(Born on November 9, 1970) -- You’d have to say Chad Ogea was an annual visitor to Buffalo. After all, he played in Buffalo in five different seasons, even if his appearances were very brief.
The pitcher grew up in Lake Charles, La., and stayed around the area to play high school baseball. After playing college ball for Louisiana State, Ogea was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the third round.
The right-hander wasted little time in working his way up the Indians’ organizational ladder. He first made the jump to the majors for Cleveland in 1994. However, Ogea divided 1995 between Buffalo and Cleveland. That was the pattern for four straight seasons.
It’s easy to point out Ogea’s career highlight. It came in 1997, when he earned two World Series wins for Cleveland in its series with Florida. He had a 1.54 ERA in that series.
Ogea played his last major-league game in 1999 for the Phillies, but he wasn’t done with Buffalo. Ogea turned up one more time here in 2000, allowing six runs on eight hits in 1.1 innings.
--- Budd Bailey
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