Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for December, 2006

Fort Wayne Wizards alumnus, Sean Burroughs and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a Minor League deal worth $450,000. The third baseman will be among the team’s Spring Training non-roster invitees.

Burroughs was the No. 1 pick (ninth overall) of the San Diego Padres in the 1998. As a Wizards player in 1999, he compiled a .359 batting average with 153 hits, 30 doubles and 80 runs batted in over 122 games. However, despite his successful minor league career, Burroughs has not enjoyed the same success at the big league level where his average is just 280 over 1,500+ at-bats.

He played with San Diego from 2002-05 before being traded to the Devil Rays for pitcher Dewon Brazelton and was designated for assignment by Tampa Bay last June after hitting.190 in eight games.

Looking through the 12/16/06 San Diego Padres Mailbag shows that there are a lot of Fort Wayne connections to the future of the franchise. The most immediate is with regards to Fort Wayne native, Rob Bowen’s opportunity in light of the Padre’s letting Mike Piazza go:

Catching, with Josh Bard and Rob Bowen prepared to take over for Mike Piazza, is not a concern.

Also, several former Wizards are being mentioned as possible components of the team within the next year or two:

• In terms of upside, several intriguing outfielders are on the horizon — Will Venable, the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year . . .
• Nick Hundley has made excellent strides behind the plate and is generally seen as the catcher of the future, although big Colt Morton also has a shot with his booming bat.
• Jared Wells has the right stuff to make it in the Major Leagues with a power arm. Fellow right-handers Leonel Rosales . . . and Michael Ekstrom — the team’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year — also have made excellent impressions.
• Lefties Sean Thompson and Cesar Ramos have the poise and command to start in the Major Leagues, perhaps in 2008.
• Third baseman Chase Headley has a fine future . . . [f]irst baseman Kyle Blanks has top-shelf power in a huge frame.
• With a solid season at Triple-A Portland, Luis Cruz could make the jump to San Diego. He’s a strong athlete who can drive the ball, and he has a strong enough arm to play multiple positions.

KPC News has an article about the new Extra Innings indoor baseball and softball facility in Fort Wayne and it’s general manager, Ken Jones. You can read it here, but a signon (meaning you have to be a subscriber of one of KPC’s newspapers) in order to access it.

Extra Innings Fort Wayne is dedicated to fulfilling the needs of baseball and softball players of all ages and abilities. Extra Innings’ state of the art, year round, indoor training facility has over 17,000 square feet of training area, 11 indoor batting tunnels, pitching tunnels, a fully stocked Pro Shop, batting stations, and a birthday area. [Source: Extra Innings Fort Wayne]

The facility, owned by Mike and Kelly Trieglaff, will celebrate their Grand Opening on Wednesday, December 27th from 10am to 9pm. The first 25 people in the door will win a Free Extra Innings T Shirt. Additional drawings for free memberships, free clinics, free instruction, and/or free equipment will also occur.

Extra Innings: 5405 Keystone Drive; Fort Wayne, IN 46825
260-373-2255 Hours of Operation: M-F 10AM-10PM; Sat 9AM-7PM; Sun 11AM-6PM

Many area players and coaches are on the Extra Innings advisory staff. They include Bill Jones, San Francisco Giants prospect Simon Klink and DeKalb softball coach Steve Harp.

Baseball Stadium. Hotel. Condos. Retail shops. Parking . . . it’s all part of a grand vision to revitalize downtown Fort Wayne. The project, which is tentatively titled “Harrison Square,” would be bounded by Jefferson Boulevard and Harrison, Brackenridge and Ewing streets. Some of the more prominent items of the development include;

• New $48 million hotel with at least 300 rooms on the site of Belmont Beverage
• 60 new residential condominium units – valued at $12 million – with future phases anticipated to provide 120 more units
• 30,000 square feet of new street-level retail – valued at $6 million – with future phases anticipated to provide an additional 60,000 square feet
• $30 million minor league baseball stadium
• $10 million, 900-space parking garage

However, before Harrison Square becomes reality, the City Council must approve the plan and then the city must select a developer for the proposed 305 room hotel. The hotel component is vital to the development since it will then provide tax dollars to the city, which would be used to finance future phases of the project.

Requests for proposals going out soon and will be followed by negotiations with potential developers and the Fort Wayne Wizards’ ownership group, Hardball Capital.

As stated in WANE TV coverage of the announcement, Hardball Capital is willing to contribute millions of dollars to the project. According to Deputy Mayor Mark Becker, Hardball Capital has pledged $5 million toward the construction of the new stadium, which he said is rare for publicly financed stadiums. However, if Hardball oversees residential and retail development of the project, the group would invest a total of $50 million over all phases.

Hardball Capital owner, Chris Schoen, is also president of Barry Real Estate Companies, Inc. and was a principal developer in downtown Atlanta’s Allen Plaza.

The team’s lease in its current 13-year-old home, Memorial Stadium, expires after the 2007 season – and coliseum officials had considered making $5 million in improvements to the facility had the Wizards decided to stay. But those plans will not proceed if the downtown stadium becomes reality, said Coliseum General Manager Randy Brown.

Reportedly, IPFW Plans to take over use of Memorial Stadium for their baseball program and other special events.

Phase one would cost about $125 million. 60% of that cost would be from private funds while the remaining 40% would come from public funds in the forms of sales and income taxes.

The city already has options or agreements to acquire all the property needed for the project, and Becker said the city has begun exercising those options. He said the city will likely take control of the site whether this development occurs or not, so it could be used for a major development in the future.

