1989-90 Pacific Senior League, Johnny Grubb

#191 Johnny Grubb

Here is a card that I got signed through the mail this past summer. I sent this card to Johnny, along with his '81 Donruss card, at the end of August and I had them back a week later. Unlike the rest of the cards from this set that were sent out with an '81 D, Johnny's Donruss card has not been posted on here yet. It is a more recent acquisition and will be appearing here at a later date. At the rate that I am posting, it might pop up in 2018.

Johnny played in the Majors for sixteen seasons with the Padres, Indians, Rangers, and Tigers. He mostly played in the outfield, usually center or left, and was a .278 hitter for his career. He had 99 home runs and 475 RBI. He made the All Star team in 1974 as a Padre.

Johnny played for the Orlando Juice in the SBPA. The Juice missed the playoffs by one game. Johnny hit .305 for them with 4 home runs and 35 RBI.

After the steroid era, I am fairly certain that there will never be a professional baseball team called the juice ever again. Just a hunch.

1989-90 Pacific Senior League, Tim Stoddard

#182 Tim Stoddard

Here is the third and final card that Tim Stoddard signed for me at a Wichita State game last season. Tim is the pitching coach for the the Northwestern Wildcats and he also signed an '81 Donruss and '85 Topps for me.

Tim pitched in the Majors for thirteen seasons with the White Sox, Orioles, Cubs, Yankees, Padres, and Indians. He never started a game in his career, but he finished over half of the ones he appeared in. He finished with a 41-35 record with 76 saves and a 3.95 ERA. You would think that someone who finished 262 Major League games would have more than 76 saves, but it was a different game when Tim pitched in the '70s and '80s.

Tim's best season came with the O's in 1980. He finished that year 5-3 with a 2.51 ERA and a career-high 26 saves.

In the SPBA, it appears that Tim might have been a starter. He finished the season 10-2 with a 4.10 ERA. Tim's Tropics won the Southern Division crown and ended up in the championship game, losing 12-4 to the Pelicans.

Tim played basketball at North Carolina State and he is the only person to win a NCAA basketball championship and a World Series.


Tim also appeared in the movie "Rookie of the Year" as a pitcher for the Dodgers. I wish I would have realized that when I met him in Wichita. I definitely would have brought that up.

1989-90 Pacific Senior League, Stan Cliburn

#150 Stan Cliburn

Here is a card of Stan Cliburn that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnut game in 2012. Stan was the manager of the Sioux City Explorers at the time.

Stan played professionally for fourteen seasons in the Angels, Pirates, and Braves organizations. He spent a majority of those years in AAA and he hit .233 with 34 home runs and 170 RBI at that level. He did get a cup of coffee with the Angels, though, in 1980. That summer, he got into 54 games and he had 56 at-bats. He hit .179 with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, and 6 RBI. Unfortunately, neither Topps, Donruss, nor Fleer thought that Stan warranted a card in their 1981 sets.

After his playing days were over, Stan got into coaching. He got his first managerial job with the Watertown Pirates in 1988. He then went on to manage in the Rangers and Twins organizations, spending four seasons in AAA. He managed Sioux City the last three seasons, posting one winning season. The Explorers finished last season 38-62 and Stan was replaced during the offseason.

In the SPBA, Stan hit .281 with 4 home runs and 31 RBI. His Bradenton Explorers finished in second place in the Northern Division and lost to the Pelicans in their one playoff game.

Stan's brother Stew pitched for the Angels.

This has got to be one of the nicest signatures I have posted in a while.

1989-90 Pacific Senior League, Steve Luebber

#94 Steve Luebber

Here is a card that I got signed at Spring Training last year. Steve is the pitching coach for the Royals Carolina League team, the Wilmington Blue Rocks, and I was able to get him to sign this card after the minor leaguers worked out.

I was completely caught off guard by how easy it was to get this card signed. I had crossed paths with Steve three and a half years earlier and it was like pulling teeth to get him to sign for me then. I likened him to Will Ferrell's Mustafa character in the Austin Powers movie. You had to ask him three times to get anything out of him. This time around was the complete opposite. I asked him once and he stopped and signed with a big smile. To his credit, the first time I asked him was prior to a Carolina League playoff game and the second time was after a spring practice. I can totally understand how he was working when I asked the first go-around.

Steve pitched in the Majors for parts of five seasons with the Twins, Blue Jays, and Orioles. He both started and relieved and he posted a 6-10 record with 3 saves and a 4.62 ERA over 206.1 innings. Interestingly, he racked up two of his three saves in the same season that he pitched two complete games. The game is not played like it used to be. Case in point- Danny Duffy could have picked up an old-school three inning save yesterday. But, they put a different pitcher in for the ninth when the lead had been extended to 8-2. You want Danny to be a starter? Leave him in for the ninth and stretch him out a bit. You do not get that opportunity too often with todays specialized bullpens.

Anyway, for some reason, I cannot find any stats for Steve from the full season of the SBPA. But, I did learn that he was 1-1 with the Sun Sox, with a 3.07 ERA, when the league folded during its second season.

Steve has been the pitching coach for the Blue Rocks since 2007 and the first card I posted of him can be see here (hopefully the Austin Powers clip still works).

1989-90 Pacific Senior League, Steve McCatty

#89 Steve McCatty

Here is the third and final card of Steve McCatty that I got signed at a Royals game last season. Steve is the pitching coach for the Washington Nationals and he signed the cards for me before the game. Since I am mainly only able to see the Royals on Sundays, my autographs mainly consists of the pitching and bullpen coaches anymore. I used to be able to get pitchers on Sunday, but they do not workout on the field like they used to.

The first card of Steve can be seen here and the second one here. I may have missed out on his '81 Donruss card, but at least I was able to get this one signed.

Steve spent his entire Major League career with the A's, so he looks at home in the green and gold of the Ft. Myers Sun Sox. Steve went 5-6 in the SPBA with a 4.60 ERA. His five wins were good enough to tie him for the team lead.

1989-90 Pacific Senior League, Rick Manning

#86 Rick Manning

Here is the third and final card that Rick Manning signed for me through the mail in 2012. The first card was Rick's '77 Topps that I unlocked in the Topps Diamond Giveaway. The second card was his '81 Donruss card.

Rick played in the Majors for thirteen seasons with the Indians and Brewers. He was a .257 hitter with 56 home runs and 458 RBI. He never played in the playoffs, but he did bring home a Gold Glove award in 1976.

Rick currently works with the Indians as the color commentator for their TV broadcasts. This season marks Rick's twenty-fifth year in that role. It just so happens that he started that gig after his season in the SBPA.

With the Sun Sox, Rick hit .288 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI.

1989-90 Pacific Senior League, Gene Richards

#48 Gene Richards

Here is the second card that Gene signed for me through the mail in 2012. The first card was his '81 Donruss card and that can be seen here.

Gene spent eight seasons in the Majors, playing seven with the Padres and one with the Giants. He never made an All Star team and he never played in the playoffs. The Padres made a World Series run in 1984 and, of course, that was the year Gene was with San Francisco. Gene was a career .290 hitter with 26 home runs and 255 RBI. His best season was probably the '78 season, his second in the Majors. That year, Gene hit .308 with 26 doubles, 12 triples, and 45 RBI. Those were all career highs. Gene also stole 247 bases in his career, swiping fifty or more twice.

In his one season in the SBPA, Gene hit .326 with 4 home runs and 25 RBI. He lead the Super Sox with 11 stolen bases.

Since the SPBA played during the winter, I think that the Super Sox should have been called the Winter Sox. Or maybe that could have just been a shortened version of Winter Haven Super Sox.