Indy Baseball Chatter: INDEPENDENT PLAYERS INVOLVED IN CARIBBEAN SERIES AND WBC

Wednesday, February 03, 2016

INDEPENDENT PLAYERS INVOLVED IN CARIBBEAN SERIES AND WBC

The Caribbean Series always signals excitement for various reasons.

Countries involved have so much passion for baseball, and the series, this year being contested in the Dominican Republic, also leads the Baseball World into a brand new season.

Independent Baseball fans should find considerable enjoyment since a nice number of its former (and sometimes current) players are getting additional exposure.

While we likely will miss a few players, here are some of the Independent players on the current 28-man rosters with their major league affiliation (if any) in parenthesis.

Dominican: OF Lew Ford, Long Island, Atlantic League.

Mexico: 1B Cyle Hankerd, Amarillo, American Association, and Southern Maryland, Atlantic League.

Puerto Rico: LHP Andrew Barbosa (New York-NL) Long Island; RHP Chris Smith (Toronto) Lake Erie, Traverse City and Washington, Frontier League, and White Sands, Pecos League.

Venezuela: RHP Omar Bencomo, Laredo and Wichita, American Association; RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Victoria, Golden League; RHP Marcus Walden (Minnesota), Lancaster, Atlantic League; OF Jose Martinez (Kansas City major league roster), Rockford, Frontier League; OF Teodoro Martinez, Rockford.

Cuba: None.

WBC QUALIFIER ALSO HAS INDY STARS

The first of four qualifying tournaments for next year's World Baseball Classic begins February 11 in Australia, and it also will have some Independent players. They include:

Australia: RHP Ryan Searle, Grand Prairie, American Association; C Allan de San Miguel, Southern Maryland, Atlantic League.

Philippines: 1B Angelo Songco (Los Angeles-NL), St. Paul, American Association.

South Africa: SS Anthony Phillips (Los Angeles-NL), St. Paul.

New Zealand rounds out this qualifier with only the championship team advancing to the WBC.

SPRING TRAINING COUNT UP TO 46

Former Atlantic League players Robert Andino of Somerset, an infielder, and LHP Pat Misch of Lancaster are the most recent additions among Independent players who have received invitations to major league spring training camps. Andino signed with Miami after the '15 season while Misch was inked by Milwaukee. We now can identify 46 former Independent players who will be in major league camps. We will post the entire roster before camps open.

Get the independent minor league baseball trivia question of the day by clicking this link: Independent Minor League Baseball Trivia Questions

Bob Wirz

Former chief spokesman for Major League Baseball Commissioners Bowie Kuhn and Peter Ueberroth. Six years as publicity director for the Kansas City Royals, and a background in newspaper, radio and television. Started Wirz & Associates, a sports PR and consulting firm, in 1985. Has written extensively on Independent Baseball since 2003.

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About 'My Nebraska'

It seems almost universally accepted that Nebraskans are friendly, hard-working people.

A native son, who eventually transitioned to the East Coast because it was the best avenue to follow his passion of continuing to work in major league baseball, has published a book to share a lifetime of memories of growing up in the Cornhusker state.

You may have guessed it when you saw the title: My Nebraska. Yes, Bob Wirz, now a youthful 85, is sharing his "rich memories of growing up in rural Nebraska" in the 1940s and 1950s in a delightful 136 pages in the book produced by Dorrance Publishing in Pittsburgh, PA.

Wirz, who got to live his passion of working at the highest levels of baseball and later developing his own sports public relations and marketing company, lovingly empties out his memories of everything from counting millions of tiny trees to playing grass-roots baseball where the age of teammates might run from the early teens to the 50s.

The colorful cover of My Nebraska, which features two paintings from Dunning, NE rancher/artist Laron McGinn that depict the beautiful landscape of rural Nebraska and the ranching lifestyle, sets the tone for the 5 x 8 book also filled with meaningful pictures.

It is "a wistful and endearing love letter to Nebraska filled with memories shared by generations raised in small towns throughout the Midwest", praises Shari Veil, who heads up the journalism and mass communications department at the University of Nebraska.

My Nebraska, a 5x8 paperback, is priced at $19.95 plus $4.00 for handling and shipping. Autographed copies may be ordered at www.WirzandAssociates.com