Today marks the birthday of former MLB player Creighton Gubanich (born 1972 in Belleville, New Jersey), who made The Show for three months and 18 games with the 1999 Boston Red Sox. A barrel of a man at 6′3″ and 200 pounds, he hit .277 in 47 at-bats, and was the fourth player in major league history to hit a grand slam for his first major league plate hit. (It was also his only major league home run, and came off of Jimmy Haynes of the Oakland Athletics on May 3, 1999.) Gubanich appeared in 14 games as a catcher, two as a designated hitter, and one as a third baseman.
Gubanich, shown here on his 2000 Topps card, catches to the mournful delight of whiny beaneaters. (image courtesy of All Star Baseball Academy)
Gubanich started the next season as an Indianapolis Indian after failing to make the Milwaukee Brewers as a non-roster invitee. Undaunted, he put together a great season for the Tribe in 2000, batting .284 with 34 doubles, 16 home runs and 71 RBI in 380 at-bats. He slammed seven home runs in June, earning honors as the Brewers’ Organizational Player of the Month. In the 2000 Triple-A World Series, Gubanich slammed a walk-off home run in Game 2 that put the PCL-champion Memphis Redbirds down two games to none to the Indians, who eventually won that series 3-1. For a couple of days, Gubanich and his home run were all over ESPN. I actually watched that game on ESPN2, and it was about as thrilling as a game can get. Good times.
(As a sad aside, that was also the last Triple-A World Series to date. The event had been held in Las Vegas during its brief history, and the best and brightest of AAA baseball weren’t enough to draw people out of air-conditioned casinos to watch day games in 100-degree heat.)
Gubanich retired as a player after the 2003 season. He currently resides in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and teaches at several baseball camps and academies in that area.
Indianapolis has been caught up in post-Super Bowl euphoria for quite a while now. I figured it was a good time to remember the city’s other sports champions, as well.