From Chapter 7:

1986-1990: If You Re-Build it, Will They Come?

1989

The 1989 version of the Rochester Red Wings that would attempt to defend its league crown was similar to its predecessor in name only. First baseman Chris Padget was the lone returning player to have spent the entire championship season with the Wings. Other players on the roster who spent part of the ’88 season in Rochester were Jay Tibbs, Keith Hughes and Mike Raczka, while infielder Tim Dulin, pitcher Jose Mesa and outfielders Butch Davis and Sherwin Cijntje had appeared briefly.

Those eight players were the only links to the pennant-winning squad. “We felt last year that it was important to have a winning atmosphere in the organization somewhere along the line and Rochester was the place,” explained farm director Melvin. “We still want to win in Rochester [this year], but development is always first in mind.”

Despite the necessary loss of youngsters Milacki, Harnisch, Worthington and Finley, it was not a team without prospects. But in a telling sign of the condition of the farm system, the three most highly-touted players had come from outside the organization. The 1988 Orioles finished an embarrassing 54-107 and the fire sale of veterans had begun in mid-season when Mike Boddicker was traded to Boston for Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling. Schilling was slated for Rochester. The other pair of potential big-leaguers picked up in trades and starting the season in Triple-A were catcher Chris Hoiles (acquired with Cesar Mejia from Detroit for Fred Lynn) and Juan Bell (one of three players picked up from Los Angeles for Eddie Murray.)

Schilling was counted on to contribute to a Rochester pitching staff that had both youth and experience. The 22-year-old pitched at three levels in 1988 (including the majors). Joining Schilling in the rotation and the returning Jay Tibbs were imports Mejia, Mickey Weston (Mets) and Dave Johnson (Houston). None were particularly hard throwers, but all had above-average control. Mejia was 14-5 at Detroit’s Double-A farm team, while Johnson notched a 15-12 record at Buffalo.

All were right-handed, which was a potential sore spot, as the staff had only two lefties, Raczka and Mike Jones. Jones was a Pittsford native who made it to the majors in the early ’80s with the Kansas City Royals. He suffered a broken neck in an off-season car accident, causing him to miss the entire 1982 season. He hung around with the Royals through 1985, compiling an 11-10 career mark, but was cut in early 1986. He spent the 1988 season with Nashville, compiling a 5-4, 2.54 record. Both southpaws were expected to pitch in long relief or as set-up men.

The right-handers in that role were Michael Anthony Smith and Michael Anthony Smith. With the bizarre coincidence of identical names they went by their states of birth — giving the Wings a “Mississippi” Mike Smith and a “Texas” Mike Smith. “Mississippi” came over from the Montreal organization, where he had spent most of the year in Indianapolis, while “Texas” was with Chattanooga of the Cincinnati chain.

Veteran Mark Huismann (21 saves for Toledo) was the closer. The staff’s hardest thrower, Jose Mesa, was recovering from elbow surgery and would be used carefully in the early season. “We’re young,” stated pitching coach Dick Bosman. “We have quality arms here. Guys have the potential to pitch in the big leagues, maybe not too far down the road.”

The staff would be throwing to a pair of young, promising catchers. Hoiles, the starter, played most of the previous year at Double-A Glens Falls (.283, 17, 73), his home run total tying for the league lead. He was backed up by Jeff Tackett, also strong with the glove, but still developing as an offensive player (.206 at Charlotte).

The infield looked to have a lot of action generated by the ground-ball throwing staff. Shortstop Bell was one of the organization’s prize prospects, and often electrifying with his glove. The 20-year-old switch-hitter had spent 1988 in the top two rungs of the Dodgers’ chain, showing surprising pop with 13 home runs. Second baseman Dulin was another well-regarded defensive player. Veteran Tim Hulett, who spent parts of five seasons with the Chicago White Sox (but 1988 with Indianapolis) was the starter at third. Francisco Melendez hit .361 for the Pacific Coast League Phoenix Firebirds and was expected to start at first, but he was recalled days before the season began. Instead Padget would play, hoping the 10 pounds he had lost in an off-season conditioning program would help boost his .220 average. Harold Perkins was the utility man.

