Crawdads Alumni Report February 4
BIRTHDAYS:
Andrew McCormack ('93, P) turns 39. Selected in the 21st round by the White Sox in 1993 out of the Univ. of South Florida, the native of Bridgeport, CT started in 14 games for Hickory in the season's second half. McCormack went 4-7 with a 4.64 ERA and struck out 67 in 83.1 innings of work. He remained in the White Sox system for two more seasons at South Bend, before splittling time during the 1996 season at Kinston (High A) and Akron-Canton (AA) in the Clevland Indians organization.
Allen Thomas ('96-'97, OF) turns 39. A native of Morganton, where he attended Freedom High School, Thomas was drafted in the 45th round by the White Sox out of Wingate Univ. in 1996. In parts of two seasons in Hickory, Thomas hit .195 in 149 at bats with a homer and 22 RBI. After his release from the White Sox in 1997, he rejoined the organization as the minor league strength & conditioning coordinator from 1999 to 2003. He joined the big league club as its Director of Strength and Conditioning in 2004 and remains there today. He is a member of Wingate's hall of fame and was named the Major League Strength Coach of the Year in 2005.
CARIBBEAN WORLD SERIES:
Jose Castillo ('00, SS) hit a solo homer in the first and then added an RBI single in the sixth to send Venezuela (2-1) to a 3-1 win over Puerto Rico in the six-game, round-robin series. Carlos Rivera ('99, 1B) singled and walked in the game for Puerto Rico (0-3).
COLLEGE RESULTS:
Juan Thomas ('93, 1B/ volunteer assistant coach Augustana College, SD) Game 1: Augustana 24 (1-2) Hawaii-Pacific 19 (11 innings); Game 2: Hawaii-Pacific 22 Augustana 1 (1-3).
Sunday, February 3
Birthday:
Rougned Odor ('12, 2B) turns 19. Signed by the Rangers as an international free agent in 2011, the native of Maracaibo, Venezuela played in 109 games for the Crawdads last season. After hitting close to .300 for much of the season, a second half slump pushed his batting average to .259 to go with ten homers, 23 doubles and 47 RBI. In the field, Odor is 5th in fielding pct. by a second baseman (.975). He was named the South Atlantic League Player of the week May 22-28.
CARIBBEAN SERIES:
Jose Castillo ('00, SS) walked and scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning to give Venezuela a 4-3 win over Mexico. The Venezuelans are now 1-1 in the four-team, six-game round-robin series.
Carlos Rivera ('99, 1B) went 0-for-4 during Puerto Rico's 6-2 loss to the Dominican Republic in game two of the six-game, round-robin series. Puerto Rico is now 0-2.
COLLEGE RESULTS:
Chris Hernandez ('04, P/ pitching coach Cal State Los Angeles) Cal Baptist 9 Cal State LA 8 (0-2).
Pete Pryor ('96, 1B / assistant coach Sacramento City College) SCC 6 (1-1) Fresno College 4.
Juan Thomas ('93, 1B/ volunteer assistant coach Augustana College, SD) Game 1: Hawaii Pacific 14 Augustana 7. Game 2: Hawaii Pacific 7 Augustana 6 (8 innings) (0-2).
Saturday, February 2
Birthdays:
David Beigh ('03, P) turns 32. The native of West Lafayette IN, was drafted by the Pirates in the 2nd round in 2000 out of Harrison High School. He joined the Crawdads for parts of the 2003 season, throwing in 14 games out of the bullpen. Beigh had no win-loss record, but had two saves with a 3.37 ERA. In 26.2 innings Beigh allowed 12 runs, 10 earned, on 26 hits and 11 walks, and struck out 20. He left the Pirates after the season and was a walk-on as a tight end on the Purdue Boilermakers. Beigh returned to baseball briefly in 2007 during a stint with the Traverse City Beach Bums of the independent Frontier League.
Jeff Droll ('94, P) turns 42. Signed by the White Sox as a free agent out of the Milwaukee Brewers organization, Droll made 12 appearances out of the bullpen before a call up to South Bend. He went 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA, allowing 11 runs, 9 earned, on 24 hits and struck out 22 in 21 innings. Droll pitched at South Bend through 1995 before leaving pro baseball.
