Major Memories, Part 2: Sooner grad Rusty McGinnis traveled path least followed

(Note: This is the second of a three-part feature about Bartlesville Sooner High graduate Rusty McGinnis, who went on to play in the major leagues.)

"I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence;

Two roads diverged into a woods, and I —

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

— Robert Frost

Russ McGinnis labored for six years in the minor leagues before he received his first call-up to the Texas Rangers and played on June 3, 1992, against the New York Yankees.

Prior to his prolonged training ground in the minors, the Bartlesville High Sooner graduate had undergone intense tutelage at Connors State and the University of Oklahoma.

He decided to play at Connors because his former high school coach Gary Vaught had moved on to there. In two years at Oklahoma, he slammed 25 homers, drove in 109 runs, batted .356 and fashioned a .439 on-base percentage.

Part 2:Sooner grad Rusty McGinnis traveled path least followed

The Milwaukee Brewers set the course that would define him the next 10 years — and, in some ways for the rest of his life — by selecting on the 14th round (341st overall) in the 1985 draft.

That began an odd odyssey for McGinnis in the minor leagues — one for which he now freely admits he would have had an advisor to have made a different career path decision or two.

Part 1:Bartlesville-area product Russ McGinnis did it right in pro baseball career

McGinnis unleashed a powerful offensive game in the minors, which included stops in Helena (Mo.), Beloit (Wis.), Modesto (Calif.), Tacoma (Wash.), Huntsville (Ala.), Iowa and Oklahoma City prior to his first trip up to the majors (Texas Rangers), and Omaha (Neb.) and Rochester (N.Y.) prior to retiring from the Kansas City Royals.

His career minor stats included a .269 btting average, 196 doubles, 10 triples, 142 homers, 593 RBIs, 553 runs, 69 hit by pitches, 16 sacrifice hits, 41 sacrifice flies and 17 intentional walks.

In one of his most prodigious campaigns in the minors, he delivered 21 doubles, 24 homers, 70 RBIs, a .282 batting average, and a .558 slugging percentage in 1994 for Omaha.

In early June 1992, the Rangers made the call McGinnis had been waiting for most his life. Despite some traveling issues, he arrived in time that night at Arlington, Texas to suit up for the first time in the major leagues.

McGinnis — who was listed as 6-foot-3, 225 pounds in his playing days — was pretty much an instant big hit.

“My first at-bat, I hit the first or second pitch and grounded out to the pitcher,” McGinnis said during a recent phone interview from his residence in San Diego.

But, in his second plate appearance, McGinnis lashed a single. He would also score a run.

There was a story behind the story in that big league introduction.

“I got called up from Iowa to the Texas Rangers,” he recalled. “My flight was delayed. … I showed up at the ballpark at 6:45 p.m.”

Then, he had another unexpected snare when the guards for the players’ parking area hadn’t got the word he was coming in and had to call to verify he was supposed to be there.

“I ran in and got dressed,” he said, adding he knew most the players already due to spring ball.

McGinnis opened his stint with the Rangers with a four-game hitting streak, including two doubles and three RBIs.

He would play in 10 other games, for a total of 14 (10 at catcher/pinch-hitter, two at third base and two at first base), prior to returning to the minors.

McGinnis wouldn’t get back up to the Big Show until 1995, as a member of the Kansas City Royals, making just six plate appearances in May.

He retired after that, ending a pro baseball stint that had lasted more than 10 seasons. After that, it was on to a career as an executive in the hotel business — and a lifetime to reflect on the memories of an odyssey most men would covet.

There would be no Hall of Fame of expectation for the Bartlesville Sooner High graduate. His final MLB career numbers lined up thus: 42 plate appearances, eight hits, four doubles, three runs, four RBIs, a .211 batting average and a .285 on-base percentage.

Hardly a Ruthian bonanza of production.

But, judged by the standards of honor, perseverance and respect, McGinnis emerged as an All-Star of character and presence.

McGinnis was considered the No. 2 catcher in the organization for several seasons — but the No. 2 catcher usually was sent down to AAA ball so that he could work every day and be ready to play right away if called up to the big club, McGinnis explained.

“If somebody (on the big league level) doesn’t get hurt, you’re out of luck,” he explained.

Beyond that, McGinnis played with — and was known by — some of the best of all time.

“What I do have is the respect from a lot of Hall of Famers, like George Brett, Nolan Ryan and David Cone,” McGinnis said. “All these guys respected what I was able to do behind the plate. … It’s great that you do have the respect from players who have been there.”

He considers his opportunity to work in the same battery with Ryan as “probably the pinnacle.”

McGinnis caught Ryan once — and according to at least one trivia question was on the receiving end of Ryan’s 5,55th career strikeout.

McGinnis also was on the receiving end for Greg Maddux, Dave Stewart, “and a lot of guys.”

McGinnis had been right there as one of the game’s most respected catchers — but a combination of miscalculations and tough timing resulted in missed opportunities.

But, there’s one thing more important to McGinnis than what might have been.

“I was only one of the few that did not do steroids,” he said. “That was a bone of contention for me, that others used them. I still competed at a very high level. I consider that to be an honor.”

(Note: Part three of this feature is planned for Wednesday.)

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Rusty McGinnis did right thing to turn dream to opportunity