Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for December, 2009

The honors keep coming for the Fort Wayne TinCaps; recently being named MiLB.com’s Team of the Year. The Midwest League champion won a record 101 games in 2009 and beat out Triple-A Durham, Double-A Akron and Advanced-A San Jose for the overall Team of the Year award.

“Nobody could’ve dreamed for a better opening to Parkview Field in 2009 and our team on the field was a big part of that,” TinCaps President Mike Nutter said. “The guys went out and won more games than anybody in the minors this year. They were talented players but the team chemistry was what put them on another level. We can’t thank the San Diego Padres enough for their support.”

In all, the TinCaps broke sixteen franchise records, including wins in a regular season (94) and wins in a half-season (49) and longest winning streak when they opened the season with 10 straight wins.

Additional honors on the season included infielder, James Darnell and right hander Simon Castro being named Padres’ Minor-League Player and Pitcher of the year while Manager Doug Dascenzo won the Padres’ award for top player development staffer. The TinCaps’ front-office staff also received the Midwest League President’s Trophy.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and you are looking forward to an exciting New Year. You have probably noticed that I have not been updating BBIFW much lately. There are several reasons for that, but let me first tell you that I have no plans to “pull the plug” and am looking forward to another great year here at BBIFW.

The 2009 season quite frankly wore me out. While it was great to follow the TinCaps’ success, as a Cubs fan, I pretty much lost a lot of joy for the game last season. At the same time, my family added a member (bringing our household to five), and things got kicked up a notch in both my career and my walk with God.  As those things competed for my time, BBIFW became the unfortunate sacrifice.

I have no idea what 2010 will bring, but my priorities remain firm. I’ll continue to update as it seems appropriate and time allows. In the meantime, thank you for your loyal following and passion for Baseball in Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana.

Here’s a brief roundup of some Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana player movement (or transactions) since the end of the season:

Veteran catcher, Chad Moeller has resigned with the Orioles.

The last player form the Wizards association with the Twins that is still associated with the Twins, Michael Cuddyer has had his option picked up by Minnesota.

The Milwaukee Brewers have claimed Luis Cruz off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Brew-Crew also claimed former Wizards catcher, George Kottaras, who was released from the Red Sox.

Possibly in preparation for the Rule 5 Draft, the Padres made some 40-Man roster changes, adding three. Among those is former Fort Wayne Wizard and this year’s Triple-A Home Run Derby champ, Chad Huffman.

Former Wizard outfielder Robert Perry has jumped from the independant Frontier League’s Windy City Thunderbolts to Minor League Baseball. He was signed by the Colorado Rockies.

The Atlanta Braves have resigned free-agent former Wizards pitcher, John Huber.

The Fort Wayne TinCaps’ apple logo has earned honors as national Co-Logo of the Year by BallparkDigest.com. The emblem debuted in October 2008 and has become one of the most popular brands in all of Minor League Baseball.

“We liked the logo when we first announced the name change, and it’s been well-received,” TinCaps president Mike Nutter said. “The apple, the colors and the TinCaps name do a great job of conveying what this organization is all about: affordable fun for the whole family.”

The logo was shares the honor with the swashbuckler logo of the Shreveport-Bossier (La.) Captains of the independent American Association.

In making thier selection, BallParkDigest used several criterion. Among them, the logo should provide an “instant identity for a baseball team” and be “appropriate for a variety of uses” while portraying “the team’s marketing image in a positive, forceful way.” Finally, the logo should “transcend the local market.”

“We saw the appeal of the [TinCaps] brand during a June 2009 visit to Yellowstone National Park, where we saw not one, not two, but three different tourists wearing TinCaps apparel at different places in the park. That told us the logo was working.”

See Also:

• 2009 BPD Logos of the Year: Fort Wayne and Shreveport-Bossier - BallParkDigest
• Sky Design – the Atlanta firm who designed the TinCaps logo
• TinCaps’ Logo Named Best of the Year – TinCaps.com/MiLB.com

Related Baseball in Fort Wayne Posts:

• All About the Fort Wayne TinCaps
• TinCaps Have Top New Logo

The San Diego Padres on Tuesday announced Jose Flores will manage the 2010 Fort Wayne TinCaps. Pitching coach Bronswell Patrick comes to Fort Wayne from Short-A Eugene while Tom Tornincasa returns for his seventh season as hitting coach and athletic trainer Nate Stewart is back after a brief stopover in 2009.

“This entire field staff comes with high praise from the Padres,” TinCaps president Mike Nutter said. “We know Tom has done a great job every year he’s been here, Nate was excellent when he helped us out last year and I’ve heard nothing but good things about Jose and Bronswell. We expect these guys to come in and help the players fulfill their potential.”

