Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for the ‘Local Ties’ Category

Been a while since I’ve done a Fort Fragments post, so ths one may get a bit long. Here’s some news and info tidbits related to Fort Wayne:

Former Wizard and Major League, Cory Doyne has signed with the Long Island Ducks.

Doyne joins the Ducks for his first season in the Atlantic League . . . Prior to last season, the Florida native spent eight years in the minors toiling in the Astros, Padres, Cardinals and Orioles organizations, earning a call up to the Major Leagues on June 16, 2007. The former eighth round draft selection appeared in five games for the Orioles that season, pitching three and two-thirds innings, while striking out three. He has 29 career minor league victories with a 3.32 ERA in 586 innings pitched.

Norwell native and current Arizona Diamondbacks’ farmhand, Jarrod Parker is ranked number twevle on Baseball America’s top 25 Prospects list. He’ll also pitch in the Baseball Future’s Game.

After a quick whip through the high Class A California League, Parker moved up to Double-A Mobile, where he has shown a fastball that can sit 92-96 mph with a plus slider and the makings of a potentially above-average changeup. A line drive off his wrist slowed the 20-year-old Parker down a bit, but he’s on pace to be one of the youngest pitchers in the big leagues by 2010 [Baseball America].

TinCaps in Full Motion: If you haven’t seen the commercial yet, take a look here (John King of Metta Audio).

Former (and recently retired) Wizard, Shawn Garrett is helping to develop players on an American League League roster.

I didn’t get to cover any of his visits to Parkview Field, but like Kyle Day, Justin Parker was wowed by the park when he visited with his South Bend Silverhawks.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Parker said Sunday. “I heard a lot of nice things about it, but I had no idea it was going to be this nice. It’s a really nice place.”

Former Fort Wayne Daisies player, Dr. Lois Youngen has endowed a baseball scholarship in honor of her father (Elden “Ty” Youngen) at Kent State University.

Baseball was quite prominent among the Youngen household. “Ty” Youngen was a member of the Kent State baseball team from 1924-26, earning three varsity letters and was a captain for his final season. Lois would follow in her father’s footsteps of playing baseball as she was a pitcher and catcher in the All-American Girls Professional League for the Fort Wayne Daisies and the South Bend Blue Sox.

In a game that involved many former Wizards/TinCaps, the Lake Elsinore Storm scored a 33-18 win over High Desert in Adelanto during late June. The Storm set league marks for RBIs, time of game (four hours, 10 minutes) and hits. Former TinCap Matt Clark went 5-for-6 with two doubles, a homer, five RBIs, two walks and scored a record-tying seven runs. Former Wizard, Felix Carrasco was 4-for-7 with two doubles, a triple, six RBIs and four runs. 

Left fielder Brad Chalk (4-for-9, two doubles, three RBI) . . . right fielder Sawyer Carroll (4-for-7, double, homer, three RBI, four runs scored) . . . third baseman James Darnell (4-for-7, two doubles, homer, three RBI, five runs scored). Center fielder Dan Payne (4-for-6, double, homer, three RBI, four runs scored). Second baseman Andy Parrino (2-for-6, two doubles, two RBI) . . . Left-handed reliever Matt Teague picked up the win allowing three runs on eight hits over 3 1/3 innings. Storm starter Jeremy McBryde allowed 11 runs on 13 hits over 4 2/3 innings. But he departed with a 22-11 lead.

Last season, after being released from the Yankees, former Wizard LaTroy Hawkins didn’t go home. He quitely came back to Fort Wayne. While back in town, he reconnected with agent, Matt Kinzer:

Kinzer is more than an agent. He’s a former major league pitcher and scout, and through the years has become the person who knows Hawkins as well as anyone . . Together, they studied video, did some bullpen sessions and attempted to rediscover the command of a fastball that has helped keep Hawkins in the big leagues for 15 years.

Memorial Stadium is pretty much long gone. Just some rubble left. The auction brought in about $20,000.

About 200 people attended the auction Saturday. Stadium general manager Randy Brown says the grand total for the day was $210,588. Aluminum bleachers along the third-base line brought the most money, selling for $65,000.

