Remember Spike Lundberg? Spike is quietly retiring and moving into another area of his baseball career -- read on for details.
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Lundberg, a one-time Syracuse SkyChief (pictured, left) was a good friend to Batter's Box in his brief run through the Jay organization, even joining us here online in 2004-05 for some Q&A, the cleverly-named Ask Spike and Ask Spike II. He left the Jays after one season (2005) and hooked on with the Dodgers, where Spike was named the Southern League's "Most Outstanding Pitcher" for 2006, as he went 15-2, 2.27 in 23 starts for the AA Jacksonville Suns. |
Spike pitched professionally across a dozen seasons for 14 teams in four big league organizations -- in order, TEX, PHI, TOR and LAD -- as well as the Mexican League and the independent Atlantic League.
He rang up a career mark of 102-79 in that time, including an 81-62 mark at AA/AAA. He reached double digits in season wins four times, including that career high of 15 in '06.
His Blue Jay career ...
... was limited to the 2005 run with Syracuse where he was 8-6 (with one save) in 50 appearances, including three starts. His winning percentage and ERA for 'cuse (.571 and 3.95) were right at his career averages (.564 and 3.90). So the 28-year-old Spike we saw and heard from that year was pretty much the real thing.
For more on these developments, we turn to another friend of Batter's Box, major league baseball's best independent Web presence, online voice of the Texas Rangers, Jamey Newberg:
Many of you know the history. The Rangers’ 1997 26th-round pick, a converted shortstop whose 28 wins in 1999 and 2000 between High A Charlotte and AA Tulsa matched Astros farmhand Roy Oswalt for the most in the minor leagues, was the first player to admit he read the Newberg (Minor League) Report and was a big reason this thing started on a path to going from what it was to what it is.
I heard from Spike last night, and since the feedback when I passed along a message from Erasmo Ramirez a couple months ago was so strong, I asked Spike if it was OK with him if I passed this along.
Read on to find out where Spike Lundberg is these days:
“Where’s Spike Lundberg these days?”
Hey Jamey,
I shut it down about 5 or 6 weeks ago. I've been meaning to write you, but everything has started getting crazy with what I'm doing now. Before I get to that, let me thank you and everyone who's been behind the scenes of the NMLR. I wasn't a prospect when Matt Miller first told me about your website. So for a guy like me hearing about someone in Texas writing reports about us, that was kind of a big deal to me. I always used it as a motivational tool. I would pitch my games and being the stat rat that I am, I couldn't wait to see everything in the next report. I needed to know if Doug Davis won again, because I swear he won every time I did in 99. It was also fun to follow some of my best friends that were at other levels like RA [Dickey], Travis Hughes, Colby Lewis, Andy Pratt, Nick Regilio, and the list goes on . . . .
Romano used to always make fun of me as the leader of the computer club, but they couldn't believe it when I could use some info from your reports and tell them why this trade may or may not happen and have a good idea of who we might draft that year. Once we reached the Texas League, Romano and C-los were already known to everyone, but I always got a kick out of someone in Round Rock or San Antonio telling me they've followed me thanks to Newberg.
I like to tell people I went from suspect to prospect during those years. Much of that is because of my focus on the mental side of the game. Carlos and I would spend more nights at Barnes and Noble and while he was reading about mythology, I was buried in every baseball book I could find that talked about Maddux or other guys who did it with their heads more than stuff.
Of course, stuff helps and gives you a bigger margin for error. That and consistency stopped me and brought me back to earth in OKC. Something good came out of that though, I got a record you don't want while you're playing, but I'm not ashamed of now, 27 wins as a [Tulsa] Driller. Although I never heard the guys on Sportscenter announce me as former Driller, I was fortunate to even get on that show a couple of times.
So now I'm done, and I'm happy with the things I did do in my career and have no regrets. I tried every avenue I could. 12 seasons, 10 years of winterball, 1200 innings, 102 wins, 60+ saves and more memories forgotten than I can remember. I'll miss the fans, I'm guessing 85% of them are Newberg subscribers. The thing I'll miss the most is my teammates. There's nothing like struggling together through those bus rides, the Sally League and day games in the Texas League.
Now, I'll still be spending most of my time at the ballpark. I've been hired as a Professional Player Representative with the Boras Corporation. The original plan was to pursue scouting/coaching, but this came to me right after I hung them up and I'm very excited about it. Lots of travel, but I get to spend more time at home and still get to help some young players who I think will be great down the road.
I'll still be reading these daily reports, helps me do my job ya know. Haha.
Thank you for all the support and making me a bigger "celeb" than I should've been. I wish all the best for you, your family, and the Rangers. I hope [Jamey's son] Max realizes how lucky he is to be exposed to some of the best players in Texas history. Let me know if I can do anything, besides telling our company's secrets.
Thanks,
Spike
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Those last two words are a nice closing, but let me re-order them just a tiny bit:
Thanks, Spike.