muckdogs

Christian Rosa was signed last June by the St. Louis Cardinals out of an independent league and assigned to the Batavia Muckdogs.

It was a dream come true for the undrafted Puerto Rican native, and he was a contributor to the 2009 championship season.

In 32 games, Rosa batted .286 with four doubles, two homers, 12 RBI and four stolen bases.

As the June draft approached this year, Rosa was cut by the Cardinals to make room for new players.  He said he was surprised to be let go.

"I never thought I was going to get released,” Rosa said. “Everybody was telling me that I was doing great."

Batavia manager Mark DeJohn says Rosa indeed did everything right. But the lack of a strong throwing arm resulted in his release.

“I absolutely loved having Christian on my team. We won a championship that honestly means more to me than any World Series or other league championship rings I have, and Christian was a big part of that,” DeJohn said. “To be a kid who was undrafted and coming out of an independent league, he was just outstanding in a lot of areas.

“He received the ball well, blocked it well, called a good game, did a good job with the bat and ran well for a catcher. It’s just that his arm is well below average, and that’s heartbreaking because Christian is the type of kid you really get attached to.”

The St. Louis Cardinals first-round draft choice, who might very well wind up in Batavia as a Muckdog, is a big guy from a small town with big ambitions.

Shelby Miller, from Brownwood, Texas, a town of 19,000 people, was the 19th overall pick in the annual MLB draft. His fastball has been clocked at 97 m.p.h. and he doesn't mind comparisons to Texas natives Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan.

Those are some big shoes to fill.

The high school pitcher has been dubbed "a special kind of talent" who could fetch $3.5 million in his first contract.

The Cardinals second pick is a catcher out of the University of Southern California, Robert Stock.

Other selections in no particular order:

• Matt Adams
• Tyler Bighames
• Rick Racobaldo
• Virgil Hill (son, according to this story, of North Dakota boxing legend Virgil Hill, Sr.)
• Kyle Conley
• Jim Klocke
• Daniel Calhoun

Baseball America has a complete list of St. Louis draft picks.

Just because a player is drafted doesn't mean he will sign, or that he'll wind up in Batavia. The Cardinals also have a short-season affiliate in Johnson City, Tenn.

Thirteen players who spent at least part of the 2008 season with the Batavia Muckdogs have been placed on the Quad Cities River Bandits roster for 2009.

The players promoted are: George Brown, Hector Cardenas, Ramon Delgado, Arquidemes Nieto, Miguel Tapia, Adam Veres, Charles Cutler, Blake Murphy, Osvaldo Morales, Domnit Bolivar, Alex Castellanos, Jon Edwards and Chris Swauger.

With all the talk about patronizing local business, I wondered if TheBatavian has ever sponsored a picnic at a Muckdog game?

It sounds like it would be fun. 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/fans/page.jsp?ymd=20090106&content_id=491386&vkey=fans_t511&fext=.jsp&sid=t511

The Cardinals Nation blog runs down the history, going back to 1981 when the Cardinals added the New York-Penn League to its farm system, of Cardinals-affiliated teams.

Only seven times in nearly 30 years in the league have Cardinals farm teams reached the playoffs.  The capper, of course, is the 2008 championship season of The Batavia Muckdogs.

Press Release:

More than 2,500 miles separate Claremont, California from Batavia, New York.  But on Tuesday, March 2, Claremont Little Leaguers got a bit of Batavia right in their own ballpark. 

Jermaine Curtis, third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals minor league team, the Batavia Muckdogs, paid a special visit to Claremont’s Little League Farm team who bears the same name.   Curtis visited with the 13 youngsters and shared stories about his road to being a professional baseball player including his successful career with UCLA baseball.  Curtis stressed the importance of doing well in school, always trying your best and most of all he told the boys to “always have fun.”

The meeting of Muckdogs from opposite sides of the county was no coincidence.  In 2008, Claremont Little League officials decided to assign the younger players to minor league teams. 

Chairman Bernie Bernstein said, “We thought the designs for the minor league teams were fun and that the kids would really be excited about them.  The 50th anniversary of Claremont Little League was the perfect opportunity to roll out the program.” 

Well who would have known that they would have also provided an opportunity for the youngsters to meet the stars of their respective teams?

Claremont Muckdogs’ coach, Brian DeMott, through a mutual friend, found out that Curtis, whom he had seen at many UCLA games, was drafted by the Cardinals and played for their minor league team, the Batavia Muckdogs. 

Curtis, a graduate of A.B. Miller High School in Fontana, happened to be in town with his family when the call came.   Curtis was enthusiastic about the opportunity to visit with the young Muckdogs and applauded the league for making the decision to use minor league team names and logos for the season. 

Curtis responded to the request saying, “I want to give back to the sport I love so much!  My dad and I took the journey to being a professional baseball player all on our own.  We had little guidance and had to learn along the way.  I want to be able to be a mentor and help young kids who are upcoming athletes.”

Curtis’ outreach to young athletes is just beginning.  He is in the process of launching a new website, upcomingpros.com, which will allow upcoming professional athletes to mentor children and their parents on their road to college sports and the pros. 

Curtis plans to keep in touch with the Claremont Muckdogs and other young athletes through a blog on his site and in time, he plans to bring in other top collegiate and semi-pro athletes to the site to do the same. 

One thing is certain; there are a few new fans of the Batavia Muckdogs in Claremont, California today!
   
 

 Former Batavia Muckdog Ryan Howard cashed in big this weekend.

The 29-year old slugger that is one of the biggest names to ever have suited up for Batavia's New York-Pennsylvania League franchise inked a 3-year, $54 million contract extension on Sunday with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The two sides were far apart on contract negotiations so the move came as a surprise to many, and it looked like HOward was heading towards a second straight salary arbitration hearing on Friday of this week. 

But the Phillies bought out the final three years of Howard's salary arbitration eligibility and gave him the big contract.

"I'm happy to have this done and to know that I'll be in Philadelphia for at least another three years," Howard said in a statement. "Both sides are happy, and now I'm just focused on getting the season started and having fun."

Howard - the 2006 National League MVP - will make $15 million this season and his salary will jump to $19 million in 2010 and 2011.

The first baseman was a Muckdog in 2001 and hit six home runs in 48 games played.

From the Batavia Muckdogs:

The Genesee County Baseball Club will hold its annual Batavia Muckdogs Hot Stove dinner and auction on Friday, February 20, 2009, from 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at the Batavia Party House at 5762 East Main Street Road in Stafford.
 
The dinner, a highlight of the winter for the local baseball faithful, arrives during an off-season of great optimism for Batavia fans: The Muckdogs were the 2008 New York –Penn League champs, the first time Batavia has won the league title since 1963; and the coming season will be the second in which the team is operated under a cooperative agreement with the highly respected Rochester Community Baseball, owner of the Rochester Red Wings.
   
The Hot Stove Dinner is a time for good food, friendship, baseball talk, and silent and live auctions of mostly baseball-related memorabilia.  Items to be auctioned this year include autographed baseballs, bats, and photographs; work by noted local artists John Hodgins and Don Carmichael and woodworker Clyde Starkweather; and gift certificates from a variety of local restaurants.
  
Tickets cost $25 ($15 for children 12 and under) and may be purchased in Batavia at Dwyer Stadium, the Holland Land Office, Gerace’s Hair Care, the Williams Law Firm, and the office of Dr. Ross Fanara, and in Oakfield from the office of Dr. Alan Barcomb.