Alan Zinter
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Driskill, Too
[ Author: Guest: null | Posted: Jun 18, 2002 11:08 PM
]
I forgot to mention that the other "feel-good" story of the 2002 baseball season in the Major Leagues has to be that of Travis Driskill, another career minor leaguer who, just like Zinter, once played here in Japan. Driskill, who played with Yakult a few years back, finally made the show this season at age 30 and has been a find for the Orioles as he has given them a couple of decent starts.
Driskill was first registered here in Japan as Driskee but later changed his name back to his original Driskill.
We're now starting to see more and more foreign players in the Majors who played in Japan before they played in MLB. Of course there was Larry Raines a long time ago, but now we've seen Ty Van Burkleo, Robinson Checo, Timo Perez, Alfonso Soriano, Alan Zinter, Travis Driskill, etc. do it.
Good luck to both Driskill and Zinter. I hope that they can both stick around for good.
Driskill was first registered here in Japan as Driskee but later changed his name back to his original Driskill.
We're now starting to see more and more foreign players in the Majors who played in Japan before they played in MLB. Of course there was Larry Raines a long time ago, but now we've seen Ty Van Burkleo, Robinson Checo, Timo Perez, Alfonso Soriano, Alan Zinter, Travis Driskill, etc. do it.
Good luck to both Driskill and Zinter. I hope that they can both stick around for good.
Re: Driskill, Too
[ Author: Guest: Gary Garland | Posted: Jun 19, 2002 12:25 PM
]
After seeing Driskill pitch against the Mariners, I had to wonder why he was kept down on the farm so long. Maybe mechanically he has finally put all the pieces together since it seems that he sure knows how to pitch.
Another name to add is Elmer Dessens, who has been pretty okay for the Reds since coming back from Japan.
Another name to add is Elmer Dessens, who has been pretty okay for the Reds since coming back from Japan.
Re: Driskill, Too
[ Author: Guest: null | Posted: Jun 19, 2002 5:31 PM
]
Dessens has indeed pitched well for the Reds since his stint in Japan with the Giants, but I was talking about players who played in Japan before actually making their Major League debut. I believe Dessens did pitch in the Majors with the Pirates before coming to Japan.
You're right about Driskill though. It's amazing that guys like him and Jason Simontacchi (Cardinals) had to play overseas (Simontacchi in Italy) and bounce around in the minors for so long before actually getting a chance to prove themselves in the big leagues.
You're right about Driskill though. It's amazing that guys like him and Jason Simontacchi (Cardinals) had to play overseas (Simontacchi in Italy) and bounce around in the minors for so long before actually getting a chance to prove themselves in the big leagues.
Re: Driskill, Too
[ Author: Guest | Posted: Jul 3, 2002 5:05 PM
]
On ESPN's SportsCenter recently they did a feature on Alan Zinter and his improbable achievement of making it to the major leagues after 14 years in the minors (and other countries). It was one of those heartwarming stories that you never get tired of no matter how many times you hear it or how many variations there are.
They didn't show any film of Zinter playing with the Seibu Lions, but they did show him getting his first major league hit 2 nights ago against the Reds. His first big league hit was a 2-run homer.
They compared him to Crash Davis, Kevin Costner's character in Bull Durham since they are both about the same age and toiled in the minors for about the same number of years. They also both happen to be switch-hitting catchers, although Zinter plays a little of everything. He was mostly a 1st baseman-DH with the Lions if I'm not mistaken.
Since Disney did so well with "The Rookie"-it has grossed over $73 million in the U.S. alone, maybe they should think about making a sequel "The Rookie 2" using Zinter's story.
They didn't show any film of Zinter playing with the Seibu Lions, but they did show him getting his first major league hit 2 nights ago against the Reds. His first big league hit was a 2-run homer.
They compared him to Crash Davis, Kevin Costner's character in Bull Durham since they are both about the same age and toiled in the minors for about the same number of years. They also both happen to be switch-hitting catchers, although Zinter plays a little of everything. He was mostly a 1st baseman-DH with the Lions if I'm not mistaken.
Since Disney did so well with "The Rookie"-it has grossed over $73 million in the U.S. alone, maybe they should think about making a sequel "The Rookie 2" using Zinter's story.
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BTW, I wonder when the Jim Morris movie, "The Rookie," will be released in Japan? It was released by Disney at the end of March in the U.S. but I have yet to hear anything about its release here in Japan.