The 1987 team that put the Salt Lake Trappers in the Baseball Hall of Fame with a professional-record 29 straight victories was the franchise's most-celebrated group.
But the 1991 team that won the Pioneer League championship Tuesday night in Derks Field, 2-1 over the Great Falls Dodgers, might have been better than the Streakers."I think it is," says Van Schley, the player broker who's scoured the country for overlooked talent and assembled mavericks and no-names into the fabled Trappers for the past seven seasons.
This '91 team "had more pitching depth," Schley explains. Relief ace John Gilligan led the league in earned-run average (1.71), Mark Stephens had the best ERA (2.43) of any starter in the league and was the strikeout champion . Kevin McDonald had 85 strikeouts and threw three shutouts - more than five Pioneer League teams had on their whole pitching staffs - an ERA of 3.05 and a 7-1 record. Dave Marcon tied for most wins in the league at eight.
Schley sees other superior areas for the '91 club.
"The league was weaker that year ('87). This year we ended up with exactly the same record (49-21) in a stronger league," he says. The league got stronger after The Streak because big-league teams were embarrassed by the Trappers and started sending their top prospects to Great Falls, Idaho Falls, Butte, Helena and Billings.
"We had excellent outfield defense (Theron Todd, Rick Hirtensteiner and Benny Castillo), and better overall speed," Schley adds about the '91ers.
He gives the Streakers the slight edge in top-to-bottom hitting: a .320 average and 784 hits to '91's .302 and 731.
Schley seemed fond of this team and had high hopes for it from the beginning. That's because the December rule change allowing independent rookie clubs to use more experienced and older players let the Trapper scouting network get to know personnel earlier than when much of the team came from players rejected in the June major-league draft. "We had more control, more time and more selection," he says.
Schley predicts that by the end of baseball's Winter Meetings, another four or five Traps will have contracts with big-league organizations.
Five - Hirtensteiner, Stephens, McDonald, Gilligan and Eddie Ortega - already have contracts to play for the Montreal Expos' farm system next year. Schley says he's been in touch with other clubs about other players, but hasn't yet made deals.
He's ecstatic to have five signed so quickly. That's the most of any year except the Streak year. "And these are actual contracts," he says, "as opposed to invitations to spring training."
He expects to have discussions with the new Colorado Rockies about players, too. "We have some that would be perfect for them," he says.
If pitcher Jim Guidi isn't signed by a big-league group, he has an invitation to return to Salt Lake. Guidi's 41/3 innings Tuesday were critical to the championship. "He flat-out won that ballgame," manager Nick Belmonte said.
Most teams celebrate championships in their locker rooms. This club stayed on the field for 15 to 20 minutes, milling around, shouting to fans, throwing hats and gloves into the stands.
It was like they didn't want to leave this field of dreams.
Many just sat down on the pitchers' mound and stared starry-eyed at the stands or had their pictures taken by teammates. "They didn't know what to do," said Belmonte. Several had never won a title before.