Coaching musings on an early spring day

As a Cincinnati Reds Fan, no one is as pumped as me to have Bret Boone at the helm of the Victoria Seals this year. In fact, I am secretly hoping that - with the new no-DH rule and limited rosters - he one day "accidentally" manages to exhaust all his players and in a final double substitution, inserts himself into the game at second base. Just like that famous player-manager of old - Peter Edward Rose - I'd love to to see Bret step up to the plate in any situation. I dare ya' to throw that cheese at him now, meat. Go on, I dare ya!

And as I adjust the elastic on my Chris Sabo-like glasses, I can't help but ponder who Boonie will pull in as Pitching Coach. There are rumours that it may be an ex- MLB player so my mind starts whirring. Gus speculated earlier how cool it would be if it were Randy Johnson but not sure the Big Unit would be ready yet for prime time. Reporters would just have to keep their heads up for fear of that sparkling personality shining its way through his fist (watch out Cleve!). I'm guessing though, that it would be some other guy out there who Boone played with in Seattle or Cincy.

Since I have never been hindered by the facts, let me speculate. OK, I lied earlier, I'll start with the Big Unit! What a great way to break into coaching by jumping into independent baseball. I mean, I doubt there are networks beating down his door to get him on the air and we all know he loved the game by how long he stuck around (effectively, I might add). It's unlikely though, so let's move on to Cincy. What about a guy like John "Guy" Smiley? He pitched with Boone in the mid-90's when the Reds hovered around .500 and his career was sadly ended early with a broker humerus. He's gotta' be itching to get back. Plus, he was born on St Patrick's day so what a lucky charm to have along! Or better yet, what about a guy like Mike Remlinger. He also played with Boonie on the Reds and was then part of a trade with Boone to the Braves in 1999 for Denny Neagle. I mean, you play beside and get traded with the guy, and then make it to the World Series with the Braves...could build a lifelong bond, no? Maybe they've stayed as pen-pals all these years? Well, what do you say? Anyone got any better thoughts while I am loading my Remlinger-2010?

Tijuana Cimarrones to play in largest ballpark in the minors

The Tijuana Cimmarrones, one of the two new expansion franchises in the Golden Baseball League, have officially signed a lease to play the 2010 season in the 18,000 seat Estadio de Beisbol Calimax (formerly known as the Estadio Nacional de Tijuana).  Not only will this be the largest ballpark in the GBL, but it will also be the largest in the entire minor leagues.

The Victoria Seals will make their only visit to Tijuana for a three-game set between July 30th and August 1st.  Did I hear anyone say "roadtrip"?!?

Bret Boone quotes of interest

It's pretty clear that Bret Boone will be the most colourful sports figure in Victoria this year -- if not in the city's entire sports history.  Adjectives like "brash", "opinionated" and "outspoken" fail to adequately describe him.  To get a better idea of just how much fun it will be to have Boonie holding court at Royal Athletic Park this summer, check out the following quotes.

All of these quotes were uttered by "The Boone" himself:

• “I don't know where my brain was. Somewhere it never was before. Well, I'm back from outer space.”
• “Everybody is playing like [doo doo].”
• “I'm not like Ichiro. I don't polish my glove every day.”
• “Usually when I don't talk to him too much, it's a good thing.”
• “I played this game too long and did a lot of good things to go out like that. I played my way out and I didn't want to go out that way. I wanted to go out on my own terms.”
• “He's still playing, and I'm not?”

Obviously he's quite a character... but don't take my word for it.  Consider the quotes from those who know him well:

• “I don’t know if it’s a good memory or a bad one,” Ichiro Suzuki said. “But when I first came over to play in the United States, I had had a few teammates from the U.S. who had played on my team in Japan. So I had somewhat of an idea of what American players would be like.  But when I met him, he was kind of a human being that you would never meet in Japan. So, whenever I was around him, I almost felt like I was witnessing a creature, not a human being. It was fun for me to watch him.” - Ichiro, speaking about his recollections of Bret Boone.
• “I thought (Bret Boone) was the all-time greatest, but (Pedroia) tops him by far. I’ve never, ever seen anyone talk as much (crap) as he does.” - Mike Cameron on the best trash talker of all-time, Dustin Pedroia.
• "Bret Boone is either the most likeable cocky guy I've ever met, or the cockiest likeable guy." - Jim Caple, ESPN.
• "What I do know is that few players have ever spoken as lovingly and intelligently about baseball as Boonie. You could sit next to his locker forever talking ball (as well as about how great a player Boone considered himself)." - Jim Caple, ESPN

By the way, there are only 57 days until the Seals' home opener.

Isaac Hess wins regular-season AAA debut in Mexico

Former Victoria Seals pitcher Isaac Hess won his AAA debut on Friday night by leading the Diablos Rojos del Mexico to a 10-6 win over the Acereros del Norte in the Mexican League. Hess made the "Red Devils"starting rotation out of spring training and was granted the team's third start of the young season. He gave up two earned runs and only four hits in his five innings of work, while walking two and striking out only one batter.

Hess breezed through the first four innings before surrendering two runs on a walk, single and triple in the fifth. Even though the Diablos were leading 10-2 after five innings, Hess was pulled after throwing only 72 pitches (43 of which were strikes).

After drawing a total of over 31,000 fans in their first two home games of the year, the Diablos "only" had 5,197 fans in attendance on Friday night. Even if he never appears in the big leagues, Mr. Hess has come a long way from his 2009 summer in Royal Athletic Park.

Bret Boone's impact on ticket sales

It's pretty obvious that Bret Boone will have a positive impact on ticket sales for the Victoria Seals. But here's an angle that may not have been readily apparent: Boonie (aka "The Boone") is so popular in the Pacific Northwest that we might just see a few more American visitors kicking around Royal Athletic Park this summer. Check out the post in the Mariners Blog on the Everett (Wa.) Herald web site:

Brace yourself Victoria, Boonie's coming back to the Northwest

By Kirby Arnold 

The Victoria Seals of the Golden Baseball League made an announcement today that brought a smile to my face.

It also brought back memories of a guy who was never afraid to poke as much fun at himself as he would teammates or, gulp, reporters. A guy who more than once ran through the clubhouse wearing nothing but a pair of chaps. A guy who played with as much passion as anyone I've run across in the game. A guy who couldn't corral his emotions on the day the Mariners let him go, when the end of his playing career became painfully apparant despite his intense desire to keep it alive.

Bret Boone, the guy who cried the day he left the Northwest when the Mariners released him, is coming back as manager of the Seals, the independent team in Victoria, B.C.

