Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for June, 2007

Wizards Alumni have been the subject of news coverage lately. Here’s the round-up:

• Healthy Peavy able to shoulder the load (Jerry Crasnick): A great peice that starts the Peavy comparison to some of the great men of the mound; including Don Drysdale, Greg Maddux and others. “I see him as a guy who’s composed, taking the responsibility of being our lead dog, and really handling this thing very well,” Black said. “He’s capable of doing great things.”
• Pierzynski dogged by perception (Scott Merkin): Presents the double standard that occurs not only with baseball players, but all people. AJ, simply because of the reputation that precedes him, is viewed differently by fans for the same actions that would result in cheers for others.
• Perez makes leap back to consistency (Anthony DiComo): Before the playoffs last season, the common story with Oliver Perez was “What Could Have Been’ – but with this year, that storyline is slowly becoming “What Still Might Be.” The good Perez has seemingly vanquished the bad, and in doing so, has given the Mets not just another starter — but another ace.
• Also of Note: Former Wizard and first round draft pick, Sean Burroughs recently returned to the field; playing for the Tacoma Rainiers – a Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Follow his stats at MiLB.com.

[tags]Fort Wayne Wizards, Baseball, Oliver Perez, AJ Pierzynski, Jake Peavy, Sean Burroughs[/tags]

Purdue freshman Matt Bischoff was recently named to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s 2007 Freshmen All-America team as announced by Lou Pavlovich of the publication.

Bischoff joined by teammate, Tony Sedlmeyer, and 21 other starting pitchers from across the nation on the All-America team.

Bischoff, the son of NEIBA Hall of Famer Dave Bischoff, was also recently named the 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, after going 3-2 this season with a 2.85 earned-run average. His 61 strikeouts broke a 25-year-old Purdue class record and ranked fifth in the Big Ten Conference this season among all pitchers. This season, Bischoff also earned third team All-Big Ten honors.

The duo are just the fourth and fifth freshmen in Purdue baseball history to earn the all-American distinction. They join Bob Shoulders (1984, Baseball America), Brent Coudron (2002, Collegiate Baseball) and Ryne White (2006, Collegiate Baseball).

Bischoff a native of Decatur and a New Haven High School standout, moved through the Purdue pitching ranks, starting the season as a middle reliever and working into the starting rotation. He ended the season as the Boilermakers’ Friday starter.

The season also saw Bischoff establish a new Boilermaker benchmarg by striking out 7.625 batters per walk (61 K, 8 BB), surpassing the former record of 5.438 by Andy Swain in 1989. The right-hander also set a Purdue record with just 1.2 walks/nine innings and his 9.15 strikeouts/nine innings is the fourth-best in Purdue program history.

See Also:

• Matt Bischoff’s Purdue Bio
• The Three Amigos - Purdue News Article
• Purdue Duo Earns National Honors – Purdue News Article

Note: Photo used without permission from the Purdue University website.
[tags]Matt Bischoff, Purdue Baseball, Baseball in Fort Wayne[/tags]

The following note was e-mailed to me today. Looks like a great opportunity to take in a good game with a good group of folks.

The G.E. Apprentice Alumni Association is taking a bus-load from the G.E. Taylor St. parking lot to Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio Thursday, June 7 to see the Indians take on the Kansas City Royals.

Bus leaves at 6:30 AM sharp, returning that evening to the lot (where you can park your vehicle). There are still 12 tickets available (on 3rd base side – field box seats) and seats on the bus.

Price is $55.00 and includes coffee, doughnuts and juice for breakfast. We suggest bringing a cooler with a lunch and cans or plastic bottles with something to drink. We will be stopping at a fast-food area on the way back so you can get what you desire for dinner.

If interested, please call John Kalb at 432-2369 this evening or at 422-7081 on Wednesday in the daytime. Both men and women are going – we have a fun group!

Tonight was the 2007 Northeast Indiana Baseball Association (NEIBA) Hall of Fame banquet that brought together a family that spans multiple generations. The History Center (in downtown Fort Wayne) hosted the evening’s festivities that saw three new additions to the local HOF and honored two others were honored for their contributions off the field.

Local sports personality, Kent Hormann received the Bob Parker Memorial Award and local sponsor and youth league supporter, Leo Ochoa was presented with the Colin Lister Award.

Long-time New Haven High School Baseball Coach, Dave Bischoff and one of his former standouts, former MLB player David Doster, were honored with induction into the NEIBA Hall of Fame and join a list of many great baseball ambassadors. Former Fort Wayne Daisies player, June “Pep” Peppas was also inducted into the HOF. Family members were in attendance to accept the honor on her behalf.

The event also featured speaker, Wizards General Manager Mike Nutter, who spoke about his career in Minor League Baseball, the Fort Wayne Wizards team and staff and the Harrison Square Project.

Pictured above: Dave Bischoff and David Doster pose with their newly presented NEIBA HOF Plaques. Photo by Chad Gramling.

[tags]NEIBA, Hall of Fame, Dave Bischoff, June Peppas, David Doster, Harrison Square, Mike Nutter, Fort Wayne Wizards[/tags]