In the 29th round of the 1969 draft, the Cincinnati Reds selected Ken Griffey, from Donora Pennsylvania. In his 19 year career, he accrued more than 2,100 hits, 200 steals, and a career .296 batting average. Griffey was a 3 time All-Star and winner of 3 World Series Championships all with the Reds, and is now the manager for the Bakersfield Blaze, the High A affiliate for Cincinnati, he took some time out after...
Bakersfield’s Billy Hamilton is all the rage thanks to an incredible start that has seen him steal 31 bases in his first 26 games this season. I think every baseball-related blog and website in existence has written something about him in the past two weeks, from us to the New York Times. He’s kind of a big deal. Recently, though, I saw something on Twitter that didn’t call attention to his stolen base totals...
Last season I did a lot of work in Dunedin with the Dunedin Blue Jays staff. Craig Durham, a man who wears many hats as you will soon find out, was instrumental in coordinating interviews for me and helping me find my way around the ballpark when needed, to include the first time I ever covered a game from the press box. For whatever reason, however, I failed to ask Craig his story. This...
Baseball America’s 48th-ranked prospect entering the season, Billy Hamilton is known for being among the fastest players in Minor League Baseball. Last year he used that speed to his advantage, becoming the first player in a decade to steal 100 bases in a season. He’s off to another great start this season, hitting .356/.447/.589 with 19 steals in 19 games for the Bakersfield Blaze in the California League. I had a chance to speak...
This is a post that appeared at Philly Sports Central earlier this week, and I thought it could be appropriate here too. Any team, Pat Burrell. Last Thursday, the Phillies announced that Pat Burrell will sign a ceremonial one-day contract so he can officially retire as a member of the team (Ruben Amaro initially offered a three day contract, but that was deemed unnecessary.) He’ll be honored the weekend of May 18-20 against the...
It’s not exactly what he wanted, but Eric Pettis has had plenty of time to promote the ebook that he’s written in recent weeks. Pettis was able to take some time out and answer questions for Bus Leagues Baseball. And I thank him for taking the time out to answer my questions. I’ll start with a question you haven’t had before, what inspired you to write the book? I wouldn’t necessarily say that I...
Fresh off the heels of “Odd Man Out” and Dirk Hayhurst’s two novels comes a work from former Philadelphia Phillie Eric Pettis chronicling his time as a rookie in the Phillies organization. Pettis was a 35th round pick out of UC-Irvine in 2010, and in a stream of consciousness narrative he reports on it. Is it a worthy read? That’s something you’re going to have to wait for the end to get answered. But...
There are so many moving parts to the minor league experience, and we try to delve into all of them. From time to time we come across something we haven’t covered yet. This week, we look into the lives of host parents, who ease the transition for prospects as they begin their professional careers. Heather Wright is the author of Nothing But Baseball and Apple Pie, a new blog that will chronicle her experience...
In an effort to milk this list as much as possible, I made a post that has all 100 prospects in just one list with their Opening Day assignments. At the bottom, I have a handful of stats that show the distribution of the top 100 by organization, position and classification. 1. Bryce Harper, OF, Washington- Syracuse (AAA, International) 2. Matt Moore, LHP, Tampa Bay- Tampa Bay (MLB, AL) 3. Mike Trout, OF, Anaheim-...
The Minor League season opened across the country with record crowds, pomp, pageantry, fireworks and several noteworthy performances. The following are the top 7 things you missed in affiliated Minor League Baseball last week. 1. Bryce Harper got his first Triple-A hit on Thursday. It was a double in the second for the Syracuse Chiefs. He ultimately went 2 for 4 for the Washington Nationals affiliate, which took the loss to the visiting Rochester...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
