Trenton
and Bowie Clinch
Playoff Berths
The Trenton Thunder became the first team in the Eastern
League to clinch a postseason berth with a 5-3 victory against
Harrisburg on August 28th. The
Thunder were joined by the Bowie Baysox, who clinched their first
playoff berth since the 1997 season.
In
addition to tying up a postseason spot, the Thunder have also
already wrapped up a first place finish in the Northern Division
for the second consecutive season.
Northern
Division Championship Series
(Best of Five)
Game
One
Wednesday, September 3
Second Place at Trenton
Game
Two
Thursday, September 4
Second Place at Trenton
Game
Three
Friday, September 5
Trenton at Second Place
Game
Four (if necessary)
Saturday, September 6
Trenton at Second Place
Game
Five (if necessary)
Sunday, September 7
Second Place at Trenton
Southern
Division Championship Series
(Best of Five)
Game
One
Wednesday, September 3
Second Place at First Place
Game
Two
Thursday, September 4
Second Place at First Place
Game
Three
Friday, September 5
First Place at Second Place
Game
Four (if necessary)
Saturday, September 6
First Place at Second Place
Game
Five (if necessary)
Sunday, September 7
Second Place at First Place
Eastern
League Championship Series
(Best of Five)
Game
One
Tuesday, September 9
Northern Division at Southern Division
Game
Two
Wednesday, September 10
Northern Division at Southern Division
Game
Three
Thursday, September 11
Southern Division at Northern Division
Game
Four (if necessary)
Friday, September 12
Southern Division at Northern Division
Game
Five (if necessary)
Saturday, September 13
Southern Division at Northern Division
New
Hampshire's Eric Blanton Named The Eastern League Diamond Pro
Sports Turf
Manager of the Year
Eastern League President Joe McEacharn, in conjunction
with Diamond Pro, is pleased to announce that Eric Blanton
of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats has been named the winner of
the 2008 Eastern League Diamond Pro Sports Field Manager of the
Year Award. This marks the second straight season that Eric has
been selected as the winner of the award, which is voted on by
Eastern League field staff and umpires.
To
read the full press release click
here
Eastern
League Announces
2008 All-Star Team
The Eastern League is pleased to announce the selections
for the 2008 Eastern League All-Star Team. The selections were
made for the team based on voting by Eastern League managers,
writers and radio and television broadcast personnel. The
selections for the team are listed below:
Catcher
Lou Marson, Reading Phillies
First
Base
Mike Carp, Binghamton Mets
Second
Base
Scott Campbell, New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Third
Base
Wes Hodges, Akron Aeros
Shortstop
Jason Donald, Reading Phillies
Outfielders
Lou Montanez, Bowie Baysox
Wilkin Ramirez, Erie SeaWolves
Nolan Reimold, Bowie Baysox
Utility
Player
Daniel Murphy, Binghamton Mets
Designated
Hitter
Travis Snider, New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Right-Handed
Starting Pitcher
Brag Bergesen, Bowie Baysox
Left-Handed
Starting Pitcher
Phil Coke, Trenton Thunder
Relief
Pitcher
Eddie Kunz, Binghamton Mets
To
read the full press release click
here
Thunder Introduce New GM And Announce Stadium Improvements
The Trenton Thunder have announced that Will Smith
will become the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of
the team. He will begin the position full time shortly after September
1st. A native of Dumont, New Jersey, Smith joins the Thunder after
serving as the General Manager of the Hagerstown Suns of the Class
A South Atlantic League in Hagerstown, Maryland for the last two
years.
In
addition to introducing Will Smith as the new GM of the team,
Thunder President Joe Finley also announced that over $2-million
in improvements will be made to Waterfront Park over the next
two seasons. Among the many improvements will be a new state of
the art videoboard and a new picnic area.
To
read the Will Smith release click
here
To
read the Waterfront Park release click
here
Rock Cats Announce PDC Extension
The New Britain Rock Cats have announced that they have
extended their current Player Development Contract with the Minnesota
Twins for two more seasons. This extension ensures the relationship
between the Rock Cats and Twins will continue through the end
of the 2010 season.
With
this extension, the 16-year affiliation between New Britain and
Minnesota places it among the longest uninterrupted partnerships
in the historic Eastern League.
To
read the full release click
here
Bowie Outfielder Luis Montanez
Named July Player of the Month and Promoted To Baltimore
The Eastern League is pleased to announce that Bowie outfielder
Luis Montanez has been selected as the Eastern League Player
of the Month for the month of July. Montanez had an outstanding
month for the Baysox, hitting .352 with six doubles, three triples,
eight homers, 29 RBI, 25 runs scored, 12 walks, one stolen base,
a .408 on-base percentage and a .685 slugging percentage over
25 games.
Montanez
was rewarded for his performance in Bowie on August 5th with a
promotion to the Baltimore Orioles. Luis hit a solo home run in
his first Major League at bat on August 6th and went 2-for-4 and
scored a pair runs in the game, which the Orioles lost 9-4 against
the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
To
view the complete press release click
here
To
view Luis' MILB.com profile click
here
David Ortiz Rehabs In Portland
Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz joined the Portland
Sea Dogs for three games on a Major League rehab assignment that
started on July 21st. Ortiz, who had been on the DL since May
31st with a torn tendon sheath in his wrist, went 2-for-8 with
two walks, two RBI and one run scored during his three-game stint
with the Sea Dogs.
