If the Padres’ Xavier Nady sees action before the end of the season, the club’s second round pick in the Amateur Draft will be only the 18th player to jump directly to the major leagues since the Amateur Draft began in 1965. The last player to go directly from amateur baseball to the majors was John Olerud when he debuted with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989. The other 17 players are:
PLAYER POS. YEAR TEAM
Mike Adamson RHP 1967 Orioles
Steve Dunning RHP 1970 Indians
Burt Hooton RHP 1971 Cubs
Rob Ellis OF 1971 Brewers
Pete Broberg RHP 1971 Senators
Dave Roberts INF 1972 Padres
Dave Winfield OF 1973 Padres
David Clyde LHP 1973 Rangers
Eddie Bane LHP 1973 Twins
Dick Ruthven RHP 1973 Phillies
Bob Horner 3B 1978 Braves
Tim Conroy RHP 1978 A’s
Mike Morgan RHP 1978 A’s
Brian Milner C 1978 Blue Jays
Pete Incaviglia OF 1986 Rangers
Jim Abbott LHP 1988 Angels
John Olerud 1B 1989 Blue Jays
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WINNING OLD
David Wells of the Toronto Blue Jays won his 20th game of the season on September 21. It was the first 20-victory season of Wells’ 14-year career. He is just the 18th major league pitcher to win 20 games after his 37th birthday, a feat that has been accomplished 24 times. Hall-of-Famer Warren Spahn holds the record for most 20-win campaigns after turning 37 with five. The nine oldest pitchers to win 20 games in a season were:
PITCHER YEAR TEAM RECORD, AGE
Warren Spahn 1963 Braves 23-7 42
Cy Young 1908 Red Sox 21-11 41
Grover Alexander 1927 Cardinals 21-10 40
Warren Spahn 1961 Braves 21-13 40
Gaylord Perry 1978 Padres 21-6 40
Phil Niekro 1979 Braves 21-20 40
Spud Chandler 1946 Yankees 20-8 39
Early Wynn 1959 White Sox 22-10 39
Warren Spahn 1960 Braves 21-10 39
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OUT ON STRIKE
Preston Wilson of the Florida Marlins is just five strikeouts away from breaking Bobby Bonds’ 30-year-old single-season record of 189. Although the center fielder has put up terrific power numbers (31 homers and 119 RBIs), he also has taken the whiff to new heights. Through Wednesday, Wilson had suffered 143 swinging strikeouts and had been caught looking 42 times.
ZEROING IN
Matt Herges of the Los Angeles Dodgers is 11-3 this season, 11-0 as a reliever and 0-3 as a starter. If Herges remains undefeated in relief, he’ll become the first Dodger reliever since the team moved to L.A. in 1958 to win that many games without taking a loss. Only five Dodger relievers have finished a season with more victories than Herges: Ron Perranoski (16 in 1963), Mike Marshall (15 in 1974), Phil Regan (14 in 1966), Larry Sherry (13 in 1960) and Charlie Hough (12 in 1976).
IN CLOSING
Two ballparks leave the ranks of major league venues this season. The final big-league game in Milwaukee’s County Stadium was played on Thursday and Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium will see its last game on Sunday. For the record, Willie Stargell is Three Rivers’ all-time home run king with 147 while Eddie Mathews is the champ at County Stadium with 211.
AROUND THE HORN
The Diamondbacks (5-2) and Dodgers (4-2) are the only opposing teams to post winning records at the Giants’ new park. Bartolo Colon is the first Indians pitcher to strike out 200 batters in a season since Dennis Eckersley did it in 1976. The Mets have five starters with double-digit wins for the first time since 1988. Jay Payton of the Mets has the most homers (16 through Wednesday) by a Mets rookie since Darryl Strawberry had 26 in 1983. Juan Pierre of the Rockies is the first rookie since Kent Hrbek in 1982 to post at least two hit streaks of 15 games or more in his debut season. Alex Rodriguez (38 HRs and nine errors through Wednesday) could become the first shortstop to have 30 more homers than errors since Ernie Banks (45/12) in 1959.
