Pete Redfern

Sent: 10/11/11
Received: 10/17/11
Time: 6 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1977 Topps, 1980 Topps, 1981 Donruss, 1982 Fleer, 1983 Fleer
Item Received: 1977 Topps, 1980 Topps, 1981 Donruss, 1982 Fleer, 1983 Fleer.  All signed in blue Sharpie.

Notes:
The #1 overall pick by the Twins in the (now obsolete) January 1976 MLB Draft, Pete Redfern was the defacto ace of the 1982 club.  He started the first ever game at the Metrodome (losing to the Mariners), and finished the year with a 5-11 record and 6.58 ERA for the worst team in Twins history.  He was released during the off-season.  He signed with the Dodgers and pitched in a handful of games for their AAA club in Albuquerque.  Tragically, those would be his last games.  On the day the Dodgers released him, Redfern went boating with some of his friends in Newport Beach.  He dove off a pier, not realizing there was only a foot or two of water below.  He narrowly escaped death, but broke his neck and was paralyzed from the neck down.  His baseball career was obviously over.  The rest of his life was just beginning.  Though confined to a wheelchair, Mr. Redfern has led a wonderful life (at least according to a few stories I found on the intenet), even serving as pitching coach for his son Chad's high school team in the '90s.  Chad would star for San Diego State and pitch in the Braves and Devil Rays organizations.