Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for May, 2009

The Fort Wayne TinCaps welcomed their second largest crowd of the season to Parkview Field on Saturday to witness the TinCaps 6-4 victory over the Burlington Bees. The only game to attract a larger crowd was the festivities of the first game at the new ballpark, Opening Night on April 16th.

“Fort Wayne has really gotten behind the TinCaps and Parkview Field,” said TinCaps Team President, Mike Nutter. “The support that the team has received since Opening Day has been fantastic. To have a crowd of over 7,700 tonight, and to have welcomed our 100,000th fan through just 24 games, is a testament to how the community has embraced the team and this beautiful new facility. The weather is getting warmer, and school is letting out, which means the season’s biggest games are still to come.”

”We are confident that attendance at the remaining 46 games will continue to be strong and that we have several more sellouts ahead of us,” stated Michael Limmer, TinCaps Vice President of Marketing. “You really can’t underestimate the impact that warm weather and school being out has on attendance. Baseball teams in the Midwest typically see nearly 75% of their entire season’s attendance during the months of June, July and August and we have the majority of our fireworks nights and some of our best entertainment still to come in 2009.”

“While we don’t enjoy having to tell people that walk up to purchase a ticket that the game is sold out, that is just the reality on nights like this,” said Nutter. “We continue to strongly encourage fans to purchase tickets in advance. The best way to purchase TinCaps tickets is online at TinCaps.com, where you can select your seat and print your tickets all from the comfort of your home.” Tickets can also be purchased by calling the TinCaps at (260) 482-6400 or visiting the Parkview Field ticket office.

The last remainign former Wizards player from the Minnesota Twins era who is still with Minnesota, Michael Cuddyer recently hit for the cycle. He’ having a pretty good season too.

Bobby Scales hasn’t felt well the last couple days. I am sure the news that he has been demoted back to Triple-A didn’t make him feel any better. Although, Ryan Freel’s injury might be brigning Scales back sooner than later.

The Padres club record for career wins as a Padre is at risk of falling if Jake Peavy hangs aroung to get ten more.

Corey Luebke is starting to really put things together with Lake Elsinore, and was recently named the California League Pitcher of the Week. Ben Davey (Friar Forecast) also has some good Luebke observations. 

Mike Baxter was named the Texas League Player of the Week.

At 5-1, Ernesto Freiri is turning some heads while pitching for Double-A San Antonio.

Former Fort Wayne Wizards pitcher, Juan Rincon chose to become a free agent about ten days ago after declining a minor league assignment from the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers had designated him for assignment when they brought Dontrelle Willis back into the fold.  Apparently his decision was the right one, having landed with the Colorado Rockies.

Rincon, 29, was once among the top setup men in the game but has struggled over recent seasons since testing positive for a banned substance in 2006. He signed with the Twins organization as a 17-year-old from Venezuela in 1996 and joined the Wizards (who were a Twins affiliate at the time) in 1998. With the ‘zards that year, he went 6-4 with a 3.83 ERA and 74 strikeouts over 96.1 innings pitched.

Related BBIFW Juan Rincon Posts:

• Twins Cut Juan Rincon – Updated 6/13
• Juan Rincon Signed by Tribe, Sent to Triple-A
• Tigers Moves Bring in One Former Wizard, Oust Another
• Former Wizards on the Move

From the Fort Wayne TinCaps:

Former Fort Wayne RHP Dale Thayer made his major-league debut Friday night with the Tampa Bay Rays, delivering three innings to pick up a save. He became the fourth Fort Wayne alum to make his MLB debut this season, joining INFs Bobby Scales and David Freese along with RHP Greg Burke. Since professional baseball returned to the Summit City in 1993, 80 Fort Wayne players have gone on to play in the major leagues. 

“Dale was a class act while he was with us in Fort Wayne and I wish him continued success in the major leagues,” TinCaps president Mike Nutter said. “He’s just another example of the top-quality players we’ve been able to showcase for our fans right here in Fort Wayne.”

Thayer played the first professional game of his career for Fort Wayne in 2003. He went 1-3 with 25 saves and a 2.06 ERA that year, finishing third in the Midwest League in saves. He also received the team’s Community Player of the Year Award for his involvement in the Fort Wayne community. Thayer, 28, was sent from the Padres to the Rays in 2006 as the player to be named later in exchange for INF Russell Branyan.

Scales, 31, finally made his major-league debut this season after a decade in the minor leagues. He was called up by the Cubs on May 5th when Carlos Zambrano went on the Disabled List. Scales played for Fort Wayne in 2000, hitting .283 in 81 games. This year with the Cubs, he is batting .286 with a home run and 5 RBIs in 11 games.