The Seals' season runs from May 21-Oct. 6, and I have a feeling this will be a perfect summer to take a ferry ride to Victoria.

Bret Boone brings baseball history to RAP

The date is August 19th 1992. Stepping onto the infield dirt of Baltimore’s Camden Yard, Bret Boone became part of Major League Baseball history. The Boone’s became the first three-generation family of baseball that day - Bret, his father Bob Boone, and his Grandfather Ray Boone had all started a game in the bigs. Only two other families can boast this amazing feat of genetics – the Bell’s (Gus, Buddy, David) did it three years later, and the Hairston’s (Sammy, Jerry, and Jerry Jr.) did it in 2000. As a footnote to the accomplishment, all three of the third generation boys have younger siblings who also made it to MLB - Bret’s brother Aaron, David Bell’s brother Mike, and Jerry Jr’s brother Scott.

Bret is best known around these parts however, from his time with the Seattle Mariners. Many Victoria baseball fans consider the Mariners their “home team”, and spend more than a couple weekends each year riding the ferries back and forth to Seattle to bask in the glory that is now Safeco field, and before that - the monstrosity that was the Kingdome.

Bret patrolled second base for the Mariners twice in his career, staring with the M’s in 1992 and playing in 109 games before being traded to the Reds for C Dan Wilson and P Bobby Ayala to start the 1994 campaign.

In 2001, Bret re-signed with the Mariners as a free agent. Already a Gold Glove winner and All-Star while with the Reds in 1998, Bret shone over his next 5 years as the Mariner’s second baseman winning 3 more gold gloves, and 2 American League Silver Slugger awards – a Solid Silver Louisville Slugger bat - an award given to the most productive player at each position based on batting average, RBI, and home runs. He played in 2 more All-Star games as a Mariner in 2001 and 2003. An extremely durable player, Bret would play 694 games for the M’s over the next 4 seasons, pounding out 770 hits with 127 home runs. He is currently ranked as one of the top 400 hitters of all time.

Baseball stats aside, while with the M’s Bret was also famous for showing off his collection of T-Shirts to the press based on the popular “Chicks dig the long ball” slogan. In fact he had many “Chicks dig” shirts in his collection, seemingly one for every occasion. One day after a game while proudly showing one off, Bret told the throng of reporters “I've got them (t-shirts) for every occasion. If I'm not playing, it says, ‘Chicks love the bench’”.

Personally I’m excited to have Bret on the field for 2010, and am looking forward to watching him grow as a manager. I’m also thinking it won't be long before a new item is added at the Seal’s souvenir stand this season – you better order your ‘Chicks Dig the Manager’ shirts before they sell out!

For a full look at Bret’s career stats, I’d suggest checking out his page at Baseball Almanac:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=boonebr01

Reaction to the Bret Boone signing

He leaned into the microphone and announced "Hockey season is over!!" And so began the stream of colourful quotes that is sure to become a trademark of the Bret Boone era as manager of the Victoria Seals.

Reaction to the announcement amongst the assembled media was unanimously positive. The three caballeros at the Victoria Seals Baseball Blog were also thrilled to learn that Bret Boone will be gracing the confines of Royal Athletic Park this summer. Not only are his baseball credentials impeccable (we'll publish a separate blog post summarizing his playing career), but we expect him to be a great ambassador for the game of baseball in this community.

After chatting with Boone for a few minutes, you can't help but get caught up in his enthusiasm for the game. He has been officially retired for less than two years and it's clear that he is looking for another challenge. As he said earlier today, "There is only so much golf you can play." Boone is using this season as a test run to see if managing has the potential to become a second career for him. As he himself mentioned, the Golden Baseball League season is only 3 1/2 months long, so the time commitment is much less than if he were to manage an affiliated minor-league team.

Boone suggested a couple of times this afternoon that he'll be an easy manager to play for. As a player, he was a rugged second-baseman who played the game with a lot of intensity. While I don't doubt that he'll be a "player's manager", I pity the poor guy who lolligags it to first base on a routine grounder. Ol' Boonie is likely to tear a strip off of him pretty good.

Boone has played for some pretty good skippers over the years, such as managing greats Davey Johnson, Bobby Cox and Lou Piniella. He expects that his managing style will take a little bit from each of those guys. Based on my observations this afternoon, I would expect him forge an identity all his own. Boone is a true maverick and he's not afraid to express his opinion. In a sports world full of athletes and managers who spout out meaningless clichés to reporters, he's a breath of fresh air. The sports writers in this city are going to have a lot of fun this summer during post-game interviews, because Boone is not afraid to speak his mind. So much so, that I wouldn't be shocked to see him run into trouble with the suits in the GBL office. Strap on your seat belts Victoria -- we're in for quite a ride!

Seal Blubber Bits

• The good news for Seals fans continues to mount.  Josh Arhart will be returning to Victoria for the 2010 season as a player-coach.  We'll be grunting "Arrrrrrrrrrhart" this summer after all!
• The remainder of the Victoria Seals coaching staff will be announced shortly. Boone suggested that he had a couple of old teammates in mind, but that nothing was official. Rumours were circulating this afternoon that the Seals new pitching coach was a well-known lefty who used to play with Boone in the majors. Randy Johnson played with him in Seattle in 1992 and 1993, but perhaps that's just wishful thinking on my part. Last season the Seals didn't even have a full-time pitching coach, so the team would be better off with any of Boone's old teammates.
• Boone will be using some of his baseball connections to help uncover talent for the Seals. His father, ex-major league catcher Bob Boone, is Assistant GM and VP of Player Development for the Washington Nationals.  John McLaren, the current bench coach in Washington and former manager of the Mariners, is another good baseball man who might be of assistance in helping Bret identify talent.
• I'd like to congratulate Darren and Russ Parker for engineering a signing of this magnitude -- especially in such a short period of time after the firing of Darrell Evans.  The Parkers know Boone from his playing days with the (now defunct) Calgary Cannons of the Pacific Coast League.  Boone played in Calgary for portions of 1992 and 1993 before getting called up by the Seattle Mariners.

The new Seals manager is... Bret Boone!

The Victoria Seals have just announced that former Seattle Mariner Bret Boone has been hired as the team's new manager. The announcement came less than a week after the team fired Darrell Evans.

Additional details to follow shortly...

Who will manage the Victoria Seals?

Now that the position of field manager of the Victoria Seals is vacant, I can't help but speculate on the name of Darrell Evans' replacement. A number of possibilities come to mind.