The defensive strength up the middle was continued in the outfield. Fleet Walt Harris (53 stolen bases at Single-A Hagerstown) covered vast territory in center and was penciled in as leadoff hitter. Butch Davis led the Southern League (Charlotte) with a .301 average, and showed power with 13 home runs and 82 RBI. Sherwin Cijntje was also back, trying to atone for his .227 tour with the Wings. He would see most of his time in left field. Keith Hughes (.270, 7, 49 during his short stint in Rochester) joined Hoiles and Padget as the home run threats.

But with more speed than power, Biagini anticipated motion on the basepaths. “If you have a mix of both, I don’t think you get into a slump,” stated the Rochester manager. “When you get the speed guys on, hopefully you’ll have a guy who can hit the ball out of the ballpark and win a game.” He saw strong starting pitching, good defense and aggressive base running as the keys for his first Triple-A squad.

The Alliance marked its second year of existence with some minor changes. The two leagues combined umpiring crews. The IL realigned its divisions, due to the move of the Maine Guides to the Scranton, Wilkes-Barre area in Pennsylvania. The Wings moved back to the East division, along the newly-monikored Red Barons, Syracuse and Pawtucket.

Silver Stadium would also sport some improvements for Opening Day. New sod had been planted in the infield and in foul territory along the baselines, courtesy of the Billy Graham Crusade. After the previous autumn’s week-long stay, a representative of the Crusade had visited Silver to assess the damage and ended up picking up the tab for 7,000 square yards of Kentucky Bluegrass. The grounds crew also improved drainage by adding a layer of Maryland River stone to the warning track in foul ground.

The early schedule was a bit bizarre. The Red Wings opened at home versus Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, April 6, then went on the road for three games in Pawtucket. After two off-days, they returned home for what was being billed “Opening Day II,” again against the Red Barons. Opening Day I featured a strong performance by Schilling, who pitched the team to a 3-1 win in front of 4,322 on a cool and rainy April weekday afternoon. (The game also featured the return of Floyd Rayford, this time as a coach for the visitors.)

Opening Day II was less of a success. On an extremely cold day the Wings were again victorious, 4-3 in 11 innings, but attendance was limited to 896. The frigid, rainy spring continued, as rainouts and off-days combined to gave Rochester a stretch in which it played only five games in nine days. The weather hampered practices and contributed to offensive and defensive problems.

Nor were the Wings immune to shuffling by the parent club. Within the first month the Wings lost Hoiles and Tibbs to Baltimore, as well as Mesa (sent down to pitch regularly) and Mississippi Smith (DL). Coming down were Rick Schu, Francisco Melendez and Pete Harnisch. Pitcher Chuck Stanhope came up from Double-A and the O’s purchased outfielder Billy Moore from Indianapolis, the third player (along with Hulett and Mississippi Smith) acquired from the team that defeated the Wings in the 1988 Triple-A Classic. “I’m tired of one-run games,” said Biagini, when asked about Moore’s acquisition. “I’m looking for someone to drive in runs.” Moore’s arrival meant another roster move, and for the second year in a row it meant the departure of Cijntje, hitting a mere .120.

The adverse conditions continued into May and already a backlog of doubleheaders was accumulating. The rain caused a postponement to the game scheduled on May 3, the 60th anniversary of Silver Stadium. The May 11 exhibition game against the O’s was rained out as well, including the pre-game ceremony in which the players were to receive their championship rings. With no common open dates left in the season, the game was not rescheduled. The O’s paid the agreed-upon sum of $10,000, but Rochester officials had been anticipating a profit of at least $25,000 from the game.

