Mike Redmond and Bill Troubh Enshrined into Portland Sea Dogs Hall of Fame
"It is an unbelievable honor for me, as I have a lot of great memories of Portland, and I played with some great players," said Redmond of the honor.
"Charlie (Eshbach) and the Burkes were such a special part of not only my life but a lot of the players that I played with. They took great care of us."
Redmond spent parts of three seasons (1995-1996, 1998) with the Sea Dogs appearing in 233 games including a franchise record 231 games behind the plate. He posted a .274 career average with the Sea Dogs with 87 runs scored, 37 doubles, eight home runs, and 90 RBI.
Signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Florida Marlins on August 18, 1992, Redmond joined the Portland Sea Dogs in 1995 when he was 23 years old. In his first season with Portland, Redmond hit .255 with three home runs and 39 RBI at the plate.
However, it was his defensive prowess behind the plate that separated Redmond from the rest, as he led all Eastern League catchers with 95 putouts and threw out 45.1% of all runners trying to steal in his first season with the Sea Dogs in 1995. Redmond led the league by starting 119 games at catcher on his way towards posting a .996 fielding percentage, including a streak of 34 consecutive games without an error.
The defensive excellence Redmond displayed while in Portland translated to the Majors, as he holds the Major League Baseball record with 253 consecutive errorless games as a catcher. He appeared in 764 Major League games in a big league career that spanned 13 years with the Florida Marlins, Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians posting a .287 career Major League batting average. In 1999 the Marlins awarded Redmond the Charlie Hough Good Guy Award. Redmond also earned a World Series ring with the Marlins in 2003.
Redmond was unable to attend the induction ceremony. "I would have loved to been there to receive the award, but this will be the first time that I'm able to drive my kids to school on their first day."
A lifelong resident of Portland, Bill Troubh was a founding member of "Citizens for Portland, Maine Baseball". Bill led the crusade to bring professional baseball back to Portland after an absence of more than 40 years. His persistence paid off when the city was awarded a franchise and the Portland Sea Dogs took the field in 1994. Bill has practiced law in Maine for over 35 years and was a founding member of Troubh Heisler, Attorneys at Law. Troubh has served as the Sea Dogs legal counsel since the teams' inception.
Bill has enjoyed extensive participation with State government and the City of Portland, having served nine years on the Portland City Council; including two terms as Mayor. Bill served six years as President of the Eastern League of Professional Baseball from 1997 through 2002 and was inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
"It is a great thrill for me, it is certainly an honor, and I am very humbled by the selection," said Troubh on his enshrinement into the Sea Dogs Hall of Fame.
The Portland Sea Dogs Hall of Fame was established in 2005. Redmond and Troubh join John Boles, Bob Ganley, Fredi Gonzalez, Livan Hernandez, Charles Johnson, Mark Kotsay, Kevin Millar, Edgar Renteria, and Carlos Tosca as members of the Unum Portland Sea Dogs Hall of Fame.
To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, players must have debuted with the Sea Dogs at least ten years ago and have had success in Portland and beyond. Each inductee is presented a plaque for their accomplishment. In addition, plaques of the Hall of Fame members are displayed in the Hadlock Field concourse. Fans can also visit the Sea Dogs Hall of Fame section online at www.seadogs.com.
The Portland Sea Dogs continue their final homestand of the season Wednesday night at 7:00 PM against the Binghamton Mets at Hadlock Field. The Sea Dogs 2010 campaign concludes on Monday, September 6th at 1:00 PM against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Tickets are available for all remaining games. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Sea Dogs Ticket Office at 207-879-9500 or order online at www.seadogs.com. The Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are Maine's most affordable professional sports entertainment.