Snappers Announce Third Base Deck Special for 2008
With the success from last season's Wednesday and Thursday night All-You-Can-Eat & Drink specials, the Snappers will be providing the same service at ALL 70 home games for the upcoming 2008 season! This year's offer will take place in the same location at the Hooter's Party Pit located at the Miller High Life Bullpen Deck (third base side).
"Last year the third base deck special was huge for us," said Assistant General Manager Riley Gostisha. "By the end of the season it was filling up on a regular basis. We expect to see the same kind of reaction this year, especially with it being offered every single game. 2008 should be another exciting season for us and we are getting pumped up for opening day."
The High Life Bullpen Deck Special runs $25 per ticket ($22 in advance) and includes the following:
- Menu consisting of: Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Brats, Chips, Peanuts, Pepsi Products, and Select Draft Beer!
- General Admission Ticket
The High Life Bullpen Deck is limited to 80 people per game. Next year there are ALREADY six games sold out! Call now to make sure you reserve your spot for the hottest ticket in town! Groups of 25 or more can order by phone at 608-362-2272, website at The Official Website of the Beloit Snappers, or stop by Pohlman Field located at 2301 Skyline Drive in Beloit. Individual game tickets, including the High Life Bullpen Deck, DO NOT go on sale until March 3rd.
The Beloit Professional Baseball Association, Inc. will be hosting their fourth annual Winter Hot Stove Banq uet on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at the Country Club of Beloit. The banquet will feature the new President of Minor League Baseball Pat O'Conner, former Twins General Manager Terry Ryan, and Snappers 2008 Pitching Coach Gary Lucas. Appearances are subject to change.
Tickets for the Winter Hot Stove Banquet are $20 for adults and $13 for children (12 and under). The ticket includes a sit down dinner, with dessert, catered by the Country Club of Beloit, and a general admission ticket voucher good for the 2008 Snappers regular season. To order by phone call 608-362-2272 or stop by Pohlman Field located at 2301 Skyline Drive in Beloit.
The Cedar Rapids Kernels begin their seventh season in Veterans Memorial Stadium on Monday, April 7th at noon against the Quad City River Bandits and tickets for that game and the rest of the 2008 home games go on sale Tuesday, March 18th at 10 am.
Tickets can be ordered by phone at (319) 896-7560, on-line at Cedar Rapids Kernels Professional Baseball , or in person at the Kernels Ticket Office at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Ticket office hours will be 10 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday and 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday.
Ticket prices for the 2008 season remain the same as 2007: $9 for Premier seats; $8 for Club seats; $7 for Plaza seats; and $6 for Lawn seats.
The Kernels Bimm Ridder Diamond Shop, located at Veterans Memorial Stadium, re-opens for the season on March 18. Shop hours are 10 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday and 10 and 2 pm on Saturdays.
Cedar Rapids starts the 2008 Midwest League season on the road at Clinton on Thursday, April 3.
Augusta, GA - The GreenJackets coaching staff will have a new skipper at the helm in 2008, but a familiar face when the season starts in April. Andy Skeels has been tabbed by the San Francisco Giants to run their Single-A team in Augusta. Also returning to Augusta is Pitching Coach Ross Grimsley. New to the coaching staff for Augusta in 2008 will be Hitting Coach Lipso Nava and trainer Eric Ortega.
"We are real excited about the staff this year," GreenJackets General Manager Nick Brown said. "Andy and Ross are two guys we are more than happy to welcome back because of their professionalism and track record for success over the years in Augusta."
Skeels is returning to Augusta for a third straight year after spending the last two years as the Hitting Coach under former manager Roberto Kelly. With 16 teams in the South Atlantic League, Skeels guided Augusta batters to the seventh best batting average in the SAL in 2007 (.264) and the third best in 2006 (.271) as the hitting coach.
"I'm very excited to be back in Augusta and really looking forward to the season." Skeels said. "We have a lot of young players that the fans are really going to enjoy watching. Hopefully we can continue to do a lot of the same things we have been doing over the past few years."
