Happy Birthday to Fritzie Connally and Scott McClain, Two Cubs Who Could Have Been Contenders

Sometimes things just don’t happen the way you’d like them to. Here’s the story of a couple of Cubs who were born on May 19 and didn’t manage to stay at the top. Despite their early promise, Fritzie Connally and Scott McClain didn’t amount to much as major leaguers.

Connally was a seventh-round pick by the Cubs out of Baylor (where he had a storied career as a a four-time All-Southwest Conference third baseman and helped win two College World Series) in 1980. He tore up the high minors for a couple of years before his call-up and was being groomed to replace the aging Ron Cey. This was at the same time Carmelo Martinez was trying to oust the similarly aging Bill Buckner.

It didn’t work out for either youngster, though Martinez enjoyed a nine-year career. Connally now works as a financial advisor in Fort Worth, Texas.

Connally had the proverbial cup of coffee with the Cubs in 1983, going 1-for-10 in eight games. He was sent down to Iowa and didn’t match the numbers he had posted previously. Connally moved on, as often happens, and later surfaced with the Orioles. He got 135 plate appearances in 50 games, batting .232 with five homers, one of which was a grand slam off Doyle Alexander on April 19. He hit another granny as well, off Matt Young on May 17.

McClain was 36 when he hit his first big league home run, making him the oldest non-pitcher to do so since the former Negro Leaguer Bob Thurman in 1955 (Randy Johnson clubbed one when he was 40). McClain had cups of coffee with Tampa Bay, the Cubs, and the Giants for a lifetime .284 average, with two home runs and seven RBI. He was an NPB and minor-league stud, though, as his Baseball Reference page attests, with good power and a decent eye.

That might not seem like much, but to make the majors at all after being picked in the 22nd round is pretty impressive. McClain has worked as a scout for Hiroshima in the NPB since 2010.

Thanks for reading, and be on the lookout for more posts like this.