The five-time Major League All-Star last took the field
in the Eastern League as a member of the New Britain Rock Cats
in 2001. David hit .312 with 14 homers and 57 RBI in 78 career
games with the Rock Cats between the 1997 and 2001 seasons.
Luke
Hughes Home Run Lifts
Northern Division To 5-3 Victory
At
Eastern League All-Star Game
New Britain's Luke Hughes hit a three-run homer in
the bottom of the sixth inning as the Northern Division rallied
for a 5-3 victory over the Southern Division at the 2008 Northeast
Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star Game at Merchantsauto.com
Stadium in Manchester, New Hampshire on July 16th. A record crowd
of 8,762 fans passed through the gates for the game, shattering
the previous Fisher Cats single game attendance record of 8,227
fans, which was set June 16, 2007 against Erie.
Connecticut
ace Joey Martinez allowed just one hit and recorded one
strikeout over two scoreless innings of work to earn the win for
the Northern Division. Martinez entered the game at the start
of the fifth inning and was in position to get the win after Hughes
gave the Northern Division squad their first lead of the game
in the bottom of the sixth. Following the game Martinez was presented
with the Most Outstanding Pitcher Award while Hughes was selected
as the Top Star Award winner.
Other
top offensive performers in the game included Connecticut's Olmo
Rosario, who went 2-for-2 with a double, Reading's Greg
Golson, who singled and hit a solo home run, and Reading's
Jason Donald, who had a pair of hits, including a double,
drew one walk and scored a run.
Click
here for a box score from the game
Click
here for MILB.com All-star coverage
Click
here to view the Northern Division roster
Click
here to view the Southern Division roster
New
Hampshire's Travis Snider
Wins Home Run Derby
Travis Snider of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats did
not disappoint the hometown crowd during the Irving Oil Home Run
Derby at the 2008 Northeast Delta Dental Eastern League All-Star
Game. Snider, the top rated prospect in the Toronto organization,
defeated Bowie slugger Lou Montanez 7-6 in the final round
and hit a total of 19 homers during the event to take home the
title.
To
read more on the event click
here
Three
Eastern Leaguers Named
To Team USA For Olympics
The roster has been announced for the 2008 U.S. Olympic
Baseball Team and three current Eastern League players are among
those that have been chosen to represent their country during
the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. Those three players are Akron's
Matt LaPorta and Reading teammates Jason Donald and
Lou Marson. In addition to those three players, Jeff
Stevens, who pitched in 17 games with the Aeros prior to a
promotion to Triple-A on June 3rd, was chosen for the team.
To
read the full press release click
here
To
view the complete roster click
here
Reading's Carrasco Earns Win
At 2008 Futures Game
Reading right-hander Carlos Carrasco was the starting
pitcher for the World Team in the 2008 Major League Futures Game
and earned the win in a 3-0 victory at Yankee Stadium on Sunday,
July 13th. Carrasco struck out a pair of batters and allowed just
one walk over one shutout inning. Carlos
was one of 12 players from the Eastern League that participated
in the Futures Game. Below is a complete list of those players
and how they performed.
World
Team
Ramiro Pena, Trenton
(0-1, 1 BB)
Wilkin Ramirez, Erie (1-1, 1 BB)
Pablo Sandoval, Connecticut (0-1, 1 RBI, 1 BB)
Luke Hughes, New Britain (0-2)
Scott Campbell, New Hampshire (0-4, 1 R)
Fernando Martinez, Binghamton (1-2)
Carlos Carrasco, Reading (1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 K, 1 BB)
U.S.
Team
Greg Golson, Reading
(0-2)
Wes Hodges, Akron (1-2, 1 2B)
Matt LaPorta, Akron (1-3, 1 BB)
Lou Marson, Reading (0-1)
Jason Donald, Reading (1-2)
To
view a recap of the game click
here
To
view the box score click
here
To
view the World Team roster click
here
To
view the US Team roster click
here
Kevin
Kulp Named
President of Senators
The Harrisburg Senators have announced that Veteran minor
league baseball executive Kevin Kulp has joined the front
office as President of the club. Kulp most recently served as
GM of the Lexington Legends of the South Atlantic League from
2004 through 2007.
Click
here to read the full press release
Former President Carter Visits
Blair County Ballpark
Former President of the United States Jimmy Carter
was among the 5,524 fans on hand at Blair County Ballpark on Tuesday,
June 17 to watch the Altoona Curve earn a 4-3 win over the Reading
Phillies. Carter quietly enjoyed the game with his wife, Rosalynn,
from one of the ballpark’s luxury skyboxes.
Carter
is the first former President to visit Blair County Ballpark.
Current Vice President Dick Cheney was among the 9,163
fans in attendance for the Curve’s July 4, 2004 game at Blair
County Ballpark. Cheney tossed out the ceremonial first pitch
and addressed the crowd before watching the game from the skybox
of former Senator Robert Jubelirer.