During Friday’s Padres-Cubs game, Scales mixed it up with a former teammate from the Summit City, Padres RHP Jake Peavy. After Padres INF David Eckstein was hit by a Zambrano pitch in the 1st inning, Peavy plunked Scales in the top of the 2nd, prompting a warning to both benches. Later in the game, Peavy came to the plate and hit a smash to third, where Scales made a diving stop and threw Peavy out at first base. Peavy, the subject of trade talks earlier this week, struck out 10 Cubs on the way to a 4-0 victory, San Diego’s seventh in a row.

Freese, 26, played for Fort Wayne in 2006, hitting .299 with eight home runs in 53 games. He made the St. Louis Cardinals’ Opening Day roster this year with Troy Glaus on the Disabled List. Freese went 3-for-19 with a pair of doubles before being optioned to Triple-A Memphis on April 22nd. He went to the Cardinals in 2007 in the trade that brought Jim Edmonds to the Padres.

Burke, 26, has fired three scoreless innings for the Padres since being called up from Triple-A Portland on May 15th. He went 6-5 with a 3.58 ERA for Fort Wayne in 2006, his first professional season.

Eight members of the 2006 Fort Wayne roster have made it to the major leagues: Freese, Burke, INF Matt Antonelli, RHP Josh Geer, C Nick Hundley, OF Wade LeBlanc, RHP Joakim Soria and OF Will Venable.

Nine players from the 2000 roster have also made it to “The Show”: Peavy, Scales, LHP Cliff Bartosh, RHP Jack Cassel, LHP Eric Cyr, OF Ben Johnson, RHP Dennis Tankersley, RHP Michael Thompson and RHP J.J. Trujillo.

Fans can get a glimpse of the next generation of major leaguers when the TinCaps return to Parkview Field on Tuesday to open a 12-game homestand. It all starts with a 7:05pm first pitch Tuesday against the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Class-A Los Angeles Angels). To order tickets, call (260) 482-6400, go online to TinCaps.com, or visit the Parkview Field box office at the corner of Ewing and Brackenridge Streets in downtown Fort Wayne.

Peavy hit Bobby Scales on the right thigh with his first pitch of the second inning, drawing a warning from plate umpire Dana DeMuth, who also warned both dugouts. [ContraCoastTimes]

This caught my eye because Peavy has been in the big leagues several years, while Scales is getting his first taste at age 31 and more than a decade in the minor leagues. Both were on the 2000 Wizards squad. Seems odd that Peavy would welcome his former teammate to the big leagues by plunking him with the very first pitch he threw to Scales.

Anywho, probably a whole lot of nothin’ goin’ on there, but it’s an interesting quandary.

Former Fort Wayne Wizard, Dale Thayer has been called up to the Tampa Bay Rays from Triple-A Durham. If/when he makes his Major Leage Baseball debut, he’ll become the 80th former Wizard to do so.

With the Wizards in 2003, Thayer appeared in 45 games, all in relief. He posted a 1-3 record with a 2.06 ERA and 25 saves. In 48 innings pitched, he gave up 15 runs (11 earned) and struck out 72 while walking just 15. His WHIP was a crazy .960

UPDATE 10:30PM EST

Dale Thayer made his Major League Debut tonight, going three innings while giving up one run on 3 hits. The run came in the bottom of the ninth in as Tampa Bay had a 15-1 lead and Thayer had already tossed two scoreless innings.

Related Dale Thayer posts on BBIFW:

• Former Wizards Likely to Debut in 2009 – Part I
• Dale Thayer Competing Against Time
• More Former Wizards Get 40-Man Roster Protection
• Dale Thayer at Triple All-Star Game in Louisville
• Half Way There: A Mid-Season Look at Estranged Friars

Saturday morning at 9:00, Talkin’ Sports will feature:

Adaptive Sports athlete Kevin Hughes, and we’ll talk about the Wheelchair Tennis Open taking place next weekend at IPFW.

Well also check in with Fort Wayne TinCaps President Mike Nutter as Parkview Field prepares for a large homestand beginning Tuesday and kicking off the summer season in downtown Fort Wayne.

We’ll name our PSI/One Eleven Design Athlete of the Week in the 4th Quarter of the show.
Nominations for the PSI/One Eleven Design Athlete of the Week can be submitted to this e-mail address or: wkjg1380@yahoo.com.

Got an idea for a show topic or local guest? Let us know.

