After a career as a starter and middle reliever, Dennis Fletcher is now the closer.
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Fletcher, 49, is sales manager at Crain Hyundai of Fayetteville. He and his wife, Jennifer, recently celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary and have three children. They built a home 12 years ago on 10 acres of his parent's land in Savoy, a rural community off Arkansas 16 West.
More than 30 years ago, he was named Most Valuable Player of the 1-AA State Tournament after leading the Farmington Cardinals to their only state baseball championship with a 3-2 win against defending state champion Greenbrier in 1985.
"That was something we should not have won," Fletcher said. "We had great athletes on that team, three [players] went to Westark and two went to Arkansas, but we were district runner-up and regional runner-up, both behind Gravette.
"But then Gravette gets beat out, and we put together a nice run."
Nicknamed "Fletch" throughout his career, the right-hander posted a 26-5 record as a three-year starter for the Razorbacks. He helped Norm DeBriyn's Hogs finish fifth in the College World Series in 1987 and 1989.
A 10-win senior season resulted in Fletcher getting drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 29th round in 1989. He won his first 10 decisions in the minors but hung up his spikes after four seasons when he was reassigned to High-A ball for the second straight year. He pocketed $850 a month as a rookie and was making $1,250 a month before calling it quits in 1993.
"What people don't understand is that's just (what you're paid) while you're playing," Fletcher said. "If it was year-round, you could halfway live on that."
Fletcher's first job after baseball was in construction, but the drive to make more money landed him at Bob Maloney Ford in Rogers, where he learned the car business. He's been with Crain Automotive for a year, including the past six months in Fayetteville. He said "work ethic" and "competitiveness" are baseball traits he still utilizes as a sales manager.
"It's the perfect job -- all I do is close [sales]," Fletcher said. "Our sales people get the ball rolling, get everything set up, and then they'll call me and say, 'Hey, we've got a deal working,' so I'll come in and try to close it.
"I'm the closer."
-- Mike Capshaw • @NWACappy
Sports on 07/03/2016