Dave Mlicki and Brandon Mccarthy, two former Cheyenne Mountain High School baseball players who went on to have solid major league careers, have been in the news lately.

However, neither has thrown a pitch to a big-league batter in years.

Mlicki, a 1986 graduate who last played in the majors for the Houston Astros in 2002, did a television interview with Bally Sports Ohio near his home in Dublin earlier this month prior to the PGA Tour Memorial Golf Tournament. The event took place at Muirfield Village, where Mlicki is a member.

Mlicki, who turned 53 on June 8, joined PGA pro Jimmy Hanlin for a one-on-one interview prior to the four-day tournament. They talked about their times playing the course before and after it was remodeled and updated.

“I think I was in the minority before when I said I didn’t want anything changed,” Mlicki told Hanlin. “But I was wrong. This is amazing.”

Later in the interview, Hanlin talked to Mlicki, whose nickname was “The Polish Pistol,” about his baseball playing days. In addition to Houston, Mlicki also pitched for the Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers.

In 10 seasons, mostly as a starter, Mlicki was 66-80 with a 4.72 ERA. He pitched in one postseason game, the 2001 National League Division Series for Houston.

Mlicki’s name popped up again in the news on June 16 in a New York Post article. Post sportswriter Ken Davidoff focused on Mlicki’s time with the Mets from 1995-98. The article focused on when Mets manager Bobby Valentine told Mlicki that he would start the very first regular-season game between the Mets and rival New

York Yankees.

“I thought, ‘Holy crap, this is going to be fun,’ ” Mlicki told Davidoff.

Mlicki made the most of his opportunity, throwing a complete game, 6-0 shutout against the defending World Series champions at Yankee Stadium. He struck out future hall of famer Derek Jeter, looking, for the final out.

“It was one of those days where everything was working,” Mlicki said in the interview. “I had confidence in my stuff. The fans were into it. It was such a big deal.”

Mlicki added that fans still come up to him 24 years later and talk about that game.

“I’ll be at a golf tournament and some Mets fan will come to me and say, ‘Oh my God, I was at that game! I still have the ticket stub!’ All New York fans are so passionate about their sports. It’s what makes it so great.

“It’s nice to still be relevant sometimes.”

Mccarthy (Cheyenne Mountain class of 2001) retired as a player following the 2018 season with the Atlanta Braves.

He was 69-75 with a 4.20 ERA over 13 seasons. He also pitched for the Chicago White Sox, the Texas Rangers, the Oakland Athletics, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Yankees and the Dodgers.

Mccarthy got a World Series ring as a member of the 2005 White Sox.

Mccarthy, 37, who owns the Phoenix Rising FC of the United Soccer League Championship — the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC play in the same league — is very active on Twitter.

Mccarthy’s name popped up in a USA Today article by Bob Nightengale on June 16 when the reporter wrote a story about Major League Baseball’s crackdown on pitchers using illegal foreign substances. Super-agent Scott Boros was quoted in a statement:

“As former major league pitcher Brandon Mccarthy suggested, MLB knew (as did all GMS, including Michael Hill), that clubs for years have taught pitchers to use a variety of gripping agents. This was the ‘custom and practice’ of all MLB teams and the commissioner’s office was fully aware their technical rule was informed by them and all MLB teams,” Boras said in the statement.

Mccarthy’s twitter feed is entertaining, to say the least. He comments on a variety of topics.