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Sunday, March 17, 2024

Gene Confreda enjoyed work as trainer, passed in 1990

Gene Confreda 1990 Osceola Astros card back

Osceola Astros trainer Gene Confreda described his job to The Orlando Sentinel in July 1989 as a little bit of everything. 

In addition to tending to players' injuries, he also fixed mitts, stocked dressing rooms and ensured the team had the proper playing equipment, Confreda told The Sentinel.

"Until a trainer gets a big-league job, they have to do a little bit of everything," Confreda, then 38, told The Sentinel, adding at another point "After 12 years, it's work I still enjoy."

Confreda would return to start at 13th season in 1990, but he wouldn't be able to complete it. On May 1, 1990, Confreda passed away, taken by colon cancer.

Confreda's career as a minor league trainer began in 1978, as a trainer with the Padres. He turned trainer after graduating in 1973 from the University of Rhode Island. He then got his masters in athletic training from Indiana University in 1976. (Note: The individual in Confreda's 1990 Osceola card photo is not Confreda, but actually fellow trainer Chris Correnti.)

Confreda started with the Padres training at single-A Reno. He returned there for 1979, where he tended to a player briefly knocked unconscious hit by a pitch.

Confreda stayed with the Padres for nine seasons, eventually serving as trainer at AA Amarillo, AA Beaumont, single-A Salem and AAA Las Vegas.

He served as trainer at Salem in 1982, helping keep future major league catcher Mark Parent on the field. he saw Beaumont in 1983.

Confreda made AAA Las Vegas by 1985 and returned to Reno for 1986. There, he tended to future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar when Alomar came down with stomach pains before a double header that July.

He joined the Astros for 1987 and served as trainer at single-A Asheville for 1988. He arrived at Osceola for 1989 and was to return for 1990. He then passed away May 1, 1990 at the age of 39.

Gene Confreda 1990 Osceola Astros card back

1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,329
Made the Majors:1,398-32.3%
Never Made Majors:2,931-67.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:569
10+ Seasons in the Minors:351

Ed Ponte made AA, then wanted to get back, saw 9 seasons

Ed Ponte 1990 Osceola Astros card

After seeing AA twice earlier, Astros minor leaguer Ed Ponte found himself back at single-A to start 1993, The Moline Dispatch wrote.

Ponte just wanted to be back at AA, making progress, he told The Dispatch that April.

"I would like to be out of here by next month," Ponte told The Dispatch. "I want to put up as good of numbers as possible."

Ponte, though, never made it back to AA. He played three more seasons in independent ball, for 9 campaigns total. He topped out in those AA trips.

Ponte's career began in 1988, signed by the Astros as an undrafted free agent out of State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota.

Ponte started with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He moved to single-A Asheville for 1989, where he went 11-3, with a 3.27 ERA in 42 relief appearances.

He played 1990 between high-A Osceola and AA Columbus. He saw 18 relief appearances at Columbus and went 1-2, with a 3.00 ERA.

Ponte played 1991 back at Osceola and then 1992 between single-A Burlington, Osceola and AA Jackson. He went 4-6 on the year, with a 2.83 ERA in 70 total appearances, one start.

In May 1993, The South Bend Tribune referenced Ponte's return to the Midwest League and described him as a sidearm pitcher. 

"From a hitter's standpoint, it can be more difficult," Ponte told The Tribune of his delivery. "The arm angle is tough. Right-handed have to peek to the left. They don't have as much time to pick up the ball." 

Ponte saw 39 relief outings for Quad City that year, went 4-6 and saved 17 games.

He's next created as playing in 1997 at independent Waterbury. He returned to Waterbury for 1998 and saw Taiwan, playing five games with Brother. He then ended his career in 1999 with independent Allentown and Sioux City. 

Ed Ponte 1990 Osceola Astros card

1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,328
Made the Majors:1,398-32.3%
Never Made Majors:2,930-67.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:569
10+ Seasons in the Minors:351

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Sal Butera made bigs as player, then helped others there

Sal Butera 1990 Osceola Astros card

Still a young minor league manager in 1991, Osceola skipper Sal Butera compared to The Orlando Sentinel his job with players then to those of his own early playing career.

