One hot summer

It’s been an extremely hot summer for us up north here. We’re not really used to the high 80’s to 90’s we’ve been experiencing the last few months. Along with the humidity, it can be brutal. The kids had a tough time playing in the heat sometimes, especially Lily, who played ball during the heat of the day. It’s starting to cool off, though, and we’re getting the rain that we really do need. This just makes fall look like it’s closer than it is, though, and with school just a couple of weeks away, and Trevor already in having football practice, it just reminds me that the summer is very quickly coming to an end…

Peanuts comic courtesy of the late great Charles M. Schulz

Brantly gets the call to Miami

Rob Brantly at bat for the Whitecaps last season during Military Night

Former West Michigan Whitecaps catcher Robert Brantly has been called up to the Miami Marlins, and is the 99th ‘Caps Alumni to play in a Major League Baseball game. He was drafted in the third round in 2010 by the Detroit Tigers, and played in West Michigan during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. He played in 52 in 2010, hitting .255, and was hitting .303 last season in 75 games before being promoted to the Lakeland Flying Tigers. This season, he was batting .254 in 36 games for the Toledo Mud Hens before being traded along with Jacob Turner and Brian Flynn in exchange for Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez. A trade I wasn’t completely happy with, I might add.  While with his new Triple-A team in New Orleans, Brantly was hitting. .365 in 14 games. So far with the Marlins, he was 0-3 in his first game, and 1-3 in last night’s 5-3 loss to Colorado. As he’s the 99th Whitecaps Alumni in the majors, the organization is holding a contest to see who fans think will be number 100 here: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120808&content_id=36348184&vkey=pr_t582&fext=.jsp&sid=t582

Brantly with Marlins GM Michael Hill signing his Major League contract.

Top photo property of Minoring In Baseball

Bottom photo courtesy of the Miami Marlins

 

‘The Bird’ is still the Word

My favorite baseball player of all time…Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych

Yesterday would have been the 58th birthday of former Detroit Tigers pitcher Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych. The age of 58 is considered fairly young, as ‘The Bird’ was taken from us early in a tragic accident in 2009. Also ending early, was Fidrych’s baseball career. For that one magic season, though, in 1976, he showed the world what baseball was really all about. He started the season as a non-roster invitee at spring training, and ended the season leading the American League in wins with a 19-9 record, a 2.34 ERA, and winning the Rookie of the Year award. He also finished second in the Cy Young voting to Jim Palmer. More than all of that, the captured the imagination of a certain child in mid-Michigan…making him a baseball fan for life. I admit, I was caught up in all that Fidrych did on the mound, and it was no wonder opposing GM’s would beg Detroit to alter its rotation to make sure he would pitch in their stadium. They knew it would be a sell out. Fans all over the country couldn’t get enough of antics of talking to the ball and manacuring the mound. He would even congratulate his teammates on a good play, or go give them a pat on the back if they made an error. For years I carried a Fidrych card in my back pocket that I had cut off of the bottom of a Hostess Twinkies box. It’s corners are jagged and it has a crease down the middle, but I still have that card to this day and it is one of my most prized possessions. I was lucky enough to meet him back in 1995 at a baseball card show and he was very thankful for his fans. When my kids were born, I mailed him a coupled of cards and he was nice enough to sign them for Lily and Trevor and send them back. He is actually Lily’s favorite player, as she grew up with stories of his craziness on the mound, but I feel bad she will never be able to meet him. He had made a few appearances at the Whitecaps ’70’s nights, too, and that would have been a fun experience. I do have a DVD of a Monday Night Baseball game during the ’76 season, where he pitched a great game en route to a victory over the New York Yankees. I’m still always in awe that the crowd would not leave until he made a certain call. I think a lot of us kids saw in him what we saw in ourselves, just a kid having fun playing a game, which is the way it should be. Mark ‘The Bird’ Fidrych was larger than life. He was a super hero and a rock star all rolled into one. After all, he was the first athlete ever to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone…