One development not contingent on favorable weather was the selection process for the inaugural class of the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame. The Hall’s election committee nominated 18 finalists, from which the nine charter members would be selected and enshrined later in the season. The list included Joe Altobelli (1B/OF 1963-66; manager 1971-76), Don Baylor (OF, 1968, 1970-1971), Allie Clark (OF, 1953-57), James “Rip” Collins (1B, 1929-30), Estel Crabtree (OF, 1933-40), Harry Davis (1B, 1939-42), Steve Demeter (3B, 1964-68), Russ Derry (OF, 1947-52), Luke Easter (1B, 1959-63), Jack Faszholz (P, 1950-56), Bobby Grich (SS, 1970-71), Don Richmond (3B, 1949-54), Mike Ryba (P, 1939-40), Red Schoendienst (SS, 1943-44), Morrie Silver (president, 1957, 1962-67), Bill Southworth (player/manager, 1929-32, 1939-40), Specs Toporcer (2B, 1928-34) and Harry Walker (player-manager, 1952-54).

The Wings’ offense continued to sputter, but the team had a respectable mark into May, based entirely on the strength of the pitching staff. It was clear that the team could not contend with an offense that had six players hitting under .200. That fact was made painfully so when a Pawtucket squad that had lost 25 of its first 30 games inflicted a four-game sweep on the Red Wings in mid-May.

This year, however, the team was left alone, other than the sale of Schu to Detroit, as the parent Orioles were both healthy and winning. But minor hurts began to pile up in Rochester and Bell had a mysterious arm ailment. When Huismann was recalled (eight saves, 1.71 ERA), the team went into a five-game skid that dropped its record under .500 for the first time since August of 1987.

Fortunately Weston (8-2) and Schilling (6-3) were pitching well, and the team acquired infielder Shane Turner from Double-A Reading of the Philadelphia organization. But the team continued to lose on the road, including a heart-breaker in Syracuse in which the Wings blew a 3-1 lead with none on and two out in the ninth. It was the 10th consecutive loss on the road in a streak that would peak at 11 and put the team 6 1/2 games behind the front-running Chiefs.

It was an inconsistent team and any chance of going on an extended run looked slim when June injuries and recalls weakened the team. Center fielder Harris suffered a potentially career-ending eye injury when a pitch was fouled off into his face on an attempted bunt. Hoiles was on the disabled list with a sore back and Weston recalled. Mississippi Smith was traded to Buffalo, while in return the Wings added catcher Craig Faulkner (up from Double-A) and pitcher Jose Bautista (Baltimore). June also saw the return of John Habyan, trying to recover from an off-season sledding accident which damaged his pitching shoulder.

The team continued to flounder on the road, with only its success at Silver keeping it barely above .500. The return of Bell, the resurgence of Melendez (20 RBI in a 10-game span) and the sparkling play of Hughes (the only Wing named to Alliance all-star game), raised hopes that the Wings could make a dent in the Syracuse lead during a July five-game home-and-home series with the Chiefs.

Three days before the showdown, Harnisch (5-5, 2.58) was recalled. The next night Hughes (.270, 20 stolen bases) separated his shoulder in a home-plate collision during a loss to Richmond, putting him out for the season. The crucial series began with the team down to 19 players.

Recent call-up Brian DuBois had to start the opener and pitched well, but lost 3-0 at Silver. After a 2-1 win the series moved to Syracuse, where the team lost another player to a home plate collision — top utility player Perkins, who broke two bones in his lower left leg. That game ended 4-0 in favor of Syracuse and the next day the Chiefs swept a doubleheader to take an 8 1/2-game lead on Rochester.

Cijntje was recalled to take Hughes’ place, but the team continued to blow leads and lose close games, at one point dropping three extra-inning games in five days. Rochester subsequently played nine consecutive one-run contests, losing six. The Wings had leads in eight of the games, but four were lost in the final at-bat due to shoddy relief work and sloppy defense. The relief corps was atrocious without Huismann. Most frustrating was their inability to simply throw strikes.

Perhaps the only high point in July was the installation of the inaugural class of the Red Wings Hall of Fame. Inducted were James “Rip” Collins, Estel Crabtree, Russ Derry, Luke Easter, Bobby Grich and Specs Toporcer as players, and Joe Altobelli, Billy Southworth and Morrie Silver as contributors. Present for the ceremonies were Grich and Derry.

