Kevin Tapani - Early Life

Early Life

Tapani was raised in Escanaba in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He quarterbacked Escanaba High School to the 1981 MHSAA Class A State Football Championship. He then went on to attend Central Michigan University where he was a star pitcher for the Chippewas from 1983 to 1986, finishing with a career record of 23-8, helping the Chippewas to three Mid-American Conference titles, and tossing a no-hitter against Eastern Michigan University in 1986.

Tapani was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 9th round of the 1985 MLB June Amateur Draft, but he did not sign. He was then selected on June 2, 1986 in the second round of the 1986 MLB June Amateur Draft by the Oakland Athletics. He signed five days later and was assigned to Medford A's of the low Single-A Northwest League. However he didn't stay at Medford long as after stops in Modesto and Huntsville, he made his final start of his first season in professional baseball pitching for the Triple-A Tacoma Tigers and finished the year a combined 8-2 with a 2.84 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 85 2/3 Innings. 1987 found Tapani back at Single-A Modesto, despite dominating at the level the previous year, and turned in another good season with a 10-7 record, a 3.76 ERA, and 121 strikouts in 148 1/3 innings. On December 11, a three-team trade was completed that saw Tapani and fellow A's minor league pitcher Wally Whitehurst move to the New York Mets, starter Bob Welch and reliever Matt Young move from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the A's, minor league pitcher Jack Savage go from the Dodgers to the New York Mets, shortstop Alfredo Griffin and closer Jay Howell move from the A's to the Dodgers, and reliever Jesse Orosco go from the Mets to the Dodgers.

Following the trade, Tapani was again sent to single-A to start the 1988 season, but after 3 starts with the St. Lucie Mets in which he only allowed 3 earned runs in 19 innings, he was promoted to the Double-A Jackson Mets where he went 5-1 but only started 5 of the 24 games he saw action in. As fellow future-Twin Rick Aguilera would see in his own climb to the major leagues, with no openings in the 1988 Mets starting rotation of Dwight Gooden, Bob Ojeda, Sid Fernandez, Ron Darling, and young phenom David Cone, even promising starters were groomed in minor league bullpens since this was the only way to crack the big league pitching staff. 1989 saw Tapani start 7-5 with a 3.47 ERA for the Triple-A Tidewater Tides before being called up to the Mets in July.