Hall of Scrubs

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

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

Rudy Pemberton is a classic example of how a player labeled as a non-prospect never gets a fair shot in the majors no matter how well they play.

In 1995, Rudy made his major league debut with the lowly Detroit Tigers. The team was in desperate need of a youth movement and Rudy took hold of the leftfield job by hitting .300 in the first month of the season. He was well on his way to establishing himself as a major leaguer, right? Wrong. The Tigers demoted him and he never played for them again. He got only 30 at bats that year and did nothing to merit a demotion.

The Tigers let him get away as a six-year minor league free agent at the end of the year. He signed with the Rangers but was then traded to Boston for Bryan Eversgard. Rudy got a September call-up in 1996 and excited the Red Sox Nation by hitting .512 in 41 at bats. That is still a rare feat in September.

Rudy made the team out of Spring Training in 1997, but he could not keep up his hot streak. His average slipped to .238 and he was demoted. Rudy never returned to the majors.

It was a shame that he did not get a better chance. In 134 career at bats, he hit .336 and had a .515 slugging percentage. He was the best player named Rudy since Rudy Law, who played for the White Sox in the early eighties. But for some reason, a career .300 hitter with a cool name could not stick in the majors.

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

Rudy’s Stats

Danny Boone played three years in the majors as a lefty middle reliever.  He was a top prospect after being  drafted by the Angels in the 2nd round in 1976.  It was the 5th time he had been drafted.  He opted not to sign the first four times.

The Angels gave up on him in 1980 and released him.  The Padres picked him up and he rewarded them with a great year out of the bullpen in 1981.  He had a 2.84 ERA and 2 saves.  Danny struggled in 1982 and the Padres traded him in mid-season to the Astros for Joe Pittman.  He finished the year with 2 saves, but had a 4.71 ERA.

Danny was back in the minors in 1983, and was out of baseball by 1984.  He came back to play in the Senior Professional Baseball League in 1989 and 1990 and impressed the major league scouts.  He got a contract with the Orioles and pitched for them in 1990 at the age 36.  He pitched in only 9 innings and had a 2.79 ERA.

Danny is also a direct descendant of the explorer Daniel Boone.  It is often reported incorrectly that the Ray/Bob/Bret/Aaron Boones were related to this explorer, too.  There is no relation.

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

Danny’s Stats

Joe Pittman was a weak hitting utility infielder who broke in with the Astros in 1981 after spending 6 years in the minors.   He hit .281 that year in 135 at bats.

Houston traded him to San Diego for Danny Boone in 1982.  He hit only .254 for the Padres and was demoted to AAA.

 He spent 1983 in the minors and was traded to the Giants in the off-season for Champ Summers. 

 In 1984, Joe hit .227 in his last major league year.  He finished his career with 0 homers and 16 RBI. 

Joe resurfaced in 1990 as a member of the St. Petersburg Pelicans in the Senior Professional Baseball League.   He finished that year hitting .258 with 11 RBI.  So, he did not get better with age.

 You can vie Joe’s stats at www.baseball-reference.com:

Joe’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

Enos Cabell enjoyed a long career in which he started for many years at third base for the Astros. Houston fans may dispute his induction into the Hall of Scrubs, but as a Detroit fan, I remember him only as a weak hitting first baseman. He was supposedly a great clubhouse guy who kept everyone in line and he was a good defensive player.

Enos recently appeared in the news because he is being sued by Vince Young for trying to register the “Invincible” trademark. I would never think those two athletes would ever be connected.

Enos played most of his career for Houston. After struggling in 1980 by hitting .272 with only 2 homers, he was traded to San Francisco. After playing part-time for one year with the Giants, he was shipped to Detroit for Champ Summers (the man who beat Jimmy Conners in a youth tennis tournament). For Detroit, he provided some stability at first base. However, after the 1983 season, the Tigers decided to sign Darrell Evans to be the new first baseman and let Enos go back to the Astros.

Enos was traded once again in 1985 to the Dodgers where he finished his career playing with one of his cousins - Ken Landreaux. Enos actually has two cousins who played baseball. Dick Davis is the other one. But Dick and Ken are not cousins. Quite complicated.

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

Enos’ 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

One of the more disturbing memories I have as a young man is the image of my father prancing about at home, singing “Are we going to see Scarborough Green?.. Rocky, Sage, Rosemary and Tim..” He sang it repeatedly until my brother, Tim, told him to shut up.

We did end up seeing Scarborough play that evening for the Cardinals in 1997. It was during one of his three brief stints in the majors. He later joined the Rangers and played there in 1999 and 2000. Texas gave him a chance to play regularly in 2000, but he it only .234 with 10 SB. Ultimately, this weak hitting, speedy center fielder did not have what it took to play in the majors.

But why the goofy first name? It is actually his middle name. His real name is Bertrum. I don’t blame him for going by Scarborough instead.

You can view Scarborough’s major and minor league stats at www.thebaseballcube.com:

Scarborough’s stats

Walter Young earned a unique nickname during his short playing career - Big. He got this nickname due to his enormous size - 6′5″, 320 lbs. As you may have guessed, Big Walter was a first baseman when he was forced to play in the field. He was, however, a subpar fielder. He also was a bit slow on the basepaths. But, man, did he have power.

Big Walter spent most of his career in the minors for the Pirates and Orioles. He hit 33 home runs at AA Bowie in the Orioles system in 2004. He also managed to steal 2 bases that year. How?

Baltimore promoted him to the majors in 2005 at the age of 25. He got 33 at bats as a 1B-DH. He hit only 1 homer and had a .303 batting average. It was the last we saw of him at the major league level.

The Padres claimed him on waivers in 2006, but he never played on their big league club. He was last seen playing for an independent league team in Winnipeg.

He is still young. Maybe he will return someday. I will keep an eye out for him. He would be hard to miss.

You can view Walter’s minor and major league stats at www.thebaseballcube.com:

Walter’s Stats