The bullpen woes continued and dragged the team under .500. Six different pitchers were tried in the role of closer and all failed. The team was seventh in the league with a mere 22 saves and no active pitcher had more than two. Texas Smith came down from Baltimore and, on Aug. 5, notched the first team save in over two weeks.

Not even the rotation was left untouched in the search for a stopper. Biagini and pitching coach Bosman pulled players out of starting roles and, with the departures via trade of Habyan and DuBois, scrambled the rotation. Schilling was distracted by rumors of an impending recall and while waiting for the call that didn’t come, lost six of 11 starts. Bautista was an hour late to a game and missed a start, causing a run-in with Bosman.

The team never really made a run at the Chiefs. Harris returned from eye surgery in August, prompting the sale of the disappointing Cijntje (.200) to Cleveland. Brady Anderson came down from Baltimore, but limited to DH because of a sore throwing shoulder. He brought speed to the lineup though, and the Wings climbed back to .500 at 61-61. But defense of their division crown officially ended on Aug. 24, when the Chiefs took the first game of a doubleheader versus the Wings.

There were several personal goals to occupy the season’s final days, as well as the team’s quest to finish above the break-even mark. Melendez closed to within six of the league’s RBI leader. Schilling was in the running for the league lead in wins, while Mike Jones was shooting for double figures in pitching victories. Weston, who came back on injury rehabilitation in the final month, had the league’s lowest ERA but needed to pick up enough innings in order to qualify for the honor. Dulin and Padget both hoped to reach the 100-hit mark.

All fell short. The season’s final game was rained out at Silver and the Red Wings finished the season at 72-73, 11 games behind division-winning Syracuse.

In retrospect the team never recovered from the May 21 recall of bullpen ace Mark Huismann (2-1, 1.71, eight saves). His nearly-unhittable slider could not be replaced, although Pitching Coach Bosman was unwilling to lay the blame completely on the bullpen. Nonetheless, after Huismann’s departure, the relief corps consisted of Triple-A rookies or veteran minor leaguers not used to pitching in that role.

The staff did rank third in the league in complete games and fourth in ERA (3.31). Mickey Weston returned to finish the season at 8-3, 2.09. He missed qualifying for the ERA title by four innings. Curt Schilling (13-11, 3.21) tied for the IL lead in wins and was fifth in strikeouts with 109. “They [the starters] took us where we wanted to get,” stated Bosman.

The team’s 151 errors did not help the bullpen. Infielders Juan Bell (36), Tim Hulett (20) and Tim Dulin (14) were guilty of sloppy defense, and pitchers added another 15 miscues of their own. “The majority of errors came on routine plays,” said Biagini. “That’s not fundamentally sound, but that’s just a lack of concentration.”

An offense that had little power to come from behind compounded the problem. With only 66 homeruns, last in the league, the Wings had a 6-62 record in games in which they were tied or trailing after seven innings. The lack of power was not unexpected, but the promised running game wasn’t consistent enough to make up the difference. Francisco Melendez did finish the season with 78 RBI, second in the league, but few were generated by the long ball. Tim Hulett was 10th in the league with a .280 average. Butch Davis had the best individual season by a position player, finishing third in the league in batting at .303, scoring 81 runs, knocking in 64 and stealing 19 bases. He tied with Chris Hoiles for the team lead in home runs at 10. Davis was named to the International League post-season all-star team, and had participated in the Alliance all-star game in place of Keith Hughes.

Injuries and recalls hurt because there had been no one at Hagerstown able to help. “There’s a void in the system,” admitted Biagini. “It’s at Double-A.” Consequently the losses of Keith Hughes (.274, 2, 43), Harold Perkins (.282), Walt Harris and outfielder Billy Moore were felt more deeply. During the season the Wings also sent nine players to Baltimore — eight of them pitchers. Unfortunately, for the most part the pitchers were sent up in place of injured players and the Wings received nobody in return. “If we stayed healthy, we had a chance to do better than we did,” said Biagini. “With all we’ve gone through — injuries, call-ups, lack of depth from the lower levels, I’m pleased with the way the season turned out.” Schilling added: “A baseball person will tell you we had talent. The excuses are there. The reasons are there. The bottom line is we could never get over the hump.”

