Category Archives: Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–June 3

Ameal Brooks (1907)
Don Osborn (1908)
Barney Morris (1910)
Jim Gentile (1934)
Steve Dalkowski (1939)
Duane Josephson (1942)
Ron Keller (1943)
Ed Glynn (1953)
Barry Lyons (1960)
Steve Lyons (1960)
Nelson Liriano (1964)
Carl Everett (1971)
Bryan Rekar (1972)
Jose Molina (1975)
Travis Hafner (1977)
Ryan Jeffers (1997)
Luis Gil (1998)

Don Osborn won 201 games in the minors.  He later was a minor league manager, pitching coach, and scout.

Some old-timers say Steve Dalkowski had the fastest fastball ever.  He struck out 1,396 batters in 995 minor league innings.  However, he also walked 1,354, which is why he never made the majors.

We also wish a happy birthday to hungry joe's son, Ravenous Rick!

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 3

Happy Birthday–June 2

Jack O’Connor (1866)
Frank Verdi (1926)
Bob Lillis (1930)
Larry Jackson (1931)
Bob Bennett (1933)
Jerry Lumpe (1933)
Gene Michael (1938)
Horace Clarke (1940)
Jim Maloney (1940)
Roger Freed (1946)
Jack O’Connor (1958)
Darnell Coles (1962)
Bryan Harvey (1963)
Mike Stanton (1967)
Kurt Abbott (1969)
Raul Ibanez (1972)
Neifi Perez (1973)
Jared Burton (1981)
Tim Stauffer (1982)

Bob Bennett was the baseball coach at Fresno State for many years, winning 1,302 games.

Roger Freed was drafted by Minnesota in 1966, but the pick was voided.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 2

Minor Details: Games of May 31

ROCHESTER RED WINGS 8, ST. PAUL SAINTS 2 IN ROCHESTER

Already leading 4-2, Rochester scored three in the sixth to put it out of reach.

Multi-hit games:  Tony Kemp was 3-for-4.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Diego Castillo 2 (19).

Stolen bases:  Kemp (3).

Pitching prowess:  Hobie Harris pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Opposition standout:  Stone Garrett was 2-for-2 with a walk and three runs.

Record:  St. Paul is 24-30, in ninth place, 13.5 games behind Omaha.

SPRINGFIELD CARDINALS 3, WICHITA WIND SURGE 1 IN WICHITA

All the scoring came in the first inning.

Multi-hit games:  Aaron Sabato was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Regi Grace struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.  Aaron Rozek pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up seven hits and striking out four.

Opposition standout:  Wilfredo Pereira pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and three walks and striking out three.

Record:  Wichita is 19-29, in fifth (last) place, 8.5 games behind Arkansas.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 7, LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Lake County scored four in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead, but Misael Urbina hit a two-run homer in the sixth and Ricardo Olivar hit a two-run homer in the seventh.

Multi-hit games:  Olivar was 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs.  Urbina was 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, a walk, three runs, and two RBIs.

Home runs:  Olivar 2 (8); Urbina (3).

Multi-RBI games:  Olivar 3 (23); Urbina 2 (14).

Stolen bases:  Urbina 2 (11); Dalton Shuffield (2).

Pitching prowess:  Gabriel Yanez retired all eight men he faced, striking out one.  Jacob Wosinski struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition standout:  Cooper Ingle was 2-for-4.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 30-18, in second place, a half game behind Wisconsin.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 8, BRADENTON MARAUDERS 2 IN FORT MYERS

Fort Myers broke a scoreless tie with four in the fourth.

Multi-hit games:  Byron Chourio was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Brooks Lee was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Chourio 2 (18); Lee 2 (2).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowessCesar Lares struck out six in five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.  Tanner Hall struck out three in two perfect innings.  Xander Hamilton struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition standout:  Eddy Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Record:  Fort Myers is 21-27, tied for fourth with Bradenton, 12.5 games behind Clearwater.

FCL TWINS 1, FCL RED SOX 0 AT RED SOX (7 INNINGS)

Dameury Pena hit a home run in the fourth for the game's only run.

Mutli-hit games:  Pena was 2-for-3 with a home run.

Home runs:  Pena (2).

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  Walker Jenkins (3).

Pitching prowess:  Cory Lewis struck out four in three innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Tomas Cleto struck out three in three innings, giving up three hits and a walk.  Cleiber Maldonado struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition standout:  Adam Bates pitched four innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks and striking out two.

