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

Troy Neel was a tall slugger who worked his way up slowly through the Cleveland Indians organization before being traded to the Oakland A’s for Larry Arndt.  He had great power numbers for the Athletics’ AA and AAA teams and was promoted to the majors in 1992. 

Neel was a typical minor league slugger who had no speed and very little defensive ability.  He got an opportunity to play full-time in 1993 as a designated hitter and responded nicely by hitting .290 with 19 homers.  However, his numbers dipped in 1994 and the A’s showed no patience for him.  It was his last year in the majors.

 Troy signed a deal with the Orix Blue Wave in Japan rather than accept a career as a AAA slugger in America.  He led all of Japan in homers and RBI in 1996.  Troy did try to return to America in 1998, but struggled in AAA. 

Recently, Troy made the news as a child support evader.  He was arrested in December 2008 for failing to pay about $725,000 in child support.  If convicted, he faces time in jail since he did flee the country and lived in New Zealand for a few years to avoid paying.

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

Troy’s Stats

Besides having the perfect name for a slugger, Champ Summers was a very unique baseball player. He was signed to his first pro contract at the age of 25 after starring in a softball league. His mother was a professional bowler and he was a former teen tennis star who once beat Jimmy Conners in a youth tournament.

After signing with Oakland in 1971, Champ spent three years in the minors before making his major league debut in Oakland in 1974. He had only 24 at bats and hit .125. Oakland dumped him off on the Cubs where he played for 2 years until going to the Reds in a trade for the great Dave Schneck. Champ finally got his break once the Reds traded him to the Tigers for another great pitcher - Sheldon Burnside. Yes, it was the seventies and Sheldon did have some killer sideburns.

Champ’s left-handed swing was perfect for Tiger Stadium. He was the regular DH and hit 20 homers in 1979 and 17 homers in 1980 for Detroit. His numbers declined in 1981, so Detroit shipped him to San Francisco for Enos Cabell. He spent two years there before finishing his career with the Padres in 1984.

You can view Champ Summers statistics at www.baseball-reference.com:

Champ’s stats

Oh no! Not another scrubby middle reliever from the Grilli family!  Well, you are only partially right.  Guido was also a scrubby middle reliever.  But he is not related to Jason and Steve.

Guido pitched only one year in the majors for the Kansas City A’s and the Boston Red Sox.  He had a bloated ERA for both teams and finished the year with a 7.08 ERA.

Guido was involved in a mid-season trade as he was sent (banished?) to KC in exchange for Jose Tartabull, father of Jose Tartabull, Jr. and Danny Tartabull.

Even though Guido is not related to the other two Grilli’s, he no doubt inspired Steve to some day become a scrubby pitcher in the majors.  Can we blame Guido for two decades of scrubby Grilli relievers??

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

Guido’s stats

Steve Hovley’s brief career is immortalized in the great baseball book, Ball Four by Jim Bouton. Had it not been for this spectacular chronicle of the Seattle Pilots’ only season, Steve would have been barely remembered.

He was the typical contact hitting outfielder with very little speed and very little power. This type of extra outfielder graces the roster of most teams. Once in awhile they get on hot streaks, but eventually end up with a .273, 3 HR, 4 SB type year.

In the Ball Four book, Jim Bouton made Steve out to be this extraordinary intellect (because he read books) who came up from the minors to hit .450 with 60 homers. Reading the book, you would think he was the intelligent version of Ted Williams. In reality, he only hit .277 that year with 3 dingers.

Steve moved with the team to Milwaukee and was later traded to the Athletics.  After struggling in Oakland, he was selected in the Rule 5 draft by Kansas City in 1971.

He finished his career in 1973 and returned to be an intellectual plumber in California.

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

Steve’s stats

The Atlanta Braves produced a couple of great outfielders in the late seventies and early eighties by the names of Dale Murphy and Brett Butler. Many scouts believed that they would produce a third great outfielder - Brad Komminsk.

Brad Komminsk was a first round draft pick by the Braves in 1981. Based on his minor league career, many people in Atlanta thought he would be as good as Dale Murphy. After hitting .334 with 24 homers and 103 RBI in AAA, the Braves summoned him to the majors to join Butler and Murphy in the outfield. However, he was unable to hit in the majors the same way he had in the minors and he failed to win a starting job.

Brad was given 300 at bats in both 1984 and 1985 to prove himself, but the best he could do was hit 8 homers with a batting average near the Mendoza line.

The disappointed Braves shipped Brad off to Milwaukee where he was quickly sent to the minors.

In 1989, Brad tore up AAA ball again after signing with Cleveland as a minor league free agent. The rebuilding Indians gave him another shot in the majors where he hit 8 homers in 198 at bats but could not get his average above .250.

Brad spent two more years in the majors with very little success.

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

Brad’s stats

Oh great! Another brother of Hall of Famer, Eddie Murray. Right? … Wrong! Larry is not related to Eddie.

He is often confused with Rich Murray, who was Eddie’s only baseball-playing brother. In fact, when baseball scrub experts across America were asked who was Eddie Murray’s brother, 95% of them answered Larry. Only 3% answered Rich correctly. The other 2% claimed it was Dwayne Murphy.. obviously mistaking the similar last name.

Larry failed to hit above .200 in any of the 6 seasons he played in the majors. His career .177 average did not come close to Rich’s .216 career average. If Larry would have also been Eddie’s brother, it would have been safe to say that Rich was Eddie’s best baseball-playing brother.

Larry was basically a defensive outfield backup throughout his career. He did manage to steal 12 bases for the Oakland A’s in 1977. That is his lone career highlight.

You can view Larry’s statistics at www.baseball-reference.com:

Larry’s stats