90's Box Breaks

Before Brien Taylor, there was another pitcher that was hyped beyond belief, and for good reason.

Going 11-3 with a 0.97 ERA in his senior year of high school, Todd Van Poppel also claimed 170 strikeouts that season causing him to be drafted 14th overall in the 1st round draft right out of high school in 1990 by the Oakland Athletics. The Atlanta Braves wanted Van Poppel, but since he explicitly told them he wouldn’t sign, they ended up “settling” for Chipper Jones.

Unlike Brien Taylor, however, Van Poppel at least saw major league play. His best season, perhaps, was 1995 when he went 4-8 with an ERA of 4.88, with 122 strikeouts in over 138.1 innings that year. He split his time that season as a starting pitcher as well as a reliever.

The A’s released him mid 1996, and after spending time with Detroit, Texas, and Pittsburgh, he saw 2 successful years in 2000 and 2001 as a middle reliever for the Cubs. He retired from baseball in 2005 with a career record of 40-52, an ERA of 5.58, 711 strikeouts, and never winning more than 7 games in a season.

That same year, he invested in the Denton Outlaws, a Texas Collegiate League team which went on to win the league championship that year. The team has since disbanded in 2007.

1991 Score Todd Van Poppel