"Being a manager also means handling players' frustrations, goals and inabilities on and off the field," Butera told The Sentinel that January. "Even though I went through those things as a player almost 20 years ago, things change."

Butera's own playing career took him all the way to the majors over nine seasons. He also saw a World Series. His post-playing career saw him manage in the minors, coach in the majors and scout.

Butera's career in baseball began in 1972, signed as an undrafted free agent out of Suffolk County Community College.

Butera started with the White Sox in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He moved to the Yankees and single-A Fort Lauderdale for 1973. He then arrived with the Twins at single-A Lynchburg for 1974.

He made AA Orlando and AAA Tacoma for 1975, then AA in 1976 and AAA the next three seasons.

Butera debuted in the majors with the Twins in 1980. He saw 34 games that year, then 62 in 1981 and 54 in 1982. He then moved to the Tigers, Expos and Reds for 1983 into 1987.

In July 1986, the catcher spoke to The Dayton Daily News about the perils of the position after some minor injury.

"Just bruises," Butera told The Daily News. "Part of the position. Nobody put a gun to my head and said, 'You have to catch.'"

Butera returned to the Twins mid-1987, in time for their World Series run. He made two postseason appearances.

Butera then saw 23 final major league appearances in 1988 with the Blue Jays and finished out his career at AAA in 1989.

By 1990, Butera was with the Astros as manager of high-A Osceola, where he ended up having an early impact on Kenny Lofton.

After a bad start to the season, Butera had a talk with Lofton on the field, Butera recalled to The Arizona Daily Star in February 1991.

"I told him you play baseball 150 times a year. It's not like basketball where you play two times a week," Butera recalled to The Daily Star. "You have to be up every night. Otherwise, they'll eat you alive. From that point on, his work habits got better. His confidence grew."

Butera stayed with Osceola three seasons, then moved up to AA Jackson for 1993 and 1994. For 1995, he managed with the Twins at AA New Britain.

In 1998, he served as a coach for the Blue Jays in Toronto. He then turned scout, most recently recorded in that role in 2015.

Sal Butera 1990 Osceola Astros card

1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,327
Made the Majors:1,398-32.3%-X
Never Made Majors:2,929-67.7%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:569
10+ Seasons in the Minors:351

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Rick Dunnum pitched wherever needed over four pro seasons

Rick Dunnum 1990 Osceola Astros card

Rick Dunnum could do a little bit of everything on the mound for the high-A Osceola Astros in 1990, The Vero Beach Press Journal wrote

On this night, he was put into a starting role after the regular starter got hurt and proceeded to throw five shutout innings, The Press Journal wrote.

"I'm just a whatever-they-need kind of guy," Dunnum explained to The Press Journal afterward. He added later of his effort, "I hope this will help me. They know I can do this, come in and give them five or six innings at a time."

Dunnum had that outing early in his third season as a pro. He went on to see just one more. He topped out at AA.

Dunnum's career began in 1988, taken by the Astros in the 21st round of the draft out of William Penn University in Iowa. 

Dunnum started with the Astros at short-season Auburn. He saw 18 outings, 10 starts. He went 7-0, with a 3.66 ERA and one save.

He then moved to single-A Asheville for 1989. He went 6-6 there, with a 2.63 ERA over 36 outings, 18 starts. 

That August, he used a good sinker to pitch into the eighth inning while giving up seven hits and three runs in a win, The Asheville Citizen-Times wrote.

"I was relaxed out there today and seemed to stay ahead of the hitters," Dunnum told The Citizen-Times. "... I threw my sinker a lot today and when it's working you can tell because I'm usually getting a lot of ground-ball outs."

Dunnum then moved to Osceola for 1990. He saw 51 outings, two starts on the year. He went 5-1, with a 2.80 ERA and five saves.

Dunnum played the 1991 season in the Phillies system, at AA Reading. He got 55 outings, with six starts and went 6-5, with a 4.58 ERA to end his career.

