By Tim Hayes
Sports Writer / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: May 19, 2009

We’re in the midst of high school postseason and the next three weeks – the district, regional and state tournaments – will provide a gauntlet for teams in their quest for a state title.

But, it’s also just a month before the Bristol White Sox open the Appalachian League season. The 2009 season will mark Bristol’s 40th straight year of hosting a minor league team. They were affiliated with the Detroit Tigers from 1969-1994 and have been a Chicago White Sox farm team since 1994.

So, who has been the best player to don a Bristol uniform during the past 40 years?

Future big leaguers like Mark Fidrych, Lance Parrish, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Travis Fryman, Tony Clark, Jose Lima, Justin Thompson, Frank Catalanotto, Carlos Lee and Chris Young have all passed through Randolph Field/DeVault Stadium en route to the majors.

—- Fidrych, who died earlier this year, broke in with the Bristol Tigers as a reliever in the summer of 1974. He went 3-0 with a 2.38 ERA in 23 appearances for the Tigers. Two years later, he burst on the major league scene and became one of the game’s most memorable characters. He was the 1976 American League rookie of the year and a two-time All-star before injuries derailed his career.

—- Lance Parrish began his career as a third baseman for the Bristol Tigers in 1974. He hit just .213 and struggled in the field. He did show some power while in Bristol and had 11 home runs and 46 RBIs. He was later converted to a catcher, was an eight-time all-star and won multiple Gold Gloves with the Detroit Tigers.

—- Lou Whitaker hit just .237 with one homer and 17 RBIs in his lone season with the Bristol Tigers in 1975. However, he improved throughout his time in the minor leagues and the Martinsville, Va. native was the 1978 American League Rookie of the Year and a five-time All-Star for Detroit.

—- Alan Trammell might be the most famous Bristol Tiger alum of all time. He hit .271 in his stint in Bristol in 1976. He went on to a fantastic big league career and was MVP of the 1984 World Series as Detroit dominated the San Diego Padres for the title.

—- Travis Fryman hit just .234 with two homers and 20 RBIs in his initial professional season. It wasn’t a sign of things to come. He enjoyed a 13-year big league career that saw four All-Star selections.

—- Rico Brogna broke in with the Bristol Tigers in 1988 and fared well, hitting .254 with seven homers and 33 RBIs. He later played nine seasons in the big leagues. His name is also a part of local lore. Brogna was the first batter Tazewell native Billy Wagner faced in his major league debut. Brogna flew out against the left-hander.

—- Tony Clark was the first overall pick in the 1990 MLB Amateur Draft and arrived in Bristol with plenty of fanfare and pressure. He hit just .164 with one homer and eight RBIs for the Bristol Tigers and I am sure some doubted whether he would ever pan out. If so, they were dead wrong. He’s currently in his 15th season in the majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

—- The colorful Jose Lima was 3-8 with one save and a 5.02 ERA with the Bristol Tigers in 1990 but even back then, showed his enthusiasm often as a youngster at DeVault Stadium. He went on to a long career in the bigs and went 21-10 in 1999 with the Houston Astros.

—- Justin Thompson did not have a long big league career, but it was still memorable. He went 2-5 with a 3.60 ERA in 1991 for the B-Tigers and went to make an All-Star appearance as a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers in 1997.

—- Frank Catalanotto spent two seasons in Bristol. In 1992 he hit just .200 and was reassigned to the Appalachian League again the next year. He redeemed himself by hitting .307 with three homers and 22 RBIs and has been hitting ever since. The utility player has enjoyed a productive career in the majors and recently signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.

—- Back in the summer of 1995, it was easy to tell that Carlos Lee was already a star. He hit .346 with seven homers and 45 RBIs that summer for the Bristol White Sox. The powerful Lee has played with four teams in the big leagues and has been selected to three All-Star teams.

—- Chris Young hit seven home runs during the summer of 2003 for the Bristol White Sox and the power surge continues to be a part of his game as an outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

There have been plenty of other big leaguers that have passed through Bristol in the past 40 years. Names like Mike Darr, Rusty Meacham, Juan Encarnacion, Charlie Haeger, Dan Meyer, Jon Rauch, Ryan Sweeney and Daryle Ward just to name a few.

Then there are guys who many Bristolians remember that never reached the show and live in relative obscurity on the front of old baseball cards: Tom Alrich, Manny Lutz, Matt Berger, Marcos Causey, Derek Wigginton, J.J. Schmidt and Brian Sager come to mind.

But that’s the beauty of minor league baseball. You never know what player on the field will be the next star.

Who is your favorite Bristol player from the past 40 seasons?

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I am still trying to reach members of former Bristol teams that won championships and trying to find old memorabilia/momentos and photos from those seasons. E-mail me at if you can help.

Thanks again and see you on June 23 at DeVault Stadium for the season opener.