Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for the ‘Local Ties’ Category

Taylor baseball first baseman Ryne Otis (Ossian, Ind./Norwell) has been named the Mid-Central College Conference Player of the week. The MCC weekly award is the first for Otis this season, and the third of the sophomore’s career.

With at least one hit in each of Taylor’s five games, Otis hit .625 and slugged at 1.500 in 16 at-bats. His 11 RBI and nine runs scored accounted for 20 of Taylor’s 42 runs scored during the week. Otis hit home runs in three out of five games last week, including a blast that put Taylor up 4-1 against defending Big Ten champion Indiana in the top of the fifth inning on Saturday.

In a 9-6 victory over Indiana Wesleyan on Friday, Otis recorded an RBI in each of his four at-bats and was just a double shy of the cycle. He drove in both game-winning runs and tallied six total RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Grace (Ind.) during the Trojans’ conference opener on Tuesday.

The first baseman’s glove has also been sharp, as Otis was errorless in 42 chances last week. One of the major driving forces behind Taylor’s 18-4 start and current 13-game win streak against NAIA opponents, Otis leads the Mid-Central College Conference with 25 RBIs.

One Fort Wayne related player I have enjoyed following the last couple years is Josh Judy, a West Virginia native who played his college ball at Indiana Institute of Technology. IIT is hardly known as a hotbed of Major League talent, so the fact that he was drafted in the 34th round of the 2007 Amateur Draft was a bit of a surprise to many.

A two-time NAIA All-America, Judy posted an 8-1 record with a 1.63 earned run average and 84 strikeouts in 2007 before being selected as the 1034th overall pick by Cleveland.

But Judy didn’t remain in relative obscurity for long. Now, he ranks among the Tribe’s top prospects.

The latest stop on Judy’s get-to-know-me tour was the Arizona Fall League. In 11 relief appearances for the Peoria Saguaros, he went 2-2 with a 1.59 and 20 strikeouts. He gave up 13 hits in 17 innings . . . he went 12-1 and struck out 80 in 74-1/3 innings in 35 appearances for Class A Lake County. He also pitched seven games for Kinston (14 innings, 17 strikeouts).

Related BBIFW Josh Judy Posts:

• More Local Northeast Indiana Baseball Standouts Drafted
• Half Way There: A Mid-Season Look at Local Ties
• Josh Judy Lands on Top Prospect’s List
• Fort Fragments (Local Ties): Day, Parker, Chenoweth, Dygert, Judy 

Although he will finish out the season, the Cleveland Indians have removed Eric Wedge as the manager of the club.

Two years ago, Cleveland was one win away from a World Series trip. The Indians fell to 81-81 in 2008, but were expected to bounce back and contend this season. However, a slow start snowballed . . .

The 41-year-old Wedge was the AL Manager of the Year in 2007, when the Indians won 96 games — tied for most in the majors — and held a 3-1 lead in the AL Championship Series over Boston before the Red Sox rallied and won three straight.

Daniel Hausmann has an interesting tidbit about former Frederick Mayerson, who brought the Kenosha Twins to Fort Wayne and renamed them the Fort Wayne Wizards.

Flat Out Crazy LLC is the new name of the holding company created by the merger of Asian-food concept chains Stir Crazy Restaurants and FlatTop Grill. The combination is backed by private equity firm Walnut Group.

Kudos to the Spaulding brothers, who are linked in the post.

In other news, Fort Wayne is no longer the top minor league sports market in the country according to Street and Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal. Seeks that not even the Komets repeat as Turner Cup Champions, nor the TinCaps historic innagural season at Parkview field couldn’t keep Hershy-Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from pushing Fort Wayne down to number two.

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.

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.

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.

Congrats to the Fort Wayne 16U Cubs. They have qualified for the 2009 NABF Baseball World Series which starts this weekend. The club features local high school standouts, several of whom are NABF veterans. Former San Francisco Giants farmhand and former Canterbury and Purdue standout, Simon Klink is the team’s assistant coach.

For more information about the team and a roster listing, please see this article in the Dupont Times.

Northeast Indiana Baseball Association (NEIBA) Hall of Famer, David Doster will be inducted as a member of the 2009 class of the Reading Baseball Hall of Fame on August 25th.

At age 24, as a member of the 1995 Double-A Reading Phillies, Doster paced the league in total bases, set a club record with 39 doubles, a career-high 21 home runs and earned a share of the Paul Owens Award, which is presented to the top position player in the Phillies organization. He was also selected as the second baseman on the Reading Phillies 30th anniversary team in 1996 in adition to one of the 40 Greatest Players in Reading Phillies history during the team’s 40th anniversary celebration in 2006.

the 1995 Reading squad took the Eastern League championship that year. Doster attributes that experience as one of the best of his career:

“Definitely, the championship has to be No. 1,” Doster says, pointing to the Eastern League title he helped Reading claim in 1995. “Getting called up (to the big leagues), that’s obviously a thrill. But 13 years and one championship, that’s pretty rare.”

Doster was inducted into the NEIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.

Two great photos of Steve Sprunger’s work on this year’s chalk walk. He took first in the History of Baseball in Fort Wayne category. Great job and congratz Steve.

Photos courtesy of Steve Sprunger