Happy Birthday–April 14

Cannonball Redding (1890)
Marvin Miller (1917)
Gordon Gillespie (1926)
Don Mueller (1927)
Marty Keough (1934)
Pete Rose (1941)
Joe Lahoud (1947)
Ron Schueler (1948)
David Justice (1966)
Greg Maddux (1966)
Greg Myers (1966)
Mike Trombley (1967)
Brad Ausmus (1969)
Steve Avery (1970)
Gregg Zaun (1971)
Kyle Farnsworth (1976)
Cory Gearrin (1986)
Jacob Barnes (1990)

Cannonball Redding was a star pitcher in the Negro Leagues.

Marvin Miller was the head of the Major League Baseball Players association from 1966-1983.

Gordon Gillespie holds the record for most wins by a college baseball coach.

It must be kind of a bummer for a big league ballplayer to not only not be the best player born on the day and year he was born, but to not even be the best player with his first name born on the day and year he was born.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 14

Minor Details: Games of April 12

OMAHA STORM CHASERS 7, ST. PAUL SAINTS 5 IN ST. PAUL

Diego Cartaya homered in the second to give St. Paul a 3-0 lead.  The Storm Chasers stormed back with four in the third, with two scoring on a Joey Wiemer single.  It went to 5-3 in the top of the fourth, but Ryan Fitzgerald hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to tie it 5-5.  It stayed there until the sixth, when Harold Castro hit a two-run homer that turned out to be the margin of victory.

Batters:  Mike Ford was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Ryan Fitzgerald was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.  Diego Cartaya was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitchers:  Starter Randy Dobnak pitched five innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out two.  Jacob Bosiokovic pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opponents:  Harold Castro was 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs, and four RBIs.  John Rave was 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs.  Joey Wiemer was 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

Record:  St. Paul is 5-6, in eighth place, 4.5 games behind Columbus.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 8, MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS 4 IN WICHITA

Tanner Schobel homered in the first to give the Wind Surge a 1-0 lead, but Midland came back with three in the third.  Wichita came back in the fifth with four runs, getting doubles from Dalton ShuffieldRubel Cespedes, and Jorel Ortega.  Shane McGuire homered in the sixth to cut the lead to 5-4, but Cespedes hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of reach.

Batters:  Rubel Cespedes was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his second) and two runs.  Tanner Schobel was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second), a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Dalton Shuffield was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Jorel Ortega was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Tyler Dearden was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitchers:  Starter Connor Prielipp struck out five in 2.2 innings, but allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits.  He did not walk anyone.  Aaron Rozek pitched 5.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and no walks and striking out five.  John Stankiewicz struck out two in a scoreless inning.

Opponents:  Colby Halter was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Erubiel Angeles was 2-for-4.  Shane McGuire was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Record:  Wichita is 5-3, tied for second with Arkansas, 1.5 games behind Springfield.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 7, BELOIT SKY CARP 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Cedar Rapids scored single runs in the first four innings.  Beloit countered with a three-run homer by Eric Rataczak in the second, leaving the score 4-3 Kernels.  Cedar Rapids then scored three in the sixth, highlighted by an RBI triple by Kyle DeBarge, to put the game out of reach.

Batters:  Kyle DeBarge was 3-for-5 with a triple and three runs.  Caden Kendle was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a run, and an RBI.

Pitchers:  Starter Alejandro Hidalgo struck out eight in four innings, but allowed three runs on two hits and three walks.  Spencer Bengard struck out five in four innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks.  Paulshawn Pasqualotto pitched a perfect inning.

Opponents:  Jay Beshears was 2-for-3 with an RBI.  Eric Rataczak was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer.

Record:  Cedar Rapids is 5-3, tied for second with Beloit, one game behind Quad Cities.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 2, TAMPA TARPONS 1 IN FORT MYERS

Fort Myers scored on a wild pitch in the first and Tampa scored on a double steak of second and home in the second.  In the fourth, Angel Del Rosario delivered an RBI single.  The pitching took it from there, as four Mighty Mussels pitchers limited Tampa to one run despite allowing seven hits and five walks.  It helped that they struck out eleven.  Tampa stranded twelve runners and went 1-for-12 with men in scoring position.

Batters:  Angel Del Rosario was 1-for-4 with an RBI, the only RBI for either team.