Record:  The FCL Twins are 12-7, tied for second with the FCL Rays, a half game behind the FCL Pirates.

TODAY'S TILTS

9:00  FCL Red Sox at FCL Twins
3:00  Bradenton at Fort Myers (Charlee Soto, 0-2, 6.35 and TBD)--doubleheader
5:35  St. Paul (David Festa, 1-1, 2.77) at Rochester
6:05  Springfield at Wichita (Pierson Ohl, 3-2, 3.51)
6:35  Lake County at Cedar Rapids (Jeremy Lee, 0-0, 0.00)

Happy Birthday–June 1

Ted Breitenstein (1869)
Otto Miller (1889)
Hank Severeid (1891)
Guy Morton (1893)
Johnny Mostil (1896)
Ray Moore (1926)
Jack Kralick (1935)
Roy Majtyka (1939)
Dean Chance (1941)
Randy Hundley (1942)
Ken McMullen (1942)
Jeff Nelson (1965)
Derek Lowe (1973)
Carlos Zambrano (1981)
Andrew Stevenson (1994)

Roy Majtyka was a long-time minor-league manager, winning 1,832 games.

Jeff Nelson was a major league umpire from 1997-2023.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–June 1

Minor Details: Games of May 30

ROCHESTER RED WINGS  6, ST. PAUL SAINTS 3 IN ROCHESTER

Rochester scored two in the second, two in fourth, and one in the fifth to build a 5-0 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Alex Isola was 2-for-4.

Home runs:  Yunior Severino (9); Matt Wallner (7).

Multi-RBI games:  Wallner 2 (24).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Kody Funderburk pitched a scoreless inning, walking one.

Opposition standout:  D. J. Herz struck out ten in 5.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits and a walk.

Record:  St. Paul is 24-29, in eighth place, 12.5 games behind Omaha.

SPRINGFIELD CARDINALS 7, WICHITA WIND SURGE 5 IN WICHITA

Springfield scored four in the first and led all the way.

Multi-hit games:  Jake Rucker was 3-for-5.  Luke Keaschall was 2-for-4 with two RBis.

Home runs:  Tanner Schobel (2).

Multi-RBI games:  Keaschall 2 (2).

Stolen bases:  Keaschall (1).

Pitching prowess:  Mike Paredes pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Cody Laweryson struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk,  Miguel Rodriguez struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition standout:  Bryan Torres was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs.

Record:  Wichita is 19-28, in fifth (last) place, eight games behind Arkansas.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 4, LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Trailing 2-1 through seven, Cedar Rapids tied with one in the eighth and Rayne Doncon hit a two-run walkoff homer in the ninth.

Multi-hit games:  None.

Home runs:  Doncon (1).

Multi-RBI games:  Doncon 2 (4).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Christian MacLeod pitched four innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk and striking out one.  Jordan Carr struck out three in three innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks.  Kyle Bischoff pitched a perfect inning.  Ricardo Velez struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition standout:  Parker Messick struck out six in six innings, giving up one run on two hits and two walks.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 29-18, in second place, 1.5 games behind Wisconsin.

BRADENTON MARAUDERS AT FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS

Rained out.  Will be made up Saturday.

FCL ORIOLES 10, FCL TWINS 3 AT TWINS (7 INNINGS)

The FCL Orioles scored three in the third and four in the fourth to build a 7-0 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Javier Roman was 2-for-3 with a double.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Joel Garcia struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition standout:  Fernando Peguero was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.

Record:  The FCL Twins are 11-7, tied for second with the FCL Rays, two games behind the FCL Pirates.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:00  FCL Twins at FCL Red Sox
5:45  St. Paul (Louie Varland, 2-3, 4.41) at Rochester
6:05  Bradenton at Fort Myers (A. J. Lares, 1-1, 2.31)
6:35  Lake County at Cedar Rapids (Darren Bowen, 2-2, 4.32)
6:35  Springfield at Wichita (Marco Raya, 0-0, 4.21)

Happy Birthday–May 31

Socks Seibold (1896)
Edward Bennett Williams (1920)
Russ Goetz (1930)
Ray Washburn (1938)
Tippy Martinez (1950)
Joe Orsulak (1962)
Kenny Lofton (1967)
Bill Miller (1967)
Dave Roberts (1972)
Ray Olmedo (1981)
Jake Peavy (1981)

Edward Bennett Williams was the owner of the Baltimore Orioles from 1979-1988.

Russ Goetz was an American League umpire from 1968-1983.

