Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for August, 2009

This photo was taken at Parkview Field during an Jeudy Valdez at-bat with the TinCaps on April 16th, 2009. Had it signed in person on July 5th, 2009.

Rhett Goodmiller, a catcher from Ossian, will transfer from NCAA Division I Central Michigan University to join the Taylor University Trojans this fall. He will have three years of athletic eligibility remaining.

During his freshman season at CMU, Goodmiller played in 50 games and started 38. He posted a .266 batting average for the Chippewas with nine doubles, 23 RBIs, and a .410 on-base percentage.

A 2008 graduate of Norwell High School, Goodmiller was part of a 35-0 team that took home the Indiana Class 3A State Championship in 2007. Following that season, he was named the Chris Rood Junior of the Year, an award given to the top junior baseball player in the state of Indiana.

As a senior, the two-time First Team All-State selection tallied four home runs and 32 RBIs on a .472 average to go along with 33 stolen bases.

Goodmiller also played five seasons of club baseball wiht the Summit City Sluggers.

Padres’ youth movement hits Triple-A Portland hard: Several former Fort Wayne players; including Kyle Blanks, Will Venable, Mat Latos and Greg Burke have seen big league action this year. It’s also spelt a drain on talent for Triple-A Portland. With the likelihood of others (such as Triple-A All-Star Home Run Derby winner, Chad Huffman) trickling onto the Padres’ roster in the coming weeks, the chances of Portland improving upon their league worst win-loss record doesn’t look good.

Speaking of Kyle Blanks, he’s starting to earn more widespread attention:

• Nick Canepa (Union Tribune) suggests he has a shot to be legendary
• Dan Hayes (North County Times) shoots the  breeze

Speaking of Will Venable, the former Wizards outfielder has been fortunate enough to play under close tutilage of his father, Max Venable, a former big leaguer who used to be the hitting coach in Fort Wayne. But apparently it was his mother’s advice that kept her son in baseball rather than the pursuit of hooop dreams. See Also: Venable Has Been a Quick Study.

Former Wizards skipper, Randy Ready has been promoted to the Padre’s hitting coach. Probably a move that also is intended to help keep him in the organization rather than jumping ship to be a big league manager when teams start interviewing to fill soon-to-be vacancies.

Mat Latos is also drawing a lot of acclaim since rising from Fort Wayne to the big leauges earlier this season. He netted his first MLB win in his second start. He allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings in a 6-2 Padres’ win over the Washington Nationals. He went seven innings in his next start before allowing former Wizards, Michael Ekstrom and Burke to finish his win in a game that also saw a Blanks homer.

While it’s early to call Latos the next San Diego ace of the staff, it’s probably refreshing news following the trade of the former incumbant, Jake Peavy, to the White Sox. In fact, Friday night, Latos gave up seven runs and eight hits in four-plus innings, leading to a 9-2 loss to the Cardinals. The 21-year-old had won his last four starts and was the first Padres pitcher in history to win four of his first five career starts.

More Latos:

• Latos Has Look of Potential Ace – SignonSanDiego
• Latos knows he must control emotions – SignonSanDiego
• It’s early, but there’s a lot to like about Latos – SignonSanDiego
• Latos leads rookie barrage in victory – MLB.com
• Latos Strong in Second Start – Another Padres Blog
• New kid Latos tough vs. Braves – SignonSanDiego
• Quick glance at Latos through PITCHf/x - Another Padres Blog
• Latos’ Early Struggles Against Lefties - FanGraphs
• Latos Shows Promise in Debut – Friar Forum
• Better Latos than Never – San Antonio Missions
• Mission Accomplished: Latos Nails Down First Win – SignonSanDiego
• Calling on Latos – Friar Forecast

On another Jake Peavy note, the former Wizard and Padre has begun his rehab work with the White Sox. He struck out five in his first assignment.

TinCaps right hander, Simon Castro took the seventh Midwest League honor earlier in the month when he was selected as MWL Pitcher of the Week for the week ending Augst 2nd. At the time, he was leading the league in strikeouts with 125 and had just concluded two dominant startswhere he allowed just one run while struck out out 15 over ten innings.

Current White Sox catcher, A.J. Pierzynski hopes to remain in Chicago but realizes tha the might have to try the free agent waters if the up and coming (and cheaper) competition continue to press.

Off the DL: Nick Hundley, Torii Hunter

Taking a Look at the Padres Prospects (requires MadFriars subscription):

• Doug Dascenzo
• Tom Tornicasa
• Tom Bradley

Speaking of MadFriars, FriarForecast recently caught up with John Conniff following his trip to Fort Wayne. He provides his take on the new erea of baseball in Fort Wayne

Wizards Where R They?

