#CardCorner: 1990 Topps Mike Devereaux

In 1992, Mike Devereaux became the first player born in Wyoming to reach both the 20-home run and 100-RBI marks in the big leagues.

Three years later, Devereaux would make history for the state of Georgia by helping the Braves win their first World Series title in Atlanta.

Born April 10, 1963, in Casper, Wyo., Devereaux grew up the youngest of four children in an athletic family with older brothers Fred Jr. and Ron often playing on the same amateur teams as he did. A superb all-around athlete who set Wyoming high school records in the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes and the high jump, Devereaux led Casper’s Kelly Walsh High School to state titles in football, basketball and track and was an all-state selection in football and basketball.

Kelly Walsh High School had no baseball team but Devereux honed his skills in American Legion play along with his brothers, leading the Casper Oilers to multiple state championships.

“He was the type of person who never gave up, even if it was fixing a broken bicycle chain,” said Mary Devereaux, a part-time teacher who raised her children along with her husband, Fred Sr., an electrical engineer. “He would set a goal, work on it and get it done.”

Heavily recruited in football following his graduation, Devereaux turned down several scholarship offers – including one to play at the University of Wyoming – and instead enrolled at Mesa (Ariz.) Community College, following his passion on the baseball diamond and his brother Ron to Arizona.

“Baseball, absolutely,” Devereaux told the Casper Star-Tribune when asked what sport he preferred.

Devereaux, who battled knee problems in high school, enrolled at Mesa Community College before being offered a scholarship to play at Arizona State University.

Devereaux eventually decided to enroll at ASU despite remembering the struggles his brothers endured there before abandoning the game after finding the competition too stiff with the Sun Devils. But even with future MLB stars Barry Bonds and Oddibe McDowell in the same outfield, Devereaux found his footing.

Despite sustaining another knee injury in his first year at ASU, Devereaux helped the Sun Devils advance to the College World Series, where they lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Cal State Fullerton. He was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 26th round of the 1984 MLB Draft but elected to return to college.

“When I was drafted in the 26th round, I told myself that I was never going to quit the game, that I would have to be cut or released for me to stop playing,” Devereaux told the Baltimore Sun.

Devereaux got his degree in finance at ASU and then was selected in the fifth round of the 1985 MLB Draft by the Dodgers. But even Sun Devils coach Jim Brock wasn’t sure Devereaux would make it to the majors.

“He’s always been under-evaluated,” Brock told the Baltimore Sun. “But he’s a very solid kid, and he’s always worked very hard.”

Sent to Great Falls of the Pioneer League following the draft, Devereaux quickly established himself as a prospect by hitting .356 with 17 doubles, 10 triples, four homers, 67 RBI and 40 stolen bases in 70 games. He was promoted all the way to Double-A San Antonio in 1986, and he hit .302 with 10 homers, 53 RBI and 31 steals in 115 games.

Devereaux returned to San Antonio in 1987 and added power to his game, hitting 26 home runs to go with a .301 batting average and 33 steals.

“It’s hard to predict what will happen,” Devereaux told the Arizona Republic during the 1987 season. “But I think I could do the job (at the big league level). I feel like I’ll be able to help (the Dodgers).”

After a quick promotion to Triple-A Albuquerque, Devereaux got the call to the big leagues and made his Dodgers debut on Sept. 2 in right field. In 19 games with Los Angeles, he hit .222 with three steals.

Devereaux was sent to Triple-A to start the 1988 campaign as the Dodgers deployed a veteran outfield featuring Kirk Gibson, John Shelby and Mike Marshall. Devereaux was hitting .395 in 14 games with Albuquerque when he was recalled in late April when Shelby strained a stomach muscle. But Devereaux was just 3-for-26 (.115) in 15 games before being sent back to Triple-A. He continued to flash his enormous potential in the minors, posting a .340 batting average with 13 homers and 33 steals in 109 games before coming back to Los Angeles in September.

This time, the Dodgers were in the middle of a run to the National League West title. Devereaux saw regular time off the bench as Los Angeles advanced to the NLCS but was left off the postseason roster.

On Dec. 4, 1988, the Dodgers sent Ken Howell, Juan Bell and Brian Holton to the Orioles in exchange for future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray. The trade was nearly finalized the day before with Devereaux in place of Holton but the terms changed at the last minute.

Finally, on March 12, 1989, Devereaux was sent to the Orioles in a one-for-one deal for pitcher Mike Morgan.

“It was demoralizing to a point, but you have to look at it as if there are other teams out there to play for,” Devereaux told the Sun about his inability to win regular playing time with the Dodgers. “You are working for the game of baseball, not for one particular team.

“You don’t get something for nothing. I felt fortunate that the Orioles wanted an outfielder.”

Devereaux made the Orioles’ Opening Day roster as a reserve and then was thrust into the lineup when Steve Finley hurt his shoulder. He wound up in a platoon with Finley and left-handed hitting Joe Orsulak, finishing the season with a .266 batting average, eight home runs, 55 runs scored and 22 steals in 122 games.

Devereaux platooned again in 1990, batting .240 with 12 homers in 108 games. But when the Orioles traded Finley to the Astros in the Glenn Davis deal on Jan. 10, 1991, the path to daily game action was wide open. Devereaux responded by winning the Opening Day center field job and hitting .260 over 149 games, totaling 19 home runs, 10 triples, 27 doubles and 82 runs scored. He finished fifth among all AL outfielders with 399 putouts.