Teams in the GBL have a knack for selecting ex-big leaguers as managers. Not only does it help in recruiting players for an independent league team, but it provides the organization with instant credibility to baseball fans in the community. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues when the Seals select their new leader.

Perhaps it's just wishful thinking on my part, but the selection of a well-known ex-Expo or Blue Jay would create an instant buzz in Victoria. I'd be thrilled if someone like Gary Carter was selected. He has experience in the GBL, having led the Orange County Flyers to the 2008 GBL Championship. Unfortunately, he accepted the head coaching job at Palm Beach Atlantic University last fall.

Another ex-Expo that immediately comes to mind is Larry Walker. He hails from Maple Ridge BC and has even greater name recognition than Gary "Kid" Carter. Walker was the hitting coach for Team Canada at the 2009 World Baseball Classic, so it's not a stretch to imagine him managing a professional club. However, I find it unlikely that someone who has earned over $110M in his career would trade his retirement lifestyle to ride the buses (and planes) with an independent baseball team.

Another ex-big leaguer with Canadian connections is Ernie Whitt. He spent 12 seasons with the Jays and has significant managing experience, which includes piloting Team Canada in the 2004 Athens Olympics and in both World Baseball Classics. Whitt, an original Blue Jay, also served as a coach on that team from 2006-2008. He managed the Clearwater Threshers in the Florida State League (Advanced A) in 2009, but he's not returning to the club in 2010 and to the best of my knowledge is currently without a job in baseball. Whitt also has Canadian citizenship, so the Seals wouldn't have any visa worries if they were to select him.

Of course, the manager will likely be none of these men. Who knows who the successful candidate will be. We should find out very soon.

Isaac Hess playing in Mexican League

Ex-Seal Isaac Hess is currently participating in spring training for the Diablos Rojos del Mexico in the Mexican League.  This league is roughly AAA caliber and it's the highest level of professional baseball in North America that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Needless to say, it's a big step from the Golden Baseball League to the Mexican League. If anyone can make that jump in a single season, it's Isaac Hess.

It appears that Hess will start the season in the bullpen -- a fact that does not surprise this scribe in the least. He projects as a lefty out of the pen at higher levels of professional baseball and (provided a major-league team's legal department takes a chance on his artificial hip) it's a role he could eventually fill in the "show".

Hess is pictured below working out with the Diablos Rojos.  His new teammates include ex-big leaguers Duaner Sánchez, Héctor Carrasco, Yhency Brazobán, Oscar Robles and Manny Aybar.  Go get 'em, Zack!!

Seals to play two exhibition games in Kamloops

The Victoria Seals open the regular season on May 21st at Royal Athletic Park against the expansion Na Ikaika Koa Maui, but it won't be their first game of 2010 on Canadian soil. According to the Kamloops Daily News, the Seals will take on the Calgary Vipers at NorBrock Stadium in Kamloops in a pair of pre-season games on May 12th and 13th.

It's fairly well known that the Golden Baseball League would love to put an expansion team in Kamloops, since it's perfectly situated geographically as a stop-over between Victoria and Calgary/Edmonton. Having a team in Kamloops would bring the league one step closer to having a Canadian Division. If the exhibition games in Kamloops are well attended and a suitable owner can be found then it's likely that an expansion team will be granted to the city in time for the 2011 season. If it happens, the team will be the first professional baseball squad in the city's history.

Baseball Digest carries our podcast

Our Planet Hardball interview has been picked up by Baseball Digest. Check it out!

For a kid who had a stack of Baseball Digests in his bedroom growing up, this is a big deal.

The first Victoria Seal of 2010: Caonabo Cosme

On the same day the Victoria Seals announced that they were parting ways with manager Darrell Evans (and coach Dan DiPace), the team also announced that they had signed their first player for the 2010 season. That player is a 31-year-old Dominican, Caonabo Cosme.

Cosme started out in the Oakland A's organization back in 1997 as an 18-year-old shortstop. He has bounced around the minors, having spent time with the minor-league affiliates of the Cardinals, Yankees, Reds and Tigers. He has moved to third base late in his career, but he has also played a significant amount at second. 

Cosme suited up for his first season of independent baseball last year. He began 2009 on the roster of the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League, but was released on June 15th. He was immediately picked up by Calgary, but lost his job when the Vipers acquired Wilver Perez in an August 27th trade with the Victoria Seals.  The Golden Baseball League web site claims that Cosme was lost due to a season-ending injury, but given that Calgary only had three games remaining in their season, it's more likely that they were simply upgrading defensively at third base in preparation for the playoffs.

In 124 at-bats with the Vipers, Cosme hit an impressive .387 with 7 homers and 28 RBI and he posted a gaudy .621 slugging percentage. Although Cosme did not have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting race, his average and slugging percentage ranked second in the GBL, behind only league MVP Nelson Castro.

However, as his career .917 fielding percentage as a minor-league third baseman attests, he's no Brian Rios at the hot corner. If the Golden League hadn't dumped the Designated Hitter rule for 2010, he'd be a perfect candidate to fill that role. Given that the speed of his youth has long since departed (he hasn't stolen a base since 2007), he'll only be used sporadically in the middle infield and third base will have to be his regular position.

Now how many days until opening day?

[Update on March 27th: It now appears that Brian Rios will in fact return to the Seals for the 2010 season and Cosme will be used as a middle infielder]

Seals fire manager Darrell Evans

The Victoria Seals have fired manager Darrell Evans. Details are sketchy at this point, but the release of Evans is apparently as a result of him attempting to find employment with another team while drawing a salary from the Seals. At first blush, this seems pretty normal -- lots of people look into the possibility of finding another job while working for another employer. Methinks there are some (highly relevant) additional details that we don't know about right now.

In retrospect, the announcement isn't a total shock. I remember making the following observations about the Arizona and California Winter Leagues (AWL/CWL):

• Why are Darrell Evans and Dan DiPace involved in the fledgling California Winter League instead of participating in the Golden Baseball League's instructional league (the AWL)?
• Why is Darrell Evans always pictured on the CWL web site wearing the garb of the Long Beach Armada and he's never pictured wearing Victoria Seals gear? Check out the photo above (taken on February 26th following the Coachella Valley Snowbird's championship win) for an example.
• Why haven't the Seals signed any players out of the AWL? The two leagues are within driving distance of each other (165 miles separate Yuma AZ from Palm Springs CA).

Additional details can be found in the Times Colonist article written by Cleve Dheenshaw.

