SABR Biographies

Stan Cliburn grew up in Jackson, MS during the tumultuous civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.  The indelible events of those years shaped him as a three-sport high school athlete playing on integrated teams.

He was selected in the 5th round of the 1974 MLB draft and rose through the minor leagues to play with the California Angels in 1980.  In 1984 when his identical twin brother Stew pitched for the Angels the Cliburns became the seventh set of twins to play major league baseball.

Cliburn's playing career ended in 1987 and he was hired as a minor league manager in 1988.  As of 2022 he has managed 3790 games in 30 seasons.  His 1898 wins places him 21st on the all-time list for minor league manager victories.

The eighteen-year old student trainer was mortified. A 96-inch roll of cloth athletic tape unwound and rolled across the floor.  The football team and adult training staff watched with the thunderstruck Mark Letendre as eight yards of tape uncoiled.  “What a rookie,” announced the Head Athletic Trainer.  From that day forward Letendre was known as “Rookie.”  

The nickname endured through his 42-year career as a major and minor league trainer and MLB’s first Director of Umpire of Medical Services. First with the star-studded New York, then with the ascendant San Francisco Giants, Letendre advanced MLB training room player support.  The fit and nimble major league umpires of 2022 are the product of the pioneering fitness awareness that Letendre introduced in 2000 and expanded in his two decades as MLB's Director of Umpire Medical Services.

Stories about Art Quirk’s golden arm and Ivy League degree accompanied the left-handed pitcher on his rise to the major leagues.  But his 1962 debut was short-lived when he was bumped from the Orioles roster by a future Hall of Famer. Quirk returned to MLB in 1963 with the Senators, but was sent down as the team conducted brief auditions for its pitching staff. A sore arm forced him to retire and Quirk began building a lifelong legacy to create opportunity for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Mike Hart played in the minor leagues for 12 years pursuing his dream of playing major league baseball.    He was a five-tool player and hit over .300 for five teams in Triple-A, but was called up to MLB for just five games.   After retirement, and three years away from the game, Hart's love of baseball lured him back.  For 22 years he managed and coached in the minor leagues, supporting players aspiring to be major leaguers.

Dave Robinson was the first player signed by the expansion San Diego Padres in 1968.  His impressive fifteen major league games in 1970 somehow did not resonate with San Diego and his baseball career ended the next year.  His longer 30-year career as a teacher and coach left a lasting impression on the students at Mar Vista Middle and High Schools.

Victor Rodriguez left his family in Puerto Rico at age fifteen in 1977 to play minor league baseball Bluefield, West Virginia.  His mother believed he had the maturity to handle the transition, but local ordinances required the under-18 Rodriguez to be removed from home games at 9 p.m.

Rodriguez rose through the Orioles minor league system. He played briefly in the majors and for nineteen years in the minors with a lifetime batting average of .295. He has shared his hitting insights and coaching techniques in pro baseball for forty-seven years, thanks to the support and strength of his family.

Frank Leja of Holyoke, MA was one of the most sought after high school graduates in the nation in 1953.  The seventeen year old power-hitting first baseman was invited to work out with major league teams so they could evaluate his skills.  During the 1953 World Series Leja became a "bonus baby" by signing with the New York Yankees for a reported $100,000 bonus.  

Leja's bonus came with a stipulation, however.  Since it exceeded $4,000 he was required to remain on the Yankees major league roster for two years.  He never started a game, accumulating just seven at bats in 1954 and 1955, and was then sent to the minor leagues.

Still, he never gave up on his dream of playing in the major leagues. In 1962 he started four games at first base for the Los Angeles Angels. In retirement Leja still cherished his days as a New York Yankee.