Anyone who has followed the highs and lows of 16-year pro John Lindsey through 2010--we have written about him frequently in this space and in our Independent Baseball Insider columns--can get a unique glimpse by clicking on the Title line above. Not only will you find continued respect for the onetime New Jersey Jackals (Can-Am League) first baseman from outgoing Dodgers Manager Joe Torre, but you will see Lindsey's only hit and the sheer joy of his parents, wife and son as the 33-year-old gets a taste of major league life. It is a classic five minutes for every Independent Baseball player dreaming of seeing himself in The Show.
THE INDY SEASON ENDS IN EXCITING FASHION
The Independent Baseball season ended with all the drama one would hope for late Saturday night.
York, PA, which had to be given the longest of odds when the four-team Atlantic League playoffs started because of a struggling second half of the season and major questions about its pitching, rallied from three runs down in the eighth and ninth innings, finally pulling even at 4-4 when the apparent final out of the game went awry for the host Bridgeport (CT) Bluefish. Andy Etchebarren's Revolution went ahead in the top of the 10th and held on behind the right arm of their eighth pitcher of the evening, Michael Nix, to win, 5-4 and complete a three-game sweep for a worst-to-first turnaround and their initial title since joining the league in 2007.
The four-hour, 16-minute contest lacked some of the artistry of a normal game, with 17 hits, 18 walks, 22 strikeouts, seven errors and 26 runners left on base, but it did not lack for tension.
Both teams were less than full strength, but Bridgeport had the worst of it with cleanup hitter Josh Phelps lost the previous night with a broken hand and switch-hitting infielder Victor Mercedes, one of the Bluefish's key hitters down the stretch, departing to pick up a big paycheck playing for the Dominican Republic in a World Cup-qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico. York was without outfielder Erold Andrus, who left the team even though he had come off the bench with a 2-for-2 performance (home run, single) in Game 2.
The new champions were scheduled to be honored in York on Monday.
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