Eri Yoshida offered contract by Chico Outlaws

A total of 55 players out of the Arizona Winter League were offered professional contracts on Thursday, including Eri Yoshida. The 18-year-old Japanese knuckleballer was drafted by the Chico Outlaws and if she signs she'll be the first woman ever to play in the Golden Baseball League. Assuming she inks a deal, she will make two trips to Victoria this season -- July 26-28 and August 14-17. Mark those dates on your calendar and (if she signs) come on out to Royal Athletic Park to watch her take to the mound.

Eight of the ten teams in the Golden Baseball League drafted players out of the Arizona Winter League. The only two teams who did not take any of these players were the Victoria Seals and the Cimarrones De Tijuana. Seals manager Darrell Evans and his right-hand man, coach Dan DiPace, have been busy with the California Winter League (CWL) over the past month or so. Evans was league commissioner and the lead instructor. Now that the CWL season has wrapped up, we'll likely see the Seals sign some players out of that league. It just may take a while longer before any announcements are forthcoming.

Our interview on Planet Hardball

The three authors of this blog were recently interviewed by John Fitzgerald for a podcast on the Planet Hardball website.  In this interview, I provided some background on independent baseball and discussed my motivation for starting this blog.  We also recapped the inaugural season of the Victoria Seals.

You can listen to the interview here.

John Fitzgerald is an American TV / film producer and managing editor of Planet Hardball. In 2006, his documentary about baseball in Ireland - "The Emerald Diamond" - won the Critic's Choice Award at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. In 2008, he produced "Playing for Peanuts" - a TV series about independent minor league baseball. Planet Hardball is a blog dedicated to raising awareness of baseball being played around the world.

Seal Blubber Bits - Olympic edition

Here are a few tidbits to nibble on while you wait for the next Olympic hockey game to start:

• The 18-year-old female knuckleballer, Eri Yoshida, has hit her stride in the Arizona Winter League with the Yuma Scorpions. After a rough first outing plagued by wildness, the 5' 1" 114 lb right-hander has reeled off five good outings in her last six appearances. She even notched her first win on February 12th after pitching four scoreless innings against "Team Canada". Yoshida has only surrendered one earned run in her last 10 innings pitched and has lowered her ERA to 4.50. She has only given up 12 hits in 12 innings pitched while walking three and striking out three. Given her potential to sell a lot of tickets and GBL merchandise, there is a decent chance that she will land a contract with a GBL team when the Arizona Winter League wraps up in about a week's time (unless of course she completely falls apart). It will be interesting to see if the Victoria Seals will sign her for the reasons outlined in a previous post on this blog.
• Ex-Seal Isaac Hess is currently playing winter ball in Australia and he hopes to sign with a team in the Mexican League for the 2010 season. The Mexican League is roughly at the AAA level, although its teams are not affiliated with Major League Baseball -- a fact which may allow him to avoid liability concerns about his hip condition. Unless an adept lawyer can draft a bullet-proof waiver for Hess, the Mexican League may be the highest level of baseball that will sign him to a pro contract.
• Bob Keisser of the Long Beach Press-Telegram appears to be backtracking from the rant he published a couple of weeks ago that trashed the Golden Baseball League and independent baseball in general. It sounds like he received some negative feedback from readers and he also had a chat with league CEO David Kaval. His follow-up article can be found here.
• Only 91 more days until the Seals open their season at Royal Athletic Park!!

Jamar Hill signs with York Revolution for 2010

On September 20, we asked the question Are Jamar Hill and Josh Arhart Gone for Good?  Well, we now have the answer to the first part of that question: "Yes (well at least for the foreseeable future)".  Yesterday, the York Revolution announced that they have signed ex-Seals outfielder Jamar Hill for the 2010 season.

Seals fans can forget about watching Jamar launching baseballs onto Pembroke Street again this summer.  Hill was a fan favourite at Royal Athletic Park last season, hitting .289 with 19 HR and 64 RBI in 75 games.  His 19 homers were the second most in the GBL in 2009. The signing is a promotion of sorts for Hill, since the caliber of the Atlantic League is somewhere between "AA" and "AAA" baseball.

Based on Revolution manager Andy Etchebarren's comments listed in our September 20th blog post, the team would also like to sign one of the other (RAP) fan favourites, Josh Arhart (or is that Arrrrrrrhart?).  The Revolution currently have 10 players under contract and none of those are catchers.

The trade of Hill and Arhart to the York Revolution was supposed to be for "future considerations", but we're still waiting to hear what those considerations are.  Let's hope they take the form of a serviceable player or two for this year, but the pessimist in me thinks that cash might have been the only consideration in this deal.

Meanwhile, the Victoria Seals have not announced any player signings for the 2010 season.

Maui team's logo and uniforms unveiled

Now we know what the Na Koa Ikaika Maui (Strong Warriors of Maui) will look like when they play their first-ever game in the GBL on May 21st at Royal Athletic Park.  The team unveiled their snazzy logo and uniform designs yesterday.  

Here is the team's logo:

The jerseys will look as follows (the away uniform is the black one with the "Maui" across the chest):

Full details on the logo and uniforms are here.

Arizona and California Winter League updates

Both of the independent instructional leagues are just over one week into their four-week seasons.

Victoria Seals fans may recognize some of the names of those participating in the California Winter League.  Victoria manager Darrell Evans is coaching the Coachella Valley Snowbirds and a pair of players who played for the Seals in 2009.  First baseman Brett Flowers is fourth in the league in hitting with a .381 average in his first 21 at-bats.  Seals coach and emergency backup Takashi Miyoshi is struggling with a .211 average and is playing second base for the Snowbirds.

Meanwhile, Seals bench coach Dan DiPace is piloting the Canada A's, a team which includes four players who played for his Victoria squad last season.  Infielder Pedro Montero, outfielders Billy Krause and Gabriel Riley and pitcher Mike Reeves are all trying to earn a professional contract for 2010.  Reeves was released by the Seals on June 20th after posting a 10.66 ERA, while the other three were basically roster fill-ins during Victoria's inaugural season.  Billy Krause is off to a good start with a .368 batting average, while Pedro Montero (.056 BA) and Gabriel Riley (.238 BA) have failed to impress so far.  Reeves has yet to make an appearance for the A's.

