Memory Lane: Southmoreland蘑菇视频 hard-throwing Meadows excelled in baseball
Geoffrey Meadows, who played football and baseball at Southmoreland High School, is another hidden gem from Western Pennsylvania蘑菇视频 baseball history.
Meadows was born in Connellsville on Aug. 11, 1960. Meadows got an early start in athletics.
鈥淲e lived in Everson and when I was younger I always played baseball and Little League,鈥� Meadows offered. 鈥淚 made all the All-Star teams around there and just went on from there. I played a lot in the backyard and I always played a lot. I played football. I loved playing football and I played football in college for a year or two and I just gave it up and stayed with baseball.鈥�
The 6-foot, 185-pound Meadows played football and baseball for Southmoreland from 1975 to 1978.
In football, the Scotties went 3-6 in 1975, 3-7 in 1976 and 1-8-1 in 1977 as members of the Class AAA Keystone Conference.
鈥淚 was a running back and defensive lineman in high school,鈥� Meadows said. 鈥淩uss Grimm was there the year before. He graduated in 1977 and I graduated in 1978. My brother graduated with Russ.鈥�
Meadows excelled on the baseball diamond for the Scotties.
鈥淲e were alright, but we didn鈥檛 win a lot,鈥� Meadows stated. 鈥淢y record wasn鈥檛 that great. I just threw hard, I was wild. Back then I was clocking in at 92-93 with the fastball. Big rival in baseball and football was Mount Pleasant.鈥�
Meadows was headed for a baseball career.
鈥淚t was always baseball,鈥� Meadows revealed. 鈥淚 liked playing football, but baseball was where I always knew my future was going to be.鈥�
He preferred to play both sports in college, however.
When Meadows graduated from Southmoreland in 1978 he was inundated with baseball scholarship offers.
鈥淚 had a lot of offers from baseball schools, but at that time I still wanted to play football,鈥� Meadows explained. 鈥淚 had all the major junior colleges, I had a couple of big schools. I had a lot of offers, but none of them ever wanted me to play both baseball and football. They just wanted me to play baseball and I wanted to play both coming out of high school. So I decided to go to Slippery Rock. It was close to home and I could play both sports and I was already pretty much known for baseball. If I could compete and do well I would probably get another shot at being drafted because I was drafted by Pittsburgh late out of high school like the 35th round.
鈥淚 thought about signing with the Pirates, but I wanted to go to college, and I figured, 35th round, I could probably improve and get drafted earlier.鈥�
Meadows played football for coach Bob DiSpirito at Slippery Rock. His team went 6-3 in 1978, his freshman year. Meadows was listed as a linebacker on the roster. He primarily played special teams and had two fumble recoveries. His sophomore season in 1979 would be his final one playing college football. The Rock posted a record of 3-6 that year. Meadows moved to tight end and played eight games with six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.
鈥淚 played two years,鈥� Meadows reported. 鈥淲e were so-so.鈥�
On the baseball diamond Meadows was on Rockets baseball squads under coach Wally Rose that went 13-9 in 1979, 19-17-1 in 1980 and 23-13-1 in 1981.
鈥淲hen I got there three or four players were drafted,鈥� Meadows recalled. 鈥淲hen I got there a lot of professional teams came to scout us and after I was there we had four or five guys drafted the next six years. Coach Rose was a great guy. I loved him. He was a great coach.鈥�
In 1979 Meadows was 1-0 and only pitched 4 1/3 innings with a 6.23 ERA. In 1980 he tossed 10 1/3 innings with a 0-2 record and 5.42 ERA with 23 strikeouts. In 1981 Meadows 2-2 with a 5.61 ERA in 25 2/3 innings of work. He notched 29 strikeouts.
鈥淚 always threw hard and for some reason the bigger the challenge, like against big-name guys, I would always do well against those guys ,鈥� Meadows said.
A big factor was Meadows was used as Slippery Rock蘑菇视频 closer in 1981.
鈥淚 enjoyed coming out there in late innings,鈥� Meadows stated. 鈥淚 was throwing heat and I didn鈥檛 have much of a breaking ball and towards the end of that year before I got drafted I started throwing a breaking ball and hurt my elbow a little bit. It got a little bit better and two or three years into my pro career it went out again. It was a uphill battle from there. I was always fighting injuries.鈥�
The right-handed Meadows was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 10th round of the 1981 MLB June Amateur Draft.
Meadows spent two seasons in the Astros farm system before he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals where he pitched a year with the Macon Redbirds and then pitched in the Pirates system at Watertown and then went back to the Cardinals at Springfield before pitching in the Dodgers system at Vero Beach. Meadows never pitched higher than high Single A baseball.
His minor league stats were five seasons with a record of 11-23 with two saves and a total of 223 strikeouts.
鈥淚 enjoyed every minute of minor league baseball,鈥� Meadows explained. 鈥淚 really liked it. I did learn a slider. I picked it up from J.R. Richard when he was on a minor league rehab assignment. I played with some great players like Terry Pendleton, and Vince Coleman, he had 141 stolen bases the season I was with him and it was something to see.
鈥淐ecil Cole got me a tryout with Pittsburgh. I was released when I was 25 years old. I moved out of Pennsylvania and moved to Maryland. I was a union insulator for like 35 years. I retired. Still played softball and I still play senior softball.鈥�
Meadows, 63, resides in Columbia, Maryland with his wife Marlys. They have been married for 22 years. They have a 21-year-old son, Chance.
Looking back, Meadows says it was a good ride.
鈥淲hat I experience in the minor leagues, it made me who I am for the rest of my life,鈥� Meadows stated. 鈥淚 coached kids teams and I still play competitive softball. Baseball taught me a lot of life lessons and it made me who I am.鈥�
George Von Benko蘑菇视频 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 蘑菇视频. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.