New
Britain's Luke Hughes
Named April Player of the Month
The Eastern League is pleased to announce that New Britain
third baseman/outfielder Luke Hughes has been selected
as the Eastern League Player of the Month for the month of April.
Hughes, who edged Bowie pitcher Chris Waters for the award,
hit .354 (35-for-99) with six doubles, eight home runs, 20 runs
scored and 18 RBI in 24 games during the opening month of the
season.
To
view the complete press release click
here
To
view Luke's MILB.com profile click
here
Eastern
League Wins and ERA
Leader Promoted To Triple-A
On Monday Bowie right-hander Chris Waters was promoted
from the Baysox to the Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A International
League. He earned the promotion by winning five of his six starts
for the Baysox this season and posting a 1.69 ERA and 22 strikeouts
in 32 innings of work. At the time of his promotion Waters, who
finished as the runner up for the Eastern League Player of the
Month Award for April, was leading the league in wins and ERA.
To
view Chris' MILB.com profile click
here
Top
Prospect Joins The Senators
RHP Jordan Zimmermann, one of the top rated prospects
in the Washington Nationals organization, has been promoted to
Harrisburg. The 21-year old, who entered the year rated by Baseball
America as the 7th best prospect in the Washington organization,
was selected by the Nationals in the second round of the 2007
draft last June out of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
In
five appearances with Single-A Potomac prior to his promotion,
Zimmermann went 3-1 with one save, 31 strikeouts and a 1.65 ERA
over 27.1 innings of work.
To
view Jordan's MILB.com profile click
here
B-Mets,
Rock Cats and Sea Dogs
Break April Attendance Records
Fans throughout the Eastern League have enjoyed unseasonably
warm and dry weather during the first month of the season.
Nowhere is that more evident than in Binghamton, New Britain and Portland
where each club broke the franchise attendance record for the
opening month of the season.
The
B-Mets set the tone for their strong start on opening night when
they drew their largest crowd for an opener since the 1994 season.
In total 34,997 fans came through the turnstiles at NYSEG Stadium
in April, breaking the record of 30,586 fans, which was set in
1994.
The
fans in Portland have been supporting their team equally as enthusiastically
so far this season. In 13 openings at Hadlock Field during the
month of April a total of 65,254 fans were in attendance, which
shattered the previous record of 54,201 fans that was set during
the 2002 campaign.
The
largest increase over the previous record for attendance during
the month of April was in New Britain, where a total of 53,471
fans came out to New Britain Stadium. That total represents a
43-percent increase over their previous record of 37,522, which
the team set last season.
Overall
attendance in the Eastern League is up over 75,000 fans from where
it was after the opening month of the season last year.
To
view current attendance figures for all 12 of the teams in the
Eastern League click
here.
2007
Draft Pick Joins Fisher Cats
Just days after top rated prospect Travis Snider
was promoted to New Hampshire from Dunedin he was joined by pitcher
Brett Cecil, who was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays
as the 38th overall pick in the 2007 draft out of the University of Maryland.
Brett,
who was ranked by Baseball America as the #2 prospect in
the Blue Jays organization behind only Snider, joins the Fisher
Cats after posting 11 strikeouts and a 1.74 ERA in four starts
for the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League.
The
21-year old made his Double-A debut for the Fisher Cats on April
30th against Reading and gave up three earned runs on four hits
while striking out four in three innings of work.
To
view Brett's MILB.com profile click
here
Masterson
Makes Big League Debut
Portland right-hander Justin Masterson was promoted
to the Boston Red Sox on April 24th and made his Major League
debut against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim that afternoon.
Despite not receiving word of his promotion until the last minute,
the 23-year old pitched an excellent game, giving up just one
run and striking out four batters in six innings of work.
Prior
to his promotion Masterson was 1-0 with 23 strikeouts and a 0.95
ERA in 19 innings of work for the Sea Dogs. He was also named
the Eastern League Bank of America Pitcher of the Week for the
week ending April 13th.
Following
the game Justin was sent back to Portland to continue his development,
but judging by his performance it will not be long before he makes
his way back to the Major Leagues on a full time basis.
Toronto's Top Prospect
Joins Fisher Cats
The Toronto Blue Jays have promoted Travis Snider
from the Dunedin Blue Jays to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Snider,
who was the 14th overall pick in the 2006 draft, is ranked by
Baseball America as the top prospect in the Blue Jays organization
and he was ranked 11th on the Baseball America Top 100
Prospects list for the 2008 season.
The
20-year old was hitting .279 with four home runs and seven RBI
in 17 games with Dunedin prior to his promotion. Last season Snider
hit .313 with 16 homers and 93 RBI in 118 games for the Lansing
Lugnuts and was selected as a Midwest League All-Star.
Travis
made his Double-A debut for the Fisher Cats at Hadlock Field against
the Portland Sea Dogs on April 21st and went 1-for-5 with a run
scored in a 9-3 victory.
To
view Snider's MILB.com profile click
here
To
view the complete press release click
here
Sea Dogs Outlast Defenders In
Longest Game Since 2000
Season
Jeff Corsaletti scored the winning run on a double
by Jay Johnson in the bottom of the 17th inning to lift
the Portland Sea Dogs to an 8-7 win over the Connecticut Defenders
on April 16th in a game took five hours and 41 minutes to complete.
Johnson not only drove in the winning run, but was also the winning
pitcher. He entered the game after spending the first 15 innings
playing left field and did not allow a run in two innings of work.
The
game is the longest in franchise history for the Sea Dogs and
is also the longest game played in the Eastern League since July
13th during the 2000 season when the Altoona Curve defeated the
Norwich Navigators 6-5 in a 19 inning game that took six hours
and 17 minutes to play.
For
a full game recap and box score click
here
Eastern League Announces
Partnership With Diamond Pro
The Eastern League is pleased to announce a new partnership
with Diamond Pro, a leading provider of infield conditioners and
other professional groundskeeping products, in recognizing the
top sports field manager in the Eastern League. The Eastern League
will team with Diamond Pro to select a winner of the 2008 Eastern
League Diamond Pro Sports Field Manager of the Year Award, which
will be chosen through balloting of Eastern League coaches and
umpires and will be announced in August as the 2008 season comes
to a close.
To
view the complete press release click
here
B-Mets Announce PDC Extension Through 2010 Season
On the eve of the B-Mets season opener, team president Michael
Urda announced a two-year extension of Binghamton's Player
Development Contract with the New York Mets. The announcement
was made at the annual "Welcome Home Dinner" for the
club. The extension ensures the B-Mets will remain an affiliate
of the New York Mets through the 2010 season.
To
read the complete press release click
here
Fisher Cats and Blue Jays
Extend PDC Through 2012
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats and Toronto Blue Jays have
announced that they signed a four-year extension of their Player
Development Contract (PDC) that ensures the Fisher Cats will remain
Toronto's Double-A affiliate through 2012. The Blue Jays have
been the parent club of the Fisher Cats since their inaugural
season in 2004.
To
read the complete press release click
here
SeaWolves Extend Lease and PDC Through 2010 Season
The Detroit Tigers and the Erie SeaWolves have announced
that they have extended their Player Development Contract through
the 2010 season. The SeaWolves also announced that they have signed
an extension of their lease agreement that will keep the club
at Jerry Uht Park through the 2010 season.
To
read the complete press release click
here