Skeels is entering his third season in the Giants organization but is no stranger to managing. Before joining the Giants organization, the California native spent three seasons in the Montreal Expos organization with two seasons as a manager. Drafted in the 7th round of the 1987 draft by the Padres, Skeels played 12 seasons in the minors with the Padres, Yankees and Dodgers (1987-1999).
Grimsley begins his 10th season in the Giants minor league system and his fourth straight with the GreenJackets. Grimsley's pitching staff posted the lowest ERA (3.02) in all of minor league baseball in 2007. The Augusta pitching staff also set a season high mark for most shutouts in a single season with 18. Augusta also tied for most shutouts in all of minor league baseball in 2007 with its 18.
An 11 year Major League veteran, Grimsley pitched with the Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos and Cleveland Indians from 1971-1982. Grimsley has pitched in three League Championship Series' (1972, 1973, and 1974), one World Series (1972) and one All-Star Game (1978). Grimsley recorded double figure wins in eight of his 11 big league season and finished with a career mark of 124-99 with a 3.81 ERA in 345 appearances.
Nava enters his first season in the Giants organization and first as the GreenJackets hitting coach. Nava spent the 2007 season as the hitting coach for the independent Newark Bears where he guided the club to a league-record .302 batting average on their way to a 2007 Atlantic League Championship.
Drafted in the 14th round of the 1990 draft by the Seattle Mariners, Nava played in the Mariners organization through the 1994 season. Nava signed with the Red Sox in 1995 and spent the 1997 season in the Cubs organization. Nava played 17 seasons in the minors making it as high as Triple-A Iowa in the Cubs organization in 1997. Nava also played for the Bears, Somerset Patriots and Camden Riversharks in the Atlantic League.
Ortega comes to Augusta after spending the last two seasons as the trainer for the Arizona Giants. This will be Ortega's third season in the Giants organization. The California native is certified by the National Athletic Trainer's Association and played two season of collegiate baseball for the CSU-Sacramento.
The GreenJackets will open the 2008 season at home on Thursday, April 3 with a four game series against Greensboro. The home stand will finish on Sunday, April 6; one day before The Masters first practice round will begin. It is the first time since the 2003 season that the GreenJackets will open at home before The Masters.
After a ten-day auction, the battle for Miss Babe Ruth's collar is over and her charity of choice is $290 richer.
Babe, one of the mascots for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, has spent the past two seasons entertaining fans by retrieving bats, taking balls to the umpire, running the bases and stealing the hearts of young and old alike.
The game-used collar from her rookie season was placed on eBay January 7 with an opening bid of $25. Thirty-nine bids later, the piece of Hoppers history was won by a resident of the Triad.
"We are so fortunate to have such great support in our community," said Grasshoppers President and General Manager Donald Moore. "It is an amazing donation for charity and we had a good time doing it."
All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Animal Rescue and Foster Program of Greensboro.
The Grasshoppers have welcomed over 1,250,000 fans to First Horizon Park, becoming the only Class A team in the history of Minor League Baseball to draw over 400,000 fans and grow its attendance for three straight years in a new ballpark. They are the proud recipients of both the South Atlantic League's Club Merit Award and the General Manager of the Year Award for the past three years.
Season tickets and advertising packages are now on sale for the 2008 season. For more information, please contact the Grasshoppers office at 336.268.BALL or visit Greensboro Grasshoppers :: Welcome.
Grand Prairie, Texas - The Grand Prairie AirHogs of the American Association have announced the signing of five new players: lefthanded pitchers Jason Furrow and Donald Furrow and infielders Paul Bartolucci, Gene Filyaw and Brandon Revis. The AirHogs' roster now stands at 15 players for the upcoming season.
Jason Furrow, a native of Adelaide, Australia, will be entering his sixth season of professional baseball. Last season, the 23-year-old made two appearances for Florence of the Frontier League and six for Texas of the Continental League, where he went 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. Furrow spent 2006 with Traverse City of the Frontier League, putting together a superb season, going 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA in 28 appearances, striking out 41 hitters in 47 innings of work.
Originally an 18th-round draft pick by Baltimore in the 2003 draft, Furrow spent three years in the Orioles' system. A workhorse as both a starter and a reliever, he finished second in the short-season Appalachian League with 13 starts for Bluefield in 2004.
