You may not know much about Rodney McCray, but if you’re any kind of baseball fan, you undoubtedly remember his handiwork.

McCray was an outfielder who appeared in 67 games with the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets from 1990 through 1992. Primarily used as a defensive replacement or pinch-runner, he only made 15 plate appearances in that time. He was 3-for-14 for his career with a walk, six strikeouts and an RBI. He also stole nine bases in 10 attempts. It should also be noted that Rodney’s one at-bat as a Met (and final at-bat as a major leaguer), on May 8, 1992, drove in the deciding run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Mets’ come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not a bad way to go out.

Rodney McCray’s teammates on the 1992 Mets included Kevin Baez, Mark Dewey, Pat Howell, and indomitable AAA hitting machine Junior Noboa. Plus some guys you’ve actually heard of. (image courtesy of urbangolfgear.com)

Not ringing a bell? Believe me, you remember Rodney McCray.

Happy 44th, Rodney.

Tulsa Drillers first-base coach Mike Coolbaugh was killed last night after being struck by a foul ball while in the coaching box.

Primarily a third baseman by trade, Coolbaugh played professional baseball for 17 seasons, toiling through the Blue Jays, Rangers, Athletics, Rockies, and Yankees’ organizations before landing with the Brewers (and subsequently, their Triple-A club, the Indianapolis Indians) before the 2001 season.

Coolbaugh had to have had a gratifying season that year. He was an International League All-Star, hitting .268 with 10 homers and 50 RBI while playing great defense at third base. He also finally got the call to The Show that year. As a 29-year-old rookie, he hit a single in his first Major League at-bat and a home run in his third. He finished with a .200 average with two homers and seven RBI in 70 at-bats. Indianapolis hosted the All-Star game that year, and Coolbaugh was instrumental to keeping interest in the Indians alive through the summer months. I even remember the local media keeping up with him at the parent club. His was one of the feel-good stories in baseball… the long-suffering, hard-playing career minor-leaguer who finally made it.

Mike Coolbaugh turns two on Charlie Greene and the Padres during the 2001 season. He appeared in three games as a shortstop in his career, and 31 as a third baseman. (image courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

His stint in MLB didn’t last long. After a 1-for-12 stint with the Cardinals the next year, he was out of the majors for good. He played in the minors with the Phillies, Astros and Royals organizations before taking on the job in Tulsa this year. Coolbaugh hit .260 blasted 268 home runs and drove in 1,007 runs in over 1600 games for his minor-league career.

He had the Drillers job for all of three weeks before Sunday’s accident. He leaves behind a wife, two children, and a third on the way, as well as older brother Scott Coolbaugh, who was a MLB third baseman with the Rangers, Padres and Cardinals.

It’s too often that the Mike Coolbaughs of the game, the guys who make up its very backbone, get shuffled to the background and only tragedy brings them to the surface. For every player that makes it big, there are thousands who never come close. The solace we can take from this is at least Mike Coolbaugh got to come close, and he died doing what he loved.

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.

Pitchers and catchers report this week to Spring Training, meaning that the title defense of the 2006 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals will soon be underway. It also means that the Commissioner will soon be snubbing the Human Bobblehead, the George Steinbrenner Health Watch will begin anew, Cubs fans are once again hopeful their team will win a World Series in their lifetimes (and should be for another, oh, five weeks), and an entire city will begin its annual rite of collective whining.

In honor of these events, I submit to you, the reader, another birthday celebration: John Paciorek, born February 11, 1945.

Happy 62nd, John. It was a heck of a ride. (image courtesy of baseball-almanac.com)

If that name sounds familiar, it should. John’s younger brothers Tom and Jim also played in the Major Leagues. Tom Paciorek spent 18 years (1970-1987) as an outfielder in the bigs, with the Dodgers, Braves, Mariners, White Sox, Mets, and Rangers, and was an American League All-Star in 1981. He retired with a very respectable .282 career batting average, and spent several years afterwards as a color commentator for the Chicago White Sox with Ken “Hawk” Harrelson. Yes, that’s right… most of the current generation of baseball fans knows Tom Paciorek as “Wimpy.”

“I’m gonna make Frank Thomas my ‘pick de clique,’ Wimpy. What do you think?” I think sitting next to the Hawk for any length of time would make me a heavy drinker. You’re a saint, Tom Paciorek, a saint. (image courtesy of sportsencyclopedia.com)

Jim Paciorek wasn’t quite that successful, scratching out a .228 average in 101 at-bats as a backup corner infielder with the 1987 Brewers in his only Major League season, but his career was a marathon compared to his big brother’s… John Paciorek’s big-league career lasted all of one game.

John, who was 18 at the time, got the call on the last day of the 1963 season, on September 29. He started in right field and batted seventh for the Houston Colt .45s, who were closing out their abysmal second season by hosting their even-more abysmal brothers-in-expansion, the New York Mets. Houston won the game in a rout, 13-4, with John going 3-for-3 (in addition to walking twice), with four runs scored and three runs batted in.

Sadly, John never got back to the major leagues. He had suffered a back injury during the ‘63 season, which severely hindered his development. After struggling to keep his average over the .150 mark for most of 1964 (at A-level ball, no less), he went under the knife and sat out the 1965 season. He would come back the following season, and would hit 17 homers for the Reno Silver Sox of the A-level California League in 1968, but that would be the closest to his former glory he’d get. John retired from professional baseball after the 1969 season.

At least he’s got the distinction of having the greatest one-game career in Major League History, and it’s more than a cliche; no other player in MLB history who appeared in only one game has three hits in only three at-bats. Throw in his run production, and it’s a game to build a dream on.

I’m sure there are a million more players, from all kinds of backgrounds, that never made The Show and would trade any of their best days for his. I know I would.