Mike Capel

Capel was born on October 13, 1961, in Marshall, Texas, and attended Spring High School in Harris County. As a child, he watched the Astros play on weekends. During his senior year in 1979, the Spring Lions won the AAAA conference state championship, and Capel was named to the All-State team, composed of the best high school players in the state. He set several pitching records at Spring High School. Future teammate Calvin Schiraldi called Capel a "hard thrower when he came out of high school" and "the top guy out of the state in 1980"; Roger Clemens said he was "probably the best pitcher in the state at that time". Instead of signing with the Phillies, he chose to attend the University of Texas. ==Collegiate career==

Aside from intrateam scrimmages, Capel did not play baseball his freshman season due to a torn ligament (or stretched ligaments) in his elbow. In the 1982 College World Series, Texas defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Stanford Cardinal, but losses to the Miami Hurricanes and the Wichita State Shockers eliminated them from play, per the tournament's double-elimination format. Capel played on the United States team in the 1982 Amateur World Series, overseen by the International Baseball Federation. Starting against Australia, he pitched a 14–4 complete game victory, with the match ending after seven innings per the championship's ten-run rule. The United States eventually placed third in the competition. The 1983 Longhorns finished the regular season with a 61–14 record and were ranked as the number one team in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Magazine. That season, the Texas team featured four future MLB pitchers: Capel, Clemens, Bruce Ruffin, and Schiraldi. In the 1983 College World Series, Capel allowed four hits in a complete game against the Michigan Wolverines as the Longhorns advanced to the World Series finals. Facing the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Longhorns made Clemens their starting pitcher and won 4–3. Capel finished the season with a 13–1 record and a 2.98 ERA. In June, before the College World Series, he was drafted by the Cubs with the 320th overall pick in the 1983 MLB draft. ==Professional career==

Chicago Cubs After he signed a professional contract with the Cubs, Capel no longer threw sidearmed. In 1984, Capel split playing time between the Class A-Advanced Lodi Crushers and Midland; he led Midland in losses (10) and wild pitches (11) and had the second-worst ERA (6.31) on the team. With Midland, Capel started 11 games out of the 16 in which he appeared. Both Lodi and Midland finished their seasons with losing records. From 1985 to 1986, he played for the Double-A Pittsfield Cubs of the Eastern League. In 1986, Capel only pitched in relief, had a career-best 1.87 ERA over innings pitched, and led his team with 13 saves. After he was promoted to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, Capel split time between starting and relieving roles in 1987. During winter, Capel, Greg Maddux, Manny Trillo, Damon Berryhill, and several other Cubs played for teams in the Caribbean. Capel played for the Águilas del Zulia of Venezuela and led the team with five saves. Capel played in spring training ball as he tried to make Chicago's opening day roster. Prior to the acquisition, when Al Nipper was supposed to become the Cubs' fifth starter, Capel was to take his spot in the bullpen. On May 7, Capel made his MLB debut: he pitched the final innings of a game against the San Francisco Giants, allowing no runs and no hits but issuing a walk in a 2–1 Cubs loss. His first career win came the following day against the Giants, although he blew a save by giving up a two-run home run to Bob Brenly and lost a 5–4 lead. The Cubs ultimately won 13–7. Capel continued to pitch for the club until June 30, when the Cubs optioned him to Iowa to open a roster spot for Rich "Goose" Gossage to come off the 15-day disabled list (DL). He returned to the MLB club on August 8 to replace Schiraldi, but was demoted on August 13 before making an appearance, as Chicago activated Les Lancaster from the DL. Capel rejoined the club on August 31, and pitched in five more games before the season's end. Over his first MLB season, Capel pitched in 20 games and allowed 16 earned runs over innings for a 4.91 ERA. The Brewers optioned Capel to their Triple-A affiliate, the Denver Zephyrs, on April 5, before the start of Milwaukee's 1990 season. On May 17, Denver placed Capel on the DL with a strained Achilles tendon, which opened a roster spot on the Zephyrs and allowed the Brewers to send Jaime Navarro back to Denver. When the Brewers needed a replacement for the injured Bill Wegman, Capel was called up to the major leagues. For his Brewers debut, Capel faced five batters and allowed four runs (two charged to Capel) against the Baltimore Orioles. His strikeout of Billy Ripken was the only MLB out Capel recorded in 1990. On June 8, he made his second and final outing with the Brewers and allowed four runs (three charged to Capel) against the Toronto Blue Jays; combined, batters hit .857 against Capel as he finished the season with a 135.00 ERA. When Greg Vaughn, returning from a turf toe injury and a sprained left ankle, was activated from the DL on June 11, Capel was sent to Triple-A. He finished the season with Denver where he had a 4–3 record with a 4.26 ERA. He began his 1991 season with the Triple-A Tucson Toros; the Astros added Capel to their MLB roster on June 7. Two days later, against the New York Mets, Capel allowed the game-winning home run to Howard Johnson in the top of the 11th inning. Against the Mets on June 14, Capel, starting pitcher Pete Harnisch, and closer Jim Clancy combined for a four-hitter. His final MLB appearance came on August 14 against the San Diego Padres, when he pitched one inning in relief of Jim Corsi in a 4–1 loss. Capel said pitching for Houston was "the high point of [his] career". Capel was selected to the Triple-A All-Star Game to replace Tim Scott, whom the Padres promoted to MLB. He told Javier Morales of the Arizona Daily Star "this [was] one of the greatest thrills of [his] career," and that he hoped it showed the Astros he could pitch in MLB. For the Toros, Capel had a 6–6 record and a 2.19 ERA with a team-leading 18 saves. The following season, the Montreal Expos invited Capel to their spring camp as a non-roster invitee. Capel elected to remain with the Astros organization where he allowed 26 earned runs in innings and pitched the entire season in Triple-A. The Toros, managed by Rick Sweet, finished first in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) South Division with an 83–60 record and made the playoffs. Unlike the 1993 MLB playoffs, in which four teams competed, only two teams could make the PCL playoffs. In the championship series, the Toros faced the Portland Beavers, champions of the North Division and holders of a PCL-best 87–56 record. In a best-of-seven series, the Toros defeated the Beavers four games to two. After the season, the Astros did not re-sign Capel. While playing in MLB, Capel stood at and weighed . ==Personal life==

In February 1986, Capel pitched in the University of Texas Alumni v. Varsity game, which ended in a 14–14 tie. Capel started to use dipping tobacco in 1976 and in March 1988 had a non-cancerous lesion removed from his lip; he tried to quit the product in March 1988. Capel met his wife, Elizabeth, at Roger Clemens' wedding. In 2012, Mike worked as the general manager of a car dealership in Houston. Capel's son, Conner, played baseball as an outfielder for Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas, where he had a .456 batting average with 23 stolen bases and 36 runs scored in his senior year. The Cleveland Indians drafted Conner in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft. ==References==