TRANSACTIONS:
Bill Richardson ('10-'12, manager) was tabbed by the Los Angeles Angels to manage the team's rookie league affiliate at Orem.
Todd Redmond ('06, P) was designated for assignment by the Cincinnati Reds.
CARIBBEAN WORLD SERIES:
Jose Castillo ('00, IF) had an RBI single in the fourth inning to give Venezuela a 2-0 in its opening game against the Dominican Republic. But the Domincans rebounded and took a 7-2 win in the first-game of the six game, round-robin format.
Carlos Rivera ('99, 1B) went 0-for-4 during Puerto Rico's 3-0 loss to Mexico in their first game of the series.
COLLEGE RESULTS:
Chris Hernandez ('04, P/ pitching coach Cal State Los Angeles) Cal Baptist 11 CSLA 10 (0-1).
Pete Pryor ('96, 1B)/ assistant coach Sacramento City College) Fresno City College 6 SCC 1 (0-1).
Friday, February 1
Birthdays:
Mike Barnett ('96 hitting coach) turns 54. The Columbus, OH native was a member of Chris Cron's staff for one season. After one more season in the White Sox system, Barnett had three seasons as the hitting coach at AAA- Tucson (Arizona) before joining the Toronto Blue Jays in the same capacity from 2002 to 2005. He served in the same role at Kansas City for three years (2006-2008). After two years (2009-2010) as the minor league hitting coordinator for the Houston Astros, he joined the big league club for the past two seasons. Barnett was recently named the minor league hitting coordinator with Toronto.
Serguey Linares ('07-'08, P) turns 30. The Cuban defector was signed by the Pirates in 2006 and joined the Crawdads for parts of the next two seasons. Linares was dominant in his first season with Hickory, sporting a 1-0 mark with a 1.61 ERA in four starts before he was promotoed to High A- Lynchburg. Later that season, he became one of three Crawdads to be selected for the Futures Game in the same season that he pitched for Hickory. Linares suffered an arm injury later that season, which led to his return to Hickory in 2008. Pitching out of the bullpen, Linares could not regain the touch he had in 2007, going 0-2 with a save and a 9.00 ERA in 15 games spanning 26 innings. Walks were Linares' biggest problem as he issued 23 to go with 34 hits allowed. The Pirates released him after that season. He was signed by the Mets, but Linares did not appear with the team and his since retired.
Jeff Miller ('02, P) turns 33. Selected in the 15th round by the Pirates in 2001 out of the University of New Orleans, Miller had a productive season for the SAL champs in 2002. Splitting time between the bullpen and the starting rotation, in 31 games, 15 starts, Miller went 13-5 with four saves and a 3.75 ERA. His 13 wins are 9th overall in club history and second in a season. In 103.1 innings, he allowed 100 hits and 28 walks while striking out 75. Miller worked up the organizational ladder with the Pirates the next three seasons, reaching the AAA level at Indianapolis in 2005. He then pitched at AAA- Fresno (San Francisco) in 2006 before closing out his career at Newark in the independent Atlantic League in 2007.
Josh Shortslef ('03-'04, P) turns 31. Picked by the Pirates in the 6th round of the 2000 draft out of Hannibal (NY) High, Shortslef rebounded from a tough first season to play a main role for the Crawdads in their 2004 championship season. After sporting an 0-5 record with a 7.50 ERA in 2003, Shortslef split time as a starter and reliver in 2004. In 30 games, 18 as a starter, Shortslef went 11-5 with a 4.34 ERA. He struck out 92 batters, walked 38 and allowed 134 hits in 124.1 innings. His 11 wins tie him for 8th most for a season in club history. Shortslef also proved to be adept as a field, as he is 2nd in club history in fielding pct. by a pitcher (36 errorless chances). Shortslef pitched the next season at High A- Lynchburg, then for three seasons at AA- Altoona, where he made the Eastern League all-star team in 2008. He spent one more season at AA- Reading (Philadelphia) in 2009 before calling it quits. Shortslef is now an assistant coach at Onondaga Community College in NY.