Bill Miller has been a major league umpire since 2000.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 31

Minor Details: Games of May 29

ST. PAUL SAINTS 5, ROCHESTER RED WINGS 0 IN ROCHESTER

Yunior Severino hit a three-run homer in the first inning and St. Paul led all the way.

Multi-hit games:  Severino was 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs.  Michael Helman was 2-for-5.

Home runs:  Severino (8); Alex Isola (5).

Multi-RBI games:  Severino 4 (27).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Adam Plutko struck out four in four shutout innings, giving up two hits.  Jeff Brigham pitched a perfect inning.  Ronny Henriquez struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Scott Blewett pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition standout:  Tim Cate pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Record:  St. Paul is 24-28, in eighth place, eleven games behind Omaha.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 4, SPRINGFIELD CARDINALS 2 IN WICHITA

It was scoreless until the eighth, when Kala'i Rosario hit a grand slam.  Springfield scored two in the ninth and had men on second and third with one out.

Multi-hit games:  Kyler Fedco was 2-for-3 with a double.

Home runs:  Rosario (4).

Multi-RBI games:  Rosario 4 (26).

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Jaylin Nowlin pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and three walks and striking out two.  Austin Brice struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition standout:  Ian Bedell struck out nine in seven shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.

Record:  Wichita is 19-27, in fifth place, seven games behind Arkansas.

LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS 6, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Lake County scored two in the first and three in the third to take a 5-1 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Ricardo Olivar was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Jay Harry was 2-for-4 with two runs.

Home runs:  Olivar (6); Dillon Tatum (2).

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  Harry (3).

Pitching prowess:  Rafael Marcano struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.  A. J. Labas pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition standout:  Austin Peterson struck out thirteen in seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 28-18, in second place, 1.5 games behind Wisconsin.

BRADENTON MARAUDERS 3, FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 2 IN FORT MYERS

Braylon Bishop hit a three-run homer in the seventh to give Bradenton a 3-1 lead.  Fort Myers had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth, but a double play ended the game.

Multi-hit games:  Payton Eeles was 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk.  Brooks Lee was 2-for-4.

Home runs:  Eeles (2).

Multi-RBi games:  None.

Stolen bases:  Lee (1).

Pitching prowess:  Jose Olivares struck out four in four shutout innings, giving up one hit and three walks.  Samuel Perez struck out five in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition standout:  Antwone Kelly pitched five innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks and striking out two.

Record:  Fort Myers is 20-27, in fifth place, twelve games behind Clearwater.

TODAY'S TILTS

10:05  St. Paul (Jordan Balazovic, 2-2, 5.40) at Rochester
11:00  FCL Orioles at FCL Twins
6:05  Bradenton at Fort Myers (Cesar Lares, 1-1, 2.31)
6:35  Lake County at Cedar Rapids (Christian MacLeod, 0-0, 2.89)
7:05  Springfield at Wichita (Travis Adams, 2-3, 5.14)

Happy Birthday–May 30

Amos Rusie (1871)
Turkey Mike Donlin (1878)
Rube Oldring (1884)
Al Mamaux (1894)
Twink Twining (1894)
Laymon Yokely (1906)
Turk Lown (1924)
Mel Nelson (1936)
Mike Sadek (1946)
Dana DeMuth (1956)
Mike LaCoss (1956)
Mike Oquist (1968)
John Courtright (1970)
Scott Eyre (1972)
Manny Ramirez (1972)
Mark Kiger (1980)
Fernando Salas (1985)
Tony Watson (1985)
Zack Wheeler (1990)

Dana DeMuth was a major league umpire from 1983 to 2019.

Mark Kiger is the only player to have played in the major leagues in the post-season but never have played in a regular season game.  An infielder, he was added to the Oakland roster when Mark Ellis fractured a finger.  He appeared in two games in the 2006 ALCS but did not bat.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 30

Minor Details: Games of May 28

ROCHESTER RED WINGS 6, ST. PAUL SAINTS 2 IN ROCHESTER (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)

Rochester scored single runs in the second, third, and fourth, then added three in the fifth to take a 6-0  lead.

Multi-hit games:  Austin Martin was 2-for-3.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Hobie Harris pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition standout:  Juan Yepez was 2-for-4 with a home run.

ST. PAUL SAINTS 4, ROCHESTER RED WINGS 1 IN ROCHESTER (GAME 2--7 INNINGS)

St. Paul scored single runs in the first, third, fourth, and fifth.

Multi-hit games:  None.

