Former New Albany High School pitcher Steve Stemle made it to the majors last week, and yesterday the C-J's Rick Bozich wrote a nice piece about Stemle's fortitude during long years of exile in minor league oblivion.
Stemle's story gives assurance to big dreamers, by Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal (short shelf life for C-J links).
Yes - appearances to the contrary, the Kansas City Royals really are "big" league. Here's more on Stemle from the Royals web site.
If the Tribune has been covering the Stemle story, then we've missed it.
New Albany's greatest baseball players were Jouett Meekin, who pitched during the pre-1900 "deadball era," and Billy Herman, a Hall of Fame second baseman.
Here is Jouett Meekin's tombstone, erected a few years ago after a fundraising campaign guided by IUS professor Curtis Peters, and Meekin's career stats.
The recent Billy Herman commemorative marker dedication is described in this Tribune article. Here are Herman's career stats.
I am so happy for Steve and his family. Mostly my taste for Rick Bozich's articles is sour but Carol's ex-husband wrote a great article about one heck of a baseball player from our area. It is a shame that my and Joe's Cardinals let him stagnate in the minors for oh too long. Must be more to that story I am sure. Good one Roger!
ReplyDeleteIn like spirit, I was on the bench at some point watching FCHS play Jeffersonville, who had Walt Terrell pitching.
ReplyDeleteTerrell had at least a decade in the bigs, but I'll always remember him from 1983, when I was playing in a state tourney (softball) in Fort Wayne, and between games lounging in the motel while the pitcher Terrell homered twice in a game (can't remember who he was playing for at that point).
From the New York Times on last night's 3-1 K.C. victory over the Yanks:
ReplyDelete"Royals starter D. J. Carrasco threw six scoreless innings for his first major league victory as a starter. And the 28-year-old right-hander Steve Stemle, a career minor leaguer until the Royals called him up from Class AAA Omaha last Thursday, maintained the shutout through the seventh and eighth."