Photos courtesy of the Detroit Tigers

STAR WARS NIGHT-Episode III: Revenge of Da Bums

Traverse City Beach Bums vs. Southern Illinois Miners

Wuerfel Park–Traverse City, MI: Well, it was that time of the summer again, when I packed up my scruffy lookin’ nerf-herders and headed downstate for our annual ‘Star Wars Night’ trip. This year we decided to check out our favorite characters from a ‘galaxy far, far, away’ at the Traverse City Beach Bums instead of in Grand Rapids at the Whitecaps. The kids were excited, and had fun meeting the characters. There weren’t nearly as many as we’ve seen in the past at the ‘Caps, but we had a good time regardless. They had Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers, an Imperial Officer, and the lovely Princess Leia on hand. I would have liked to have seen Boba Fett and maybe some droids, but maybe next year. It was pretty hot and there was an impending storm, so it could be that limited some of the costumes and attendance. Lucky for us we made it through the game without a drop on us! In the game itself, the Bums were taking on the Southern Illinois Miners. TC was leading up until the 5th inning, when the Miners stormed back to take the lead. Scott Dunn took the loss on the mound for the Bums, giving up two runs, and striking out three in 4 2/3 innings. Final: Miners 5, Beach Bums 1. May the Force be with you…

The Bums were sporting their special Star Wars jerseys

Brian and Lily with Beach Bums mascot Sunburn!

Believe it or not, this is the first ball we’ve gotten at a Beach Bums game, and our first Frontier League ball. Trevor was lucky to get this foul ball.

Pirate’s Cove

A trip to Traverse City wouldn’t be complete without a stop at the Pirate’s Cove. It was a beautiful day out, and the kids and I were lucky enough to spend it doing the zip line, bumper boats, go-karting, and the water coaster. I had to fudge Brian’s age a little so he could drive his own kiddie kart, but he did a great job, and is actually a better driver than his mom… Anyway, this was a great day, a day spent with family (we met Papa and Nana at the ballgame) and fun, and one you feel very lucky to have had. I feel lucky to be able to do this for my kids, and hope we can take in at least one more game before school starts.

Promotion courtesy of the Traverse City Beach Bums

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

Vintage Base Ball, not Baseball

Petoskey Mossbacks vs. Regular Base Ball Club of Mt. Clemens

Swift Field-Village of Bay View, MI: This is something I’ve wanted to see for a while now, but trying to find out when and where these games are taking place can be a challenge. The kids and I travelled to Petoskey over the weekend to see one of the games of the Kilwins Fudge Bucket Classic tournament, featuring the hometown Mossbacks and the Regular Base Ball Club of Mt. Clemens, also known as the Mt. Clemens Regulars. The tournament does have a website, but it still states the participating teams and schedules are still to be determined, despite the fact the games are all over. Lucky for me, though, one of the participants answered one of my e-mails and let us know when and where the games were. When we arrived at the game, there was a small crowd, and I’m sure that they would have some more fans will just a little advertising. The kids are I thought this was a lot of fun, and there were picnic tables for us to sit at and a park for the kids to play on, too, when they weren’t watching the game. The game was played basically in an open field, with ‘bases’ that I assume were just bags filled with sand or something. The most amazing thing is that in the 1860’s era, there were no baseball gloves, and seeing these guys catch and field bare-handed is quite impressive. A few line-drives smacking off open hands can really bring you into the reality of the game. Make no mistake, these guys know how to swing the ‘timber’, as well, and can run the bases pretty effectively. There were many ‘tallies’ scored during our time watching the game. Going back to the beginning, though, the game starts with both team lined up on the field and the one umpire explaining the rules and so on. The home captain welcome the visiting team and thanked them for coming before the home team introduced themselves. The visiting team captain then thanked the home club for having them, and the visitors were announced. There is just the one umpire who sits at the scorers table, and the game is played on the honor system. The umpire is only called upon if there is a dispute. Although these games are played for fun, they are very competitive and everyone plays hard. These games are so much fun to watch, and I highly recommend them to any baseball, or base ball, fan. The kids got a kick out of the old uniforms and style of play, and were impressed with the players making plays without gloves. I wish I could report the results of the tournament, but we only stayed to watch the first game, and results are not posted on the website or their local newspaper. I guess the one thing that these players have in common with the trail-blazers of the mid 1800’s is that they play this game for fun and pride. No large contracts or scandals here…

