Padre Pitcher Keith Comstock Really Took the Long Route to San Diego

Making it to the big leagues can be a long road, paved with patience and perseverance. Keith Comstock knows mostly about the detours.

He’s been released by teams in Japan, Mexico, Canada, Venezuela and the United States.

Minnesota, California and Detroit gave up on him, Oakland sold him and San Francisco traded him to the San Diego Padres last month. Comstock has pitched for Toledo, Birmingham and eight other minor league clubs, including Kawasaki in Japan.

“Everybody’s got a story to tell. I’ve got a few of them,” Comstock joked. “My wife’s tired of them.”

--Canada, 1975. Comstock is with a semipro team in Red Deer, Alberta, and a few guys are playing touch football in the outfield before a game. Comstock dives for a pass, hurts his shoulder and is sent packing. “But I made the catch,” he recalled.

--Mexico, 1981. Comstock signs to play winter play for Matazalan. The manager of the team is fired before the season starts, and the owner also wants Comstock to leave. “I didn’t want to show up my manager, so I left, too,” Comstock said.

--Venezuela, 1984. Comstock agrees to play for a winter league team in Caracas. He signs a contract but before he mails it back, the Minnesota Twins sign him as a free agent and tell him not to go. The Venezuelan team releases him and the league suspends him for five years. “I still have that contract somewhere,” he said. “But I’m not going down there.”

--Japan, 1985-86. He spends two years pitching for the Yomiuri Giants, going 8-10 with a 4.50 earned-run average. He likes the money, but isn’t so happy when they send him to the minors. “I didn’t even know they had minor leagues over there,” Comstock said.

Comstock returned to the United States last year, still determined to make it back to the major leagues. So, he called Al Rosen, president and general manager of the San Francisco Giants, around Thanksgiving and asked him to come watch a Bay Area semipro game.

“I knew this was probably my last chance,” Comstock said.

With Rosen watching, Comstock pitched a no-hitter. “And I went 2 for 4,” he said. Later in the week, Rosen signed Comstock to a minor league contract.

Comstock began this season with the Giants’ Class AAA team in Phoenix and was called up in May. On July 5, he was traded with Mark Grant, Mark Davis and Chris Brown to the Padres from Kevin Mitchell, Dave Dravecky and Craig Lefferts.

“I’m the first one to say how suprised I am with what’s happened,” he said.

Comstock certainly didn’t plan it this way. He was drafted by California in 1976 but never made it above Class AA before being released in 1979. Oakland signed him in 1980 and sold him to Detroit in 1983.

“I was always able to hang around because I was left-handed, could strike out people and didn’t get hurt,” said Comstock, 32. “But when I was young, I had a big mouth and popped off too much.”

Comstock joined Minnesota after the 1983 season and made his major league debut with the Twins in 1984, getting hit hard in four games. The Twins released him following the 1984 season and then it was on to Japan.

“I felt fortunate to go to Japan. I was a Triple-A no-namer. Financially, it was a big thing for me,” Comstock said. “I was determined to finish my career there.”

But when that didn’t work out, he returned home. As it turned out, things worked out even better.

“You’ve got to take the good with the bad, and the bad with the good,” Comstock said. “I’ve often stopped to smell the roses along the way, just so I don’t forget.”