ApL Princeton WhistlePigs

P-Rays update

Published on March 13, 2004 under Appalachian League (ApL)
Princeton WhistlePigs News Release


Throughout major league spring training camps in both Florida and Arizona, players are preparing for the long season ahead and the air is full of sounds of baseballs ricocheting off wooden bats. This just builds the anticipation around Hunnicutt Field as Princeton's 17th season in the Appalachian League fast approaches. Sit down now and catch up on the latest happenings with your Princeton Devil Rays in the March, 2004 edition of "Raywatch," the official monthly e-mail newsletter of the P-Rays.

HE'S NOW A RAY: Tampa Bay acquired a new infielder over the winter to help solidify the infield depth at some of their higher level minor league clubs and he is certainly no stranger to fans of Princeton baseball. Fans now have another reason to keep track of Tampa Bay player moves as former Princeton Reds shortstop Luis Ordaz (1993-94) is a member of the Devil Rays organization. Ordaz is still among the Princeton franchise career leaders in several categories while also being named the all-star shortstop for the Appalachian League in 1994. He was one of several key contributors that factored in Princeton sprinting to the 1994 Appalachian League championship.

STEVEN'S GOING SOUTH: Steven Lawhorn, who is a December, 2003 graduate of Concord College and interned for the P-Rays last summer, has just landed his first full-time baseball employment. On March 15, he will start his new job as Assistant General Manager for the Wilson (NC) Tobs of the Coastal Plain League, which is a college summer wooden bat league sanctioned by the NCAA. Steven, who most recently was living in Fayetteville, WV, joins Todd Roll, Brian LeHeup, and John-Michael Tolar as 2003 P-Ray interns who have moved on to a full-time position in the world of baseball. Congratulations Steven!

FEBRUARY TRIVIA: It's not easy to forget this question. In last month's newsletter, we ran a picture of a celebrity who will be making an appearance at the P-Rays home game versus the Bluefield Orioles on August 14. Your mission was to identify him. The answer is Jerry "The King" Lawler of pro wrestling fame. His August 14 visit to Princeton is being made possible by Tri-State Printing, Fox Sports Digital Nets, Burger King, Charter Media, Star 95 Radio, and Charter Communications. We are all sure this is a night you will not forget!!! We had many people who identified "The King," and the local winners were Niki Akers, Mike Allen, Robert R. Coleman, Angela Finley, Jeff Hawks, Jimmy Hillyer, Brian Hypes, Frank Lewis, Rick Miller, Mark Morehead, James Proctor, Tommy Thomason, and Mori Williams. Many of our out-of-town readers also recognized our February visual trivia question and these winners were Bryce Casto (Dunbar, WV), David Cross (Danville, VA), Mark Cryan (Burlington, NC), Amy Garrier (San Bernadino, CA), Matt Gallant (Bedford, MA), Rich Hively (Nitro, WV), Frank Hoard (Akron, OH), Phil Nicholas (Seth, WV), Jeffrey Smith (Cleveland, OH), Roman Stout (Kingsport, TN), and Mark Wilson (Arden, NC).

The March trivia question (and special bonus question) will appear later in this newsletter.

ROSCOE FLIES IN: Roscoe, the Princeton Ray Rooster, made an appearance at the Mercer County Teen Expo on March 6 at Concord College. He entertained kids of all ages with his antics and, just like the players, our mascot cannot wait until the Appalachian League season of 2004 gets underway!

VICTOR GETS THE NOD: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will inaugurate the 2004 major league regular season by playing their first game versus the New York Yankees in the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on March 30. The starting pitcher for Tampa Bay has been named and he will be right-hander Victor Zambrano (1997 P-Ray). This will mark the second year in a row that a former P-Ray pitcher will open the season on the mound for Tampa Bay as Joe Kennedy (1998) did the honors last year.