Donald Furrow will be starting his second season of professional baseball after playing collegiately at Texas Christian University and at Weatherford Junior College. He pitched alongside twin brother Jason for Texas of the Continental League in 2007, going 1-0 with a 3.65 ERA in ten appearances for the Heat, earning two saves.
At Texas Christian in 2007, Furrow earned three victories in 19 appearances, registering one save and striking out 39 hitters in 39.1 innings pitched, as the team went 48-14 and earned a berth in NCAA Regional play. In 2006, he was one of the top relievers for the Horned Frogs, posting a 2.25 ERA out of the bullpen en route to a 2-0 record in 18 appearances. At Weatherford, Furrow was a first-team all-conference selection as a freshman and was named to the all-region team as a freshman and sophomore.
Both Donald and Jason attended Judson High in Converse, Texas.
A longtime player in independent baseball, Bartolucci last played professionally in 2003 for the Sioux City Explorers of the Northern League, where he hit .255 with 19 RBI in 53 games. It was the fifth professional season for the native of Thousand Oaks, Calif., as he split time between Joliet and Gary of the Northern League in 2002. In 2001, the shortstop was also in the Northern with Sioux Falls, and hit .244 with seven doubles and 43 runs scored.
Bartolucci spent the 1999 and 2000 seasons with Evansville of the Frontier League, putting together a .310 average in 2000, slugging 17 doubles and stealing 17 bases. He had another solid season in 1999, hitting .280 in 80 games for the Otters.
The 31-year-old played college baseball at the University of Nevada and at Los Angeles Harbor College.
Filyaw comes to the AirHogs after playing collegiately at Southern (La.) University. In 2006, his senior season, the Jasper, Texas, native hit .320 with seven doubles and 19 RBI for the Jaguars, following up a 2005 campaign where he put together a .319 average, 11 doubles and four home runs in 48 games for the Southwestern Conference powerhouse. Prior to Southern, Filyaw played at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas.
The second baseman was originally chosen by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 27th round of the 2002 draft out of Jasper High School, but did not sign.
A teammate of Filyaw's at Southern, Revis had an excellent senior season for the Jaguars in 2006, starting 45 of the squad's 46 games, hitting .323, driving in 23 runs and stealing 21 bases. In 2005, the shortstop had a .338 average with 29 RBI and 17 steals, was named Southwestern Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and was selected to the Black College Baseball Elite first team. The Houston native also hit .304 in 21 games as a sophomore in 2004.
The Grand Prairie AirHogs' inaugural American Association season starts on May 8, 2008, with the home opener on Friday, May 16, against the Wichita Wingnuts at their brand-new stadium located at Lone Star Park. For season and group ticket information, contact the AirHogs at (972) 504-9383.
ST. PAUL, MN (January 18, 2008) - Leave it to Bud Selig to ruin his own retirement party. Despite signing a three-year contract extension Thursday, to remain commissioner of Major League Baseball, the St. Paul Saints are going forth with their retirement party for the commissioner during the 2008 season.
Commissioner Selig made it known back in 2006 that once his contract was up at the end of 2009 he planned to call it quits. "My contract is going to be over. I'm going to be 75 years of age. I want to teach - I've already had some great offers - and want to write a book," Selig said. "I think that will be enough. There's no question, because there are other things I really would like to do."
` Thursday's extension will keep Selig in office through 2012.
The Saints had planned to be the first team to throw him a retirement party, planning an event during the 2008 baseball season. "The Commissioner has played a major role in many famous Saints promotions over the last decade and we wanted to make sure we were the first team to honor him," said Saints Executive Vice President and General Manager Derek Sharrer.
In 2002, less than 24 hours following the Commissioner's decision to end the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in a 7-7 stalemate, the Saints gave away neckties with a caricature of Selig. Later that summer, the club gave away seat cushions with the likeness of Selig and union president Donald Fehr during Major League labor negotiations.
This past season, the Saints gave fans the chance to be "suspender-ed" by the Commissioner during "Being Jason Giambi Night." Fans entering the ballpark had a choice between being probed by Senator George Mitchell (and being registered in a drawing for a Ford Probe), or receiving suspenders with Selig's likeness. ESPN The Magazine named the event "Promotion of the Year."
