Steve Cilladi

I have two cards of Cilladi still hanging around in my 'temporary A-Z' box for miscellaneous cards I need to put away - it looks like Cilladi was still in the Dodgers' farm system as of last year, but with his MILB.com profile status noted as 'released,' I thought he was just another minor league guy whose playing career probably ended.

There are players who seemingly fall off the face of the earth when their pro careers grind to a halt - I tend to dwell over the guys who have 'mainstream' cards, maybe supposed top prospects, guys who may have reached the major leagues or just players who serve as 'fillers' in a Bowman product.

As is, sometimes I pick up the occasional minor league team set [the Cilladi cards were part of a Rancho Cucamonga Quakes team set stadium giveaway a few years ago] - I was never able to get a beat on Cilladi down in-person and the cards I had were lost in the shuffle.

As improbable as it seems, I was surprised to see Cilladi actually made it to the major leagues - it was interesting to read about Cilladi's journey as a part time player who played sparingly, but climbed the minor league ladder to become a MLB bullpen catcher.