Rick Dunnum 1990 Osceola Astros card

1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,326
Made the Majors:1,397-32.3%
Never Made Majors:2,929-67.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:569
10+ Seasons in the Minors:351

Monday, March 11, 2024

Dan Nyssen played 4 seasons, grew frustrated with progress

Dan Nyssen 1990 Osceola Astros card

Selected by the Houston Astros early in the 1987 draft, University of Hawaii center fielder Dan Nyssen spoke to The Honolulu Star-Bulletin about his prospects for going pro.

"I'm happy with the Astros, I was expecting it," Nyssen told The Star-Bulletin. "I talked with (Astros scout) Reggie Waller a week ago and they sounded like they were the most interested in me at the time."

Nyssen signed and turned pro. His pro career lasted four seasons as frustration eventually replaced the happiness. He topped out at AA.

Nyssen's career began that year in 1987, taken by the Astros in the seventh round of the draft out of Hawaii. He played his high school ball at Eisenhower High School in his hometown of Yakima, Wash.

He started with the Astros at short-season Auburn. He saw 73 games and hit .315

He then moved to single-A Osceola and single-A Asheville for 1988. He hit .253 over 84 games between them.

Nyssen returned to Osceola for 1989 and most of 1990. He also saw 18 games at AA Columbus in 1990. He hit .218 there. That April, The Osceola News-Gazette featured Nyssen and his leadership.

"Dan was kept here for a very key purpose, and that was to lead the club on and off the field," Osceola general manager Pat O'Conner told The News-Gazette. "At this point, two weeks into the season, he has done an admirable job. He's had several key hits for us, and he's been a leader by example."

That October, he looked forward to 1991, The Star-Bulletin wrote. He also looked forward to leaving Osceola behind.

"There's no reason why I shouldn't be in Double A next year," Nyssen told The Star-Bulletin. "I played every day this year and led the team (Osceola) in RBIs."

But, by the end of that next spring training, Nyssen was ready to go home. His hoped-for assignment to AA turned into another trip to Osceola. He asked for and received his release, he told The Star-Bulletin.

"I didn't really want to do it and they didn't really want to give it to me, but they did," Nyssen told The Star-Bulletin. "I was sick and tired of going nowhere. It wasn't very good for my ego. I felt I was in a no-win situation."

Nyssen soon returned home to Yakima and went into pest control. The Yakima Herald-Republic spoke to him in 2015 as owner of Valley Pest Control on the topic of roof rats.

Dan Nyssen 1990 Osceola Astros card

1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,325
Made the Majors:1,397-32.3%
Never Made Majors:2,928-67.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:569
10+ Seasons in the Minors:351

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Jeff Tuss played, later chose football to Angels' surprise

Jeff Tuss 1990 West Palm Beach Expos card

Drafted out of high school by the Expos in 1988, Jeff Tuss had a decision to make: Did he want to turn pro in baseball? Or go to college - and play football?, his hometown Helena Independent-Record wrote.

He'd already signed a letter of intent to play for the Pac-10 Washington Huskies, making the decision even bigger, The Independent-Record wrote.

"I am going to give it (baseball) some real serious consideration," Tuss told The Independent Record.

Tuss ultimately did choose the Expos and baseball. But, after four seasons where he only climbed as high as high-A, he revisited that decision. And his choice inadvertently led to one of baseball's more unusual trades, the Angels essentially unknowingly trading for a quarterback.

Tuss' baseball career began in 1988, taken by the Expos in the 45th round of the draft out of Capital High School in Helena.

Tuss started with the Expos in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He went 1-3, with a 2.60 ERA over 9 outings, 7 starts. That first season over, he spoke to The Independent-Record about his experience and his move to baseball.

"I enjoy what I'm doing," Tuss told The Independent-Record then. "I am happy and that is the most important thing."

Tuss returned to the GCL for 1989, then made high-A West Palm Beach for 1990. He went 6-3 there, with a 2.11 ERA over 29 relief outings. 