The girls dressed in 1860’s garb hand out ‘newspapers’ with information on the team and travel. No programs back in that day and age.

One of the historic homes in the Bay View area. Notice the ‘garage’ looks more equiped for a horse buggy than an automobile.

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

Whitecaps Update: It’s all in the cards

Fifth-Third Ballparks’ outfield during the ‘Aces in the Outfield’ promotion

The Standings: The West Michigan Whitecaps are still treading water in the Midwest League Eastern Division, but are sinking a bit. They are currently 21-22 in the second half, and are six games out of first place. They hit a little speed bump with a five-game losing streak, but have bounced back and won two games in a row from the talented Lansing LugNuts, 7-1 and 6-3, who ran away with the first half title. Manager Ernie Young, though,  will have to have some Aces up his sleeve, if the ‘Caps are going to capture a playoff spot this season…

Ferrell Honored: Whitecaps pitcher Jeff Ferrell has been named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week for July 30-August 5. Ferrell had an extremely impressive showing against the Lake County Captains last week in the ‘Caps 6-0 shut-out win. He retired all of the 21 batters he faced before being taken out of the game after seven perfect innings of work. His outing included 11 ground-outs and six strikeouts in 79 pitches, and gave up only three hits. Ferrell, just 21 years old, underwent Tommy John surgery just 14 months ago. He started the 2011 campaign with the Whitecaps, before injury his elbow that led to the surgery. He missed the rest of last season and the start of this season, before joining West Michigan in May. So far, he has a 4-4 record with a 4.42 ERA, with 60 strikeouts, and holding the opposition to a .209 batting average. Ferrell is a native of Wilmington, North Carolina and a 26th round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers.

Fifth-Third one of fifth best: The Whitecaps home, Fifth-Third Ballpark, was mentioned as one of five Minor League ballparks on the Fox News website recently. The story titled ‘Five Minor League Baseball Parks You Have To Visit’, stated that the stadium in Comstock Park, Michigan has the best food for baseball fans. The Fifth-Third Burger certainly still packs a mighty punch. The story can be found here: http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/08/01/five-minor-league-baseball-parks-have-to-visit/?intcmp=features

MudHen Marathon: The Tigers Triple-A affiliate in the International League, the Toledo MudHens suffered a  tough 10-9 loss Monday night to the Rochester Red Wings. One-run losses are always hard to swallow, especially when they are in extra innings….19 innings to be exact. The contest took over 6 1/2 hours to compete, and featured plenty of former Whitecaps. For the Red Wings, Clete Thomas  went 2-8 with a walk and two runs scored. Wilkin Ramirez was 4-9 with a double, run scored, and an RBI. Pitcher Luke French threw for 3.1 innings, giving up two hits and five strikeouts. For the MudHens, Andy Oliver pitched 2.0 innings giving up one hit and striking out 3. Luis Marte gave up one hit, but was burned for two runs in just 0.1 innings. Luke Putkonen pitched five innings, giving up four hits, no runs, and striking out three. Jose Ortega threw for 2.0 innings giving up six hits and three runs.

Former West Michigan Whitecap and Detroit Tiger Clete Thomas.