Becker said the city hopes to have all agreements in place for the project – including the selection of a hotel developer – by the end of the March. Conceivably, it would be ready to field teams by opening day 2009.

Below, I have compiled a list of links that are related to this announcement (some of which were used as resources for this post) and the downtown baseball stadium for those who would like further reading:

• City rolls out stadium plan – Bemjamin Lanka (Journal Gazette)
• Play Ball – Indianas News Center
• Projects hatching downtown – Bemjamin Lanka (News Sentinel)
• City to Present Progress Report on Downtown (City of Fort Wayne)
• Mayor Announces Support for Downtown Projects (City of Fort Wayne)
• WANE TV Video – WANE TV
• New Blog: Downtown Fort Wayne Baseball
• Discussion Group at Skyscraper City

Corunna, Indiana native and former DeKalb High School standout, Jarrett Grube, will host a pitching and hitting camp at the Cole Center Family YMCA in Kendallville on Sunday, January 14th from 1-4PM.

Grube currently plays in the Colorado Rockies farm system. The Rockies drafted him in June 2004 after having played at Vincennes University and the University of Memphis. As a member of the Modesto Nuts (High-A) of the California League, Grube posted a 3.69 ERA and a 4-2 record over 70 2/3 innings of work.

I finally have produced my first YouTube video. The goal is to introduce viewers to the book (which will be released in February). I’m not going to claim it is the greatest video on Earth, but hey . . . check it out:

Fort Wayne Wizards General Manager Mike Nutter was presented with “The Friends of Baseball Chapel Award” at the recent Baseball Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida.

Baseball Chapel is an international ministry recognized by Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball and is responsible for the appointment and oversight of team chapel leaders, with more than 400 throughout professional baseball. The ministry is directed toward players, coaches, managers and their wives, umpires, front office and ballpark staffs.

“Baseball Chapel is an organization that allows all professional ballplayers the opportunity to grow and develop in their faith while they are progressing as ballplayers,” Nutter said. “Vince Naus and his staff should be commended for their ministry and the work they do in promoting The Gospel to ballplayers.”

Congratulations Mike, and thank you for your dedication.

Related: Mike Nutter Wins Baseball Chapel Award | Baseball Chapel Website
| News-Sentinel Article

Keep an eye on this former Fort Wayne Wizard.

Two days after the Royals made him the second overall pick in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft, Soria pitched a perfect game in the Mexican Pacific League on Saturday night as the Yaquis de Obregon blanked the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, 6-0. [source: MiLB.com].

The Kansas City Royals recent release of former top prospect, Runelvys Hernandez, may open a rotation spot for RHP Joakim Soria, whom the team selected in the Rule 5 Draft. Soria’s pitching experience is mostly in the Mexican Summer League with the exception of last summer at the Castle in Fort Wayne as a member of the Fort Wayne Wizards.

Pitching for Yaquis de Obregon, Soria is leading the league in several important categories: He’s 8-0 with a 2.02 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings. He’s given up 46 hits and issued 19 walks, and batters are hitting just .204 against him.

“I think he’s going to fit in well with some of the young arms we have coming into the organization,” (General Manager Dayton) Moore said. “I think he’s got a chance, a year from now, to be mentioned in the same vein with some of our younger prospects. [source: MLB.com]

Soria was originally signed by the Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent in 2001 and was released in 2004.

While in the Mexican League in 2005, Soria went 5-0 with a 4.48 ERA in 30 appearances. The 2006 season was spent with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico of the Mexican League where he tallied 15 saves and an earned run average of 3.89 over 39 appearances. In 37 innings, Soria surrendered 37 hits, 11 walks and struck out 30.

He joined the team in mid-August after being signed as a free agent by the Padres. While in Fort Wayne, Soria pitched 11.2 innings, garnering a 2.31 ERA in seven games. He allowed five hits and three runs while striking out 11.

Former Fort Wayne Wizards pitcher, LaTroy Hawkins appears close to adding one more team to his list of employers. The veteran right-hander came up with the Twins in 1995 and has since played in Chicago (NL), San Francisco, and Baltimore. According to the Rocky Mountain News, Hawkins will be a member of the Colorado Rockies next year. Though the deal is not complete, it is reported to be a one-year deal for $3.5 million with a mutual option (for another).

When questioned for comment, Hawkins indicated he believes the Rockies are a team “on the verge of putting things together” and expressed little concern about the probability of making Coors Field – a park notoriously known as a pitcher’s worst nightmare – his home field.

“That ballpark has played better for the pitchers the last couple of years,” Hawkins said. “That’s not a factor. I’ve pitched in Wrigley Field, jeez. Camden Yards is not exactly a graveyard for hitters — the ball goes out. If I keep the ball down, I’ll be fine” [Source: MLB.com].

Hawkins, 33, will be used primarily as an eight inning set-up man; a role he excelled in as a Twin before joining the Cubs where they attempted to turn him into a closer.

As a Wizards standout in Fort Wayne, Hawkins put together what may be the best individual season performance in the team’s history. Hawkins still holds Wizards records in ERA (2.06), wins (15), complete games (4), shutouts (2), strikeouts in a season (179) and strikeouts in a game (15). Even more impressive is the fact that Hawkins accomplished these totals during the inaugural season of the Wizards organization and they still stand thirteen years later.

Note: Photo courtesy of the Fort Wayne Wizards.