Pitchers:  Dasan Hill struck out six in 3.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks.  Jason Doktorcyzk struck out four in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Kade Bragg pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.  Tyler Stasiowski pitched a scoreless inning, walking one.

Opponents:  Tyler Wilson and Dillon Lewis were each 2-for-4.  Jack Sokol struck out two and walked one in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Record:  Fort Myers is 4-4, tied for second with Tampa, one game behind Clearwater.

TODAY'S TILTS

11:05  Tampa (Gage Ziehl, no record) at Fort Myers (Michael Ross, 0-0, 1.80)
1:05  Beloit (Jake Brooks, 0-0, 2.25) at Cedar Rapids (Tanner Hall, 0-0, 9.00)
1:05  Midland (Will Johnston, 0-1, 8.10) at Wichita (Darren Bowen, 1-0, 1.80)
2:07  Omaha (Noah Cameron, 2-0, 0.82) at St. Paul (Darren McCaughan, no record)

Happy Birthday–April 13

Herman Long (1866)
Kid Elberfeld (1875)
Jake Stahl (1879)
Claude Hendrix (1889)
Dewey Creasy (1900)
Ben Cantwell (1902)
Pete Quesada (1904)
Roxie Lawson (1906)
Bill Deegan (1935)
John Stephenson (1941)
Jeff Bittiger (1962)
Mark Leiter (1963)
Doug Strange (1964)
Ricardo Rincon (1970)
Kevin Ohme (1971)
Steve Pearce (1983)
Hunter Pence (1983)
Lorenzo Cain (1986)

Air Force General Pete Quesada was one of the original owners of the expansion Washington Senators.  He also was the first head of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Bill Deegan was an American League umpire from 1971-1980.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 13

Minor Details: Games of April 11

Another short version.

ST. PAUL SAINTS 6, OMAHA STORM CHASERS 4 IN ST. PAUL

Omaha scored four in the fourth to take a 4-2 lead, but St. Paul tied it with two in the bottom of the fourth and Carson McCusker hit a two-run homer in the sixth to win it for the Saints.  Luke Keaschall was 2-for-2 with a home run, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Jair Camargo and Anthony Prato were each 2-for-4.  Alex Speas struck out five in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Kyle Bischoff struck out five and walked two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

WICHITA WIND SURGE 4, MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS 1 IN WICHITA

Tyler Dearden singled home a run in the fourth to break a 1-1 tie.  Wichita added single runs in the fifth and sixth.  Tanner Schobel was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Andrew Cossetti was 2-for-3.  Jake Rucker was 2-for-4.  Kyler Fedco hit a home run.  Trent Baker pitched 4.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks and striking out three.  Angel Macuare struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hits and two walks.

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 6, BELOIT SKY CARP 4 IN CEDAR RAPIDS

Beloit scored four in the sixth to tie 4-4, but Cedar Rapids came back with two in the eighth on RBI doubles by Misael Urbina and Brandon Winokur.  Billy Amick was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Caden Kendle and Winokur were each 2-for-4 with a double.  Kendle also hit a home run.  Charlee Soto struck out six in five shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks.  Jacob Wosinski pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.

FORT MYERS MIGHTY MUSSELS 6, TAMPA TARPONS 3 IN FORT MYERS

Fort Myers led 3-0 after two.  Tampa cut it to 3-2, but Fort Myers got one in the third and two in the fifth.  Dameury PenaYasser Mercedes, and Jefferson Valladeres were each 2-for-4, with Mercedes and Valladeres each hitting a double and driving in two.  Eli Jones struck out six in five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks.  Cole Peschi struck out four in four innings, giving up an unearned run on five hits and a walk.

Happy Birthday–April 12

Vic Willis (1876)
Addie Joss (1880)
Bill Bailey (1888)
Eric McNair (1909)
Bill Wight (1922)
Bob Zuk (1927)
Johnny Antonelli (1930)
Terry Cooney (1933)
Charlie Lau (1933)
Woodie Fryman (1940)
Vicente Romo (1943)
Terry Harmon (1944)
Mike Macfarlane (1964)
Paul LoDuca (1972)
Antonio Osuna (1973)
Brad Brach (1986)
Pedro Hernandez (1989)
Dennis Santana (1996)

Bob Zuk was a long-time scout who was responsible for signing, among others, Reggie Jackson, Willie Stargell, and Gary Carter.

Terry Cooney was an American League umpire from 1975-1992.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–April 12

Remodeled basement. Same half-baked taste.