With a retirement party already scheduled on the club's promotional calendar for July 15, 2008, the Saints plan on going through with the event. The commissioner will be honored with gifts ranging from a cane and rocking chair to a gift certificate to his favorite restaurant for the early bird special. He's likely to receive fishing equipment, golf clubs and a trip to Florida to check out a retirement community.
"Apparently, Commissioner Selig wasn't ready to retire, despite his repeated comments to the contrary," said Sharrer. "Unfortunately, we had the night set on our promotional schedule, so we're planning to celebrate with or without him."
It looks like the Saints will be celebrating without him, however. July 15, the scheduled date of the promotion, also happens to be the night of the 2008 MLB All-Star Game.
It is still more than three months until the Pelicans Opening Day on May 8 and yet the Pelicans are already hitting the field with local high school athletes. The Pelicans Training Academy High School Developmental Camp kicks off on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
The Developmental Camp is for high school aged players who did not make their respective school's team. The purpose of the camp is to give the players another option to continue to practice and play games.
"Once kids reach the high school level, cuts have to be made. Teams can only carry a limited number of players," said Pelicans Manager Mac Seibert. "Our camp gives these kids a place to play and improve their skills for next season's tryouts."
Eight-year professional player and Pelicans Pitching Coach Pete Della Ratta will be the lead instructor of the camp. He and other guest coaches will focus on fundamentals, skill improvements, and how to prepare for next year's tryouts. Additionally, the athletes will participate in strength and conditioning training.
"Our goal is to have a player go through our camp and then make his high school team the next year," added Seibert. "We've spoken to the high school coaches and have their support on this program."
Practices will be on Tuesday nights at the Pelicans Training Academy on Davis Highway and games will be played on Saturdays at Gulf Breeze High School. The length of the camp will mirror the high school season, beginning on Jan. 22 and running through April.
Knotts And Brownlie Receive Big League Camp Invites
Newark, NJ, Jan. 18-The 2007 Atlantic League Champion-Newark Bears Professional Baseball Club announced today that two of the club's former players, right-handed pitchers Gary Knotts and Bobby Brownlie, have received invitations to Major League spring training camps after signing contracts this winter.
Knotts, who has four years of big league experience with the Florida Marlins and Detriot Tigers, re-signed this winter with the Philadelphia Philles, the same club that purchased his contract from the Bears last July. In 2007 with the Bears, Knotts threw 108.2 innings, stuck out 86 batters, and posted a 7-5 record with a 2.65 ERA in 16 starts. The veteran right-hander had the lowest ERA in the Atlantic League last year, and also led the team in strikeouts.
After signing with the Phillies, the 2007 Atlantic League All-Star, combined to go 2-4 with a 3.23 ERA and 2 shutouts in 6 starts combined for Double-A Reading and Triple-A Ottawa.
Brownlie, the Monroe, NJ resident and former Edison High School and Rutgers University standout, will report to the Washington Nationals for a shot to join the Major League club for the 2008 season. Last year the Bears sold Brownlie's contract to the Cleveland Indians in July and he went on to finish out the season in Double-A, where he posted a 1-2 record and 3.17 ERA in 9 appearances (8 starts) with Akron.
In 2007 with the Bears, Brownlie posted an 8-4 record with a 3.41 ERA in 14 starts, tying for the team-lead in victories. In 89.2 innings pitched, he struck out 79 batters and walked only 26. Brownlie was the starting pitcher for the North Division in the 2007 Atlantic League All-Star Game and threw one inning of shutout ball.
"Both Gary and Bobby were extremely important pieces to our championship puzzle last season, and we were very proud to have helped them return to affiliated baseball," said Bears Assistant General Manager of Baseball Operations Jim Cerny. "Now we all hope that they both can take the next step---Gary back to the major leagues and Bobby to reach the bigs---in 2008."
The Newark Bears will begin their tenth season at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium on Tuesday, April 29 against the Bridgeport Bluefish. Fans attending all home games may park in the spacious parking garage located behind the wall in right field. For more information and up-to-date news on the Bears, log on to the team's official website newarkbears.com: Home or call 1-866-55-4BEAR.
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