The Arizona Winter League doesn't feature any names familiar to Seals fans, but the league does include a couple of women looking to play professional baseball in North America this summer.  Japanese knuckleballer Eri Yoshida has settled down after a rough first outing.  The 5'1" 114 lb Yoshida now sports a 9.00 ERA in six innings pitched, but she has only given up six base hits -- all of them singles.  American Tiffany Brooks of the Western Canada Miners has struggled on the mound and at the plate.  She sports a whopping 40.51 ERA in 1 1/3 innings pitched and has only one hit in seven at-bats while playing first base.  However, her lone hit was a run-scoring double.

Both leagues wrap up their seasons at the end of February.

GBL Trashed by Long Beach Columnist

There is a scathing column on the demise of the Long Beach Armada in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.  The writer, Bob Keisser, is (ahem) somewhat less than enamored with the Golden Baseball League.  Even if you don't agree with his sentiments, it makes for an entertaining read.

Spring is Near: Arizona and California Winter Leagues Start Friday

As was reported here in a blog post on January 9th, two independent instructional leagues of interest to GBL fans kick off their season this Friday.

Details are sparse on the Arizona Winter League (AWL), but on Thursday the four California Winter League (CWL) teams will draft their players from the pool of athletes who shelled out up to $3,500 USD for the right to participate and have a shot at a pro contract.

Here is a video from the first day of workouts, proving that spring cannot be far off.  If you look closely, you'll notice Seals manager Darrell Evans, who is Commissioner of the CWL and will be on the lookout for "diamonds in the rough" who might fit in this summer with the Victoria squad.


California Winter League: Day 1 from Eric Durban on Vimeo.

Dodgers Sign Sergio Pedroza

I guess Sergio Pedroza won't be roaming the outfield in Royal Athletic Park this summer.  The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed ex-Seal Sergio Pedroza.  In my opinion, Pedroza was the most valuable player on the Victoria Seals last year prior to his trade to the Calgary Vipers.  Sergio went on to lead the Vipers to a GBL championship and was named MVP of the GBL Championship Series.

Pedroza was previously in the Dodgers' organization after being taken in the third round of the 2005 amateur draft.  In 2009, he led the GBL in homeruns (20) and was second in RBI (81).  He also hit .322 in 304 regular-season at-bats.

Pedroza is the third Victoria Seal to be signed by a major-league organization.  Austin Bibens-Dirkx is currently in the Chicago Cubs system.  Isaac Hess was signed by the Boston Red Sox after the GBL All Star Game last season, but his contract wasn't activated by the Red Sox after legal concerns about his artificial hip.

On behalf of all Victoria baseball fans, congratulations Sergio!!

Potential Conflict of Interest in the GBL

Hot Corner Baseball LLC stepped up to the plate and helped bring the St. George Roadrunners franchise back from the brink of extinction.  That's the good news.  The other side of the situation is the close link between the owners of the St. George and Maui franchises.  The GM of the Roadrunners, Rick Berry, is also the President of  the expansion Na Ikaika Koa Maui.  The Maui team is owned by XnE Inc.

But consider this situation: The Roadrunners are now in the North Division, while the Strong Warriors of Maui are in the South Division.  Suppose the expansion Maui team falls out of contention in August (a reasonable assumption for 2010) and the Roadrunners are in a pennant race with the upstart Victoria Seals.  What would happen if Maui dealt three or four of their best players to the Roadrunners for a bag of used baseballs, a Jugs radar gun and cash?  Can you imagine the reaction from Victoria fans?  Let's hope the GBL Commissioner, Kevin Outcalt, would have the gumption to step in and nullify such a trade (under a "best interests of the GBL" clause).

Here's an even scarier scenario to envision: XnE has negotiated a Territory Operating Rights agreement (for $800,000 USD) which will allow it to add another three GBL teams in the state of Hawaii.  Can you imagine the potential conflict of interest if they owned four Hawaiian teams in the GBL?!?!

Victoria Seals and the San Francisco Seals

The first time I saw the Victoria Seals logo I realized that it was inspired by the logo of the old San Francisco Seals, a Pacific Coast League team that existed from 1903 until 1957.  The Seals lived a happy existence until the day Walter O'Malley and Horace Stoneham agreed that they could both make a lot more money by moving the Dodgers and Giants to the west coast.  Take a look at the similarities in the two logos:

 

It's also worth noting that the San Francisco Giants have a statue dedicated to the San Francisco Seals outside of AT&T Ballpark:

Now that I think about it, does anyone see the resemblance between the San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal and our own Seymour Seal?

GBL Releases Much Improved Schedule for 2010

The GBL released its schedule for the 2010 season yesterday and things are looking up for both the league and fans of the Victoria Seals.  The league is expanding to 10 teams with the addition of clubs in Maui and Tijuana, and the St. George Roadrunners have been brought back from the brink of extinction with new owners.

The North Division will include the following teams in 2010:

• Victoria Seals
• Calgary Vipers
• Edmonton Capitals
• Chico Outlaws
• St. George Roadrunners

The South Division will be comprised of the:

• Na Ikaika Koa Maui ("The Strong Warriors of Maui")
• Cimarrones de Tijuana ("Tijuana Untamed")
• Orange County Flyers
• Tucson Toros
• Yuma Scorpions

Let's hope that there isn't a last-minute franchise pullout like there was last season, because right now the schedule looks fantastic.  The season has been expanded to 90 games, so the Seals will play 45 home games at Royal Athletic.  The Seals drew 93,691 fans in 40 home dates last season, so if the summer weather is decent the team will have no problem passing the 100,000-fan mark.

The home opener for the Seals is Friday May 21st against the fledgling Na Ikaika Koa Maui.  The teams will play a 5-game series to kickoff the season, but that will be the only visit of the year by the Hawaiian expansion team. 

Unlike last season, Victoria isn't stuck playing Edmonton and Calgary for over half of its schedule.  The Capitals and Vipers only visit RAP seven times this season (as do the Chico Outlaws).  Maui and Tijuana will play five times each in the Garden City.  The Orange County Flyers and the Tucson Toros have four games scheduled in the Seals' ballpark, while Yuma and St. George will only play three games here.

Aside from opening night, potential highlights to the home schedule include a Canada Day game against Tijuana, Father's Day (June 20th) against the Capitals and the season finale on Labour Day (September 6th), which will also feature the Edmonton squad.  Single-game tickets are not yet on sale, but they will eventually be available via Select Your Tickets.

Full details on yesterday's press release can be found here.

