He Was the Next Juan Marichal. Then His Career Was Destroyed.

Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code HISTORIAN for $20 off your first purchase. What time is it? Gametime. Terms apply. _____________________________ Who was the most exciting pitcher of the 1980s? That’s a hard question to answer. There was the old guard, aces like Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton who had dominated the league for years. There were also youngsters like Fernando Valenzuela, Doc Gooden, and Roger Clemens, who blew away hitters with electric stuff. Then there were players like Dave Stieb, Jack Morris, and Bert Blyleven, who were less flashy, but nevertheless some of the most valuable arms of the era. For my money, though, the most exciting pitcher of the ‘80s, is Mario Soto. Soto was a fireballer. He was a strikeout artist. And the owner of the best changeup this side of Pedro Martinez. Those are just the highlights, though. Dig deeper, and you’ll find that Mario Soto’s story is one of triumph, of controversy, and of heartbreak – sometimes all at once. _____________________________ BUSINESS INQUIRIES [email protected] _____________________________ SOCIAL MEDIA Twitter: @BaseballHSTRN _____________________________ MUSIC “The Chance” - Audionautix “[Season] Tutorial (2006)” - MLB Power Pros 2006 Unofficial Soundtrack “Dream Draft” - MLB Power Pros Unofficial Soundtrack “[Season] Main Theme (2006)” - MLB Power Pros 2006 Unofficial Soundtrack “[Success] Event 4” - MLB Power Pros 2006 Unofficial Soundtrack “[Success] AA” - MLB Power Pros 2008 Unofficial Soundtrack “[Success] Scene” - MLB Power Pros Unofficial Soundtrack “[Success] Menu 2006” - MLB Power Pros 2006 Unofficial Soundtrack “Steppers To Heaven” - Freedom Trail Studio _____________________________ TIMESTAMPS 0:00​ - 0:52 Intro 0:53 - 5:47 Who Was Mario Soto? 5:48 - 7:44 High Heat 7:45 - 9:05 Gametime 9:06 - 11:22 Chaos and Beyond 11:23 - 15:59 Game Over 16:00 - 18:30 The Rose Theory 18:31 - 19:37 What If? _____________________________ SOURCES Baseball Reference Society for American Baseball Research Sports Illustrated ESPN MLB www.nytimes.com/1986/04/07/sports/youth-takes-comm… www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1988/01/31/r… www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-08-04-sp-870-… web.archive.org/web/20130619082532/http://seanlahm… nypost.com/2002/12/12/rose-probe-bombshell-dowd-ha… web.archive.org/web/20131214091028/http://usatoday… vault.si.com/vault/1989/07/03/the-case-against-pet… www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-soto-tired-of-ro… bleacherreport.com/articles/242626-pete-rose-kille…\ bleacherreport.com/articles/243237-pete-rose-kille… archive.org/details/neyerjamesguidet00jame vault.si.com/vault/1984/07/23/his-bad-rep-is-a-bad… www.nytimes.com/1984/06/19/sports/sports-people-so… www.nytimes.com/1984/07/04/sports/for-soto-his-tal… vault.si.com/vault/1982/07/05/soto-isnt-so-so-anym… www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28958619/the-best-scen… sabr.org/bioproj/person/mario-soto/ www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-09-09-8801… web.archive.org/web/20150630114625/http://seanlahm… static.espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/1212/1475769.html www.inquirer.com/phillies/pete-rose-statutory-rape…