Back to the Binder!

Well I was thinking as a Bowman Fanatic. I have Binders, Piles, Stacks, miniature Skyscrapers of old Bowman Cards. Some of these guys make the majors and become well known MLB Superstars. Some get lost in Minor League purgatory before getting released. This "Back to the Binder" section will mainly focus on the latter. Each segment I will randomly chose 3 from my bowman stock pile and just take a look at the player in depth.

Card #1 2006 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects #DP22 Patrick Bresnehan Team- Pirates Position- Pitcher Drafted- 2006 ,5th Round Professional Years Active 2006-2010 Fun Fact- Totally looks like he's wearing a white glove on this card! The Danbury Connecticut native was drafted out of Arizona State in 2006 and Jumped into professional ball that same year. 2006 he played with Williamsport of the NY Penn League. Appearing in 15 games , starting 10 games he had a respectable 2.25 ERA to finish his first taste of professional ball. 2007 Pat mainly played in with Lynchburg in the Carolina League while also appearing in 3 games with the AA Altoona Curve. That year he did not start any games and was a relief pitcher , finishing 17 games with a rising ERA of 4.21 combined over his two stops in the Pirates System. In 2008 Bresnehan played again for the AA Altoona Curve. Pitching 50.1 Innings , finishing 21 of his 38 games played. Sadly in the spring of 2009 the Pirates released Pat. From my research it appears Patrick had Tommy John in 2009 and signed a contract with the Mariners in 2010 before being released in extending spring training. Later that season Pat appeared for two independent teams the Pittsfield Colonials and Bridgeport Blue Fish. In 17.2 Innings he had a 3-2 record with a 5.09 ERA. It looks like Pat's career is over. As he did not register any stats in 2011.(as far as I can tell)

Card #2 2006 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects #DP23 Chad Lee Team- Athletics Position- Pitcher Drafted- 2006 ,4th Round Professional Years Active 2006-2010 Fun Fact-Currently Pitching coach at Emporia State Chad Lee, Oklahoma City native was taken out of Barton County Community College in Kansas. Jumped into the Pro Ranks right after he was drafted playing with the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League. Starting 10 games for Vancouver , Lee ended up with a 3-2 record and a 4.29 ERA. Lee's 2007 would be a complete wash as injury claimed his entire 2007 campaign(I can't find the exact injury). Lee would return in 2008 pitching 9.1 innings between the Arizona League League A's and Vancouver. He posted a 6.75 combined ERA that season. 2009 Lee would again return to Vancouver and also play with Kane County in the Midwest League. His ERA shrunk to a combined 2.52 in his 25 innings pitched. Even with the improved ERA. This would be Lee's last season in the Athletics System, As injuries abbreviated his career. Lee Currently coaches with Emporia State University in Kansas as well as in the Northwoods League with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters.

Card #3 2006 Bowman Heritage #BHP26 Steve Garrabrants Team- Diamondbacks Position- IF, OF Drafted- 2003 ,9th Round Professional Years Active 2003-2008 Fun Fact-Was featured in the 2007 Series "Playing for Peanuts" Garrabrants is actually the 2nd player to attend Arizona State featured in this post. I personally hated this set. The names were only on the back and they had different shade variations which Topps messed up making them almost unnoticeable and very confusing. Steve joined the Yakima Bears after getting drafted by Arizona. His first pro season he batted .276 with a Career high 30 stolen bases. In 2005 he had a yo-yo season bouncing between A+ Lancaster, AA El Paso and AAA Tucson. Spending most of the year in Lancaster he compiled for a combined .271 Average. 2005 would be a change of pace as he stayed on the Lancaster Jethawks hitting a solid .318 with 58 RBIs in 95 games. 2006 he would spend the entire season with AA Tennessee where he would play a career high 104 games. His batting average suffered as it went down to .220. The following season 2007 would be an interesting one as he was released by Arizona before the season started. Steve would join the Albany Peanuts and reunite with his former Manager Wally Backman. This season was featured on a TV Series called "Playing for Peanuts".(This is an awesome show, Youtube it!) He tore up the South Coast League with a .346 Batting Average and 32 RBIs in 31 games. During the season he was signed by Boston and joined the Lancaster Jethawks for another stint this time under the Red Sox affiliation. He put up a .288 Batting average in 37 games. He wasn't brought back for the 2008 season in which he spent with Wally Backman again with the Joliet Jack Hammers where he batted .304. That would be the last year playing baseball.


I hope  people enjoy this segment. I hope to do it maybe biweekly. Please let me hear your feedback!