Hall of Scrubs

After Fernandomania hit Major League Baseball in 1981, several teams started looking to Mexico for pitching. The White Sox thought they had quite the find in 1982 when they purchased 25 year old Salome Barojas from the Mexico City Reds on April 1st. They immediately placed Salome in their bullpen and he responded nicely by recording 21 saves.

Salome Barojas made the cover of Baseball Digest magazine as he became a top reliever in the American League. He followed his debut season with another stellar year in 1983, helping the White Sox win the American League West. His ERA in 1983 was 2.47 and he had 12 saves.

In 1984, the White Sox became tired of Salome’s wildness and traded him to the Mariners for Jerry Don Gleaton and Gene Nelson. Seattle made Salome a starter and he did ok. He won 6 games and had a 3.97 ERA. Certainly, he was good enough to stick with a major league team as a 4th or 5th starter.

The bottom fell out in 1985, however. He went 0-5 with a 5.98 ERA. Seattle released him in the off-season and he returned to the Mexico City Reds.

The Phillies purchased him from Mexico City in July 1988 but he pitched sparingly and ended the year with a 8.31 ERA.

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

Salome’s Stats

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

Carlos Martinez appears on every show about sports greatest bloopers.  He is the one who hit the “home run” that bounced off Jose Canseco’s head.  You can see the smirk (or scowl) on his face as he rounds first.

At this time in his career, Carlos was a failed prospect who gained a reputation for being a malcontent.  He was just another player who never lived up to his potential.  After being acquired from the Yankees for the great Ron Kittle, Carlos reached the majors in 1989 with the Chicago White Sox.  As their regular third baseman, he hit .300 with limited power.  It was enough to get White Sox fans excited about his future.  Unfortunately, he followed it up with a .224 year in 1990 after being switched to first base. 

He was quickly dumped due to lack of performance and lack of a good attitude.  Cleveland gave him a shot.  He hit .284 for them in 1991 before struggling again.  He was released in 1994 and ended his career hitting .180 for the Angels in 1995.

You can view Carlos’ stats at www.thebaseballcube.com:

Carlos’ stats

Kevin Hickey was an excellent softball player in 1977. The White Sox were so impressed, that they signed him right out of the softball league at age 21.

He quickly adjusted to the faster pace of baseball and made his way to the majors in 1981 where he was primarily a scrubby left-handed middle reliever for the White Sox. He started his major league career with a respectable 3.65 ERA and 3 saves, and followed up that year with an even better ERA (3.00) and 6 saves in 1982. Just when he thought he had solidified his career as a scrubby reliever, he started to falter.

As part of the Division Championship team in 1983, Hickey failed as a late inning reliever. He had 5 saves, but his ERA ballooned to 5.00. Hickey was released by the White Sox and began a second career as a journeyman minor league reliever.

Despite having constant thoughts of returning to the safer confines of the softball field, Hickey stuck it out in minor league baseball and earned a return to the majors in 1989. He gave the Orioles one good year as a lefty specialist out of the bullpen before stinking it up for his final two years of his career.

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

Kevin’s stats

Luis played for the Padres, White Sox, Tigers and Cubs in the 1980’s. He was primarily a Utility Player, but he did manage to start a few years as a third baseman.

Luis is best remembered for being included in the infamous day of three trades for the Tigers in 1989. He was shipped to San Diego in exchange for Mike Brumley. The Tigers GM also acquired Charles Hudson from the Yankees for Tom Brookens and Kenny Williams from the White Sox for Eric King. All three players he received on that day failed miserably as Tigers.

Without Luis Salazar’s presence in 1989, the Tigers wound up in last place.

You can find Luis Salazar’s career statistics at www.baseball-reference.com:

Salazar Stats