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Tony Saunders: We Remember Part 2

 Following a World Series win with Florida Marlins in 1997 the world of Major League Baseball changed with the arrival of another new franchise the Tampa Bay Rays. In the 1997-1998 offseason baseball would hold it's second expansion draft of the 1990's welcoming two more teams into the fold. The Rays would join the Marlins as the newest Florida based MLB franchises. The Rays would select former Marlins starter Tony Saunders in the expansion draft and the youngster would have the chance to start again on a new team. The one thing that jumps out at me from looking at the Rays rotation from 1998 is that Tony wasn't not covered like he was with the Marlins. 

I am a firm believer in the idea that youngsters are better off being able to come along at their own pace as oppose to being thrown into the fire. Tony was covered by two veterans in Florida with Kevin Brown and Al Leiter leading the rotation. In Florida, Tony also had fellow youngster Livan Hernandez alongside him to share the spotlight. Point is making the move to Tampa Bay did give Tony a more wide open chance to prove himself, but without veterans to protect him the pressure was higher on the new team. The other pitchers that shared the rotation with Saunders were also unproven the opposite of the luxury in Florida. 

Looking at his stats from his first year in Tampa Bay, Tony showed potential to be more then just a solid back end starter. Keeping a low 4.00 era during the 1998 season the control issues which is common with a lot of young pitchers is what jumps out at me. An injury would derail the 1999 season for Tony Saunders and is where we've been building in these articles. I don't have words to describe the nature of the injury so I will allow the video to talk for me: 



In the aftermath it would be clear that something was severely wrong with Tony Saunders as it turned out one pitch changed everything. Tony would break his arm off one pitch and though he would remain in baseball for next few years it was never the same. The Rays remained patient with the youngster keeping him under contract until 2004 and he would catch on with the Orioles for a season. I for one have always been a fan of sports figures that allow you to ask the question of "What if" and Tony is sadly a perfect case for that. In my opinion, I believe Tony showed flashes of being a solid starter and someone that could help stabilize the young Rays had his career not been derailed by tragedy. 

In a quote taken from a sabr.com article:
"Marlins pitching coach Larry Rothschild was no less impressed by the left-handed hurler. The first manager of the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Rothschild played a key role in the Devil Rays’ selection of Saunders as the first player chosen in the 1997 major-league expansion draft. A seemingly bright future loomed for the youngster before a gruesome injury in 1999 ended his career." 

Perfect way to describe the situation and as always we sit and ponder the question of what could've been had a tragic injury not happen that day in May 1999. 


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