Dan Cataline

Daniel Mark Cataline

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 215 lb.
• High School Archbishop Ryan High School

• Born September 16, 1961 in Philadelphia, PA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

OF/1B Dan Cataline was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2nd round of the 1980 amateur draft out of a high school in Philadelphia, PA. In fact, he was the first player ever to be drafted out of Archbishop Ryan High School, although pitcher Tom Filer, who had preceded him by five years, would end up reaching the majors after signing as an amateur free agent. He played in the Cubs system from 1980 to 1982, spending one full season each with the GCL Cubs in 1980, the Quad Cities Cubs of the Midwest League in 1981, and the Salinas Spurs of the California League in 1982. His best season was the last of these, when he hit .246 in 135 games, with 21 doubles, 11 triples and 18 homers, scoring 74 runs and driving in 79.

On January 19, 1983, he was one of two minor leaguers along with P Vance Lovelace sent by the Cubs to the Los Angeles Dodgers in return for long-time third baseman Ron Cey, as the Dodgers considered Cey to be washed up. They were wrong, as he would end up playing 518 games at third base for the Cubbies while neither of the two players they obtained ever did much of anything. In Cataline's case, he played four seasons in the Dodgers system, the first in the Florida State League with the Vero Beach Dodgers in 1983, and the last three with the San Antonio Dodgers of the Texas League from 1984 to 1986. With Vero Beach, he hit .220 in 123 games, and his 14 doubles and 12 homers were a good total given the tough hitting conditions of the FSL. He followed that with a very solid first year in the Texas League, batting a career-high .280 in 116 games in 1984, with 29 doubles and 20 homers. However, he stalled there, never getting even a look in AAA. In 1985, he fell to .216 in 89 games, with just 9 homers, and in 1986 he was released after hitting .206 in 37 games, with 1 homer. While he struck out a lot in the minors, he also drew a high number of walks, with a high of 80 in 1983, but since this was before the Moneyball revolution, his type was not in high demand. Had he come along a decade later, things might have turned out differently for him.