Early Baseball Years
Having played football in high school for East St. Louis, Bush was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1991. His first year in the minor leagues he batted .323 with the Arizona Padres (rookie league). After batting only .234 in 1992 in Charleston South Carolina (low A league), he batted .322 with 39 stolen bases in 1993 in Waterloo Iowa (middle A league), winning minor league player of the year for the San Diego Padres organization. His success continued in winter baseball where he played in Australia, hitting .364 and winning the batting title and being named the league MVP. In 1994, Bush split his time between the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (high A league), where he hit .335, and Wichita (AA league), where he hit .298. He then spent that off-season in the Australian Baseball League with the Brisbane Bandits. In 1995, Bush hit .280 with 34 stolen bases in Memphis (the new location of the Padres' AA affiliate). Bush was promoted to Las Vegas (AAA league) in 1996, hitting .362 before suffering a broken leg.
Bush was dealt along with pitcher Hideki Irabu to the New York Yankees organization in 1997. The Padres received outfielder Rubén Rivera and pitcher Rafael Medina in the trade. Bush split time between Columbus (AAA league) and the New York Yankees. Bush hit .364 in 11 at bats with the big league club.
Read more about this topic: Homer Bush
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