Appleton Baseball All Decade Teams: Position Players 1988-97
Appleton Baseball All Decade Teams
1988-97: Position Players
Catcher - Tim Spehr (1988)
Tim Spehr was the Kansas City Royals 5th round selection in the 1988 draft out of Arizona State. He signed quickly after the draft and reported to Appleton to begin his professional career. Spehr hit .264 with 5 HR and 22 RBI during his 31 game stint in the Midwest League and was promoted to Baseball City the following year. He progressed through the minors showing strong receiving skills, some pop in his bat, but hitting for a low average. The call to the Majors came on July 18, 1991, when Spehr got the start against the Baltimore Orioles, catching Royals ace Bret Saberhagen. He picked up his first RBI in the 9th inning of the 5-1 Kansas City win on a suicide squeeze.
Spehr spent all of the 1992 season in the minors at Triple A Omaha before being traded to the Expos in the offseason. He backed up All Star Darrin Fletcher in Montreal for the next four seasons before bouncing around the rest of his career, including two more tours of duty with the Royals and stops with the Braves and Mets. Spehr played in 363 games over 8 big league seasons, hitting 19 homers and driving in 72 runs.
First Baseman - David Ortiz (1996)
David Americo Arias Ortiz was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Mariners in 1992 out of the Dominican Republic. He would not appear in a game in the United States until two years later, when the 18 year old made his debut with the Arizona League Mariners in 1994. He struggled (.219, 2 HR, 20 RBI) in his initial shot at professional ball and repeated the level in '95 with much better results (.332, 26 extra base hits). The 1996 season would be Arias' coming out party, as David dominated the Midwest League. The Rattlers 1st baseman hit .322 with 34 doubles, 18 homers, and 93 RBI while earning an All Star nod. Following the season, Arias was traded to the Twins as the player to be named later in deal that sent Dave Hollins to the Mariners. Starting new in the Minnesota organization, David also went with a new name around this time, as he starting going by his father's last name, Ortiz. He quickly rose through the Twins chain in 1997, making stops in High A Fort Myers, Double A New Britain, and Triple A Salt Lake on his way to a September call up to the Majors.. Ortiz flew out as a pinch hitter on September 2, 1997 at Wrigley Field in his Major League debut. His first hit, a double, would come in a pinch hit appearance the following day.
Ortiz spent six promising but injury filled years with Minnesota, twice breaking his wrist. Finally healthy, Ortiz hit 20 home runs in 2002 while batting .272 as the DH for the AL Central Champion Twins. But the cost conscious Twins released Ortiz after the season to save money. A little more than a month later, he signed with the Boston Red Sox, and the legend of "Big Papi" began. David finished in the top five of the American League MVP voting in each of his first five seasons in Beantown and helped bring a World Series title back to Boston.
Second Baseman - Terry Shumpert (1988)
Terry Shumpert was a 2nd round selection in the 1987 draft by the Kansas City Royals. The University of Kentucky product started out in the Northwest League, hitting .290 for the Eugene Emeralds in 48 games. Appleton was the next stop in the Royals chain, and Shumpert hit .242 with 37 doubles and 36 stolen bases for the Foxes. He jumped all the way up to Triple A Omaha the next season and held his own, stealing 23 bases while banging 29 doubles and hitting .248. He got his shot at the Majors in 1990, and he made his debut on May 1, collecting his first hit off of Milwaukee's Teddy Higuera.
Shumpert earned the Royals starting 2B job in 1991, but only hit .217 and couldn't hold down the position. His career never really took off with Kansas City and in December of 1994, Shumpert was sent to the Red Sox. Stops in Boston, Chicago, and San Diego produced more of the same, long stints at Triple A and minimal success in the Majors. It looked like more of the same when he signed with the Rockies after spending 97 games at Colorado Springs in 1998, but Terry got his chance the following season and hit .347 with 26 doubles in 92 games with Colorado. It was the first time he got over 200 Major League at bats in a season since his rookie year in 1991. It was a nice late career resurgence for the once promising prospect, spending three more solid seasons with the Rockies before spending his last big league season with the Devil Rays in '03. He finished as a .252 career hitter with 109 doubles and 223 RBI in 1969 at bats.
Third Baseman - Joe Randa (1992)
Joe Randa was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 11th round of the 1991 draft out of the University of Tennessee. He tore up the Northwest League, hitting .338, with 11 HR and 59 RBI in 275 at bats. The Wisconsin native started the 1992 season in Appleton and hit .301 before moving on to Baseball City. Randa continued to hit well as he moved up, batting at least .275 each at each level before making his Major League debut on April 30, 1995. Randa went 0 for 3 as the Royals starting second baseman against the New York Yankees.
Randa struggled in his first taste of the Majors, hitting just .171, but came back strong in 1996, batting .303. Following the season, Randa was traded to Pittsburgh, where he again had a solid year (.302), but it wasn't enough to convince the Pirates to bring him back. The Pirates left him unprotected in the Expansion Draft, where the Diamondbacks selected him, only to trade him to Detroit a few hours later. A below par season in Detroit (.254) put Randa on the move again, this time returning to Kansas City. He would spend the next six seasons with the Royals, hitting over .280 in five of the years and at least 29 doubles each year. He finished up his career with stints in Cincinnati, San Diego, and another stop in Pittsburgh. He ended with career totals of 327 doubles, 123 home runs, 739 RBI and a .284 batting average.
