Hall of Scrubs

After a three year stint in Japan, Tony Bernazard signed with the Tigers before the 1991 season in what he hoped would be a grand return to Major League Baseball.  The Tigers’ GM, Bill Lajoie, was on a roll with signing  free agents from Japan after picking up Cecil Fielder the year before, so it seemed like Tony would surely have a career season in Detroit.  At the time, I was a major Tiger fan and produced a weekly newsletter about their off-season.  It was a minor publication.  My parents were the only subscribers.  In my column, I predicted that Tony would surpass his season high home run total of 17 that he had for the Indians in 1987, and he would surpass is season high stolen base total of 23 in 1983 to become the first Tigers second baseman to have a 20-20 season.

I was wrong on both counts.  Bill Lajoie was wrong, too.  Tony was a major flop.  He had 12 at bats, hit .167 and was released in May.  It was his last season in the majors.  I had forgotten about him altogether until I recently went on a trip to Frankenmuth, Michigan.  The hotel I stayed at proudly displayed a photo of Tony that was taken at a Tigers’ Fest in 1991.  I found it rather strange that the hotel owner would find something remarkable enough about meeting Tony to put him up on his wall of fame.  Tony did have a decent major league career.  Just not for Detroit.

Prior to going to Japan, Tony did have one decent year as a starting second baseman for the Indians in 1986.  He hit .301 with 17 homers and 73 RBI.  His other years in the majors were mostly mediocre.  He did have one very bad year in 1984 for the Indians as well.  He hit .221 with an awful slugging percentage of .287.

In 1983, Tony was the starting second baseman on the White Sox, a team that was headed for the division championship, but he was traded in the middle of the season to the lowly Mariners for Julio Cruz, who was a much faster second baseman.  He spent the rest of the year playing for the Mariners before being traded to the Indians in the off-season for Gorman Thomas and Jack Perconte. 

After 3 years in Cleveland and a half-season in Oakland, Tony played for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in Japan.

Tony is currently a Vice President in the New York Mets front office and is often considered a candidate for General Manager positions in the majors.

 You can view Tony’s stats at www.baseball-reference.com

Tony’s stats

Sergio Valdez was a lanky, long-haired pitcher from the Dominican Republic.  Due to his appearance and crazy antics, he was often compared to Pascual Perez.  He could easily have passed for one of the infamous Perez brothers. If he and Pascual were in the WWE, they would have had a story line in which Sergio found out he was a long lost Perez brother, changed his name to Sergio Perez, and joined forces with Pascual to win the Tag Team Championship.

Sadly, Sergio never had same success as Pascual, Melido or Carlos Perez even though his talent was perhaps better.  Sergio started as a prospect in the Expos system.  He struggled in his major league debut season in 1986, posting a 6.84 ERA in 5 starts.  Montreal eventually traded him the the Braves in a deal for Zane Smith.  It was an excellent trade for the Expos.

Sergio struggled for the Braves in 1989 and 1990 and was placed on waivers.  Cleveland picked him up in 1990 and he had decent half season as a spot starter for the Indians.  He pitched 102 innings and had a 4.75 ERA.  It was his strongest year in the majors.

From 1991 thru 1995, Sergio bounced around, pitching primarily out of the bullpen for the Indians, Expos, Red Sox and Giants.  HIs last year in the majors was 1995 in which he started 11 times for the Giants and had a 4.75 ERA.

You can view Sergio Valdez’s stats at www.baseball-reference.com:

Sergio’s Stats

Nikco Riesgo was a mediocre outfielder in the minors who got a surprise promotion to the Expos in 1991 where he got one hit in 7 at bats. 

Besides his brief stay in the majors, Nikco’s claim to fame was being traded by the Mets to the Phillies in 1991 for Tommy Herr. 

Nikco spent most of his career in Single A and Double A.  He did get 79 at bats in AAA in the Brewers system before bing traded to the Tigers in 1993 and subsequently released.

Nikco settled in the Detroit area and is now the president and sole member of the Major League Players Organization of Bloomfield Hills.  He runs a web site that motivates young baseball players for a subscription fee of $10 a month.  The funds from his endeavor are intended to help people who cannot afford their own legal defense. 

You can read more about Nikco’s fight in The Detroit News:
Ex-ballplayer takes issue with legal-defense system

You can also view Nikco’s stats at www.baseball-reference.com:

Nikco’s Stats

Sherman Obando from Panama caused quite a stir in 1992 when he was picked by the Baltimore Orioles from the New York Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft. He was heralded as one of the best power hitters in the minors. Unfortunately, he was not that strong in the field.

The Orioles held onto him in 1993 but he played sparingly. The Orioles projected him to be a future starter, but he never panned out. They unloaded him in 1996 in a trade with Montreal for Tony Tarasco.

Sherman hit 8 homers as a bench warmer in Montreal which helped him win the coveted Stan Papi Award.

Unfortunately, Sherman did not enjoy a long career as a scrub. He was out of the league after a subpar year in 1997.

You can view Sherman’s stats at www.baseball-reference.com:

Obando Stats