“He has improved every year,” said Johnny Oates, who took over as Orioles manager early in the 1991 season.

Devereaux’s improvement in 1992 took him to an entirely different level. Batting out of the No. 2 hole in front of Cal Ripken Jr. for much of the season, Devereaux posted the best numbers of his career with a .276 batting average, 29 doubles, 11 triples, 24 home runs and 107 RBI. He was passed over for the American League All-Star team but wound up seventh in the AL Most Valuable Player voting – thanks in part to an incredible .520 batting average (13-for-25) and 38 RBI when hitting when the bases loaded.

“(Devereaux has) never gotten the attention he deserves,” Orioles teammate Randy Milligan told the Sun. “If you’re talking about the MVP of this team, hands down, he’s the MVP.

“Next year will determine people’s perception of Mike Devereaux. If he can have the kind of year he’s having now or better, he’ll be in the star category.”

Devereaux and the Orioles agreed to a one-year contract worth a reported $3.025 million for 1993. But he was bitten by the injury bug on May 2 when he separated his shoulder while trying to catch a ball hit by the Royals’ Phil Hiatt. The injury sidelined Devereaux for three weeks, and he finished the season hitting .250 with 31 doubles, 14 homers and 75 RBI in 131 games.

With the Orioles and Devereaux unable to come to an agreement on a long-term deal heading into his free agent-platform season, Devereaux avoided arbitration by signing a one-year pact worth a reported $3.375 million.

“I feel like I paid my dues to get a multi-year contract this year,” Devereaux told the Sun.

But Devereaux could never find his groove in 1994, hitting .203 with nine home runs and 33 RBI in 85 games in that strike-shortened season. When the labor dispute was settled in April of 1995, Devereaux signed a one-year deal with the White Sox worth a reported $800,000.

It would turn out to be a bargain – for the Atlanta Braves.

Devereaux was hitting .306 with 10 home runs and 55 RBI through 92 games when the White Sox traded him to Atlanta in exchange for a minor leaguer on Aug. 25.

“When the trade came down, there was no doubt I was thinking about postseason play,” Devereaux told the Cincinnati Post. “I’d never been in it, and that was definitely a goal.”

The Braves utilized Devereaux off the bench down the stretch as they captured the NL East title. He appeared in four games in the NLDS vs. the Rockies – three as a pinch-hitter – totaling one hit and five at-bats. Then in Game 1 of the NLCS vs. the Reds, Devereaux entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied at 1. With the contest still deadlocked in the 11th inning, Devereaux singled to center off Michael Jackson to score Fred McGriff with what turned out to be the winning run.

“Let’s see,” Devereaux told the Cincinnati Post while responding to a question about where the moment ranked in his baseball career. “It’s the postseason, top of the 11th inning, I get the hit, we shut them down after that so the game is over…the next-highest point will have to come in the future.”

Turns out, the future was right around the corner.

Devereaux started Game 2 in left field and doubled home McGriff in the fourth inning, doubling Atlanta’s lead to 2-0 in a game the Braves would win 6-2. Devereaux added another hit and a run scored in Atlanta’s 5-2 victory in Game 3 before his three-run, seventh-inning home run off Jackson in Game 4 turned a 2-0 Braves lead into a 5-0 advantage. Atlanta won the game 6-0 to sweep the NLCS, and Devereaux was named the series Most Valuable Player.

“We got timely hitting each game,” Braves manager Bobby Cox told the Associated Press. “And the Reds didn’t.”

Devereaux played in five of the six World Series games against Cleveland but didn’t start any of them against an Indians’ team with four right-handed starters in their rotation. Devereaux had a hit and two walks in six plate appearances and was in left field when Marquis Grissom ran down Carlos Baerga’s fly ball in left-center for the final out in Game 6 as Atlanta won the title.

“This happened so fast, it’s almost hard to believe,” Devereaux told the Arizona Republic. “But I’m thankful I’m here.”

A free agent once again after the Fall Classic, Devereaux returned to the Orioles on a one-year deal. He played 127 games in a part-time role, hitting .229 with eight home runs as Baltimore won 88 games to claim the AL Wild Card. The Orioles defeated the Indians in the ALDS, with Devereaux appearing in all four games but coming to the plate just once. He appeared in three ALCS contests with two plate appearances as Baltimore fell to the Yankees in five games.

Now relegated to bench roles, Devereaux signed with the Rangers and played in 29 games before being released on June 12, 1997. The Dodgers brought Devereaux back to his roots by signing him for the 1998 season, but he appeared in only nine games before being released on May 6. He then spent most of that summer with the Padres’ Triple-A team in Las Vegas, hitting .267 in 34 games but failing to get a call back to the big leagues.

After retiring from the playing field, Devereaux spent time in private business before returning to baseball as a minor league coach and manager starting in 2010. He worked in various roles for the Orioles, Rockies and Reds before also calling some Orioles games on television.

Over 12 big league seasons, Devereaux hit .254 with 949 hits, 105 home runs, 480 RBI and 85 steals. He was the 11th player born in Wyoming to appear in a big league game, and ranks with Mike Lansing, John Buck and Brandon Nimmo as the most successful position players in the state’s history.

But for Braves fans, Devereaux will always be a part of the family that brought the first championship to Atlanta.

“Baseball was a family tradition,” Devereaux told the Baltimore Sun in 1992. “It was something that we could do together. That’s why I’ve always liked the game. I didn’t want to do anything else in my life.”

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum