Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for November, 2006

Former DeKalb High School baseball standout, Josh Ehmke, has been named as one of 148 student-athletes to the 2007 Wallace Watch List by College Baseball Foundation.

Ehmke, a senior at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama:

. . . posted a record of 11-2 with a school-record 132 strikeouts. He was named to the third team of the Louisville Slugger All-America team, and he was named the Ohio Valley Conference’s Pitcher of the Year. Ehmke helped lead Samford to its first-ever OVC regular-season title and to a school-record 34 wins. In conference play, the Bulldogs set an OVC record with 21 wins. [Source: Samford University Sports]

Ehmke transferred to Samford University after two years on the pitching staff at the University of South Alabama where he struck out 50 batters in just over 36 innings as a freshman. While at DeKalb High School (Waterloo, IN), he was named All-Area and All-Conference three times, his area’s Co-Player of the Year, posted an ERA of 1.27 and struck out 132 batters in 66 innings.

Josh is the son of Merlin and Lori Ehmke. He is majoring in business management. The Brooks Wallace Awards are in memorial of former Texas Tech shortstop and assistant coach. He was a 4-year starter who returned as a graduate assistant and later as an assistant coach after spending two years in the Texas Rangers organization. “In the summer of 1984 he was diagnosed with cancer and fought the disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27. [more about Wallace]”

The Fort Wayne Rangers went down to Florida for the Men’s Senior Baseball League Fall Classic and came home champions after putting together a 7-1 record. Their only loss in the tournament came at the hands of Puerto Rico (6-4) – but the Rangers found revenge by defeating Puerto Rico 13-1 in the championship game.

The team, managed by Randy Moss, competed in the 28+ Central Division, which is held at Major League Baseball spring training complexes in St. Petersburg, Tampa and the surrounding area. Having finished fifth the year before, it is a gratifying win for the team.

The Rangers are one of twelve teams in the Fort Wayne Men’s Senior Baseball League (FWMSBL), and compiled a 13-3 regular season record. It is the first Fort Wayne MSBL team to gain a national championship in 15 years of existence. Congratulations Rangers!

Pictured above are the Fort Wayne Rangers. Front row left to right, Dan McQuire, Jeff Hiers, Randy Moss, Jeff Willey, Phill Petrick, Matt Zehring and Mark Phipps; back row, Andy Joseph, Jay Buelow, Ryan Dellinger, Joe Bogdon, Mike Hollansworth, Jeremy Ummel and Dale Drasny. Also on the team were John Haney, Rod Moss and Jeremy Sassanella.

11/22/06 Journal Gazette Article; “5 Year Climb to The Summit”.

Fort Wayne Wizards alumnus, Ben Johnson, was traded to the New York Mets today in a deal that also sent right-handed reliever, Jon Adkins, to the Mets in return for relievers Heath Bell and Royce Ring.

While in Fort Wayne during the 2000 season, Johnson appeared in just 29 games as a 19 year-old. He had 29 hits that included 6 doubles and 2 triples and 3 home runs while driving in 13.

More on Ben Johnson at The Baseball Cube | More on the trade at MLB.com

Former Chicago Cub, Doug Dascenzo, has been named the next Manager of the Fort Wayne Wizards. Dascenzo replaces Randy Ready, who managed the team from 2004 through 2006; earning playoff spots each year. Like Ready, Dascenzo is a former San Diego Padre; having played with the parent club one year of his career in 2006.

Dascenzo led the Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League to a 43-33 record in 2006 and was named the co-Manager of the Year . . is no stranger to Fort Wayne, having spent seven seasons as the San Diego Padres’ outfield and base running instructor and making frequent stops in the Summit City. [source: Fort Wayne Wizards]

Also, in Wizards news, Wally Whitehurst will join the team as the pitching coach after having served two seasons in Eugene. He too is a former Padre. And, returning to the Wizards as the hitting coach is Tom Tornincasa, who had the same role from 2001 until 2004.

Update (11/11/2006): Here is a good article in the News Sentinel about Dascenzo.

When Josh Barfield shows up to Spring Training, he’ll have something in common with his new Skipper. No, the Padres haven’t named their new manager; former Fort Wayne Wizards second baseman, Josh Barfield has been traded to the Cleveland Indians for infielder Kevin Kouzmanoff and reliever Andrew Brown. The Indian’s manager is Fort Wayne native, Eric Wedge.

This is a move I didn’t see coming. Barfield is a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate in the National League and looked to be part of a solid young core in San Diego. It fills one of the Indian’s top priorities of the offseason.

“In Josh Barfield, we are acquiring a young player with upside who plays the game hard, with professionalism and is coming off a successful first Major League season.” general manager Mark Shapiro.

Kouzmanoff has a successful season in minor league ball that saw him hit .379 between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Buffalo. While with the Indians in September, he made history by becoming the first player to hit a grand slam on the first MLB pitch he saw.

Brown is a starter turned reliever who posted seven scoreless outing (of nine total) with the Indians. He held batters to a .171 average.

Best of luck in Cleveland, Josh!

An outstanding commercial featuring former Fort Wayne Wizards standout, Tori Hunter:

Twins Birthday

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