Former Wizard, Todd Donovan collected two hits off of future Hall of Famer, John Smoltz while the pitcher was rehabbing before making his season MLB debut with the Red Sox.

The TinCaps’ Blake Tekotte was the Midwest League Offensive Player of the Week for the week eneded June 29, 2009:

.538 (7-13), 2 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 SB, 1.154 SLG
Currently on a 10-game hitting streak, Padres prospect Blake Tekotte put together another week of impressive plate appearances. The center fielder homered in consecutive games on June 25 and 26, amassing six RBIs in those two contests. He also recorded three multiple-hit games this week.

A couple transactions you might have missed. The Padres released Josh Alley and Derek McDaid while the Blue Jays called up Dirk Hayhurst. Alley was hitting .192 with Triple-A Portland at the time and has since signed with the St. Paul Saints. McDaid was 0-2 with a 7.42 ERA with Double-A San Antonio. He has since signed with the Quebec Capitales of the Can-Am League. Brockton (also of the Can-Am League) has released former Wizard Stevie Delabar. Hayhurst has quietly been productive with Toronto. In eleven appearances, he has a 1.84 ERA with nine strikeouts over 14.2 innings.

Two TinCaps/Wizards alumni were selected Monday to play in the Futures Game, which annually showcases the top prospects in all of Minor League Baseball. Right-hander, Mat Latos and outfielder Luis Durango are headed to Busch Stadium in St. Louis for the game which pits the top prospects from the United States against Team World, the best from across the rest of the globe

Latos played for the TinCaps earlier this season and breezed through the Midwest League. In four appearances with Fort Wayne this year, Latos went 3-0 with a 0.36 ERA, striking out 27 with just three walks in 25.1 innings. He has continued his dominance with the Double-A San Antonio Missions, where he is 4-1 with a 2.18 ERA in six starts and was also selected to play in the league’s All-Star Game. He sparked the Missions to a first-half division championship as they won 12 of 15 to charge into first place at the end of the half. Latos, a Florida native, will play for Team USA.

Durango, 23, is also a Texas League All-Star with San Antonio, batting .299 with 26 stolen bases and 46 runs scored in 68 games. Mostly deployed as a leadoff man, Durango played for Fort Wayne last year and hit .305 with a home run and 14 stolen bases in 93 games. Durango will play for Team World representing his homeland of Panama. He also played for Team Panama in this spring’s World Baseball Classic and went 3-for-5 at the plate.

“This is a testament to the type of talent we’ve had here in Fort Wayne over the last few years,” TinCaps president Mike Nutter said. “We thought Mat and Luis were on their way to becoming stars at the game’s highest level, and playing in the Futures Game only validates that thought.”

 Fort Wayne native, Jarrod Paker, will pitch for Team USA in the Futures Game. The 20-year old right-handed Parker is 4-3 with a 3.04 ERA in 10 starts with the Mobile Bay Bears this season. He’s third on the club with 49 strikeouts in 47.1 innings.

Named as the number one prospect in the D-backs’ organization by Baseball America in the offseason, Parker was 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA in four starts at Visalia before his call-up to Mobile. 

The 11th Annual XM All-Star Futures Game will be shown live on MLB.TV, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD on Sunday, July 12 at 1 p.m.

Taylor Kinzer achieved a lifelong dream Wednesday afternoon when he signed a professional baseball contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the team’s spring training complex in Tempe, Arizona.

“This is my dream,” Kinzer said after the signing. “It’s what I’ve wanted to pursue my entire life.”

Kinzer will report to a five-day minicamp in Arizona with other Angels draft picks who signed early with the organization. The next stop will be Orem, Utah, where he will suit up for the Orem Owlz, one of the Angels’ two rookie league affiliates.

Opening day for the Owlz is June 23, followed by a two-and-a-half-month season consisting of approximately 80 games.

A right-handed pitcher who played the last two seasons for Taylor University, Kinzer was 8-0 on the mound for the Trojans this past spring as they captured the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament championship and a trip to the NAIA National Tournament.

“My experience at Taylor has been life-changing,” Kinzer said. “The community is awesome and my team was the best group of guys I’ve ever played with. Coach [Taylor head coach Kyle Gould] has prepared me and pushed me to be the best I can be—both on and off the field. I really respect him and it’s been a blessing to have him as my coach.”

