Friday, August 23, 2013

SEE-SAW BATTLE FOR AMERICAN ASSOCIATION HOME RUN RECORD

These last 11 days of the American Association season are going to be fun to watch, if just for the battle for the league home run record.

We wrote in Thursday’s Independent Baseball Insider column for subscribers about C. J. Ziegler of the Wichita (KS) Wingnuts tying the mark of Brandon Sing of Sioux Falls, SD (2010) with his 27th round-tripper. Guess what? Hours later (Thursday night) the newest Sioux Falls strongman, Tim Pahuta, homered twice to move one ahead of Ziegler. Unfortunately, the Canaries took a 5-3 loss to Fargo, ND. Both Sioux Falls and Wichita have 10 games remaining.

Wichita and Fargo have all but wrapped up divisional titles, but the other two playoff berths are very much in question. In the South (which might as well be known as the Texas Division), Laredo has a two-game lead over Grand Prairie and Amarillo. Gary, IN is the wild-card leader, but its bulge is only one and a half games over Winnipeg and two and a half ahead of Lincoln, NE.

10 EJECTED AFTER BRAWL

The American Association office may have its hands full on another front since Lincoln and El Paso engaged in a seventh inning melee in which 10 players and staff members were ejected.

ANOTHER POWER HITTER HAS CONTRACT SOLD TO ROCKIES

The United League season in Texas wrapped up when Edinburg outlasted Fort Worth in the best-of-five championship series, but for several players the season continues. Various Independent teams have been dipping into the talent supply to bolster playoff hopefuls, and Fort Worth first baseman David Bergin has joined the Colorado Rockies’ Class A farm club in Asheville, NC after his contract was purchased.

Bergin, only 23, led the United League in both home runs (19) and RBI (66) for the 80-game regular season. Bergin was drafted out of Tennessee Wesleyan College by St. Louis, joining the Cats this season. He has not yet played for Asheville.


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