I spent part of the morning today trying to figure out how to write about the goings-on in the Golden Baseball League this season, from the appearances of players Eri Yoshida (the Knuckle Princess) and Mark Prior to the folding of the St. George Road Runners to the hateful anti-gay tirade of Edmonton Capitals manager Brent Bowers. Then I remembered Luke Holko, and decided to write about him instead. I’ve written about Luke many...
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The Seattle Times is reporting that former Mariners star Bret Boone is taking a managerial job with the Victoria Seals of the Golden League. The team is located in British Columbia, so the 40-year-old Boone may be in a perfect position to draw fans in the Pacific NW to indie baseball this summer. “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to start the second chapter of my baseball career,” said Boone, 40. “Returning to...
A few days ago, I reported a tidbit of news about Japanese baseball star Eri Yoshida, who will be joining the Yuma Scorpions for the Arizona Winter League season. Turns out she’s not going to be the only woman joining the pros in the Golden League this winter. Former Gonzaga softball player Tiffany Brooks let me know that she’ll be there as well. I was pleased when she agreed to be interviewed for Bus Leagues, and...
What a week this has been! Alex Rodriguez has a dramatic return from his injury with a first pitch homer on 5/8/09 and Manny Ramirez shows his feminine side by being the latest superstar to test positive for PEDs. Still though, bobblehead promos are front and center on my end of this blog. Here’s the lineup this week: San Francisco Giants 5/12/09 Lou Seal (Chinese) (Mascot) – Part of a Chinese Heritage Night Promotion. ...
Sometimes, the stories write themselves (other times, they’re written by the AP): The Calgary Vipers of the Golden Baseball League couldn’t get newly signed pitcher John Odom into Canada for immigration reasons. And the Laredo Broncos of the United League were willing to take a cheap gamble on a pitcher. Oh, and the Vipers really, really wanted some new bats. And so Odom, about a month after being acquired by a Canadian team, found...
Minor league ballparks have always been a source of fascination for me. One of the most interesting things about working for the Nashua Pride (how many more mentions can I make of that job before the hate mail starts rolling in?) was “Historic” Holman Stadium, a city-owned ballpark that played host to a number of amateur activities (including, for many years, high school football) as well as the various professional baseball teams that rolled through the area over the...
When I promised last week to provide a relatively accurate list of former major leaguers that are currently listed on independent rosters, I had no idea what a task it would become. Did you guys know there are like eight independent leagues out there? Eighty or so teams? Somewhere in the vicinity of 1,600 players? That’s a lot of players. Throw in a vicious flu/bronchitis that hit on Monday morning and it’s a miracle...
Opening dates for the eight independent leagues currently scheduled to operate in 2008: Atlantic League – April 25 American Association – May 7 (Sioux City @ Wichita only); full schedule begins May 8 United League Baseball – May 13 Northern League – May 15 Frontier League – May 18 (Washington @ Chillicothe only); full schedule begins May 21 Canadian-American League – May 22 Golden Baseball League – May 22 Continental Baseball League – May...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
