Where are they now? Worrell, Herr, Spiezio and Templeton
Every year since the beginning of baseball, players have come and gone. Fan favorites pack their bags and new friends are made. Sometimes it's easier than others, but most often, we lose track of them once they leave.
After a recent discussion at the office regarding Tommy Herr and where he is now, I decided it would be a good time to check up on a few guys. A few of them were favorites and one, well, not so well liked.
Todd Worrell - Worrell came along at just the right time as the Cardinals lost Bruce Sutter to free agency and he immediately filled the gap. A pair of injuries in the late 1980s caused him to take a couple of years off before eventually ending his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even after baseball, though, Worrell has stayed busy.
He currently owns and operates Firesteel Creek Hunting Lodge in Plankinton, S.D. Josh and Jeremy Worrell have followed in their father's footsteps as baseball players. Both of them played baseball in college at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind. Jacob Worrell, the youngest of the three, is at Indiana Wesleyan. He is also trying to follow in his father's footsteps. Josh Worrell was drafted in the 30th round of the 2009 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals. Todd remains close to his baseball roots and is currently the pitching coach at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis.
Tom Herr - Although he's no longer busy hitting grand slams and getting thousands to toss their seat cushions in the air, Tommy Herr has definitely stayed close to the game.
Herr was hired in November 2004 as the first manager of his hometown Lancaster Barnstormers, a team in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, and led the team to the 2006 Atlantic League championship. His success in Lancaster piqued the interest of the Washington Nationals, resulting in a managerial position with the Single-A Hagerstown Suns for the 2007 season. The Suns finished last in the Southern Atlantic League in 2007 with a 55-81 record. Following the 2007 season, Herr left the Nationals organization after his request to manage their Double-A affiliate, the Harrisburg Senators, was refused. After leaving the Nationals, he sought employment with other major league organizations, including the St. Louis Cardinals, without success. Herr then sought to return to the Barnstormers as their manager for the 2008 season, but lost out to Von Hayes. In December 2008, the Barnstormers announced that Von Hayes had hired Herr to be his bench coach in 2009.
His oldest son, Aaron, was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round during the 2001 season. He played the 2005 season with the Springfield Cardinals, the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. Aaron was later traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 2006, and allocated to their former class AA team, the Chattanooga Lookouts. In mid-2006, he was promoted to the class AAA Louisville Bats, where he played his best season. Aaron had a short stint with the class AAA Buffalo Bisons, but a severe groin injury caused him to be reassigned to the Bats for 2008. On March 5, 2009, Aaron joined Tom with the Lancaster Barnstormers for 2009.
Jordan Herr, also one of Tom's sons, played for the Lancaster Barnstormers for the 2008 season. At the conclusion of the season, the Chicago White Sox signed him to their Rookie-level affiliate, the Great Falls Voyagers.
Garry Templeton - Once believed to be one of the best players around early on in his career, Templeton, left his first team with a bang, or a flip, to be more accurate.
Templeton, after the St. Louis fiasco he created, went on to become one of the most popular players in Padres history, and was considered an emotional leader on the 1984 National League championship team. He was named team captain of the Padres by manager Larry Bowa in 1987, and assumed that role until he was traded to the New York Mets in 1991.
After his retirement as an active player in 1991, Templeton stayed in the game as a coach and minor-league manager. From 1998 through 2001, he managed in the Anaheim Angels organization for four different teams, posting a 294-272 record. From 2003 to 2004, he managed the Gary Railcats of the Northern League, moving on to manage the Golden Baseball League's Fullerton Flyers in 2005. After three years with the Flyers, he would move on to manage the Arizona Winter League's Palm Springs Chill in 2008, then would return to the GBL to manage the Long Beach Armada in 2009. He managed the Chico Outlaws to the GBL Championship in 2010. He is currently the manager of the Yuma Panthers of the North American League. Rumor has it, he is keeping his finger to himself these days.
Scott Speizio - The story of Scott Spiezio, who in 2002 had a World Series moment similar to David Freese, has been a long, sad one. We all remember how on Feb. 27, 2008, Spiezio was released from his contract with the Cardinals after an arrest warrant was issued against him in Irvine, Calif. The warrant was issued on six charges relating to a car crash in December. On March 31, 2008, Spiezio signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves. However, he was released on April 12 for being unprepared to play in a game.
After his major league career ended, Spiezio started playing for the independent baseball leagues. Spiezio signed a one-year deal to play the 2009 season for the Orange County Flyers of the Golden Baseball League. Spiezio signed another one-year deal to play the 2010 season for the Newark Bears where he hit .279 with three homeruns and 35 runs batted in while appearing in 52 games.
I plan to do one of these stories on occasion, but to be honest, the information is very sparce and hard to find, so if you have any suggestions or information you think readers might enjoy, let me know. Much of the above information, what didn't come from people, was gathered from Wikipedia because it is the only place online that information could be found on most of these players.
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