The entire home schedule is as follows:

• Friday, May 21 - Na Ikaika Koa Maui (7:00 PM)
• Saturday, May 22 - Na Ikaika Koa Maui (7:00 PM)
• Sunday, May 23 - Na Ikaika Koa Maui (1:30 PM)
• Monday, May 24 - Na Ikaika Koa Maui (7:00 PM)
• Tuesday, May 25 - Na Ikaika Koa Maui (7:00 PM)
• Thursday, May 27 - Orange County Flyers (7:00 PM)
• Friday, May 28 - Orange County Flyers (7:00 PM)
• Saturday, May 29 - Orange County Flyers (7:00 PM)
• Sunday, May 30 - Orange County Flyers (1:30 PM)
• Tuesday, June 08 - Calgary Vipers (7:00 PM)
• Wednesday, June 09 - Calgary Vipers (7:00 PM)
• Thursday, June 10 - Calgary Vipers (7:00 PM)
• Friday, June 18 - Edmonton Capitals (7:00 PM)
• Saturday, June 19 - Edmonton Capitals (7:00 PM)
• Sunday, June 20 - Edmonton Capitals (1:30 PM)
• Monday, June 21 - Calgary Vipers (7:00 PM)
• Tuesday, June 22 - Calgary Vipers (7:00 PM)
• Wednesday, June 23 - Calgary Vipers (7:00 PM)
• Thursday, June 24 - Calgary Vipers (7:00 PM)
• Wednesday, June 30 - Cimarrones De Tijuana (7:00 PM)
• Thursday, July 01 - Cimarrones De Tijuana (7:00 PM)
• Friday, July 02 - Cimarrones De Tijuana (7:00 PM)
• Saturday, July 03 - Cimarrones De Tijuana (7:00 PM)
• Sunday, July 04 - Cimarrones De Tijuana (1:30 PM)
• Friday, July 23 - Yuma Scorpions (7:00 PM)
• Saturday, July 24 - Yuma Scorpions (7:00 PM)
• Sunday, July 25 - Yuma Scorpions (1:30 PM)
• Monday, July 26 - Chico Outlaws (7:00 PM)
• Tuesday, July 27 - Chico Outlaws (7:00 PM)
• Wednesday, July 28 - Chico Outlaws (12:00 PM)
• Thursday, August 05 - Tucson Toros (7:00 PM)
• Friday, August 06 - Tucson Toros (7:00 PM)
• Saturday, August 07 - Tucson Toros (7:00 PM)
• Sunday, August 08 - Tucson Toros (1:30 PM)
• Wednesday, August 11 - St. George RoadRunners (7:00 PM)
• Thursday, August 12 - St. George RoadRunners (7:00 PM)
• Friday, August 13 - St. George RoadRunners (7:00 PM)
• Saturday, August 14 - Chico Outlaws (7:00 PM)
• Sunday, August 15 - Chico Outlaws (1:30 PM)
• Monday, August 16 - Chico Outlaws (7:00 PM)
• Tuesday, August 17 - Chico Outlaws (12:00 PM)
• Friday, September 03 - Edmonton Capitals (7:00 PM)
• Saturday, September 04 - Edmonton Capitals (7:00 PM)
• Sunday, September 05 - Edmonton Capitals (1:30 PM)
• Monday, September 06 - Edmonton Capitals (1:30 PM)

Long Bearch Armada Lose Stadium Lease; GBL Teams Unclear for 2010

On January 4th, California State University took over the daily management of Blair Field, former home of the Long Beach Armada.  The Armada now have no stadium in which to play and will likely be unable to participate in the 2010 GBL season.  According a story in the Long Beach Gazettes, the Golden Baseball League, owners of the Long Beach franchise, is preparing to sue the city over the wrongful termination of the lease.  A statement of claim has apparently been forwarded from the league's attorney to the city of Long Beach:

“It is no secret that the city wishes to cede responsibility for maintaining Blair Field to its most important tenant, the Long Beach State ‘Dirtbags,’ a national powerhouse baseball program,” the claim says. “It is also no secret that Long Beach State does not wish to have the Armada share the facilities or control the concessions during its games. Our sources advise us that the negotiations between the city and Long Beach State are much more advanced than we have been told and that in fact a prerequisite of any deal between the city and Long Beach State was that the Armada’s permit be terminated.”

The story in the Long Beach Gazettes also suggests that the Armada had been falling behind in payments to the city in the last year.

In other GBL news, the Kamloops Daily News reported on Saturday that there will not be a Golden Baseball League team in that city for the 2010 season.  However, the Victoria Seals and Calgary Vipers will be playing a three-game exhibition series in Kamloops just before the beginning of the season (the GBL season will likely start around May 21st).  It appears the league will use this exhibition series as a way to gauge the level of interest in bringing a permanent team to Kamloops.  The city is positioned perfectly from a geographic perspective and would be a perfect stopping point for teams travelling between Victoria and Edmonton/Calgary.

This means that there are now only eight firm GBL teams for 2010: Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Chico, Maui, Orange County, Tucson and Yuma.  Other teams that could still join the league in 2010 (in estimated order of likelihood) are Ottawa, Tijuana, Palm Springs, Scottsdale and St. George.  As of today, there is still no word on which ownership group will be granted a lease on Ottawa's 10,000 seat baseball stadium.  The Nation's Capital could end up with a team in either the Can-Am League or the Golden League.

On the positive side, the name of the Maui team was revealed in late December.  The newest GBL expansion team will be known as the Na Ikaika Koa Maui, which is Hawaiian for the Strong Warriors of Maui.  The team will be managed by ex-major leaguer Cory Snyder.  Snyder steered the St. George Roadrunners to the South Division Championship in 2009.

Arizona Winter League Season Kicks Off Jan. 29th

The Arizona Winter League (AWL), an independent instructional league associated with the Golden League, is set to start its fourth season on January 29th.  This eight-team league will feature a Canadian division with the "Calgary Vipers", Team Canada, Saskatchewan Silver Sox and the Western Canada Miners.  The American division will include the "Yuma Scorpions", San Diego Surf Dawgs, San Luis Athleticos, and the Blythe Heat.  Unlike the summer independent leagues, winter (instructional) independent leagues charge players to play.  The AWL charges each player up to $3,500 USD for the chance to get a head-start on spring training, get some instruction and hopefully be noticed by a scout.

After the season concludes on February 27th, at least 17 (summer) independent league teams will participate in a draft to select players for their upcoming season.  All Golden League teams will participate this year and they will be joined by a Can-Am League team (Sussex), two Frontier League teams (Florence and Normal), two Northern League teams (Rockford and Kansas City), two American Association teams (Fort Wort and Sioux City) and one team from the Mexican Liga Del Norte (San Luis).  In the first three AWL seasons, over 130 players have been signed to pro contracts.