MORE ROSTER MOVES FROM THE BIG CLUB: The Tampa Bay Devil Rays made their first roster cuts on March 11. The moves reduced the major league roster size from 61 to 43 players. The TB squad must be down to 25 players by the March 30 major league opener. Outfielder Jonny Gomes (2001 Appalachian League Most Valuable Player) was optioned to AAA Durham while pitcher Carlos Hines (2001) was transferred to AA Montgomery. Also reassigned to the minor league camp was infielder Jared Sandberg (1997 Appalachian League Most Valuable Player). At this writing, many former Princeton players are still with the TB contingent and look for further roster assignments in future e-mail editions of "Raywatch."

MARCH TRIVIA: Okay, it is time to play for prizes and prestige while showing off your knowledge of the great game of baseball. That's right, it's trivia time with your P-Rays e-mail newsletter for March! The first 15 correct answers from our local readers will receive a $5.00 gift certificate from both the Breadman Bakery and the Eccentric Fish restaurant. Please remember to e-mail your guesses back to us at raysball@sunlitsurf.com and remember to include your mailing address so we will know where to mail your prize cards (as well as our prize for this month's special bonus question). If you are an out-of-area reader, please play along with us also as we hope to be able to list you on our honor roll with the winners in our April newsletter. Always remember that no question is too hard when you have the resources of the internet at your fingertips! Without further delay, here is your trivia question for March: "Name the pitcher who led the Florida Marlins in victories last year? ALSO, WE HAVE A SPECIAL BONUS QUESTION: The first ten readers to correctly answer (whether you are local or out-of-area) the following question will receive a 12" x 30" Appalachian League pennant and that question is: "Among still-active major league players, who is the only player to be among the top three in career major league home runs, career major league runs batted in (RBI's), major league games played over the past ten years, and major league RBI's over the past ten years?" Only one player shows up in the top three in all of those categories and it's up to you to solve the bonus question mystery. You are welcome to attempt to answer both questions. We are all baseball all the time here at "Raywatch," with even more than one question this month!!!! We are standing by here waiting for your answers, so fire away!

TEN-YEAR REUNION UPDATE: We are still hard at work at Hunnicutt Field to put together a ten-year reunion of the 1994 Princeton Reds (we were a Cincinnati Reds affiliate at that time) for the weekend of July 31, 2004. So far, we have received firm commitments to attend from Marlon Allen, John DiFilippo, Rick Lapka, Brian Lott, Jackie McCroskey, Scott Sharp, and Justin Smith. We have also received a "yes" from pitching coach Brad Kelley, trainer Dan Siegel, and clubhouse manager Allen Fisher. Other players with whom we have had contact that are interested in attending are Damon Callahan, Decomba Conner, Darron Ingram, Curt Lyons, Doyle Preston, Paul Runyan, and John Skinner. There are several other players we are corresponding with by mail at this time: Tony Boyette, Wayne Ennis, and Jay Sorg. As the event gets closer, we look for the number of attendees to grow, so we will keep you updated in future newsletters.

MORE SOUVENIRS ARRIVING HERE: The picture at the beginning of this newsletter features some new souvenirs that have just arrived at Hunnicutt Field for purchase. This gives you four new economical items to choose from for your favorite Devil Rays fan. All the items pictured are reasonably priced for $6-8 each in our gift shop/souvenir stand. Pictured are a round baseball-shaped Tampa Bay Devil Rays wall hanging, a Rays license plate, a Rays light switch cover to "Ray up" your favorite room at home, and a genuine Rawlings mini-mitt. The mini-mitt (which appears in its packaging in the picture) includes a genuine leather 5 1/2 inch replica Rawlings mini-glove, a display stand with engraving plate for your favorite fan's name, and a back window in the existing packaging for your own special photograph. For these and many more exciting souvenir items to celebrate your favorite team, please contact the P-Rays front office at raysball@sunlitsurf.com or by telephone at (304) 487-2000.

As we enter our 17th season of being one of only 160 cities in the United States and Canada to host affiliated minor league professional baseball, we consider you to be a member of our "team." We encourage you to be a team member and professional baseball here is always as strong as you the fans want to make it. We challenge you right now to make a resolution this year to bring someone to one of our games this year who has never been to a game or has been away from our games for a while. Help grow the anticipation and excitement for the arrival of the Princeton Devil Rays in mid-June. See you next month!

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Appalachian League Stories from March 13, 2004


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