Home runs:  Matt Wallner (6).

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  Will Holland (9).

Pitching prowess:  Caleb Boushley struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks.  Josh Winder struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition standout:  Luis Reyes pitched two shutout innings, giving up two walks and striking out one.

Record:  St. Paul is 23-28, in eighth place, eleven games behind Omaha.

SPRINGFIELD CARDINALS 2, WICHITA WIND SURGE 1 IN WICHITA

Springfield scored two in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead and it held up.

Multi-hit games:  Luke Keaschall was 2-for-4 with a double in his AA debut.  Wichita was 1-for-13 with men in scoring position.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  None.

Pitching prowess:  Zebby Matthews pitched five innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out four.  Jarret Whorff struck out four in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and two walks.  John Stankiewicz pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition standout:  Max Rajcic pitched five innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks and striking out two.

Record:  Wichita is 18-27, in fifth (last) place, 7.5 games behind Springfield.

LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS 8, CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 2 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Josh Devers hit a two-run homer in a three-run fifth that game Lake County a 6-2 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Agustin Ruiz was 2-for-4 with a double.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  None.

Stolen bases:  Misael Urbina (9).

Pitching prowess:  Juan Mendez pitched two shutout innings, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition standout:  Devers was 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two runs, and three RBIs.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 28-17, in second place, a half game behind Wisconsin.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 5, BRADENTON MARAUDERS 2 IN FORT MYERS

Fort Myers scored two in the first and two in the second to take a 4-1 lead.

Multi-hit games:  Payton Eeles was 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, and three runs.  Brandon Winokur was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Rixon Wingrove was 2-for-4 with his Fort Myers debut.  Ryan McCarthy was 2-for-4 in his Fort Myers debut.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Winokur 2.

Stolen bases:  Eeles 2 (9); McCarthy (1).

Pitching prowess:  Ty Langenberg struck out eight in 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks.  Nolan Santos struck out five in three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition standout:  Hunter Furtado pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Record:  Fort Myers is 20-26, tied for fourth place with Bradenton, twelve games behind Clearwater.

FCL ORIOLES 9, FCL TWINS 8 AT ORIOLES (7 INNINGS)

The FCL Orioles scored seven runs in the seventh to win it.  Miguel Rodriguez singled in the deciding run.

Multi-hit gamesMoises Lopez was 2-for-2 with a walk and four RBIs.  Harold Grant was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Ricardo Pena was 2-for-3 with a double.

Home runs:  None.

Multi-RBI games:  Lopez 4; Walker Jenkins 2.

Stolen bases:  Yasser Mercedes (12); Omari Daniel (4).

Pitching prowess:  Adrian Bohorquez struck out five in four innings, giving up one run on three hits.

Opposition standout:  Rodriguez was 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.

Record:  The FCL Twins are 11-6, in second place, 1.5 games behind the FCL Pirates.

TODAY'S TILTS

12:05  Lake County at Cedar Rapids (C. J. Culpepper, 2-0, 2.63)
5:05  St. Paul (Adam Plutko, 0-1, 11.57) at Rochester
6:05  Bradenton at Fort Myers (Jose Olivares, 0-0, 4.50)
7:05  Springfield at Wichita (Jaylin Nowlin, 3-2, 3.93)

Happy Birthday–May 29

Bob Hope (1903)
George McQuinn (1910)
Loel Passe (1917)
Fred White (1936)
Fay Vincent (1938)
John Kennedy (1941)
Blue Moon Odom (1945)
Jamie Allen (1958)
Mike Stenhouse (1958)
Eric Davis (1962)
Charlie Hayes (1965)
Trever Miller (1973)
Jerry Hairston (1976)
Matt Macri (1982)
Steven Matz (1991)
Nick Wittgren (1991)
Patrick Bailey (1999)

Comedian and actor Bob Hope was a long-time part-owner of the Cleveland Indians and was on their Board of Directors.

Loel Passe broadcast Houston Astros games from the team’s inception through 1976.  Along the way, he worked with two Hall of Fame broadcasters, Gene Elston and Harry Kalas.

Fred White broadcast Kansas City Royals games from 1974-1998.

Fay Vincent was the commissioner of baseball from 1989-1992.

Third baseman Jamie Allen was drafted by Minnesota with the tenth pick of the 1976 draft, but did not sign.

Catcher Patrick Bailey was drafted by Minnesota in the thirty-seventh round in 2017, but did not sign.

We would also like to wish a very happy anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. brianS.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–May 29