Flores, 36, managed the Padres’ Arizona Rookie League club the last two seasons, finishing with a combined record of 61-51. Prior to making his managerial debut, he served as the hitting coach for the Short-A Eugene Emeralds in 2007. Flores was a 34th-round pick in the 1994 draft out of the University of Texas and played professionally as an infielder in the minor leagues for parts of 13 seasons in seven organizations. He played 16 games in the major leagues with the Oakland Athletics (2002) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2004). Flores completed his playing career after the 2006 season. He has managed notable players including RHPs Mat Latos and Brad Brach, C Robert Lara and Arizona Rookie League MVPs Jaff Decker and Cody Decker.

Patrick, 39, will log his third season as a pitching coach in 2010, all with the Padres. He spent the 2008 season as Flores’ pitching coach in the Arizona Rookie League and moved to Short-A Eugene in 2009. Both seasons, Patrick’s pitching staffs issued the fewest walks in the league. He was drafted by Oakland in the 23rd round in 1988 out of Conley High School in Winterville, N.C. Patrick pitched 12 seasons in the minor leagues, including parts of two seasons with the Midwest League’s Madison Muskies. He made it to the major leagues in 1998 with the Brewers and 1999 with the
Giants. Patrick played parts of four seasons in the Mexican League and one in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. In 2003, he went 13-2 to lead the Mexico City Red Devils to their 14th league title. Patrick finished his playing career in 2005.

Tornincasa, 54, returns for his seventh season as Fort Wayne’s hitting coach. His first stint came from 2001-04 and he returned in 2008. This is Tornincasa’s 11th season coaching in the Padres’ organization. He has coached as high as the Double-A level, helping San Antonio to a Texas League title in 2007. Last year under Tornincasa’s tutelage, Fort Wayne’s hitters led the Midwest League by drawing 681 walks (4.9 per game) and scoring 736 runs (5.3 per game). Tornincasa joined the Padres’ organization in 2000 as a coach with the Arizona Rookie League Padres. After spending 2001-04 with Fort Wayne, he made his way to Advanced-A Lake Elsinore for 2005-06. Two of his teams have won championships: the 2007 San Antonio Missions and the 2009 Fort Wayne TinCaps.

Tornincasa played shortstop in college at Stanislaus (CA) State, appearing in the 1978 Division III World Series. He played professionally for two seasons in Mexico and coached at the collegiate level for Cal Baptist in Riverside, CA.

Stewart has served as a trainer in the Padres’ organization for the last four seasons, all with Short-A Eugene. He filled in with Fort Wayne for approximately a month during the 2009 season after Ernesto Vega, Jr. accepted a job outside of baseball. Stewart earned his degree in Kinesiology from Arizona State University in 2002. He spent a year as a high-school health teacher and athletic trainer in Arizona before joining the Padres’ organization.

Doug Dascenzo, the TinCaps’ 2009 manager and the franchise’s winningest manager, moves to Double-A San Antonio. Tom Bradley, the TinCaps’ pitching coach in 2009, moves to Short-A Eugene.

TinCaps 2010 Staff in Short:

Manager Jose Flores
Born: June 28, 1973, in New York, N.Y.
College: University of Texas
Seasons Coaching: 3 (2010 will be his fourth, his third as manager, all with Padres)
2009 Assignment: Manager, Peoria Padres, Arizona Rookie League
Managerial Record:
Year Team Organization Record
2008 AZL Padres (Rookie-level) Padres 33-23
2009 AZL Padres (Rookie-level) Padres 28-28_
Total 2 Seasons 61-51
Playing Background: 34th-round pick by the Phillies in the 1994 draft; 13 pro seasons in seven
organizations (.278-34-442). Played 16 games in the major leagues with the Oakland Athletics
(2002) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2004).
Trivia: Tied for the Texas Longhorns’ team lead in 1994 with 21 stolen bases.

Pitching Coach Bronswell Patrick
Born: September 16, 1970, in Greenville, N.C.
Seasons Coaching: 2 (2010 will be his third, all as pitching coach, all with Padres)
2009 Assignment: Pitching Coach, Eugene Emeralds, Short-A Northwest League
Playing Background: 23rd-round pick in the 1988 draft; 12 pro seasons in five American
organizations. Pitched 38 games in the major leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers (1998) and San
Francisco Giants (1999), combining for a 5-1 record, 5.04 ERA.
Trivia: Played in the Chinese Professional League in 2005 for a team called the Brother Elephants.

Hitting Coach Tom Tornincasa
Born: July 2, 1955
Seasons Coaching: 10 (2010 will be his 11th, all as hitting coach, all with Padres)
2009 Assignment: Hitting Coach, Fort Wayne TinCaps, Class-A Midwest League
Playing Background: Played shortstop at Stanislaus (Calif.) State University, leading the club to
the 1978 NCAA Division-III College World Series. Played two seasons professionally in Mexico.
Trivia: Under Tornincasa’s tutelage, Fort Wayne hitters have led the Midwest League in walks the
last two seasons.