BY PATRICK “PACKY” MADER
Tim McIntosh has a lot of stories to share. Born in 1965, Tim reminisces about his childhood, saying, “Brooklyn Center (MN) was a great place to grow up. We rode our bikes everywhere.” Tim had an older sister, Tamara, an older brother, Tom – a hero to him – and a younger brother, Brad Sutton. His father had been a hockey player and his mother had a competitive nature. When Tim was 13, his mother, a restaurant server at the time, remarried and the family moved to Hopkins.
In 1978, two baseball coaches approached Tim’s mother saying they thought Tim could compete on Minnesota’s only traveling team in the state in his age group. The family didn’t have the funds to support the $550 commitment, but the fee got covered. It was a revelation for the right-handed hitter: The team competed in Puerto Rico, Canada, and California. “It was non-stop traveling that summer,” says Tim, who played second base for the team.
Making the Hopkins Lindbergh High School baseball varsity team as a third baseman sophomore, Tim became part of a combined team in 1982-83 when the two Hopkins High Schools merged and became the Royals. A powerful running back on the gridiron, Tim nevertheless realized baseball was his forte. Coach Dick Alford, “a great mentor,” says Tim, recommended the student-athlete become a catcher. Again, financial angels came to the family’s aid – Tim was given a blank check to get the necessary equipment.
Scouts were constantly attending Hopkins’ baseball games – not to see Tim, but to watch pitching sensation Mike Pavelka. “Mike was freakishly good,” Tim says, remembering the Royal standout who was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the third round. Instead of signing, Pavelka opted to join the University of Minnesota (U of M) baseball program with young John Anderson as the head coach. “Anderson gave me a scholarship and the opportunity to play too,” Tim says, appreciatively. At 5 foot, 11 inches tall and about 185 pounds, Tim was thick-set and hard-hitting. “I was never known for my defense,” he acknowledges, “but I could hit.”
Proud that he proved he could play as a true freshman, Tim led the team with 13 doubles and a .373 batting average. He played catcher in nonconference games and was the designated hitter in Big Ten games while Jack Schlichting and Mike Halloran were behind the plate. A memorable sophomore year climaxed when the Gophers claimed the Big Ten title despite Michigan having Barry Larkin and Hal Morris in their lineup. “We were a bunch of dirt-movers,” Tim says of the championship team. “We were mainly Minnesota people.” At the NCAA Regional Tournament, the Gophers were knocked out by Pete Incaviglia-led Oklahoma State 8-3.
Tim’s junior year in 1986 was phenomenal. The team was 40-19, won the Western Division Big Ten championship, and had future Major League baseball pitcher Bryan Hickerson and outfielder J. T. Bruett on the roster. Tim transitioned to the outfield and pounded out 14 home runs, set a Gophers’ record with 138 total bases, batted .397, and even pitched in one game. “I got into a groove,” Tim says of his impressive season. “I hit a ball over the batter’s eye vs. Michigan.” His remarkable season was rewarded as the announced 3rd round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers (61st overall).
At the time, sports attorneys interviewed players to see whether the attorney (now called agents) wanted to represent the player. Ron Simon, a successful trial attorney agreed to serve the role. Simon and the Brewers could not come to an agreement, so Tim returned to the Cape Cod League where he had previously played and won the league batting title in 1985 with a .392 batting average (he was later inducted into the Cape Cod League Hall of Fame and John Anderson was the presenter). It was future MLB general manager Dan Duquette who finally signed Tim.
Assigned to Low Class A Beloit, Tim’s first at bat was against Steve Gasser, a flamethrower. His pitches were not like the college level pitcher he had been told to expect! Tim repeated playing with Beloit in 1987 and was named an all-star catcher with a productive season of 20 home runs and a .302 average. Advancing to High Class A at Stockton, Tim was again named an all-star as he recorded 92 runs batted in and stole 10 bases and met his future wife there. In 1989, Tim was on the El Paso AA roster, had 50 extra base hits, batted .300, and got engaged. In 1990 and 1991, Tim spent the bulk of the seasons at AAA Denver. “Mile High Stadium felt like we were in the big leagues,” Tim says of the size and amenities of the park.
On September 3, 1990, Tim McIntosh became the 19th Minnesota Gopher to play Major League Baseball. It was not an auspicious entrance – Tim was 0-for-3 as the Twins’ Mark Guthrie hurled a four-hit shutout against the Brewers, the only one of his career. Tim’s next at bat would not occur for 25 days. On September 28th, he mashed a Steve Adkins changeup for a home run in a lopsided loss to the New York Yankees, his first hit in the major leagues. Tim ended the season with 1 hit in 5 at bats with the Brewers.
A late season callup again in 1991, Tim was 4-for-11 and hit his second career home run. The Brewers had a stellar minor league organization and Tim was vying to make the roster as the team shifted him around the diamond: catcher, third base, first base, and the two corner outfield positions.
In 1992, Tim was on the Brewers’ roster the entire year, but played sparingly. Three of his 14 hits in 77 at bats were doubles. The following year Tim played in 20 games for the Montreal Expos. Signed by the Twins in 1994, Tim had his best minor league season, hitting .338 for the AAA Salt Lake City Buzz and was expecting a callup when a strike ended the season.
Tim decided to accept a financially lucrative contract in 1995 to play in Japan for the Nippon Ham-Fighters. The Yankees signed him to a contract in 1996 and he was called up early in the season at the age of 31. A claim to fame is being paired with Mariano Rivera as a roommate. His final MLB stats read: 71 game appearances, two home runs, and a .179 average in parts of five seasons.
After a stint with the Iowa Cubs in 1997, Tim retired from playing professional baseball. He had three arthroscopic surgeries and after lots of hard work and mentoring felt he had become a capable catcher, but “my knees blew up.” He worked in the wine industry and in commercial real estate, but most of his post-playing days were as a scout – six years following amateur baseball and eight years in pro ball – primarily with the Angels’ organization. Due to analytics, Tim believes the role of scouting has diminished.
Proud of the success of his two daughters, Lucianna and Julianna, graduates of San Diego State University, in the food and travel industries, Tim returned to Minnesota years ago as a scout. He met Hopkins High School classmate Tracey Nelson at a 30th class reunion – they have been together since 2013. Starting a new profession, Tim now focuses on his career in real estate with Fazendin Realtors.
Tim has stories of the baseball brotherhood … Bob Uecker telling jokes on the team bus; wearing the pinstripes alongside Paul O’Neill, “a warrior;” the work ethic of Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, “a beast;” Joe Girardi always positioning himself correctly and having an instinct for the game; and being on the field for a game at Camden Yards its inaugural year.
“Baseball has been a big part of my life. Hard work, preparation, and ability got me to the Big Leagues,” Tim says of his playing career. “Now I plan to apply those skills to real estate.”
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• Originally Published in Jan. 2022 on “MNAthletes.com” •
THIS ARTICLE FROM “MNAthletes.com” WEBSITE IS REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR. IT HAS BEEN RETYPED, BUT NO CONTENT HAS BEEN CHANGED, EXCEPT GRAPHICS.
Patrick “Packy” Mader has written several books, including two large volumes on Minnesotans who were in the Olympic Games or competed in world competitions. To view hundreds of articles on Minnesota athletes, be sure to visit Packy’s website: MNAthletes.com. You can click on the link below:
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