Sea Dogs Announce 2016 Hall of Fame Inductees

Portland, Maine - The Portland Sea Dogs, in conjunction with Unum, have announced that former Sea Dog and current St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Brandon Moss and former Sea Dogs manager Todd Claus are the 2016 inductees into the Unum Portland Sea Dogs Hall of Fame.

Moss was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the eighth round of the 2002 June Draft out of Loganville High School in Loganville, Georgia. He appeared in 268 games for the Sea Dogs in 2005 and 2006 and hit .277 with 28 home runs, 144 RBI, 67 doubles, 7 triples, 163 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases.

"Obviously any time you're inducted into anything like that it is a huge honor," Moss said. "The memories from that year are great because of the playoffs and winning the championship and, you know, it's crazy to me that it's been 10 years because time really flies."

Moss was integral in the Sea Dogs' run to the 2006 Eastern League Championship, hitting .361 with 5 home runs, 10 RBI, and 9 runs scored in 9 playoff games. In game four of the Northern Division Championship Series against the Trenton Thunder, Moss threw out J.T. Stotts at home plate in the top of the ninth inning to preserve a tie, and then hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th to send the Sea Dogs to the Eastern League Championship. After the playoffs he was named the 2006 Eastern League Playoff MVP.

Moss led the 2005 Sea Dogs in runs scored (87), hits (135), total bases (222), and games played (T-135). He led the 2006 Sea Dogs in runs scored (76), hits (145), doubles (36), triples (T-3), total bases (223), and games played (133). Moss currently ranks in the top 10 of Sea Dogs all-time franchise record holders in career hits, runs scored, RBI, total bases, and doubles.

Moss made his major league debut with the Red Sox on August 6, 2007. He appeared in 15 games with Boston in 2007 and 34 games in 2008 before being traded on July 31st, 2008, along with Craig Hansen to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the three-team deal that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers and brought Jason Bay to the Red Sox.

In 2014, Moss was an American League All-Star with the Oakland A's and hit .234/.334/.438 with 25 home runs, 81 RBI, 23 doubles, and 70 runs scored in 147 games.

Claus led the Sea Dogs to appearances in the Eastern League Championship Series in each of his two seasons as Sea Dogs manager, capturing the 2006 Eastern League Championship. Following the 2006 season, Claus was honored by Baseball America as their Minor League Manager of the Year.

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Sea Dogs Hall of Fame Announcement
August 26, 2016
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"I'm honored and humbled at the same time," Claus said. "I attribute it a lot to the players."

Claus combined for a career record of 148-133 (.527) in his two seasons at the helm for Portland. Following the 2006 season, Claus joined the Red Sox scouting department. After serving as one of the Red Sox advance scouts who were credited with helping the Red Sox to a World Series title in 2007, Claus accepted a position as assistant baseball coach at the University of Jacksonville, where he served for two seasons. In 2010, Claus rejoined the Red Sox staff as Latin American Coordinator and International Crosschecker, a position he still holds today.

The Portland Sea Dogs Hall of Fame was established in 2005. Moss and Claus join Josh Beckett, John Boles, Dan Burke, Bob Ganley, Adrian Gonzalez, Fredi Gonzalez, Livan Hernandez, Charles Johnson, Mark Kotsay, Kevin Millar, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Mike Redmond, Edgar Renteria, Bill Troubh, Carlos Tosca, and Kevin Youkilis 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 10 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.