The AWL has announced that two women will be participating this season.  In addition to Japanese pitcher Eri Yoshida (see my blog post from December 16th), former Gonzago softball player Tiffany Brooks will also be looking to sign on with a professional baseball team this summer.  In fact, the two women will be roommates this winter and will both play for the Yuma Scorpions.  An interesting interview with Tiffany can be found here.

At least six GBL managers will be managing / instructing in the AWL.  However, Victoria Seals manager Darrell Evans will be busy running the fledgling California Winter League (CWL) during this time -- the CWL schedule also starts on January 29th and wraps up at the end of February.  Seals coach Dan DiPace will act as an instructor during the CWL season.  Let's hope that Evans and DiPace will unearth some talent for the Victoria squad this winter.

All AWL games played in Yuma will be broadcast on the internet at www.arizonawinterleague.com.  The league's schedule can be found here.

Addendum to Seal Blubber Bits

The following tidbits were reported on Our Sports Central on December 22nd:

• GBL rosters will remain at 22 players for the 2010 season.  However, after August 15th rosters will expand to 25 players.  This means that the trading frenzy will start a few days earlier next year as playoff-bound team will cherry pick the best players from the teams that are out of playoff contention.  However, managers will have a hard time pinch-hitting for pitchers when they are restricted to a 22-man roster.  You can expect to see decent-hitting pitchers pinch hitting for weaker-hitting pitchers when a GBL team is behind in the mid-to-late innings.
• The league will be making further announcements about 2010 teams in January.  No surprise here.  See the previous blog post for details.  However, given the uncertainty, I'd be surprised if a regular-season schedule was published before the beginning of February.

On behalf of the three caballeros at the Victoria Seals Baseball Blog, Merry Christmas!

Seal Blubber Bits - Winter Solstice Edition

Here are a few tidbits to nibble on as we approach the shortest day of the year:

• GBL Commissioner Kevin Outcalt was quoted in The Sun (Yuma, AZ) as stating there was "about a 30 percent chance -- and it's always rising" that Tijuana will be in the league in 2010 as a result of the involvement of a new ownership group.
• Outcalt also said that it was less likely that the Palm Springs team would join the GBL in 2010, but they were likely to start up in 2011. 
• Outcalt also said that the St George team is not officially dead.  This means that there are still only 9 firm GBL teams for 2010: Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Chico, Maui, Orange County, Long Beach, Tucson and Yuma.  Other teams that could still join the league in 2010 (in estimated order of likelihood) are Ottawa, Tijuana, Palm Springs, Scottsdale, Kamloops and St. George.  There are two unsolicited bids in for a stadium lease in Ottawa, and if the Ottawa Stadium Group (OSG) is awarded a lease in the next few weeks then they will likely join the GBL.
• Outcalt also had this to say about the signing of Eri Yoshida: "I've gotten an unbelievable amount of media calls today," Outcalt said. "CNN wants to do a feature, and about 10 different Japanese media outlets want to do a story on this. I think it's going to be a highly covered event."  As I mentioned yesterday, the Seals would be wise to sign her -- especially if she can keep her ERA under 9.00 in the Arizona Winter League.

Will the Victoria Seals Roster Include a Woman in 2010?

On Tuesday, the Arizona Winter League announced that 17-year-old Eri Yoshida would be playing in their league in January/February 2010.  Yoshida was the first female to play professional baseball in Japan last season and she held her own in the independant Kansai League.  She is only 5' 1" and 114 pounds, but she features a 51 MPH sidearm-knuckleball that is tough to hit.  In 11 appearances with the Kobe 9 Cruise, Yoshida sported a respectable 4.63 ERA and only gave up 11 hits in 11 2/3 innings.  Like all knuckleballers, control is a bit of a problem and she walked 9 batters in her 11 2/3 innings of work.

The Arizona Winter League (AWL) is associated with the Golden Baseball League and the two leagues have the same Commissioner (Kevin Outcalt).  It's not a stretch to state the the AWL exists mainly as a testing-ground for players who may end up getting signed to play for teams in the GBL and other independent leagues.  Unlike the independent leagues, players aren't paid to play -- they pay the league $3,500 USD for the opportunity to be showcased to scouts and managers.  At least two of the AWL managers also manage in the GBL (Boots Day and Tim Johnson).

Here's where the Victoria Seals come in.  It makes perfect sense for the Seals to sign Yoshida if she does anything other than stink it up in the AWL.  Think of how much the Seattle Mariners have profited from putting players like Ichiro and Kenji Johjima out on the field.  If you were to put a 17-year-old Japanese female out on the mound for the Victoria Seals, a significant percentage of the Japanese students and Japanese-Canadians in Victoria would flock to Royal Athletic Park whenever she was due to pitch.  Plus, every girl who plays softball in Victoria (and there are many) would be lining up to buy a Seals ticket. 

If she were to spend the summer in the Garden City, there would be an entourage of media (Japanese, Canadian and American) that would follow her every move.  That would do nothing but greatly increase the national and international profile of the Victoria Seals.  I also have no doubt that Yoshida would sell a lot of Victoria Seals merchandise -- and not just to the locals.  Japanese baseball fans would most likely be ordering a bunch of caps and jerseys off the internet.

Wishful thinking on my part?  Perhaps.  But signing Eri Yoshida to a Victoria Seals contract makes a lot of sense.  I mean, she couldn't be any worse than Mike Reeves or Eziequiel Ruvalcaba.

Golden League Dumps DH; Baseball Purists Rejoice

Fans of National League baseball in Victoria were given an early Christmas present this week when it was announced that the GBL has revoked the Designated Hitter rule for the 2010 season.  This intrepid blogger pointed out the silliness of using the DH in such an offensive-friendly league back on June 26th of this year (see the post Sotolongo Providing Bullpen Stability).  Not only will the rule change reduce the excessive offense, but games lasting 3 1/2 hours or more will be less common (which will be appreciated on those cool Victoria evenings in May and June).

Of course, Darrell Evans' job just got a whole lot more difficult.  In fact, every GBL manager will be faced with difficult pinch-hitting decisions in the middle and late innings.  Double-substitutions will become an important tool for the field bosses.  If the league is smart, they'll expand rosters by at least one player because there will be a lot more lineup changes during games.  Players who can play multiple positions will also be highly coveted this season.  On the flip side, teams will be hard-pressed to carry lumbering sluggers who can only play first base (see Flowers, Brett).