Shortstop - Alex Rodriguez (1994)
Alex Rodriguez was the first overall selection in the 1994 draft by the Seattle Mariners. He would sign in late August and make his professional debut the following season with the Foxes. Rodriguez would prove the hype was correct, as he tore through Appleton (.319, 17 2B, 6 3B, 14 HR, 55 RBI, 16 SB in 56 games) before even turning 19. Promotions couldn't slow him down, as he continued to rake at Double A Jacksonville (.288, 6 extra base hits, 8 RBI in 17 games) and Triple A Calgary (.311, 17 extra base hits, 21 RBI in 32 games. His whirlwind first season included spending the month of July with the Mariners, making his Major League debut on July 8, 1994, nineteen days before his 19th birthday. He went 0 for 3 as the starting shortstop in Fenway Park against the Red Sox.
Rodriguez was a little overmatched as the youngest player in the Major Leagues in 1994, hitting just .204, with all 11 of his hits being singles. The 1995 season was split between Triple A Tacoma and the Mariners, where he was still the youngest player in the Majors. He continued to show improvement with the big club, including hitting his first Major League home run on June 12th, a solo shot off former Appleton Foxes pitcher Tom Gordon. A-Rod officially arrived in 1995, as the 20 year old hit .358, 54 doubles, 36 home runs, and 123 runs batted in. He won the first of his nine Silver Sluggers, went to the first of 11 All Star Games, and finished 2nd in the MVP balloting. Following the 2000 season, Rodriguez left Seattle to sign a lucrative deal with the Texas Rangers. In his third season with the Rangers, Rodriguez won his first MVP award after hitting .298 with 47 HR and 118 RBI. Following the season, A-Rod was traded to the New York Yankees for Alfonso Soriano, where he has since won two more MVP awards.
Outfielder - Raul Gonzalez (1992)
Raul Gonzalez was the 17th round selection of the Kansas City Royals in the 1990 draft out of Puerto Rico. He debuted as a 17 year old with the Gulf Coast League Royals in 1991, hitting .294 in 47 games. Moving up to Appleton the next season, Gonzalez hit .256 with 9 HR and 51 RBI. But his career stalled after that, despite putting up decent stats (never hitting below .261). He spent all of the 1993 and '94 seasons at High A Wilmington and finally earned a promotion to Double A Wichita during the '95 season. He couldn't escape Wichita either though, spending the next three seasons there, putting up great numbers in '98 (.325, 17 HR, 86 RBI). He became a Minor League free agent and signed with the Red Sox, but not much came of his time there, as Gonzalez dominated Double A again, hitting .335 with 18 HR, and 103 RBI. He signed with the Chicago Cubs the following season and finally got a taste on not only Triple A, but the Majors as well, albeit brief. Making his Major League debut, Gonzalez struck out as a pinch hitter on May 25, 2000.
Gonzalez continued to be a baseball nomad, going from the Cubs to the Reds to the Mets to the Indians, before finishing his career in the Minors with the Cardinals and Pirates organizations. In his 29 career game (and his third Major League team), Gonzalez hit his first big league home run, a solo shot off Denny Neagle of the Colorado Rockies. He didn't have to wait long for his second, as it came just 4 innings later when he hit a three run homer. Raul hit .233 in 348 career at bats in the Majors.
Outfielder - Charles Gipson (1993)
Charles Gipson was the Seattle Mariners' 63rd round draft pick in the 1991 draft. He signed the following May and was assigned to the Arizona League, where the shortstop hit .315 and stole 11 bases in 39 games. Moved up to Appleton in 1993, Gipson added second base and the outfield to his defensive resume, while hitting .256 and stealing 21 bases. As he progressed through the Mariners chain, his speed and ability to play multiple positions carved out a niche for Gipson, allowing him to earn a spot with the big club in 1998. His Major League debut came on March 31, when he was a defensive replacement for Glenallen Hill in left field during a 10-9 Mariners loss to the Indians at the Kingdome.
Gipson would spend four more seasons with the Mariners, used primarily as a pinch runner or a defensive replacement, before spending a season each with the Yankees, Devil Rays, and the Astros. He is one of seven non-pitchers to play in over 100 games and have less plate appearances (358) than games played (373).
Outfielder - Raul Ibanez (1993, '94)
Raul Ibanez was the Seattle Mariners' 36th round pick in the 1992 draft out of Miami-Dade College. Signing shortly after the draft, Ibanez was assigned to the Arizona League, where he hit .308 in 33 games, playing at first base and catching. The 1993 season was split between Bellingham and Appleton, where he got his first taste of playing the outfield. Ibanez started to show a little pop with the Foxes, hitting five homers after only hitting one in 76 combined games in the Northwest and Arizona Leagues. Returning to Appleton in 1994, Ibanez put up impressive numbers as a C/1B/DH, batting .312 with 7 HR, 59 RBI, and 10 SB. He continued to put up numbers as he was promoted and in 1996 was converted to a full time outfielder. The '96 season included a four game trip to the Majors in August, where Ibanez went 0 for 5.
Ibanez spent the next four seasons splitting time between Triple A Tacoma and the Mariners, never appearing in more than 100 games for Seattle. He recorded his first Major League hit on August 17, 1997, an RBI triple off former Appleton Foxes pitcher Doug Drabek. Receiving sporadic playing time, Ibanez failed to establish himself and was allowed to leave as a free agent in 2001. Raul responded with a solid year for Kansas City (.280, 13 HR) before breaking out in 2002 for the Royals, hitting .294 with 24 HR and 103 RBI. Ibanez again became a free agent after the 2003 season and Raul decided to return to the Mariners. He has hit at least 13 HR in eight consecutive seasons, with his top being 33 in 2006 when he also drove in 123 runs.
Special Mention - Kerwin Moore (1990)
Kerwin Moore led the 1990 Appleton Foxes in on base percentage with a .378 mark despite hitting only .222. He only had 100 hits in 128 games, but the 19 year old walked 111 times. The speedster was a terror on the bases, stealing 57 bags. He never did figure out how to hit for average though, but despite a Minor League career average of .237, Moore appeared in 22 games for the Oakland A's in 1996.
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