Tony Saunders: We Remember Part 1

Though it might be a hard pill to swallow not everyone gets drafted, not everyone makes the big time or catches on. This doesn't always have to do with skills or timing, sometimes tragedy hits and changes everything. This is the story of former pitcher Tony Saunders who in three seasons played for two teams including winning a World Series. Tony Saunders went undrafted in the 1992 and would be signed by the Florida Marlins as an amateur free agent and would be sent to rookie ball. Before we continue I would like to take second and explain that any undrafted amateur are given the chance to freely sign with teams after the draft. For example, Tony was signed by the Marlins on June 9 which was actually the first time expansion Marlins were in the draft alongside the Rockies. Both teams would be brand new teams the following year.

Most famously Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones were the biggest gets in the draft with veterans like Paul Shuey, Jason Kendall, and Jeffrey Hammonds having solid MLB careers. Long time Marlins catcher Charles Johnson would be the first every player picked by the team to bring us back to the team in question. Tony would also be signed around a week after the draft after doing some research around the day that the draft was in 1992. This will not be a break down of Tony's career year by year but if his numbers in 1992 were a sign of things to come the Marlins had reasons for optimism. Below is a look at his stats as he progressed at a solid rate through the minors before arriving on the scene in 1997.

With both Al Leiter and Kevin Brown as the veterans and the underrated Rob Nen keeping the pitching staff stable it allowed young stars like Livan Hernandez & Tony Saunders to progress at there own pace with little pressure. The Marlins in 1997 were an extremely balanced team with good mix of youngsters hungry to prove themselves and proven players hungry to prove they can lead a team. Having future Hall of Fame manger Jim Leyland (should be in imo) at the helm and pitching wizard Larry Rothchild as pitching coach helped the Marlins. Saunders was a solid middle of the rotation piece for the Marlins filling the exact role they needed him to fill during the 1997 season. For the Marlins everything clicked in 1997, because in their third season of existence they not only made the playoffs for the first time, but won a World Series. At twenty-three years old Tony Saunders had made his MLB debut and was a member of the World Series Champions. Could it get any better then this? The story will continue....

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