Minor Leagues

For every Robin Yount who signs a multiyear, megabucks contract, there is a chorus line of Joe Redfields singing, "I Can Do This, I Can Do That." And they'll play for a fraction of the price. Unlike the musical, however, the real-life stars don't step aside to give the supporting cast a chance to be headliners. For eight years, Redfield, 29, has performed in the minors, waiting for someone to leave the big show.

It took 10 seasons of playing minor league baseball before Joe Redfield earned his first extended stay in the majors last season. It took 10 minutes for the former Miraleste High standout to learn his first lesson. Redfield, then an infielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, got caught in traffic driving to a Pirates-Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Although he was only 10 minutes late, Redfield thought he had missed the start of the game. "I panicked," Redfield said.

While New York Yankee players and fans welcomed the news of George Steinbrenner's demotion from managing general partner to a lesser role as silent minority owner, players in the team's farm system say it will have little effect on their careers. Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent ordered Steinbrenner on Tuesday to resign as general partner of the Yankees by Aug. 20 for paying $40,000 to a known gambler in the Dave Winfield case.

The Texas Rangers will challenge any NBA team to a winner-take-all poker game. At stake is Loyola Marymount's two-sport phenom Terrell Lowery. The question is will any NBA team risk one of their two picks to select him in the 1992 draft. The Rangers already anted more than $100,000 in a signing bonus to convert Lowery, an established collegiate basketball standout, into a full-time baseball player. And that was only the signing bonus.

Jon Peterson knows why his online store, Minor Leagues, Major Dreams (http://www.minorleagues.com), is such a success: "We offer a unique product that one can usually only buy through mail order." Rarity is the key concept for Peterson, as it's nearly impossible to find a jersey for minor-league hockey's Long Beach Ice Dogs in your average sporting goods store.

As the minor league season moves into its final weeks, arms and legs that were strong in April are no longer spry nearing September. Fatigue resulting from more than 140 games and pregame workouts can make a 34-ounce bat feel like a sledgehammer. Once speedy baserunners feel like they are running in quicksand. The dog days of August can mean different things to different players.

After establishing an impressive track record for first-round picks, the New York Mets thought they had discovered another star when they made Loyola Marymount University junior Chris Donnels their top selection in 1987's amateur draft. Hubie Brooks (1978), Tim Leary (1979), Darryl Strawberry (1980), Dwight Gooden (1982), Shawn Abner (1984) and Gregg Jefferies (1985) were Met first-round selections who reached the major leagues within three years of being drafted.

Pitchers Derek Lilliquist and Steve Rosenberg were sitting in the visiting clubhouse Saturday afternoon in Phoenix when the news arrived. Lilliquist and Rosenberg were being called up to the Padres. Lilliquist would be replacing Greg Harris in the starting rotation, and Rosenberg would be in the bullpen for Pat Clements. "Man, we were so excited, we couldn't wait to get packed," Lilliquist said.

After five years of being touted by the Padres as an outfielder of the future, that role became even more defined for Jerald Clark on Tuesday--as an outfielder of the Colorado Rockies' future. Clark was snapped up as the Rockies' fourth pick in the first round in the National League expansion draft. The Padres also lost double-A pitchers Lance Painter (Colorado, second round) and Scott Fredrickson (Colorado, third round).

It was only a minor adjustment for a player coming off major knee surgery, but the tip helped Rene Lopez get on track in his first professional season. Lopez, a catcher, was drafted in the eighth round by the Minnesota Twins last year out of Harbor College. One of only two community college players invited to the U.S. Olympic team tryouts, Lopez's 1992 season at Harbor had ended abruptly when he tore three ligaments in his left knee during a collision at home plate.