centerfield maz

Edward Lawrence Sudol was born on September 13th, 1920 in Passaic New Jersey. He attended Farleigh Dickenson University at Rutherford, long before the Meadowlands NFL football arrived in the area. He played minor league ball through the forties in various farm systems. He batted over .300 twice, while playing mostly as a first baseman. By 1953 he retired from playing & began to umpire. He first worked in the Tri State League, then the AAA International League from 1955-1957 when he got called up to the big leagues. Sudol was a National League umpire from 1957-1977 working three World Series & many classic baseball games. He was the home plate umpire in the 1965 World Series for Game #4 at Dodger Stadium as Don Drysdale beat Mudcat Grant striking out nine Minnesota Twins. Sudol also worked the 1971 World Series, serving as the home plate umpire in Game #2 at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium as the Orioles hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates. Sudol worked his third & final Wo...

Elieser Marrero was born November 17, 1973 in La Habana, Cuba. He attended high school in Corals Gables Florida outside of Miami. He was drafted in the third round of the 1993 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He spent five years in the minor leagues getting to the big league club by 1997 debuting in an inter league games against the Chicago White Sox as a September call up. He would spend seven years in St. Louis playing at catcher, first base & in the outfield. He began the 2000 season as the Cardinal catcher but lost a lot of time due to a bout with Thyroid cancer. That same season he caught a September no hitter thrown by Bud Smith.  In the Cards 2000 NL Central Division Champion season he played in 53 games with 5 HRs & 17 RBIs in 102 at bats although he only hit .225. Post Season: In the NLCS against the New York Mets he got the start at catcher going 1-3 with an RBI hit against Al Leiter in the Mets 6-5 victory. He had his best year in 2002 playing in 1...

Harry Minor was born in 1927 at Long Beach California. Minor was signed out of high school by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947. Minor would play outfield, first base, catcher & even pitch 22 games in a 12 year minor league career. He reached AAA in 1950 with the Buffalo Bisons, his only year at that level. He spent the next two years in military service returning to the minor leagues by 1953. He would play until the 1960 season, serving as a player manager from 1958-1960. Overall he would hit .283 with 154 career minor league HRs.   Minor soon became a scout, working in the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves for six years 1961-1967. It was minor who actually signed Tom Seaver out of USC, for the Braves. The deal was made when Seaver was technically still a college student, therefore not making him eligible. The deal was voided by Commissioner Eckert & a lottery was held in which the Mets won, by picking Seaver's name out of a hat. Minor then joined t...

Daisuke Matsuzaka was born on September 13th, 1980 in Tokyo, Japan. The six foot right handed pitcher was a star pitcher in his native country before coming to America pitching in the major leagues. Matsuzaka soon became a star pitcher at Yokohama high school, a school known for baseball. He went on to lose the Championship game after throwing a wild pitch  in the semi final round.  The next year he led his school to victory & also led his team to victory in the Summer Koshien Tournament. Koshien is the largest amateur sporting event in Japan. Matsuzaka earned the attention of the souts when he threw a no hitter in the final game, after already tossing a shut out earlier.  He was shown interest from a few MLB teams but chose the Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional League, after the team's manager had dinner with him & gave him a ball he had earned on his 200th career win. Matsuzaka went on to a star career with Lions winning Gold Gloves in seven of eigh...

Ross A Jones was born January 14th in Miami Florida. The six foot two infielder attended Miami Dade College before going to the University of Miami, playing with the Hurricanes. Jones was the Los Angeles Dodgers first round pick (the 9th pick overall) in the 1980 draft. In 1983 he came over to the New York Mets in the same deal that brought Sid Fernandez to New York, in exchange L.A. got Bob Bailor & Carlos Diaz. After spending time with AAA Tidewater he made the 1984 Mets Opening Day Roster. On April 28th, he had his day in the sun with a walk off RBI double against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was his only Mets RBI in 13 at bats. Unfortunately he didn't hit, batting just .111 by May 15th & was sent back down. On May 13 Jones committed an error that led to three unearned runs in the Mets 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He came up for two more games in July but lost his job to guys like Ron Gardenhire, Kelvin Chapman & Jose Oquendo. He was primarily...