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Independent leagues a baseball haven

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Posted: Tuesday July 07, 1998 04:30 PM

ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- On the same day that J. D. Drew ended his one-year holdout and signed a 4-year, $7 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, the 1992 NLCS hitting hero, Francisco Cabrera, signed a far less lucrative pact with the Albany Diamond Dogs of the Northeast League. Drew spent the past year playing for the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League.

The two cases represent the extremes of Independent League baseball.

Begun in 1993, when the Northern League was founded, Independent Leagues (there are now seven) have become a haven for free-agent holdouts, out-of-work major leaguers and everything in between.

The majority of the 51 Independent League team rosters are former college players who either weren't selected in the free-agent draft or were released after a season or two in the minors. Most are playing out of a pure love of the game. Salaries range from $600-$3,000 a month. But every year, a regular professional team picks up a couple of dozen players -- and a handful have made it to the majors.

Among the current crop of former Independent League players now in the majors:

• Darryl Strawberry, Yankees -- Played in 29 games with St. Paul (Northern) in 1996 after drug rehab and back problems nearly ended his career. Re-signed by Yankees in July of 1996.

• Rey Ordonez, Mets -- After defecting from Cuba in 1993, played with St. Paul (Northern) until awarded to the Mets in a lottery in October of 1993.

• Kerry Ligtenberg, Braves -- Went straight to the Southern Minny Stars (Prairie) out of the University of Minnesota. Recommended to the Braves by Stars' manager and former Atlanta catcher, Greg Olson. Braves sent Olson six dozen baseballs and two dozen bats as a token of appreciation.

• Mike Cather, Braves -- Released by the Texas Rangers as a Class AA player in 1995. Pitched the rest of the '95 season with Winnipeg (Northern). Signed a minor-league contract with Atlanta in 1996.

• Mike Lansing, Rockies -- While not a graduate from an Independent League, Lansing began his career with the Miami Marlins, an independent team in the Florida State League (A) in 1990. Recommended to the Expos by Felipe Alou, who was managing at West Palm Beach. Signed by the Expos in 1992.

Here is a partial listing of former major leaguers currently playing in one of the seven Independent Leagues:

Pitchers: Wally Ritchie, Joe Grahe, Matt Murray, Jose DeJesus, John Hope, John Dopson, Marvin Freeman, Jeff Bittiger, Donnie Elliott, Gary Eave.

Catchers: Terry McGriff, Francisco Cabrera.

Infielders: Brian Giles, Luis Quinones, Craig Worthington, Wil Polidor.

Drew hit .341 with 18 home runs and 50 runs batted in last season for the Saints (AP)

Outfielders: Jarvis Brown, Felix Jose, David Hulse, Gerald Young, Milt Cuyler, Ozzie Canseco.

Other Independent League notables include outfielder Earl Cunningham, the Cubs' No. 1 draft pick in 1989, and shortstop Victor Rosario, one of three players traded by the Phillies to the Braves for Dale Murphy in 1990.

Cuba, si!

The selection of Tampa Bay pitcher Rolando Arrojo to the American League All-Star team continues the focus on Cuba as a gold mine of baseball talent. Arrojo joins Livan Hernandez, Orlando Hernandez and Rey Ordonez as recent Cuban defectors who have made a major impact on the game. Arrojo is the 20th Cuban-born player to be named to an All-Star team (see chart).

Scouting the skipper

Bobby Cox recently became the winningest manager in Braves' franchise history, passing Frank Selee, who managed the Boston National League team from 1890 to 1901. Cox has now guided the Braves to 1,016 victories and credits a large part of his success to preparation.

"Our advance scouting and computerized data on every team is a major contributor to our success," says Cox.

In addition to the usual scouting breakdowns on every player, the Braves also have a book on every opposing manager.

"We discuss it before every series," says Bobby, "almost every manager you face develops tendencies. He may hit-and-run on a certain count or call for a pitch-out, squeeze or steal in certain situations. It's hard not to develop a pattern on these calls, although you try your best to avoid it."

Who have been the toughest managers to manage against?

"Gene Mauch and Sparky Anderson," according to Cox, "we're still learning from them."

Examples of their individuality as managers:

"Mauch was the first I ever saw who had his third baseman block the bag with his foot on plays at third on the turf ... since everyone was wearing turf shoes, there was no danger of getting spiked."

As for Sparky Anderson , "He would play his first baseman behind the runner, inviting you to take a bigger lead, then pitch-out."

The easiest manager to read?

"Earl Weaver. Because of the makeup of his teams, he never used the hit-and-run, never squeezed and rarely tried to steal. But don't get me wrong -- Earl was a great manager. He really knew how to motivate his players and he was outstanding at modifying his line-up based on the pitcher he was facing."

Pete Van Wieren is in his 22nd year of broadcasting Atlanta Braves baseball on TBS. His column appears weekly exclusively on CNNSI.com.

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