 He was a college standout at UCLA earning nod as second baseman on the College All-American team.After being drafted in the second round by the Chicago Cubs, he spent his next nine years in Minor league baseball, and it appeared that he might be a career minor leaguer.After hitting .346 at Triple-A Calgary in 1991 (PCL batting champion) and .318 in 1992, Amaral got his chance to become a Major League player at age 31 under new manager Lou Piniella in 1993.