Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Fort Wayne TinCaps’

The Fort Wayne TinCaps are hosting the 2010 Midwest League All- Star Game, with festivities taking place in Fort Wayne on June 21st and 22nd. The top prospects in the Midwest League will be showcased. Both East and West divisions will field teams of 35 players – or a total of 70 top prospects from the league’s sixteen teams.

The East will be the home team and led by Fort Wayne’s coaching staff. That division includes the Dayton Dragons, Great Lakes Loons, Lansing Lugnuts, West Michigan Whitecaps, South Bend Silver Hawks, and Fort Wayne TinCaps as well as league new-comers, the Lake County Captains and Bowling Green Hot Rods.

The Western Division will be managed by Burlington’s coaching staff and will be made up with players from the Burlington Bees, Clinton Lumberkings, Cedar Rapids Kernels, Quad Cities River Bandits, Peoria Chiefs, Beloit Snappers, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, and Kane County Cougars.

This is the first Midwest League All-Star Game in Fort Wayne since 1994, when it was played at Memorial Stadium. The 2010 edition will also include a Monday night (June 21st) Skills Competition and Home Run Derby, which will consist of four players from each division as well as a local participant, Fort Wayne’s Hometown Hitter.

The evening of the Home Run Derby will be preceded by an autograph session by All-Star Game participants as well as an exhibition home run derby featuring members from area Little Leagues. Participants in the Little League Home Run Derby will be 12 years of age or younger and special fencing will be erected for this portion of the event. The evening’s events will culminate in a spectacular fireworks display.

Tuesday afternoon will feature an All-Star Game Fan Fest at the Grand Wayne Center,which is free to the public starting at noon and going through 3PM. The Fan Fest will provide access to players for autographs and also include interactive games, inflatables, and kids activities.

For on-field entertainment during the game, Fort Wayne has partnered with the best entertainment in Minor League Baseball, including the ZOOperstars, BirdZerk, Myron Noodleman, and Breakin’ BBoy McCoy. Fireworks will also conclude the night’s festivities.

I’ve got my tickets and can’t wait to enjoy the festivities!

Press Coverage:

• TinCaps To Host All-Star Game At Parkview Field (INC)
• TinCaps release MWL All-Star details (News-Sentinel)
• Fort Wayne to Host Baseball All-Star Game (NEIRP)
• Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars and Thousands Expected In Downtown Fort Wayne (INC)
• Area youth to join top hitters (News-Sentinel)
• Home run derby gives local flair to festivities (Journal Gazette)
• All-Star lineup: Baseball, fan faves, fireworks (News-Sentinel)

The final game at Memorial Stadium saw local standout, Jarrod Parker take the mound. It was one of the few times that a local product played on the field (Rob Bowen being the only other I know of, but I think there was one or two others). As Parkview Field is christened, it will be done with a local standout on the roster of the visiting Dayton Dragons.

Kyle Day grew up in Fort Wayne. A Snider High School product, he was a three-year letter winner. In his senior season, he hit .510 with eight home runs, seven triples and 12 doubles and 49 runs batted in. When he graduated, he was the school’s career and single-season record holder in all four of those categories.

He took his college game to Michigan State, where he took on catching duties and quickly provided massive offense with the bat. As a freshman, he started all 56 games, splitting time between catcher, outfield and DH. He ranked sixth on the team and 30th in the Big Ten with a .315 batting average while pacing the team (fifth in the Big Ten) with 52 runs. As a sophomore, he started 50 games, where he batted .295 with 16 extra-base hits and a team-leading 33 walks. He also led team with a .438 on-base percentage and was second in stolen bases with 14.

He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 19th round (577th overall) following the 2007 season, but returned to Michigan State for his Junior year. That year, he appeared in 53 games, where he hit .320 with 56 hits, 41 runs, eight doubles, nine home runs, 48 runs batted in and 39 walks.

In the 2008 player draft, Day was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round with the 359th pick. He signed and joined the Billings Mustangs of the Pioneer (rookie) League. In 31 games, he hit .268 with 30 hits, a home run and 11 RBI’s.

He started 2009 with the Red’s Midwest League affiliate, the Dayton Dragons. Through Wednesday, he had appeared in four games. He’s hitting .333 with a double and two triples.

Dayton, here’s my plea: KYLE DAY TO LEAD OFF!

The San Diego Padres signed veteran outfielder CLiff Floyd today. To makelroom on their 40-man roster, San Diego designated former number one overall pick, Matt Bush, for assignment. The move doesn’t mean Bush’s San Diego career are over, as was evidenced by Eddie Bonine’s recent DFA in Detroit. He was placed on their 40 man roster to protect him in the recent Rule 5 draft.

However, Paul DePodesta points out in his comments section that if there is sufficient interest, Bush could be traded to another club:

. . . by designating Matt we create a window to explore trade opportunities. We intend to do so.

The Padres now have 10 days to trade, release or assign Bush outright to the minor leagues.

UPDATE: It seems that there may be more the Matt Bush DFA than the Cliff Floyd signing [hat tip to FriarForecast]. In fact, the Floyd signing might have nothing to do with it. As reported here:

Padres CEO Sandy Alderson issued a statement declaring that the team was investigating a recent incident involving Bush, who received a club-record $3.15 million signing bonus in 2004.

“The Padres have learned of a possible off-field incident earlier this week involving Matt Bush,” Alderson said in the statement. “We are still gathering information about this incident and will have no further comment at this time.”

Additionally, Padres GM Kevin Towers stated that:

“The Matt Bush era is probably over . . . If we’re not able to work out a trade, we’ll release him at the point in time. … It didn’t work out.”

Looks like it’s pretty definitive. Given the troubled history that Bush has had and the number of “second chances” that the Padres have patiently provided, seems that this was inevitable. However, the potential is still there. He might be able to come back from his injury and piece together a solid career if you can develop some maturity and keep out of trouble.

Would you want your team to take a chance on trading for Bush or signing him after his release? Comment on this post.

Related Matt Bush posts:

• Matt Bush; Nick Schmidt Making Progress in Instructional League
• Matt Bush Injured in Bar Fight
• Matt Bush Pick Still Haunts Padres Who Remain Optimistic
• Matt Bush Taking the Mound

As the also recently renamed Winston-Salem Dash work toward their ballpark construction, the Winston-Salem Journal explored it in comparison to other similar projects currently under way. Fort Wayne TinCaps Vice President – Marketing & Promotions, Michael Limmer is quoted in discussing the business plan, which includes improvements for reaching out to more patrons and families who might not normally come to a baseball game.

“You want to give people as many reasons to come as possible,” Limmer said. “It can’t just be seats and a field…. You want it to be a destination regardless of whether there’s a game going on or not.”

…

Limmer said that families come to minor-league games in part because they like baseball, but also in part because the stadiums are fun for children, some with moon bounces, hot dogs, slides and mascots. A better stadium brings bigger crowds, he said.

“These towns and cities want something to showcase, something to show off,” he said. “If you’re going to do it, you do it right. So if you just put up a community field, a glorified high-school field, you’re not going to get the sponsorships or the people.”

Judging by the comments on the article, that project (and team name) is just as contentious as the Fort Wayne project.

The TinCaps have released their schedule. It includes more fireworks and new start times to allow downtown workers to get home before game traffic arrives.

For more information on TinCaps season tickets, group outings or corporate partnerships for the 2009 season at Parkview Field contact the team at (260) 482-6400 or log on to TinCaps.com.”

Also, the TinCaps have moved onto MySpace.