The Meteoric Rise of Oriole Steve Finley

Nearly 350 players were chosen in the 1987 amateur baseball draft before the Orioles took Steve Finley, a slender outfielder from Southern Illinois, on the 14th round. For all anyone knew, he might as well have been Charlie Finley.

Now, less than two years later, Finley is one of only seven 1987 draft picks playing in the major leagues. Five of those were first-round selections. The sixth, Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Steve Carter, was taken on the 17th round.

Finley’s rise wasn’t simply meteoric; it was astonishing. The most incredible aspect of his story, however, is the reason he slipped through baseball’s massive scouting network virtually unnoticed:

Clubs questioned his intensity.

The Atlanta Braves drafted Finley in 1986, but he chose to finish his degree rather than turn pro. It is clear his decision turned off many teams. It is just as clear that very few people did their homework on Finley.

Only four current players reached the majors as quickly from Finley’s draft position or lower--Carter, Texas Rangers catcher Mike Stanley, Kansas City Royals pitcher Bret Saberhagen and Oakland A’s pitcher Rick Honeycutt.

The reasons for their swift promotions were varied; Finley benefited from the Orioles’ switch to a youth movement. Still, it’s worth noting that Jose Canseco (15th round) and Don Mattingly (19th) are among those who required more time than Finley in the minors.

Finley possesses the requisite tools--he can run, throw and hit--but more important, he exhibits an intensity rarely seen in young players. That is why Orioles hitting coach Tom McCraw said he saw greatness in Finley this spring.

McCraw offers no guarantees--”A thousand things can change a young man’s mind between now and then,” he said--but the Orioles remain enthralled with their rookie phenom.

Finley, 23, is batting only .217 after coming off the disabled list with a sprained right shoulder, but he already has five RBI in 23 at-bats, including two game-winners.

Last week in Oakland, he threw out a runner at second from right field and made a sliding catch in center to help preserve a 2-1 victory.

“His reputation preceded him,” Orioles Manager Frank Robinson said. “You have a little bit of a feel for him, but you still held a little reservation--you say this just sounds too good to be true. Then you see him do things, and you say let’s wait a bit.

“But the more and more you see him, you can’t believe it. You just shake your head. This is the type of makeup great players have when they first step on the field. It doesn’t matter what level they play at, it’s the same type of instincts, the same type of results.”

It seems so obvious now.

Two years ago, who knew?

The first Orioles communication regarding Finley was a note exchanged between two scouts in the spring of 1986, Finley’s senior year at Southern Illinois.

Fred Uhlman Sr., now a special assistant to general manager Roland Hemond, saw Finley play one game in Florida. He sent word to Mike Ledna, the Orioles’ scout in Illinois.

Ledna, too, saw Finley play just once, on a cold, rainy Sunday in Peoria, Ill. Impressed, he filed a report, just as he does on 25 to 30 potential draft picks each year. Then he began checking into Finley’s background, never once meeting with the player himself.

That’s not unusual, but things were different before the inception of the draft in 1966. Scouts prowled their territories for talent, signing players at will. The process was far more personal, Hemond said, and scouts often visited players in their homes, just as college coaches visit recruits.

“It’s harder to know a player’s makeup than it used to be,” Hemond said. “Maybe no one from your organization has talked to him. You figure you may not get a shot at him. You only get one pick every 26. We’ve all made some mistakes not knowing young players well enough before drafting them. You have to have some degree of luck.”

The Orioles got lucky with Finley, but they did some checking, too. First, Ledna consulted with Southern Illinois coach Richard “Itchy” Jones, who played a critical role in Finley’s development. Then he called a friend in the Braves’ organization, asking why Finley did not sign after his junior year.

He wanted to complete his degree, largely because of the influence of his family. His father, Howard, is the dean at Paducah (Ky.) Middle School. His mother, Fran, works at Paducah Tilghman High. Finley grew up in a home that stressed the value of education.

The turning point in his thinking, however, occurred when he broke his leg in West Virginia playing in a summer league after his freshman year. “He learned from that experience that nothing is a sure thing, that in a moment your life can change,” Fran Finley said.

Finley was accepted into chiropractor’s school after majoring in physiology at Southern Illinois. “It was worth my while to finish up my last year of school,” he said. “I knew what I wanted to do. I didn’t really care.”

Said Ledna, the Orioles’ scout, “It’s always a concern when a kid after his junior year in college turns down good money, fair money. But the Atlanta people told me up and down the kid was serious about education. I didn’t see that as a problem. This kid wasn’t jacking anybody around. But I’m sure teams and scouts shied away because he didn’t sign after his junior year.”

Quickly, it became evident to the Orioles that Finley wasn’t an ordinary 14th round pick. He spent the summer at Class A, began the ’88 season at the same level and finished with the International League batting title. Ledna, for one, was stunned by how quickly he adapted from the aluminum bats in college to the wooden models used by the pros.

“I haven’t seen all the minor-league players,” McCraw said, “but if I had to pick two guys that were going to be great ballplayers over a 10-year stretch, that’s Gregg Jefferies and Steve Finley.” Jefferies, an infielder for the New York Mets, is another phenom whose work habits are legendary. McCraw instructed him in the Mets’ minor-league system.