• Paul McAnulty: After being released by Boston, McAnulty signed with the Colorado Rockies. He’s now playing with the Triple-A SkySox.
• Jose Lobaton: The Tampa Bay Rays claimed the catcher off waivers from the Padres and assigned him to Double-A Montgomery.
• Freddy Guzman: Now playing in Triple-A Norfolk with the Orioles organization.
• Josh Barfield: After not getting claimed off waivers, Barfield was outrighted from Indian’s 40-Man Roster.

Finally, Paul DePodesta shares his thoughts on the current prospects in the Padres’ system. Many of them are former Wizards/TinCaps.

This photo was taken at Parkview Field while Mike Watt was on the mound for the TinCaps on April 24th, 2009. Had it signed in person on July 5th, 2009.

Through 61 games 322,995 fans have walked into Parkview Field to take in a Fort Wayne TinCaps game, surpassing the previous franchise record of 318,506 which was set during the Wizards’ innagural season in 1993. There are still nine home games remaining in the season.

7,025 fans took in the game on Sunday (August 16th). It was the seventh sellout in the last 12 games.

“This is certainly a milestone for the franchise,” said TinCaps Team President, Mike Nutter. “It is a testament to the hard working men and women that I have the privilege to work with. They come to work each day dedicated to providing each and every person that walks into Parkview a first class experience. We can feel the energy in the ballpark and being at Parkview Field is as much fun for us as it is for the fans. This has been a tremendous first year and we still have more baseball left to play.”

Fort Wayne franchise yearly attendance totals (by attendance)

1. 2009 – 322,995 through 61 games
2. 1993 – 318,506
3. 2005 – 278,631
4. 2004 – 278,351
5. 1994 – 266,670
6. 2003 – 262,477
7. 2002 – 260,166
8. 2008 – 256,693
9. 2001 – 254,017
10. 1995 – 253,568
11. 2006 – 253,564
12. 2000 – 252,605
13. 2007 – 230,210
14. 1997 – 230,210
15. 1996 – 226,740
16. 1998 – 214,702
17. 1999 – 201,395

The Fort Wayne TinCaps dream season at Parkview Field continued Saturday as the team won its 80th game of the year, breaking the franchise record with 21 regular-season games left to play. The previous record of 79 was set in 1998 when the club was an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

The TinCaps set a franchise record for wins in a half-season earlier this year, when they went 45-25 in the first half. They have continued a sensational pace in the second half despite promotions of several key players.

“The depth of this team has been unbelievable all year,” TinCaps president Mike Nutter said. “They play with a lot of hustle and every player has worked incredibly hard to improve themselves. That’s a testament to the coaching staff and the San Diego Padres’ organization. We’re proud of the season these guys have had so far and we’re looking forward to even more memories in the playoffs.”

Several more records are expected to go by the wayside in the coming days. With Saturday’s victory, manager Doug Dascenzo is four shy of setting the franchise record for wins by a manager. Randy Ready, now the San Diego Padres’ hitting coach, won 209 games during his three-year stint, 2004-06.

The TinCaps are also closing in on the franchise attendance record. With Saturday night’s sellout crowd of 8,375, the TinCaps’ season attendance at Parkview Field reached 315,970. That is just short of the record total of 318,506, set with the franchise’s inaugural season of 1993.

Saturday night’s crowd was the second-largest in Parkview Field history. The TinCaps have sold out six of their last 11 home games.

Parkview Field will also play host at least one Midwest League playoff game on September 10th at 7:05pm against an undetermined opponent. The TinCaps qualified for the post-season with a firsthalf Eastern Division championship.

This photo was taken at Parkview Field with Adam Zornes behind the plate for the TinCaps on April 24th, 2009. Had it signed in person on July 5th, 2009.

Tune in Saturday morning at 9 for Talkin’ Sports, we’ll be talking with Lisa Palmer, the coordinator of the Leighann Palmer Foundation Golf Outing which will be holding it’s 15th and final event that funds local scholarships.

We’ll also talk with TinCaps President Mike Nutter in our weekly segment as the TinCaps return for an 8-game homestand.

We’ll be naming our PSI/One Eleven Design Athlete of the Week in the 4th Quarter of the show.

Any athlete (youth, adult, high school, collegiate, neighbor) can be a PSI/One Eleven Design Athlete of the Week. Nominations for the PSI/One Eleven Design Athlete of the Week can be submitted to this e-mail address or: jim@wowo.com.

We’re also asking for those attending high school football scrimmages tonight to call in and give us your thoughts.

Have 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.

This photo was taken at Parkview Field during a Blake Tekotte at-bat with the TinCaps on April 16th, 2009. Had it signed in person on July 5th, 2009.