Frank Leja and Tommy Carrol

Well, those are things that they have in common, but they're not really all that special...So...you do NOT win the rotten banana...or whatever the prize is when there is no prize...I guess you COULD eat a hat. We've had that done here before, haven't we??? 

And yes, I looked that up.

You deserve at the very least a consolation prize. It wasn't the correct answer I was looking for, though it IS true and it's true because of the other reason. They were the very first (1954 and 1955) bonus babies ever signed by the Yankees. To think that these young players were in such demand that a team would risk having to keep them on the MLB roster for TWO FULL SEASONS. The normal course was that they would wind up getting demoted at the very first date it was allowable and if they ever surfaced in MLB again it was usually a few seasons later, often with other franchises...

Nice that you admitted to looking that answer up, but there was no need for confession. It surely wasn't something I "knew" off the top of my head. I just got to thinking about some of the bonus babies I did know of, and then I realized that I really didn't know much about the bonus babies of my favorite franchise...

I was just about to let this subject drop at this point. Names revealed, no more guesses to be made and then...it hit me. I had a Cliff Clavin moment and realized that there is a much larger story to be told about bonus babies. It's a story us older fans know pretty well, and one that some of you younger fans may have missed. It's a not only a story of risk taken and failure, it's also a story of Hall of Fame players and success. And even in "failure' some of these young men fashioned pretty respectable and even lengthy careers as bonus babies. When you look at the numbers that Leja and Carrol put up in small samples you might get the impression that at least Carrol could hit, so he probably did have the best chance of making a living in baseball for a long time.

Carroll did indeed resurface in MLB in 1959 with the A's, going 1 for 7 in 14 games, but after a lacklustre 1960 season in AAA with the A's and Cubs there no longer seemed to be a market for his services. Leja, on the other hand, was a determined fellow that wanted to play professional baseball for as long as he could. He resurfaced with the Angels in 1962 and suffered through the indignity of an 0 for 16 finish that season. He hung on for one more minor league season in 1963 in which he slugged 17 HR, giving him 162 HR in the minors over his 8 total full seasons in the lower leagues...He hit a high of 30 with the Yanks AAA team in 1961, but with Mantle and Maris along with Berra, Skowron, Blanchard, etc. on the Championship roster that year, the Yankees did find the need to call him up... (:

There are more bonus baby stories to tell. Not sure how far I'll go with this, but it will depend on whether or not it appears that some are interested in the subject and...most important of all...if I feel like it... (:

Hey dudes, we have some company and they have four little rugrats that not only drive my ass crazy, but I just love to get them all riled up. So...I'm in big demand right now because their daddy is being transferred to Georgia, so we won't get to se see these kids much again if ever...(Ruthie's nephews brood). I'll be back again soon. I think.

My new boss out here is driving my ass up a wall. I think he has multiple personalities. One day he's positive, the next he's angry and negative. I know he cheated and lied his way to his position, which means he's a dirty bastard so I'm hoping he can cheat and lie his way to another, higher position that will make me too small to speak to, but...I'm probably stuck with him...