THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, May 22, 2020 Page 15 FATEFUL DECISION | FROM PAGE 12 veballs, he probably got lucky, too, as not many hooks are in the strike zone. To add insult to injury, the three home runs MJ hit that season led the outfielders who were on the Birmingham Barons roster that season. PopGun City! Did the White Sox purposely have a subpar outfield contingent in Birmingham so as not to draw attention to their shortsightedness with Jordan’s addition? Who knows? What we do know is that no outfielder that year from Birmingham ever made it to the big leagues. What about those guys stuck in Single-A? We wonder what those three guys stuck in Single-A would do that year? How would Malden’s Cappuccio have done? Plenty of people said they thought they saw major league potential in Jordan, others say he wasted his time. He never put on a glove or took a swing again. In March of the following year, after long eschewing a return to the White Sox, Jordan flipped the switch and returned to the Bulls, leading them to 24-of-27 wins in the home stretch of the NBA season, on their way to the 1994-95 World Championship. Two more titles followed as a second “Three-Peat” emerged before Jordan retired again, in 1997, only to return for a brief stint with the Washington Wizards. He’s now just your average billionaire NBA owner with the Charlotte Hornets in his home state of North Carolina. That 1994 season for Prince William was a solid one for all three budding White Sox prospects. Cappuccio led the team ~Handyman Services~ •Plumbing •Electric •Ceiling Fans •Waterheaters + More Call Tom 781-324-2770 in hitting at .292 and established a career high in home runs (12) and RBIs (60). Teammates Hurst (25 HRs) and Cameron (18 HRs) also showed off some power. The Cannons’ year was also the first time Cappuccio was on the same team with Pete Rose Jr. Son of “The Hit King” Pete Rose Sr., he became best “baseball friends” with Cappuccio, and the two of them ended up being on the same team, in different levels and leagues, for many of the following years the two of them played. I met Pete Jr. the opening game for the Cannons, which I attended in 1994, and several years later joined him as a member of Cappuccio’s wedding party when he married his wife, Shannon, in St. Joseph’s Church on Salem Street in Malden in 1997. Pete Jr. “The Hit Prince”! What a great guy and a great friend! All three outfielders did finally make it to Birmingham and Double-A the next season, in 1995. Cappuccio shined in Double-A, and in midseason got promoted to Triple-A Nashville, making local history as the first Malden High product to ever make it that high a level, one step from the big leagues! He hit .278 with four homers in 65 games for Birmingham and .272 with five homers in the same amount of games at Nashville. Cameron got a call up to the bigs and played 22 games in the majors in 1995. Hurst got traded to Detroit after the 1994 season. Cappuccio firstever Malden HS player at Triple-A In 1996, Cappuccio played a full season at Triple-A Nashville, and had one of his best pro seasons of all with 10 homers, 61 RBIs and a consistent .273 avFRANK’S Housepainting (781) 289-0698 • Exterior • Ceiling Dr. • Power Wash • Paper Removal • Carpentry FREE ESTIMATES — Fully Insured erage, In 1997, Cappuccio ran into something he had avoided in his entire professional career until then, the injury bug. He missed about half the season with back issues, and they accelerated, even with therapy – he played just 55 games. He tried to come back and get ready for the 1998 season, but he was released by the White Sox and did not go to spring training in 1998. Married and with a new baby at the time, a daughter, Tia, Cappuccio opted to take the season off in 1998 and heal up, hoping to come back in 1999. With no MLB offers, Cappuccio decided to go the Independent League route and signed with a fledgling team, the New Jersey Jackals. One of his teammates was “Proper prep makes all the difference” – F. Ferrera • Interior Pete Rose Jr. so there was some familiarity. Cappuccio went on a hitting tear the first week of that season that did not end until he was named Independent League “Player of the Year” by Baseball America magazine. He was the Independent League’s version of the Triple Crown winner that year, leading the league in batting average (.349), homers (17) and RBIs (75) in just 80 games. His stellar season earned FATEFUL DECISION | SEE PAGE 18 Thank you to all the AMERICA RUNS ON DUNKIN’... first responders, healthcare workers, and all other essential workers who are working hard to keep our community safe and healthy. 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