Scott Gardner (minors02)

Scott Chong Gardner

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 225 lb.
• School Imperial Valley College
• High School Central Union High School (El Centro)

• Born September 30, 1971 in Seoul South Korea

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Biographical Information

Scott Gardner pitched in the minor leagues from 1990 to 1997, missing the 1994 season and briefly reaching AAA. He was born in South Korea but grew up in California, having apparently been adopted by an American family, just like Rob Refsnyder after him. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 14th round of the 1990 amateur draft, out of Imperial Valley College.

He began his pro career in 1990 with the Huntington Cubs of the Appalachian League, going 3-2, 1.87 in 13 games. In 1991, hes plit the season between Huntington and the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League, doing well in Huntington (2-3, 3.20 in 7 games) but not so well in Peoria (1-2, 5.25 in 3 games). In 1992, he was with the Geneva Cubs of the New York-Penn League, going 2-1, 2.70 in 10 games and in 1993 he returned to Peoria but went 5-6, 5.40 in 39 games. The highlight of that season came early, on April 28th, he combined with Anthony Lee in a seven-inning no-hitter against the Springfield Cardinals. He was a swingman during all four seasons.

It's not clear if he missed the 1994 season because he was injured or because the Cubs gave up on him and he could not find another team immediately, but in any case when he returned to action in 1995, it was with the Fayetteville Generals of the South Atlantic League, a Detroit Tigers affiliate. He was 6-3, 2.06 in 49 games, striking out 112 batters in 87 1/3 innings. On August 7th, in a game against the Savannah Cardinals, he was one of four Fayetteville pitchers who combined to rack up 19 strikeouts in a 6-1 loss. His claim to fame was that he struck out five batters in the 7th inning, tying a record. It is to be noted that no pitcher has ever accomplished this feat at the big league level. He completed his season with 5 appearances for the Lakeland Tigers in the Florida State League. In 1996, he was a full-time starter for the Stockton Ports of the California League, now in the Milwaukee Brewers system. He went 10-8, 4.13 in 27 games. In his final season, 1997, he was with the AA El Paso Diablos for 29 games and the AAA Tucson Toros for one, combining to go 8-8, 5.02 in 30 games. He signed with the Atlanta Braves after that but did not pitch professionally again.

After baseball, he worked in automotive finance in Plainfield, IN.

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