Transactions:
Ray Navarrete ('01, UT) signed to play with Long Island in the independent Atlantic League.
Thursday, January 31
Birthday:
Fred Kendall ('93-'94 manager) turns 64. The former major league catcher and native of Torrance, CA joined the Crawdads as the team's first manager after a season with the White Sox short-season team at Utica. After a 52-88 season in the team's inaugural season, Kendall turned things around in 1994 and lead the team to its first playoff berth after an 86-54 campaign, for which he received the nod as the South Atlantic League's Manager of the Year. Kendall stayed with the White Sox organization as the manager at South Bend during the 1995 season, then joined the Detroit Tigers as that team's bullpen coach for four seasons (1996-1999). He served in the same capacity with Colorado for three seasons, and then was the Rockies catching coordinator through 2005. His last two years in baseball were at Kansas City as the Royals bench coach in 2006-2007.
Eddie Pearson ('93, 1B) turns 39. The big first baseman joined the Crawdads the next spring after his selection as the first round pick by the White Sox out of Bishop St. CC (AL). Pearson picked up the first-ever hit at L.P. Frans Stadium in 1993. For the season, Pearson hit .242 with 15 doubles, four HRs and 40 RBI in 87 games. He struggled in the field, collecting 12 errors in 64 games at 1B, which is still 9th overall in team history. Pearson remained in the White Sox system through the 1998 system when he reached the AAA-level at Calgary. He played in Korea for a season, then hopped around various Mexican League and independent league stops over the next six seasons. He last played for Tijuana in the Mexican League in 2005. Pearson was named the Northern League player of the year in 2003 when he split the season between the league's entrants at St. Paul and Kansas City.
Transactions:
Matt Capps ('04-'05, P) signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. He pitched the last three seasons with the Minnesota Twins.
Derek Hankins ('05, P) signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. He pitched the past two seasons with AAA- Round Rock in the Texas Rangers system.
Cody Buckel ('11, P) and Nick Tepesch ('11, P) were added to the Rangers spring training roster as non-roster invites.
Wednesday, January 30
Birthdays:
Bob Henley ('02, DH) turns 40. The former major league catcher with the Montreal Expos in 1998 played in one game with Hickory in 2002 after signing with the Pirates as a free agent. Henley went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. He rejoined the Expos in 2003 as a manager in their system over the next seven seasons. Henley is currently the Washington Nationals Field Coordinator.
MLB.COM TOP 100 PROSPECTS NAMED:
MLB.com announced its top 100 major league prospects for the 2013 season. The list, which was released Tuesday evening, has five former Crawdads, including two from last season.
At the top of the list is uber-phenom Jurickson Profar ('11, SS). The 20-year old native of Curaco, who made his debut with the Texas Rangers last season, was named the top prospect by 70% of the scouts polled by mlb.com.
Shortstop Luis Sardinas (#84) and catcher Jorge Alfaro (#88) , teammates from the 2012 Crawdads squad were placed on the list. Also named were pitchers Cody Buckel ('11, #87) and Martin Perez ('09, #95)
Tuesday, January 29
Birthdays:
Zac Oliver ('08, P) turns 26. Selected by the Pirates in the 16th round in 2007 out of Paris CC (TX), Oliver had a brief stint with the Crawdads. In four starts, Oliver went 1-1 with a 5.21 ERA and allowed 11 runs on 15 hits in 19 innings. He suffered an arm injury while with Hickory and did not pitch professionally again.
Eloy Tellez ('98, P) turns 37. The El Paso, Tex. native joined the Crawdads two seasons after his selection by the White Sox in the 28th round of the 1996 draft out of El Paso CC. In four games out of the pen, Tellez allowed six runs on 11 hits (two homers) over 5.1 innings. He returned to Bristol (rookie) the remainder of the season, then finished his career in 1999 with Rio Grande of the independent Texas-Louisiana League.