Rond-on the move: Former Whitecaps pitcher Bruce Rondon has been promoted from the Double-A Erie Seawolves to Toledo. He fills a spot after on of the MudHens’ pitchers was injured in the 19-inning loss. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski stated that he believes that he’s ready for the Triple-A level, though. Rondon started the season at Lakeland, going 1-0, with a 1.93 ERA, with 15 saves, and 34 strikeouts. With Erie, he was 0-1 with a 0.83 ERA, with 12 saves on 23 strikeouts. He struggled with his control last season with West Michigan, issuing 7.6 walks per nine innings, but his walk-to-strikeout ratio this season is 3.8.

Fifth-Third Ballpark photo courtesy of the West Michigan Whitecaps

Ferrell photo courtesy of MLive.com

Thomas photo property of Minoring In Baseball

Another Little League season in the books…

As Brian wrapped up his T-Ball season a week before, Lily and Trevor ended their softball/baseball seasons, too. Lily had a very good year, and did great at the plate. She had many multiple hit games. She liked to play catcher, but did play other positions in the field, too. The coaches get them playing all around to get a feel for everything. The coaches in the Sault Girls Softball league are all from the local high school team, so the kids get a solid and consistent amount of coaching. The league is run by the high school softball coach, and it really does a good job of building the girls skills. Lily had a lot of fun this summer, but because her games were during the day, it was so hot for her. Many times these girls toughed it out in 80-90 degree heat with the sun beating down on them. Lily also helped me coach Brian’s T-Ball team and did an excellent job. She had parents coming up to her and telling her how impressed they were with how she dealt with the younger kids. I am so proud of her, and am convinced there is nothing this girl is not capable of!

Trevor had a lot of fun this season, and for sure wants to play again next year. After taking a year off, he finally got his swing going and had some solid at-bats. He played catcher at the beginning of the season, but took over the third base slot for most of the year. He really likes the hot corner, and made some really good plays over there. I’m really proud of him for all of the work he puts into his playing. He hustles on the field and works very hard in practice. When I have extra time, he’s always up for playing catch or hitting a few baseballs. I really enjoyed being a coach on this team, too. This was a great bunch of kids and I hope they all come back and play next year. You might not believe that you can become attached to some kids after only a few months, but you definitely can. Especially with all of the unique personalities. Looking at the yellow unis, it’s hard not to compare them to the Bad News Bears…

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

The Name Game

Roberto Hernandez made his first start this season in a rehab stint vs. the Whitecaps

Eastlake, OH: The West Michigan Whitecaps had a successful trip to Ohio, taking two of three games from the Lake County Captains. Their only loss of the series was an interesting one, though, as they faced former Major League pitcher Fausto Carmona, er, I mean, Roberto Hernandez. Wait…what? Hernandez is serving a three-week suspention from MLB, and made a rehab start for the Captains in game two of the series with West Michigan. The picher formerly known a Carmona was arrested in January for identity theft in the Dominican Rebublic for assuming the name of a family friend. The Cleveland Indians thought they were signing a 17 yr-old back in 2000, but in reality, Hernandez was 20. Three years later he was pitching for the Captains, going 17-4 with a 2.06 ERA in 2003. Six years later, he had to wait for a new visa to come into the United States. How he was granted a new visa with a fraud conviction, I’ll never know, but money talks I guess, and Major League Baseball slapped him with a whopping three-week suspension. Back on track- he did earn his first professional victory since Sept. 20, 2011 against the ‘Caps, as they were downed 5-4 by Lake County. Hernandez gave up three runs on six hits. West Michigan didn’t show the 31 yr-old much respect out of the gate, though, as they scored two runs in the first inning on an Aaron Westlake home run. Eugelio Suarez singled before him. In the fourth inning, Jason King doubled, and scored on an RBI by Patrick Leyland. In the end, two errors costs the ‘Caps the winning run and the game. Carmona Hernandez is eligible to join the Indians on August 11.