By signing a professional contract, Kinzer will forego his final two years of eligibility at Taylor, but the Angels will help Kinzer financially to complete his Taylor education.

“I definitely had my mind set on playing, but it depended on getting school paid for,” Kinzer said. “When the Angels made that happen, it made my decision that much easier.”

Following the signing, Taylor head coach Kyle Gould had high praise for his former ace.

“I knew when we signed Taylor two years ago, that his goal since he was a little kid was to play professional baseball,” Gould said. “Although we would have loved to have him back for his final two years of eligibility, I couldn’t be happier for Taylor as he has earned the opportunity to pursue his life-long dream of playing professionally as a member of the Los Angeles Angels organization.”

Even with Kinzer’s departure, the family ties to Taylor baseball will continue. Kinzer’s father Matt Kinzer, who played professionally for the St. Louis Cardinals, is the pitching coach for the Trojans. He will be joined by Taylor’s younger brother and incoming freshman, Derek Kinzer, this fall.

See also: WANE TV Story and Video of Kinzer leaving Fort Wayne to Report to Angels’ Camp

Related BBIFW Posts:

• Taylor Kinzer Drafted by Angels and Other Picks of Local Interest
• Kinzer Leads Taylor in Debut
• Local Ties: Area Standouts Lead Taylor University

Former Angola High School standout and current Ball State University player/student, Zach Dygert was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 48th round (1,432nd overall) of the 2009 MLB Amateur Entry Draft today.

You might also be interested in the following:

• WANE TV story on Zach Dygert by Ross Kinsey
• MLB Scouting video on Zach Dygert

Taylor University and former Homestead standout, Taylor Kinzer was drafted by the Angels with the 741st pick, which was the final pick of round 24.

The ace of Taylor’s 2009 MCC Tournament championship team, Kinzer was a perfect 8-0 on the mound for the Trojans. This is the second time Kinzer has been selected in the MLB Draft.  In 2006 he was a 34th round pick of the Washington Nationals as an outfielder, but Kinzer chose to continue his education and he landed at Taylor in the fall of 2007.

“We are really excited for Taylor,” said Taylor head coach Kyle Gould. “This is a major accomplishment for him and a testament to the hard work that he put in over the past two years in becoming a great pitcher.  His efforts on the mound down the stretch were key to us winning a conference championship and advancing in the NAIA National tournament.  Taylor’s selection by the Angels demonstrates that playing baseball at Taylor can provide the opportunity and exposure to move on to professional baseball.”

Through two seasons at Taylor, Kinzer is 13-5 on the mound including his perfect record in 2009.  In 135 career innings pitched, he has walked only 28 batters while striking out 95. At the plate he has batted .316 each of the last two seasons to go along with 45 extra base hits in 351 at bats.

Major League Baseball allows draftees until August 17 to sign with their team. Kinzer would forego his final two years of eligibility at Taylor if he signs with the Angels.

Related BBIFW Posts:

• Kinzer Leads Taylor in Debut
• Local Ties: Area Standouts Lead Taylor University

Other Local Ties Notes:

St. Louis native, Josh Worrell - who is a student at Indiana Weslyan University – was selected by the Royals in the 30th round (902nd overall).

The TinCaps may soon have an almost local player. Carmel High School standout and current University of Michigan baseball player, Christopher Fetter was chosed by the Padres with the 264th overall pick in the 9th round.

Photo is courtesy of Taylor Univeristy and Don Rogers.

I love this article over at the Press Democrat that was written in light of Randy Johnson becoming what many say will be the last 400 game winning pitcher in Major League Baseball. Bobby Mathews was the winning pitcher in the first professional game in which the Fort Wayne Kekionga’s shutout the Cleveland Forest City’s in a 2-0 contest.

As the article points out:

• 297 wins, 248 losses, 2.89 ERA, 525 complete games and 4,956 innings pitched
• In 1874 Mathews won 42 and lost 22
• He won 30 games for the A’s in three consecutive seasons, 1883-85, going 30-13, 30-18 and 30-17

Even so, he finished his career with 297 wins. Not in the 300 win club.

