Greatest 21 Days Baseball Profiles

With 14 regular season wins in 1984, the Padres' Mark Thurmond helped his team to the playoffs and then to the World Series . His reward: Starting World Series Game 1 . "It's gonna be fun," Thurmond told UPI ahead of the contest. "I'm gonna have a good time and enjoy the game. When you don't enjoy the game, you've got to get out of it. We like to play the game here." Thurmond ended up not having the best of games, he took the loss. But Thurmond made there in his second major league season. He went on to see time in eight big league campaigns , and nearly throw a no-hitter. Thurmond's career began in 1979, taken by the Padres in the fifth round of the draft out of Texas A&M University . Thurmond started with the Padres at AA Amarillo . He spent three seasons there, then made AAA Hawaii in 1982. In May 1983, he made San Diego . He saw 21 outings, 18 starts and went 7-3, with a 2.65 ERA. He then returned for 1984 and went 14-8 overall, wi...

Called up to the Reds in July 1985, Bob Buchanan looked forward to getting into his first game, The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote . "I'm anxious to get my first major league appearance over with," Buchanan told The Enquirer . "But as a reliever you're so used to waiting for the right time. When I get the opportunity I'll do it." Buchanan got that opportunity in his seventh pro season . He saw 14 outings. He then waited four more seasons for his next shot. In more than a decade in the pros, those two opportunities proved the extent of his time in the majors. Buchanan's career began in 1979, taken by the Reds in the second round of the draft out of Riverview High School in Florida. Buchanan started with the Reds at rookie Billings . He went 7-5 in 14 starts. He then moved to single-A Tampa in 1980, where he went 7-7, with a 4.28 ERA. He picked up one of his 1980 wins in a June game as he struck out four, The Tampa Tribune wrote . "My fastball was w...

Toronto Blue Jays starter Jim Clancy admitted his legs were shaking toward the end of this September 1982 game - as fans cheered more the deeper into the game he took his perfect game bid, he told The Associated Press later. He ultimately made it to the ninth inning, before he gave up a broken-bat bloop single that fell just out of the reach of his second baseman, The AP wrote . "It was a good pitch," Clancy told The AP . "It was a fastball in. It broke his bat, but I guess I didn't get it in good enough." Clancy flirted with perfection in that game in his sixth season in the majors. He went on to throw enough good pitches to see 15 major league campaigns , 12 as an original Blue Jay. Clancy's career began in 1974, taken by the Rangers in the fourth round of the draft out of St. Rita of Cascia High in Chicago. He started with the Rangers in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He then moved to single-A Anderson and AA San Antonio for 1976. He then moved to the...

Albuquerque Dukes reliever Hector Heredia anchored the team's bullpen in 1988, coming in to games with the game on the line and having success, The Albuquerque Journal wrote that August. For Heredia, in at least his sixth season of professional ball he didn't mind the pressure, he told The Journal . "I've been in too many games in that situation to worry about it," Heredia told The Journal then. "All I concentrate on is getting the batter out. But I don't feel pressure." Heredia spoke then in his second season at AAA with the Dodgers. He saw two more seasons at AAA and more in Mexico. He never saw the majors . Heredia's career in the affiliated minors began in 1985, signed by the Dodgers as a free agent out of Mexico . Before that, he played in Mexico with Monterrey . He pitched four years there. He went 3-7, with a 4.19 ERA and 13 saves in 1984. With the Dodgers, he started at AA San Antonio. He saw three outings in 1985, before straining an...

  Fresh off his Twins' 1987 World Series title,  Mark Davidson  spoke of the experience to his  hometown Statesville Record and Landmark . The experience included 102 games in the regular season  in a part-time role  and one at bat in the World Series, a deep flyout, all in his second major league season. "I guess I worked harder than the next guy - that's what I attribute it to, really," Davidson  told The Record and Landmark  of being in that position. "God gave me a lot of talent, but I helped myself by working hard. To an extent, you create your own opportunities." Davidson went on to get major league opportunities in four more seasons, first with the Twins, then with the Astros. He saw six seasons in all,  413 major league games  and that World Series title. Davidson's career began in 1982,  taken by the Twins  in the 11th round of the draft out of the  University of North Carolina at Charlotte . Davidson started with...

The Astros and Cardinals met for a May 1988 clash in St. Louis and the topic proved to be speed, specifically early season National League-leading base stealer and young Houston Astro Gerald Young , The Houston Post wrote . As Young went up against perennial NL stolen base king Vince Coleman, Houston manager Hal Lanier tried to keep Young focused, according to The Post . "What Gerald needs to do is to try and learn something every day so he can continue to improve," Lanier told The Post . Young ended up swiping 65 bases for the Astros that year. That season, though, his second in the majors, also proved his best. He went on to see eight major league campaigns . He stole 155 bases in all. Young's career began in 1982, taken by the Mets in the fifth round of the draft out of Santa Ana Valley High School in California. Young started with the Mets at rookie Kingsport . He hit .178 in 59 games. He then played 1983 in the rookie Gulf Coast League and 1984 at single-A Columbia...