The Whitecaps dominated the first game of the series 8-1. On the hill for the ‘Caps, Chad Smith was successful in his first start in the Midwest League. In three innings he allowed one hit and struck out three. Along with the bullpen, he held the Captains to only four hits on the night. This was only Smith’s fifth pro start after Tommy John surgery last year. West Michigan was led offensively by Jason King, who ended the game going 3-5 with a home run and three RBI’s. The ‘Caps scored six runs in the seventh inning to break the game wide open. King and Brandon Loy each drove in two runs in the inning. Loy was 2-4 in the game with a pair of doubles. Jason Krizan also doubled in a pair of runs in the inning. The Whitecaps received more solid pitching in a 4-0 victory in the last game of the series. Marcelo Carreno threw six shutout innings and only allowed one hit. Loy helped out with his bat, scoring two with a single in the second. Jeff McVaney would drive him home for a 3-0 lead. In the eighth, McVaney tripled and was hit home on a single by King. Leyland and Krizan each singled to load the bases with no outs when the game was called due to lightning.

Photos courtesy of Maribeth Joeright/The News-Herald

One and Done

Brian just finished up his first year of organized baseball, and I think we can call it a success. We had a lot of fun, and I think he learned something about teamwork. He likes to hit live pitching, so trying to convince him to hit off the tee was a challenge at first, but he continued to hit the ball very well all season, so that really helped his confidence. The T-Ball teams were very small this season, which is good so we can focus on the individual kids more and they don’t do a lot of standing around during practice or games. It’s so important to keep them moving and busy, so they don’t lose interest. Brian’s teammates were great, and I’m sure they had a lot of fun as well. I was honored to be their first coach in organized baseball and will miss them, too. Next season can’t come soon enough, but I can focus on Trevor and Lily as they finish up their last week of baseball/softball. Again, the end is bitter-sweet, and I am so proud of him!

Brian on the front page of our local newspaper, the Sault Evening News

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball

‘Caps alums dealt to Miami brings Infante home

Brantly with the Whitecaps, sporting the Autism Awareness jersey for a very good cause. There is nothing good about the horrid jerseys on Miami. Nothing…

Sometimes being a top prospect is a good thing, and sometimes it simply makes you a target. Just one day after earning his first Major League victory, Jacob Turner is packing his bags and heading south. Instead of wearing the classic English ‘D’ of the Detroit Tigers, Turner will now have to don the gaudy Miami Marlins unis and put up with crack-pot manager Ozzie Guillen. Welcome to the real world, kid. Also going to the Miami organization are catching prospect Rob Brantly, who just participated in the All-Star Futures Game, and pitcher Brian Flynn. In the deal, the Tigers acquire starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez and former Tiger and West Michigan Whitecaps infielder Omar Infante. Sanchez gives the Tigers that extra man in the rotation, and Infante will fill the second base role that has never been successfully filled since the departure of Placido Palanco. In all, Sanchez is the only player in this deal who did not play for the Whitecaps at some point. Turner pitched for West Michigan in 2010, going 2-3 with a 3.67 ERA in ten starts. Brantly and Flynn both suited up for the ‘Caps last season, with Brantly hitting .303 in 75 games. Flynn, a seventh-round draft pick in 2011, started 13 games with a 7-2 record and 3.46 ERA. Infante played in West Michigan as an 18 yr-old way back in 2000, playing in only 12 games and hitting .229. He was traded to the Cubs in 2007, only to be traded to Atlanta shortly after. In 2010 he hit .321 for the Braves, with eight home-runs and 47 RBI’s. Infante was traded to the Marlins in 2010, and is having a solid year batting .287 with eight home-runs and 33 RBI’s. I think the player the Tigers will miss most out of this deal, actually, is Brantly. I like Alex Avila behind the plate, but he’s struggled this season at the plate, and still has to prove that last years’ All-Star performance wasn’t a fluke. However, if the deal does help Detroit get into the post-season and excel there, then I’m all for it. All the best to Turner, Flynn, and Brantly, though!

Photo property of  Minoring In Baseball