There’s no way to know, but I get the feeling that if Mathews knew what a fuss would be made over 300 wins, he would have stuck around long enough to notch three more victories.

MLB.com takes a look at some of the Padres’ recent draft picks as we near the 2009 Amateur Entry Draft. Those picks include 2009 TinCaps Jaff Decker, Allan Dykstra, Nick Schmidt as well as former Wizards, Matt Antonelli,  Wynn Pelzer and Kyle Blanks.

ESPN’s Peter Gammons notes that Jarrod Parker is one of the up and comers who are going to be the future cornerstones for the Dieamondbacks’ pitching staff. No news flash here, but it’s pretty impressive that Gammons is taking note of a local product.

The Lancaster Barnstormers (Indy League) feature two former Wizards, L.J. Biernbaum and Jon Huber. Both helped the team to recently polish off their seventh straight win.

Speaking of Indy Leagues, former Wizards catcher, Justin Pickett is now playing with the Florence Freedom of the Frontier League. He recently collected his first hit in a walk-off win. pickett played last season in the Texas Rangers’ system. Not like there weren’t a load of other catchers blocking him there!

One blogger is pretty excited about doing some work on an upcoming TinCaps commercial.

Former Wizard, Mike Baxter is emerging as an offensive force. the San Antonio Missions outfielder was awarded Texas League Player of the Week honors

His hitting played a big part in helping the Missions win 13 of 18 games, including a 9-3 victory at Frisco on May 23. On May 22, he went 5-for-5 with a double, driving in four runs and scoring a pair to help the Missions extend their winning streak to five games. The next day, he went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. By week’s end he’d hit safely in 14 of 15 games to elevate is batting average from .308 to .353 (No. 3 in league), having collected 18 RBIs, 10 of his 18 doubles and 14 runs scored in that span. “He’s the guy really doing the damage right now,” manager Terry Kennedy told the San Antonio Express-News.

Freddy Guzman has been signed to a Minor League deal by the Boston Red Sox. he had been with Seattle in Spring Training but was released after not making the team.

In case you missed it, I recently had a letter to the editor published.

• Five Questions for … Nick Hundley (SignonSanDiego)
• Prospect’s speed has Pads intrigued – Luis Durango (SignOnSanDiego)
• Blanks impresses in the outfield (SignOnSanDiego)
• Wedge determined to improve Tribe (MLB.com)
• Would Indians Fire Wedge? (Eli’s MLB Rumors)
• Indians GM Mark Shapiro Needs to Fire Eric Wedge (Midwest Sports Fans)
• Padres recall outfielder Macias (MLB.com)
• Prospect Parker makes Double-A debut (MLB.com)
• Fantasy Baseball Stockwatch: Top Prospects on the Farm – Jarrod Parker – (Keeper League GM)
• Dirk Hayhurst’s Favorite Parks (BaseballAmerica)

Jarrod Parker dominated the Midwest League last season and was pretty much off to a similar start in the High-A California League, going 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 19 innings in four starts with the Visalia Rawhide.

The performance was good enough to land a promotion to Double-A Mobile.

Parker was in control in each start and demonstrated the competitiveness, approach and pure stuff that warranted a promotion,” D-backs farm director A.J. Hinch said. “He showed the ability to make adjustments and improved command of his secondary pitches. We had a plan to have him pitch at multiple levels this season, and his approach and performance this early in the season made it a comfortable decision.”

At 3-foot-2, it may seem unlikely that Fort Wayne native, Dave Flood would try out for an independant baseball team. But the York (PA) Revolution’s “experiment” is more than a novelty a la Bill Veeck’s infamous plating of 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel in 1951.

The York Revolution roster also includes former Fort Wayne Wizard, Kennard Jones. Flood also has had careers as a radio personality and a stand up comic.

Growing up in Fort Wayne, Ind., Flood had to adjust to life as the only little person in his family. His brother stands 6-foot-1, he said. His father encouraged him to do things himself. So if he wanted a drink, he had to learn how to step on the refrigerator’s crisper drawer to reach the drinks on the top shelf.

“Just call me Dave,” he said. “I’m not little, I’m short. There’s a difference.”

Good luck Dave!