Bubba Dixon (1994) 7-2, 3.45, 75-2/3 IP, 88 K; Brad Kaufman (1993) 5-13, 6.18/Las Vegas 0-5, 8.07, 32-1/3 IP; Greg LaRocca (1994) .267, Gary Matthews (1994) .244, 90 AB/ Rancho Cucamonga .302, 268 AB, 66 R, 15 D; Juan Melo (1994) .287/Las Vegas .271 48 AB; Chris Prieto (1993) .320, 9 triples, 80 R, 26 SB/ Rancho Cucamonga .280 82 AB; Brett Walters (1994) 10-7, 4.47. Wichita (Texas): Enrique Calero (1996) 11-9, 4.44; Jeremy Giambi (1996) .321, 74 G, 15 D, 11 HR, 52 RBI, 50 R/Lansing .336, 31 G, 11 D, 33 R, Kit Pellow (1996) .249, 68 G, 12 D, 10 HR, 41 RBI, 40 R/Lansing .297, 65 G, 17 D, 11 HR, 52 RBI; Steve Prihoda (1995) 0-3, 3.24, 10 Sv, Mark Quinn (1995) .375, 36 for 96, 13 D, 19 RBI, 26 R/Wilmington .308, 299 AB, 22 D, 16 D, 71 RBI, 51 R; Matt Saier (1995) 7-5, 4.90/Wilmington 2-2, 1.69, 42-2/3 IP, 47 K; *Jose Santiago (1995) 2-1, 4.00, 27 IP/Wilmington 1-1, 4.91, 3-2/3 IP, 2 Sv/ Kansas City 0-0, 1.93, 4 IP, Brian Wolff (1993) 1-1, 6.52, 9-2/3 IP, 8 K)/Mobile (San Diego) 1-2, 4.80, 30 IP, 37 K/Rancho Cucamonga (San Diego) 3-0, 1.62, 33-1/3 IP, 6 W, 39 K. Southern League: Julio Bruno (1990) Jacksonville (Detroit) .265; Tom Doyle (1993) Chattanooga (Cincinnati) 7-3, 3.51, 65 G; *Scott Fredrickson (1990) Carolina (Pittsburgh) 0-3, 6.08, 23-2/3 IP; Earl Johnson (1993) Mobile (San Diego)Jacksonville (Detroit) .245, 42 SB. SINGLE-A Rancho Cucamonga (California): Keith Davis (1994) 8-10, 5.74. Lansing (Midwest): Brandon Baird (1996) 10-7, 3.01, 7 Sv, 77-2/3 IP 83 K; Brandon Berger (1996) .293, 73 RBI, 64 R, 13 SB; Steve Hueston (1996) 2-2, 7.44, Jason Layne (1996) .276, 98 G, 22 D, 68 RBI; Aaron Lineweaver (1996) 7-1 3.33; Tony Miranda (1995-96) .341, 35D, 85 R, 72 RBI, 11 SB, Kenderick Moore (1996) .285, 105 R, 8 T, 43 SB; Scott Mullen (1996) 5-2, 3.70/Wilmington 4-4 4.55), Rick Pitts (1996) .155 35 G/Wilmington .216, 37 AB; Juan Robles (1995-96) .207; Chad Rodriguez (1996) 5-3, 4.01, 12 Sv; Allen Sanders (1995-96) 12-7, 3.78; Brett Schafer (1995) .191, 21 G; Jason Simontacchi (1996) 3-7, 6.97; Ethan Stein (1996) 6-10, 4.69; Brett Taft (1996) .249; Jeremy Williamson (1995) 1-1, 4.22, 32 IP. Also 1997 Spokane: Doug Blosser .214, 30 G, 3 HR, 17 RBI; Rich Boring 0-2, 20.25, 2-2/3 IP; Jason Gooding 0-1, 5.79; Cade Griffis .300, 30 AB; Juan LeBron .212, 35 G, 20 RBI; Todd Meady 0-1, 4.85; Ricardo Montas .300, 4 G; David Ullery .159, 18G/Anderson (Heartland) .313, 6G. Wilmington (Carolina): Carlos Beltran (1996) .229, 11 HR, 17 SB; Ryan Brewer (1996) 5-4, 3.34; Jake Chapman (1996) 8-9, 3.85, 122 K; Roman Escamilla (1996) .251; Emiliano Escandon (1995) .273; Pat Hallmark (1995) Wilmington .300 100 AB/Lansing .284, 88 G, 6 T, 22 SB; Mike Robbins (1995) 0-0, 7.18, 3-1/31. GCL Royals (Gulf Coast): None from previous seasons. Also 1997 Spokane: Rich Petru .000, 1 G, Corey Thurman 2-1, 2.38, 34 IP, 42 K. California League: Bobby Bonds II (1992) San Jose (San Francisco) .317, 17 SB/Phoenix .000, 1G; Antonio Fernandez (1994) Stockton (Milwaukee) .235. Carolina League: Roy McKinnis (1993) Frederick (Baltimore) .288, 24 D. Florida State League: Erick Corps (1993) St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay) .240 39 G. Pioneer League: Trajan Langdon (1994) Idaho Falls (San Diego) .189, 22G, 90 AB, 36 K. OTHER LEAGUES Pacific League (Japan): *Jim Tatum (1985) Yakult Swallows .309, 51 G, 13 HR/Swallows (Eastern League) .308, 4G/Las Vegas .317, 161 AB, 12 D, 9 HR, 25 RBI; Shane Dennis (1994) Chiba Marines 0-3, 5.45/Marines (Eastern League) 3-4, 4.15;, *Jason Thompson (1993) Chiba Marines .247, 14 HR, 62 RBI. Heartland League (Independent): *Ed Vande Berg (1981) Dubois County 0-0, 4.50, 1G. Northern League (Independent): *Jerald Clark (1985) Duluth-Superior .200, 9 G, Kevin Garner (1987) Sioux City .300, 74 G, 27 HR, 73 RBI; Jason Schlutt (1993) St. Paul 1-3, 6.15 12 Sv. Texas-Louisiana League (Independent): Roberto DeLeon (1992) Alexandria .277 19 D 22 SB; Adrian Hollinger (1992) Lubbock 2-4, 9.68; Kerry Knox (1989) Tyler 3-2 3.93, Andy Skeels (1987) Lubbock .276; Derek Vaughn (1991) Lubbock .271, 41 G, 10 SB/Rio Grande .357 14 G, 7 SB. Western League (Independent): Kraig Constantino (1992) Salinas .318, 50 RBI; David Mowry (1991) Sonoma County .325, 22 D, 23 HR, 82 RBI; Scott Singleton (1994) Mission Viejo 5-10, 6.81; Darell White (1993) Salinas-Reno 5-4, 7.69; Marty Winchester (1993) Salinas 1-1, 6.75. AREA COLLEGIANS Art Baeza (Lewis-Clark State College) Salem .313, 6 G/Bakersfield (San Francisco) .258, 86 G, 16 HR, 60 RBI; Todd Belitz (Washington State University) Hudson Valley (Tampa Bay) 4-5, 3.53, 18 W, 78 K; *Marvin Benard (LCSC) San Francisco .228, 114 AB/Phoenix .333 60 AB; Shawn Buhner (LCSC) Lancaster (California) .257 53 RBI; *Steve Decker (LCSC) Tacoma (Seattle) .297, 25 D, 10 HR; Gary Hagy (Eastern Washington) .295, 77 G, 50 RBI; Jerry Hairston (WSU) Bluefield (Baltimore) .330; Terrel Hansen (WSU) Chico (Western) .321, 58 G, 22 HR, 60 RBI; *Scott Hatteberg (WSU) Boston .277, 23 D; Mike Kinkade (WSU) El Paso (Milwaukee) .385, 35 D, 12 T, 12 HR, 109 RBI, 112 R, 17 SB; Bucky Jacobsen (LCSC) Ogden (Milwaukee) .328, 52 RBI, 57 R; *Tom McGraw (WSU) Louisville 1-4, 5.33/St. Louis 0-0, 0.00, 1-2/3 IP; Scott Morgan (Gonzaga) Kinston (Cleveland) .315, 32 D, 23 HR, 86 R/Akron (Cleveland) .174, 69 AB, 2 HR; *John Olerud (WSU) Mets .294, 34 D, 22 HR, 102 RBI, 90 R, 85 W; Rob Ramsey (WSU) Sarasota (Boston) 9-9, 4.78, 115K; #Mike Redmond (Gonzaga) Charlotte (Florida) .213, 22 G/Brevard .000 (0 for 17), 5 G/GCL Marlins .345; *Steve Reed (LCSC) Colorado 4-6, 4.04, 63 G, 6 Sv; *Aaron Sele (WSU) Boston 13-12, 5.38, 122 K; *Mark Small (WSU) Jackson (Houston) 3-4, 3.14, 9 Sv; John Tsoukalas (GU) Sioux Falls (Northern) .300, 81 G, 19 D; *David Wainhouse (WSU) Pittsburgh 0-1 8.04 28 IP/Calgary 2-0, 5.92; *Bob Wells (CCS) Seattle 2-0, 5.75; Mike Wetmore (WSU) Beloit (Milwaukee) .253, 20 D, 67 R; Jerrod Wong (GU) Macon (Atlanta) .278, 22 D, 15 HR, 60 RBI; Kenny Woods (LCSC) Shreveport .300/Phoenix 1 for 1 (San Francisco). AREA PREPS Jeremy Affeldt (Northwest Christian) GCL Royals (Kansas City) 2-0 4.50 40 IP, 36 K; Darin Blood (Post Falls/Central Valley/Gonzaga University) Shreveport (San Francisco) 8-10, 4.33; Rob Ryan (Shadle Park/WSU) South Bend (Arizona) .314, .429 on base, 35 D, 73 RBI, 89 W; Matt Sachse (Ferris) Wisconsin (Seattle) .268, 21 D, 51 RBI; *Ryne Sandberg (North Central) Chicago Cubs .264, 26 D, 64 RBI; John Schroeder (Coeur d’Alene) Fort Wayne (Minnesota) disabled all year, Tate Seefried (Central Valley) Binghampton (Mets) .313, 29 HR, 79 RBI/Norfolk .229, 96 AB, 3 HR, 13 RBI (Mets); *Kevin Stocker (Central Valley) Philadelphia .266, 23 D, 11 SB; John Thompson (Shadle Park) Memphis (Seattle) 3-2, 4.62 45G 4 Sv/Lancaster (Seattle) 1-0, 2.25 4 IP. SONS OF FORMER INDIANS Frank Bolick (Frank Bolick, 1973-74) Vancouver (Anaheim) .304, 27 D, 16 HR/Midland (Anaheim) .330 5 D, 8 HR, 27 RBI, Dan Cey (*Ron Cey, 1971) Fort Myers (Minnesota) .284, 34 D, 84 R, 23 SB; Billy Lott (George Lott, 1969-71) Calgary (Pittsburgh) .314, 239 AB, 15 HR, 55 RBI; *Robb Nen 9-3, 3.89, 35 Sv, 74 IP, 84 K (*Dick Nen, 1963-64) Florida. *Denotes major-league playing experience