There are many baseball purists in attendance on any given night at Royal Athletic Park and they'll be pleased to see the return of old-school moves like the bunt, hit-and-run and the stolen base.  Somewhere, John McGraw is smiling.

Seal Blubber Bits

• Cleve's article in Tuesday's T-C indicates that the GBL is currently at 10 teams.  But it's not a done deal that the Palm Springs team will be ready to go in 2010.  The GBL Commissioner (Kevin Outcalt) was quoted in an OurSports Central article on Monday as saying "The team could play in either 2010 or 2011 depending on what they work out with the City of Palm Springs regarding the ballpark facility, or potentially in a ballpark elsewhere in the Coachella Valley."  This means that there are still only 9 firm GBL teams: Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Chico, Maui, Orange County, Long Beach, Tucson and Yuma.
• Other cities that may be part of the GBL in 2010 include Ottawa, Kamloops, Scottsdale and Tijuana.

2010 GBL Teams Still Unclear

We're three weeks from the end of 2009 and the teams that will comprise the 2010 Golden Baseball League are still not decided.  On Wednesday, the St. George Roadrunners announced that they will cease operations and will not return next season in spite of the fact they won the 2009 Southern Division championship.

The team stated that they failed to turn a profit during their three-year tenure in the GBL.  In 2009, the St. George team finished second-last in attendance with 1,168 fans per game.  The league average for attendance was 1,851 fans, while the Victoria Seals drew an average of 2,342 fans in their inaugural season.

The Roadrunners are owned by XnE Inc, the same company that owns the Maui team that will be joining the GBL in 2010.  When the expansion to Maui was announced in September it seemed odd that XnE would own two teams in the GBL.  Perhaps XnE had intended to eliminate the unprofitable St. George team when the expansion deal was struck.

In any event, it is unclear if there are currently 9 or 10 teams in the GBL circuit.  The Golden League's entry on Wikipedia indicates that the Tijuana team will be part of the South Division in 2010, which would leave the league with 10 teams.  However, I'm not convinced that this is a done deal just yet.

There was a chance that Kamloops would be granted an expansion team in time for the 2010 season, but so far no suitable owner has been located.

The other possibility for a 2010 GBL expansion team is Ottawa, where an interesting political game is underway.  Two rival ownership groups are attempting to secure a lease for the 10,000 seat Ottawa Stadium.  One group, lead by Can-Am League commissioner Miles Wolff, would like to bring a Can-Am League team to the nation's capital.  On the other side of the battle is the Ottawa Stadium Group (OSG), lead by David Butler and Duncan MacDonald.  If the OSG can secure the lease then they would be granted an expansion team in the GBL.

No matter how the Ottawa battle plays out, the GBL needs an even number of teams to be able to develop a reasonable schedule.  Last season's last-minute pull-out of the Tijuana franchise led to an ugly schedule and far too many stretches of three to four consecutive days off for teams.

Isaac Hess on Baseball America's Top Indy Prospects List

Isaac Hess, who pitched most of the 2009 season with the Victoria Seals, was named by Baseball America as one of the top prospects in independent baseball. Hess was ranked as the sixth best prospect in independent baseball.

Here is Baseball America's assessment of Isaac Hess:

At this point Issac Hess may be the most "known" independent league prospect out there. A member of the top 10 list last year, he's been signed by affiliated clubs twice in the past year (by the Padres and Red Sox), but both times concerns about his artificial hip (a result of a childhood condition) meant he never threw a pitch in affiliated ball.

There's little doubt about his stuff—he has an 89-91 mph fastball, a solid breaking ball and an excellent changeup. In affiliated ball he profiles more as a lefty arm out of the bullpen where his changeup would give him the ability to retire both lefties and righthanded hitters.

Hess this year managed to go three-for-three on independent league championships. After winning back-to-back Frontier League titles with Windy City, a midseason trade to Calgary helped him win his third ring in three years with a Golden League title. Along the way, he did everything he could to eliminate any concerns about his durability. He led the Golden League in strikeouts and finished second in the league in innings pitched. He also threw an inning in the Golden League all-star game on one-day's rest in an attempt to prove that his hip isn't a hindrance. That paid off in a contract with the Red Sox, but it also may have played a part in his diminished numbers over the second half of the season—he gave up five or more runs in five of his last eight starts after not giving up that many runs in any of his first 11 starts.

The full prospect list can be found here.

J.J. Cooper of Baseball America conducted an on-line chat on independent league prospects. Here is a brief exchange from that chat on the subject of Isaac Hess:

Roy (Phoenix): We can put a man on the moon but we can't figure out a way
for Isaac Hess to play Organized Baseball? That just doesn't make sense to me.
Can't you people find some do-gooder lawyer out there who can make this happen?

J.J. Cooper: It's tough. In fact there is a lawyer working pro bono to try
to help Hess out on this very topic. The concerns teams have revolve around the
possibility of Hess making a claim that his hip was injured by pitching. And
there appears to be no way that Hess can craft an air-tight waiver that
acknowledges he's aware of the risk. The best hope for now seems to be if Hess
can get an insurance policy that would cover any potential lawsuit down the road
(even if Hess doesn't plan to every sue anybody). On the mound, there's little
question that he's shown that he deserves a shot.

The full text from the on-line chat can be found here.

Perez and Pedroza on Baseball America's Indy All Star Team

Baseball America has selected players for their 2009 Independent Leagues All Star Team and two former Seals are amongst those named. Both Sergio Pedroza and Wilver Perez were chosen for the second all star team. The teams were selected from the rosters of all eight independent baseball leagues in North America.

Pedroza and Perez spent the majority of the season playing for Victoria, but they were traded to the Calgary Vipers on August 17th and 27th, respectively. Along with Isaac Hess, the ex-Seals led the Vipers to the GBL championship and Pedroza was named MVP of the championship series.

Out of the eight independent leagues, the Golden League placed the third-highest number of players on the all star team. The Atlantic League, clearly the best of the independent leagues, led with six players. You may remember that four Victoria Seals were traded/sold to Atlantic League teams in 2009: Roberto Sotolongo, Josh Arhart, Jamar Hill and Travis Wade.

Here is a list of the leagues and the number of players named to the all star team:

• Atlantic League - 6
• Can-Am League - 5
• Golden Baseball League - 4
• Frontier League - 4
• American Association - 3
• Northern League - 3
• United League - 2
• Continental League - 0

Other players from the GBL named to the team include A.J. Valentine of the St. George Roadrunners and batting champion Nelson Castro of the Calgary Vipers. The complete all star team can be found here.