Tune in Saturday mornings at 9 for Talkin’ Sports on WKJG-ESPN Radio 1380. Phone lines are always open at 260-447-8500.

Talkin’ Sports is brought to you each week by: INdigital Telecom, Perfection Bakeries/Aunt Millie’s, Wise Insurance, PSI/One Eleven Design and Kraft Foods.

Talkin’ Sports. Local Guests. Local Topics. Local Opinion

Former Fort Wayne Wizard, Tom Mott recentlydropped me a line to provide a brief update about his 1 Dream Foundation happenings. He reports tha the 1 Dream Foundation is still going strong, with three students from the class of 2009 being recipients of full scholarships to: Indiana, Montana State & Hill JC.  However, the organization is not unlike many other organizations in this current struggling economy. Please take a moment to read through the great things Mott’s organization is doing and their needs. If you can assist, I strongly encourage you to do so.

As the great Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  The 1 Dream Foundation (http://www.1dreamfoundation.com/) holds these 13 words as the core to our existence.  With education all things are possible.  For many children in 3^rd world counties, education is their only hope for a secure job and decent future.  The 1 Dream Foundation targets these young disadvantaged students and provides them the education that they so desperately desire.

In this tough economic time, non-profits like the 1 Dream Foundation must adapt and creatively seek out the funds required to continue to change lives.  Each year our goal is to have 8-10 students from around the world join our program.  The 1 Dream Foundation seeks out students ages 16-17 who have the desire to learn, the motivation to succeed and the sparkle in their eyes.  These are students from some of the poorest places in the world that just need an opportunity, an opportunity which us Americans so often take for granted.

In our short three year history we have had many success stories.  A 16 year old student from the Dominican Republic who had his father murdered when he was three years old and had to live on his own from age 13 to 14… he is now in the United States speaking flawless English and has found the family, school and love that was so hard to come by in his home country. 

There’s also the 19 year old from Angola who came to the United States legally blind in one eye and nearly blind in the other.  Unbeknown to us prior to his arrival, we found him an eye specialist who generously donated his services and now he has eyes of an eagle.  He had been blind for nearly 5 years so he has had to play catch up academically but he is making incredible progress.

Every kid has an amazing story and we hope to touch the lives of many others. Here is where we need your help.  We need to raise $10,000 by June 28^th to “Keep the Dream Alive” for our new students.  Whether you can donate $10 or $1000, every single dollar goes directly to the kids and makes a huge difference. 

Please forward this letter to your friends, your family and your co-workers.  Payment methods are simple, via our secure website www.1dreamfoundation.com (paypal) or by sending a check to PO Box 3655, San Luis Obispo, CA  93406.  Our non-profit tax id # is 26-0320711

Please help us give these kids the opportunity that all kids deserve… a quality education, great host families and an organization that will mentor them every step of the way. 

Thank you for your support.

Tom Mott
Director
The 1 Dream Foundation

“Changing Lives… One Student at a Time”

Former Fort Wayne Wizard, Greg Burke, made his Major League debut yesterday. He’s the third of the season and the 79th overall. He pitched a scoreless inning of releif in a game that saw former Wizard, Nick Hundley win the game for the Padres with a sixteenth inning home run.

The game became tied in the eighth when Cincinnati Reds reliever, David Weathers wallked former Wizard, Drew Macias with the bases juice to plate the run.

With the Wizards in 2006, Burke appeared in 24 games where he compiled a 3.57 ERA with 87 strike out sin 121 innings pitched. He had an ERA above 5.00 over two combined stints with Lake Elsinore. But something must have clicked when he got into the closers role, where he drastically lowered that to 2.24 on the year.

Related BBIFW Greg Burke Posts:

• More on Greg Burke’s Callup
• Former Wizards I’m Watching Heading into 2009
• Former Wizards Likely to Debut in 2009 – Part II
• Padres Non Roster Invitees
• Who’s the Next Hoffman?
• Catching Up With the Arizona Fall League

As mentioned yesterday, padres RHP Greg Burke got called up to San Diego from triple-A Portland. When he appears in a game, it will mark his Major League Debut. Padres exec Paul DePodesta also adds:

Greg Burke will be making his Major League debut, and it’s a good story. A non-drafted free agent, Greg began his career in 2006 splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen with both of our A-Ball teams. Once again an A-ball swing man in 2007, Greg posted a 5.23 ERA. Then came 2008. Greg made the move to the AA pen, and everything clicked. He notched 23 saves for AA San Antonio on his way to a 2.24 ERA in 84 innings of work. He hasn’t missed a beat in AAA this year with seven saves and a 2.25 ERA across 16 innings.