Four of their designated starting pitchers have not produced, but two of their minor league call-ups have amazed.

July 4 - Wes Covington, 79, a minor league call-up who sparked the 1957 Milwaukee Braves down the stretch and helped them win the World Series.

Both managers had dugouts and bullpens swollen with minor league call-ups and spare recruits picked up for the last weeks of a pennant race.

Born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, Covington was a minor league call-up who sparked the 1957 Braves down the stretch and helped them win the World Series.

He received his first major league call-up in 2001, a very forgettable one.

Although he hit well (over .300 both seasons), injuries prevented him from receiving another major league call-up.

He received his first major league call-up on May 1, when Mauer was sidelined by a bruised left heel and was limited to emergency pinch hitting.

Most players have similar stories about their first major league call-up.

He earned a major league call-up with Tampa Bay in 2000, but was traded to Seattle and found himself back in Class AA in 2001.

The team went 70-74, while "losing" a number of outstanding players, such as pitchers Donne Wall and Billy Wagner, to major league call-ups.