Monday, June 28, 2010

WHO ARE THESE FORTUNATE 12 POSITION PLAYERS TO GO FROM INDY LEAGUES TO MAJORS?

When Daniel Nava joined the Boston Red Sox with the dramatic flare of a grand slam a couple of weeks back we remarked in our Independent Baseball Insider column about him being only the 12th position player in the 18 years of Independent Baseball to start his pro career in a non-affiliated league and eventually reach the major leagues. To satisfy the curiosity of the faithful Indy fans, here are the other 11 who have made this climb with their Independent team(s) and league(s)and the major league teams they later appeared with during their career:

Catcher (1)--Chris Coste, Brainerd, North Central; Brandon, Prairie; Fargo, Northern, to Philadelphia and Houston.

Infielders (7)--Mike Cervenak, Chillicothe, Frontier, to Philadelphia; Stephen Drew, Camden, Atlantic, to Arizona; Bobby Hill, Newark, Atlantic, to Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh; Kevin Millar, St. Paul, Northern, to Florida, Boston, Baltimore and Toronto; Brian Myrow, Winnipeg, Northern, to Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego; Rey Ordonez, St. Paul, to New York Mets and Tampa Bay; Jarrod Patterson, Regina, Prairie, to Kansas City.

Outfielders (3)--Justin Christian, River City, Frontier, to New York Yankees; J.D. Drew, St. Paul, to St. Louis, Atlanta, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston; Jim Rushford, Dubois City, Heartland; Schaumburg and Duluth, Northern; to Milwaukee.

Twenty-two pitchers have made this climb. If you feel we have missed any other position players we would love to hear from you.

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

JON WEBER LANDS IN TIGER SYSTEM AND BRIAN SWEENEY WITH PARENT MARINERS

The telephone rang this morning, and I found the familiar voice of Jon Weber on the line.

Jon, who many people remember for his brilliant spring training with the New York Yankees (.483 and the outstanding rookie award)followed by a disappointing few weeks with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and his eventual release, had just signed with Detroit where he will start play with the Toledo Mud Hens Thursday.

This is, once again, a happy guy. Now, if only his usual run of hits follow maybe, just maybe, the 32-year-old lefty outfielder will get his first trip to the major leagues.

Another classy guy, reliever Brian Sweeney, got the call he had hoped for yesterday, rejoining the Seattle Mariners, for whom he last pitched in 2003. Sweeney spent parts of 2004 and 2006 with San Diego, went to Japan for a time, and was signed out of the Somerset Patriots' Atlantic League preseason camp in April.

Weber and Sweeney are both veterans of Independent leagues, Weber with Canton, OH in the Frontier League and later with Fargo, ND of the Northern League while Sweeney started in the departed Heartland League with Lafayette, IN.

We will include some of Weber's thoughts and have more to say about Sweeney in this week's subscriber-based Independent Baseball Insider.

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Sunday, June 13, 2010

AWESOME ONLY WAY TO DESCRIBE HOME RUN FEATS OF DANIEL NAVA AND CRISTIAN GUERRERO

Two awesome home run feats have occurred for Independent Baseball players in recent days.

I realize the word awesome is pretty strong, but it really does fit in these instances.

Daniel Nava, only the 34th player since the Indy game started in 1993 to begin his professional career at that level and advance to the major leagues, became the second player ever regardless of his background to hit a grand slam on the very first pitch he faced in the major leagues.

This feat occurred Saturday when the Boston Red Sox promoted Nava from Triple-A and he blasted a Joe Blanton pitch for a grand slam to erase a 2-1 deficit and lift the Red Sox to a 10-2 win over Philadelphia. Kevin Kouzmanoff had accomplished the feat in 2006, according to STATS LLC..

Nava, batting ninth, also doubled in four at-bats in front of his parents and the usual capacity crowd at Fenway Park.

The 27-year-old Nava had gone undrafted out of Santa Clara, and started his professional career in the Golden League in 2007. Playing for Chico, CA, he hit .371, was named the league MVP, helped the Outlaws to the league championship and was honored by Baseball America as the No. 1 prospect in the Independent game.

FIVE CONSECUTIVE HOMERS BY CRISTIAN GUERRERO IN NORTHERN LEAGUE

The other unbelieavable feat was accomplished by longtime minor league outfielder Cristian Guerrero, who homered on five consecutive at-bats for the Gary (IN) RailCats in a Northern League doubleheader.

Guerrero, the first cousin of major leaguers Vladimer and Wilton Guerrero, homered in his last two trips to the plate in Game 1 of a doubleheader, then came back with round-trippers in his first three at-bats in the nightcap.

The indication, to this point, is the feat may never have been accomplished previously in professional baseball.

Guerrero, 29, is in his third season at Gary. He spent a good portion of 2007 at Camden, NJ in the Atlantic League.

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Friday, June 04, 2010

AFTER HIS GEM, SCHLICHTING GOES TO MINORS WHILE THE BAT OF THE 'KNUCKLE PRINCESS' GOES TO COOPERSTOWN

If there is anything more difficult than getting to the major leagues it may be staying there. Just ask Travis Schlichting.

"Schlichting pitched his tail off", was the quote from Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Joe Torre that we used in yesterday's Independent Baseball Insider column, courtesy of The Los Angeles Times. The 25-year-old former infielder and Independent Baseball reliever with the Northern League's Kansas City (KS) T-Bones had just won his first major league game with four shutout innings as the Dodgers edged Arizona, 1-0, in 14 innings.

Schlichting was sent back to Triple-A Albuquerque one day later because the Dodgers needed a fresh arm in its bullpen. "It wasn't easy to tell Travis," Torre confessed to MLB.com. The 6-foot-4 right-hander was gracious, however, saying: "I'm just happy I got the opportunity to pitch in a game situation." It was only his third major league appearance, with two shorter outings last season.

He likely will return to the majors before long, and also can be thankful to have his health after missing two months last season with back issues and fighting off the effects of Gilbert's syndrome (fatigue and weight loss), which limited his work during spring training this season.

DODGERS HONORING JOSE LIMA'S LIFE SUNDAY

The Dodgers are making good on their promise to pay tribute to fallen hurler Jose Lima with various musical numbers and recollections of his fun-filled time in baseball during Viva Los Dodgers Day Sunday. Lima had planned to perform during the celebration, as he had previously.

While the 37-year-old is best remembered for his colorful antics during his major league career, he also re-energized his career during stints in the Atlantic League with Newark, NJ in 2003 and Camden, NJ five years and 27 major league wins later.

YOSHIDA MEMORABILIA HEADED TO HALL OF FAME

It is great to know the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY will be getting both the jersey and the bat used by Japanese teen Eri Yoshida during her historic debut in the Golden League May 29.

The bat is a neat sidebar to her first United States pitching appearance for Chico, CA because the "Knuckle Princess" had a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the first inning. The Hall of Fame has confirmed, according to the Golden League, that the hit was the first by a female player in men's professional baseball in this country since the days of the Negro leagues. Ms. Yoshida, of course, is primarily known for her sidearm knuckleball pitching delivery. She will next take the mound June 12, also in Chico.

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