Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for August, 2009

This photo was taken at Parkview Field while Rob Musgrave was pitching with the TinCaps on April 24th, 2009. Had it signed in person on July 5th, 2009.

From the Journal Gazette:

The Shady Nook Jackers, from Fort Wayne, are heading to the National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series.

The Jackers defeated the Chicago Clout 7-4 Sunday at Carrington Field to win the NABF Regional Tournament.

Zack Hatfield, a Concordia graduate, hit a two-run home run for the Jackers, and Rich Berich, a New Haven graduate, had two RBI.

Drake Everson, a Snider product, picked up the win, and Jeff Mault, a Central Noble graduate, got the save in the title game.

The Jackers will be making their second trip to the World Series, which begins Thursday in Louisville, Ky. The Jackers play in the NABF Major Division, which is an unlimited age group.

In the regional, the Jackers went undefeated with a 3-1 win over Toledo in the quarterfinals and a 15-5 win over Crumback-Symons Chevrolet, also from Fort Wayne, in the semifinals.

This photo was taken at Parkview Field during an Allen Dykstra at-bat with the TinCaps on April 24th, 2009. Had it signed in person on July 5th, 2009.

This photo was taken during Jaff Decker’s first at-bat with the TinCaps. It was a home run to right field. Photo was taken at Parkview Field on April 24th, 2009. Had it signed in person on July 5th, 2009.

Derek Kinzer (Homestead) has signed a letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic careers at Taylor University starting this fall. Kinzer, an infielder and a pitcher, hit .402 and scored 20 runs as a senior as he helped lead Homestead High School to a sectional championship with a 23-4 record.

Playing second base for the Spartans this season, Kinzer committed just two errors in 27 games for a .977 fielding percentage. As a junior, Kinzer played a role in guiding Homestead to the Indiana Class 4A State Championship game.

“We are excited to add Derek to our recruiting class,” said Gould. “He had a great career at Homestead and helped lead them to another great season this year. He has the ability to play several positions on the field, help us on the mound, and swing the bat from the left side. Derek has worked very hard to put himself in a position to excel at the college level.”

Derek is the younger brother of Taylor Kinzer, who played for Taylor University before signing a professional contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 24th round (741st overall) of this year’s MLB Amateur Entry Draft. Derek and Taylor’s father, Matt Kinzer is a NEIBA Hall of Famer and a former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is also Taylor University’s pitching coach.

Another coaching local tie is Matt Talarico, who has been named volunteer assistant baseball coach at the University of Toledo. He will work with all aspects of Toledo’s baseball program, but his main responsibilites will be working with the outfielders and assisting with baserunning and bunting. He will also assist in coordinating Toledo’s baseball camps.

“I’m very excited to have Matt join our program,” Coach Cory Mee said. “He is a great addition to our staff. I know he’ll bring a lot of enthusiasm and positive energy to our team. He’s a very good teacher and he already has experience coaching in the post-season. I look forward to seeing the impact he has on our program as he begins to share his experience and knowledge with our players.”

Talarico joins Toledo following two successful seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at NCAA Division III member Heidelberg University. Prior to Heidelberg, Talarico enjoyed a four-year playing career at Manchester College, where he helped guide Manchester to a 124-54 record from 2004-07, while claiming two Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Championships (2004, 2006) and two tournament titles (2004, 2005). In his final season, Talarico was named first-team all-conference and third-team All-Mideast Region.

A native of Fort Wayne, Talarico attended Bishop Dwenger High School and graduated from Manchester with a degree in History in 2007. He later earned a master’s of arts in Education from Heidelberg.

One final local tie note: Dave Bone sends word that his nephew, Drake Everson (Snider) has chosen Parkland College in Illinois. After putting on a spectacular performance to help his team get to the IHSAA Class 4A Baseball championship game, Everson was honored by the IHSAA with the the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award. He was also a member of the 2006 championship squad. He earned first team All-Summit Athletic Conference honors in 2008 and 2009.

Tune in Saturday morning at 9 for Talkin’ Sports, as we’ll discuss the World Baseball Academy located in Fort Wayne, with Executive Director Caleb Kimmel.

We’ll also talk with TinCaps President Mike Nutter in our weekly segment as the TinCaps end a very successful 10-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.

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.

There were a lot of deals and moves at the non-waiver trade deadline that have Fort Wayne ties. Here’s a rundown of those that I noticed:

Lobaton Claimed

The Tampa Bay Rays claimed former Wizards catcher Jose Lobaton off waivers from the Padres. Lobaton made his MBL debut earlier this season, but was designated Lobaton for assignment on Monday. In total, he played in seven games, going 3-for-17during his stint in San Diego.

Ready Promoted

Former Wizards skipper, Randy Ready was promoted to the Padres hitting coach. Ready managed in Fort Wayne for three seasons (2004-06) and is the all-time leader in wins for a manager. He joins another Fort Wayne coaching alum in San Diego: Padres’ pitching coach Darren Balsley. Balsley was the Fort Wayne pitching coach in 2000.

Peavy Traded

This deal has more ties that what is most obvious on the surface. Former Wizards pitcher, Jake Peavy was traded to the White Soz. In return the Padres got pitchers , Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell and Dexter Carter. In addition to the Wizards connection with Peavy, there is a good chance the trade will make Carter into a TinCap. Clayton Richard is from Lafayette. You might have interest in Paul DePodesta’s thoughts on this deal.

Masterson Traded to Tribe

Okay, the more prominent headline here is probably Victory Martinez traded to Red Sox. However, one of the players that Cleveland got in return was pitcher Justin Masterson. Sure, that club is managed by Fort Wayne native Eric Wedge, but a lesser known fact is that Masterson – the first Jamaican-born baseball player pitcher to appear in a Major League game –  lived in Bluffton for a short while.