Stars to retire Sharperson’s No. 15 in ceremony tonight

Tim Graham

Friday, May 30, 1997 | 11:44 a.m.

It was fate at its cruelest.

Hours earlier he learned the news. He attained what every minor-league baseball player strived for. He was headed upward to the glorious pinnacle of his profession: the majors.

He had it all. The love and respect of his teammates, the ability to play a game most can only dream of.

But before he could take the next step, everything was taken away. In a split second, Mike Sharperson was gone.

Sharperson, a third baseman for the Las Vegas Stars, died in one-car accident May 26, 1996, the same day he was to report to the San Diego Padres. He was 34.

His jersey No. 15 will be retired by the Stars in a ceremony at Cashman Field prior to tonight's 7:05 game against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the last team Sharperson faced.

One year later, Stars manager Jerry Royster's eyes well up when he speaks about "Sharpie."

"The fact that he was called up," Royster recalls, "the last thing he said to us was 'goodbye,' and the last thing we said to him was 'good luck.'

"It was over just like that."

On an early Sunday morning, Sharperson drove south on rain-slicked Interstate 15, presumably toward his Green Valley home. He lost control of his car and flipped it at the McCarran International Airport exit and was partially ejected. He died at the scene.

"You can't explain how devastating that was," said Royster. "He was the leader of the team. The players, they watched, they listened to Mike Sharperson. He was a good leader.

"I think about him a lot."

Sharperson played 15 professional seasons, making a name for himself as a contact hitter with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1987-93. He couldn't crack the majors in 1994 and played seven games with the Atlanta Braves in 1995.

When the call came from the Padres that fateful Memorial Day weekend, Sharperson wasn't a young prospect, full of grandiose expectations. He was a wise veteran who knew the meaning of battling back to the big leagues.

"It was a sad, reflective time," Stars general manager Don Logan said. "Death is a tough thing in any situation, but he was a consummate professional, and there wasn't a guy on the team who didn't think the world of him.

"He will never be a hall of famer, but he made his mark on this club and this town."

Las Vegas rebounded from a 31-37 fourth-place record in the first half of the 1996 season to record a Southern Division-leading 42-30 mark in the second half. That surge is attributed to Sharperson.

"We were inspired by Mike Sharperson in a lot of ways," Royster said.

Stars center fielder Doug Dascenzo, believed to be the last person to see Sharperson alive, would not talk about tonight's ceremony.

"To this day, there are many who have not gotten over his death," said Royster, the only Stars representative able to attend the South Carolina funeral. "It was hard on me, and I don't remember a lot about it because of that."

A framed No. 15 jersey will hang in an undetermined location at Cashman Field, and a banner or flag eventually will be displayed more prominently.

The Stars chose today's date to honor Sharperson because it marks the weekend game closest to the tragedy's one-year anniversary, allowing a larger crowd an opportunity to pay its respects.

"We just can't forget about it," Logan said. "It's not something you can just say 'It's in the past. Let's move on.' You need to pay tribute to what he did."

Padres general manager Kevin Towers will attend, but Sharperson's family declined an invitation from the Stars. Former Stars pitcher Pete Smith, now on a road trip with the Padres, was so close to Sharperson he will not be informed of the ceremony until afterward because his inability to attend likely would crush him.

The Stars conducted a short memorial before the first game following Sharperson's death. Wearing black patches over their hearts, they gathered around third base for a moment of silence as a lone trumpeter solemnly played "Take Me Out To The Ballgame."

"The ceremony is going to be emotional," Royster said. "A lot of guys played as hard as Mike Sharperson, but he was here."