He played the next two seasons back at West Palm Beach. He saw 49 appearances in 1991, then 30 more in 1992. 

That December, Tuss' agent relayed to the Expos that Tuss would quit to return to football at Fresno State. But that message didn't make it to the Angels, who traded for Tuss in January only to learn the pitcher was quitting to be a quarterback. 

The trade led Baseball Prospectus to revisit the trade in 2018 for its unusual nature. 

At the time, the situation left Angels staff unsure what happened. Angels vice present for player personnel Whitey Herzog figured they'd soon settle with the Expos on another player, according to The Los Angeles Times.

“It sure is strange, though. It’s the first I heard of something like this. Why the hell would he want to play football now?" Herzog told The Times. "Oh well, let him go play football. I didn’t expect him to be Walter Johnson, anyway.”

The Expos did settle up, sending the Angels a different player instead.

As for Tuss, he went to Fresno State, then transferred home to Montana State, where he was named starting quarterback for 1995 and then returned in 1996 after a brief stint moved to backup.

"Sometimes you might feel differently than what the coaches do, but they know what's best for the team," Tuss told The Bozeman Daily Chronicle upon his return to starter. "I was patient and I tried to improve and get better every practice. If I only got three reps in practice, I tried to make them as good as possible."

Jeff Tuss 1990 West Palm Beach Expos card

1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,324
Made the Majors:1,397-32.3%
Never Made Majors:2,927-67.7%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:569
10+ Seasons in the Minors:351

Bobby Ramos showed heart, passion over decades-long career

Bobby Ramos 1990 Osceola Astros card

Tampa Bay General Manager Chuck LeMar described the enthusiasm of Devil Rays' Gulf Coast League  Bobby Ramos to The Tampa Tribune in July 1997, as an enthusiasm fit for his GCL surroundings.

"I've seen staff members try to be as enthusiastic as Bobby Ramos, but it's hard," LeMar told The Tribune. "What you see in him is true heart and passion for the game. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. He lives and dies with the success and failure of his players."

Ramos gained that enthusiasm through a pro baseball career that had, to that point, spanned more than two decades as a player and coach. He went on to continue for at least another decade-plus, spending much of that time as a bullpen coach in the majors.

Ramos' career in baseball began in 1974, taken by the Expos in the seventh round of the draft out of Miami Jackson High School in Florida.

Ramos went to school in Florida, having been born in Cuba. His father had to work in the sugar cane fields to get the government to let Ramos emigrate to the United States at age 13, The Montreal Gazette wrote years later.

Ramos started with the Expos in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He moved to single-A West Palm Beach in 1975, then made AA Memphis, AAA Denver and Montreal for two games in 1978.

The catcher returned to Montreal for 13 games in 1980, 26 games in 1981 and four in 1982. He made Montreal for 27 games in 1983 and a final 31 in 1984. In all, he played in 103 major league contests over six seasons and hit .190.

Ramos continued on in the minors through 1988, playing in the Angels, Cubs, Royals and Giants systems.

Ramos then turned coach with the Astros at AA Columbus in 1989. He moved to high-A Osceola for 1990. By 1993, he was manager at single-A Asheville. He explained his approach as manager to The Asheville Citizen-Times that April. 

"You can't take anything for granted," Ramos told The Citizen-Times, "at this level, this stage.. Some of the Latin kids have played winter ball, but, for most of them, it's the first time away from home. ... As long as the kids give me 100 percent on the field, there's no problem."

Ramos moved to the Rays and the GCL for 1997. For 1998, he joined them as bullpen coach in Tampa Bay. He saw the majors again in 2000 with the Angels as bullpen coach, serving three years, including their 2002 title. He then returned to the Rays for 2006 as bullpen coach. He stayed in that role through 2011. He then joined the Marlins as minor league Latin coordinator.

Bobby Ramos 1990 Osceola Astros card

1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,323
Made the Majors:1,397-32.3%-X
Never Made Majors:2,926-67.7%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:569
10+ Seasons in the Minors:351