Baseball in Fort Wayne

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YorkRegion Profiles George Kottaras

Following his MLB debut, George Kottaras gets some coverage from his native area press. A very good profile that covers the Red Sox’s fourth string catcher from being drafted, to his career in the minors, to the Olympics and to the eventual call-up. Unfortunately, they can’t spell his last name correctly.

“There was a lot of stuff going on with our AAA team (playoffs) and I wasn’t aware that I would be called up.” About a half hour after the team got knocked out of the playoffs, he got a call to go into Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson’s office. “He told me I was going up right away,” Kottaras recalled.

Will Venable is Impressing

The San Francisco Chronicle recently took a brief look at “Max’s son” – Max being former Wizards’ hitting coach, Max Venable and Max’s son being former Wizard, Will Venable. At the time, the 25-year-old rookie was hitting .340 in 47 big-league at-bats. But the irony of the situation is that it was not Will’s Dad, but his mother, Molly, who encouraged Will to pick up baseball again after having not played his freshman college year while playing baseball at Princeton.

“She told me to think about maybe trying baseball again because she saw the opportunities that it gave my dad,” he said. “I went to Princeton with the intentions of trying both. I didn’t play my freshman year because I couldn’t handle it. She just continually reminded me to keep it in mind, and it ended up working out.”

Mott Reflects Fondly on Fort Wayne Memories

TOM MOTT was recently named as one of the All-Time Wizards based upon his performance as a Wizards player. He wrote in to the Journal Gazette to reflect.

Although my dream of getting to the big leagues was never realized, when I think about my five-year baseball career, Fort Wayne is always the first thing that comes into my head. Great people, great stadium, great teammates and an absolutely wonderful community.

Mott is now the founder and director of a non-profit organization that helps disadvantaged kids from around the world come to the United States to receive a fully sponsored education. Check out his site at  1dreamfoundation.com. The link has also been added to the right panel links.

Nick Hundley Gets Ejected

On Tuesday, former Wizards catcher, Nick Hundley received his first MLB ejection after arguing his strikeout with homeplate umpire, Marty Fosterin, the eighth inning. He was replaced by fellow rookie and fellow Wizards alumnus, Luke Carlin.

Michael Cuddyer Still Trying to Return

Minnesotat Twins’ outfielder and former Wizard, Michael Cuddyer took two batting practice sessions on Tuesday and he had his broken left foot re-evaluated. He was given the okay to start running, but he’s still making very slow progress and the chances of a 2008 return are starting to slim.

“We’re just going to let him get well first,” (Ttwins manager, Ron) Gardenhire said. “Maybe when he gets to the point where he can run a little bit, and maybe put a swing on it, then we’ll see what he can do.”

Drew Macias Hits Homer for First MLB Hit

Usually, when a player collects his first Major League hit, you see a player toss the ball to the team’s dugout personnel so it can be saved. But former Wizard, Drew Macias got his first Major League start the other night. He went 3-5 and homered off a first-pitch fastball from Giants RHP Matt Cain during his first at-bat to collect his first MLB hit and home run.

Gary Jones Discusses Cumberland, Zawadski, Kazmar, Blanks & more

MadFriars caught up with Gary Jones, where he talked candidly about the progress of many former Wizards who are still in the Padres system. If you want to know more about Drew Cumberland, Lance Zawadski, Sean Kazmar, Matt Antonelli, Kyle Blanks and Raynar Contreras, this is the read for you (subscription required).

Will Venable Making Most of His Playing Time

Padres center fielder, Jody Gerut has missed a lot of games due to a sprained left middle finger. Will Venable, who is a recent callup, has thrived while getting extra playing time in Gerut’s absence; including a sixth multihit game on Thursday. He’s going to be on the 2009 Opening Day roster IMHO

I’m working on a project that is of particular interest to Midwest League bloggers to provide blog promotion and shared resources/information. I’m not quite ready to reveal it yet, but I wanted to get the process going. It’s free and purely opt-in – I am not automatically including anyone who doesn’t make a request. Until I get everything in place, you can get in on the ground floor by leaving a comment here. Be sure to include your blog name, URL and include your e-mail address in the field (it won’t get published). When I am ready to move it to the next level, I’ll touch base.

Criteria: 1.) It has to be a blog that is updated at least weekly – if you have a MWL-related site that is not a blog, please still leave your info for a related purpose; and 2.) It must deveote at least 50% of content to the Midwest League or one of it’s teams

The San Diego Padres are set to call up former Wizards, Chase Headley, who is widely regarded as the team’s top prospect. Reportedly, he will join the team this weekend in Cleveland.

The converted third baseman is in his first season playing the outfield and was hitting .305 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs in 65 games for Triple-A Portland. The switch hitting Headley also had a .383 on-base percentage at Portland.

No word on who else will be involved in the roster move that will bring him to the team, but it is likely that an outfielder will outfielder will be sent down to make room. Methinks it means Scott Hairston is heading for the DL or possibly an end to former Wizard, Paul McAnulty’s stay.

It’s the real Opening Day. I’ve watched Mr. Baseball and will visit Rollie Zeider to ask for his belssing on the Cubs. With that, here’s my predictions for 2008:

ALE: Boston
ALW: Los Angeles (California) Angels of Aneheim
ALC: Detroit
WILD: Cleveland

NLE: Mets
NLW: Arizona
NLC: Cubs
WILD: Atlanta

World Series: Tigers Vs. Cubs. Cubs win it in seven thrilling games.

I have a few spots available in my Yahoo fantasy baseball league. Live online draft takes place tomorrow at 9:15 EST. Feel free to click here if you are interested in joining up.

The San Diego Padres traded minor league relief pitcher Leo Rosales to the Arizona Diamondbacks for outfielder Scott Hairston on Friday.

Before breaking his hand on June 8, Rosales had gone 1-1 with a 3.28 ERA in 24 games for Triple-A Portland. He also collected 14 saves in 15 opportunities. Over five Minor League seasons, he has compiled a 24-16 record with 70 saves and a 2.54 ERA in 232 games. In 2005, he collected a a California League-best 27 saves.

As a member of the Fort Wayne Wizards in 2004, he paced the Midwest League with 26 saves, while striking out 66 over 57.2 innings pitched. He also compiled a 6-1 record with a 1.40 ERA.

MLB.com | SI.com

[tags]Leo Rozales, Fort Wayne Wizards[/tags]

The following note was e-mailed to me today. Looks like a great opportunity to take in a good game with a good group of folks.

The G.E. Apprentice Alumni Association is taking a bus-load from the G.E. Taylor St. parking lot to Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio Thursday, June 7 to see the Indians take on the Kansas City Royals.

Bus leaves at 6:30 AM sharp, returning that evening to the lot (where you can park your vehicle). There are still 12 tickets available (on 3rd base side – field box seats) and seats on the bus.

Price is $55.00 and includes coffee, doughnuts and juice for breakfast. We suggest bringing a cooler with a lunch and cans or plastic bottles with something to drink. We will be stopping at a fast-food area on the way back so you can get what you desire for dinner.

If interested, please call John Kalb at 432-2369 this evening or at 422-7081 on Wednesday in the daytime. Both men and women are going – we have a fun group!

The Fort Wayne Baseball Federation will conduct its scheduling meeting at 1 p.m. Sunday at Crumback-Symon Chevrolet in New Haven. The Federation includes teams in the Colin Lister League (age 18 and younger) and the Red Carrington League (unlimited age).

For information, e-mail Brent Windmiller at dustydap22 @ comcast.net or call 260-749-8674.

(Note: Windmiller’s e-maill address should be entered without the spaces, which were added to reduce instances of being picked up by spam robots)