It was a mixed performance off the field as well. Attendance dropped to 284,394, due partly to a schedule overloaded with April and May home dates. The turnstile count was again short of the 285,000 on which the front office based its budget. It was unclear if the dropping attendance was a factor, but on Sept. 15, General Manager Bob Goughan resigned after 11 seasons with the Wings.

The official statement from the team said Goughan resigned (some suggested under pressure) to “pursue other business opportunities.” A quorum of the board of directors, meeting in a special session, voted to accept the resignation. Team President Fred Strauss, when asked if Goughan had been fired, answered, “I would not say that.” Goughan, however, was unavailable for comment and other front-office staff were stunned by the development and could not reason why. Strauss added, somewhat cryptically, “Bob did a bang-up job for Rochester Community Baseball. I don’t know, maybe 11 years is enough, maybe it’s not enough.”

Goughan, who joined the Red Wings in 1978 and shared the general manager’s job until 1984, had been working on a series of one-year contracts. A unnamed friend who defended Goughan’s performance admitted his determined work ethic could have eroded support: “I think Bob burned probably too many bridges. In some situations he [annoyed] the wrong person.” The change had no effect on the working relationship with the Orioles, as on the same day RCB announced a one-year extension with Baltimore.

Two days later, radio voice Jay Colley also resigned. There was no link with the Goughan situation, as Colley had informed the Wings in August that he would not return. He was moving to his off-season home in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he would be taking a job outside baseball. His on-air stint of eight years equalled those of Pete Brown (1973-81) and Tom Decker (1954-61) and was fell short of only Joe Cullinane, the dean of Red Wings’ broadcasters, who reigned the airwaves for 12 seasons from 1962-1973.

The choice of Goughan’s successor would be important for the future of the franchise. Due to the renovation debt, RCB was looking for a general manager with a strong business background, stated search committee chairman Elliot Curwin. But through the end of November the Wings had just 17 applicants for the job. The pool of prospects was not as large as some would have liked, due mainly to the fact that the salary offered was the lowest rate of pay among the International League’s general managers. Former co-General Manager Bill Terlecky, currently the GM of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, removed himself from consideration in early December.

The prospects were no doubt daunted by the announcement at the shareholders’ meeting that the Red Wings had lost $227,052 for the year. Despite Strauss’ accompanying statement that “The whole goal for the board and management of the organization is to maintain fiscal stability,” Triple-A Alliance Commissioner Randy Mobley stated he was “concerned” about the franchise’s fiscal picture.

The problems revolved around the fact that the renovation had not sparked increased attendance. Strauss admitted “disappointment” that the stadium — “being more attractive and more comfortable” — had not brought in the number of people he had anticipated. He wanted to see counts in the 320,000 range.

Renovation repayments were draining $400,000 out of the team’s coffers each year and further improvements on the stadium were in the planning stages. Strauss revealed that the team planned to improve field lights in 1991, and maintenance over the following two years would cost another $288,500. The team also wanted to replace outfield fences, improve the grounds crew area and erect a suitable Hall of Fame. RCB did not rule out refinancing its debt before 1996.

Goughan’s successor was named at the end of January. Selected as the new general manager was 34-year-old Dan Lunetta. “He just jumped right out at us,” said Curwin, describing the process that screened some 40 applications and interviewed 10 candidates. Lunetta, who had local ties as a 1980 graduate of SUNY Brockport, had worked as general manager of the Jamestown Expos (NY-P), director of operations for the Buffalo Bisons and traveling secretary of the Montreal Expos and Cincinnati Reds. He inked a one-year deal with RCB, one which reportedly called for a salary of between $34,000-$40,000, plus the use of an automobile.

Lunetta came in with the realization that improved relations with the fans would be the first step to the improved attendance needed to keep the franchise afloat. “Obviously the bottom line to any success of a minor-league operation is the fans that you bring into the ballpark. There really isn’t a reason why we can’t increase attendance here,” he said. That increase was becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity with each year.

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