FL River City Rascals

Rascals Wrap Up Season of Highs and Lows with Great Changes on Horizon

Published on September 9, 2006 under Frontier League (FL)
River City Rascals News Release


O'FALLON, MO - The River City Rascals did not achieve the goals they set for themselves at the start of the 2006 season. The team failed to qualify for the post-season for the first time since 2000 and after a treacherous start and a 12-game losing streak halfway through the year, the Rascals finished with a losing record for the second straight season. But River City was able to accomplish some notable individual achievements while also worked as a team in the final month of the year to finish strong and provide great optimism for the 2007 campaign. Winners of five of their last six games, including a sweep of the defending Frontier League Champion Kalamazoo Kings, River City will carry momentum under new leadership into next season and beyond.

Of all the moves in and out of the Rascals clubhouse, perhaps none were more significant than the return of River City slugger, Mike Madrid. Madrid not only led with the piece of lumber in his hands, but also with his words and the respect he demanded from his teammates on and off the field. Madrid set a new standard for power hitting in a Rascals uniform on August 11th when he took Gateway's Chilion Stapleton deep to right-field at GCS Ballpark for his 43rd career River City homer. That historic blast surpassed Mike Conner's Rascals record and for good measure, the big first baseman went yard again to provide himself with some breathing room from his former teammate. Madrid finished with 44 RBI's in his third season with River City and is 2nd all-time in on the Rascals career RBI list with 212. It was only fitting that the last runs that he drove in on the year came on one titanic swing on August 30th for his 10th home run of year.

Another record-setter for River City in 2006 was once a set-up man and a stop gap closer at the end of the 2005 season. But Pat Evers has now become the reliever all others will be shooting for when it comes to the Rascals record books. Evers saved a single-season record 19 games this season which blew away the previous best set by Adam Shafer's 2001 total of 13. On July 27th, the former standout at CMSU became River City's all-time saves champion pitching a scoreless 9th to clinch the Rascals' first road series victory of the season. Evers past former River City closer Kelly Johnson and now has 24 saves in a two-year Frontier League career.

If Mike Madrid was the best familiar face to walk back into the locker room, then Mike Just, without question, the unsurpassed new face in River City's lineup. Just, a free-agent pickup out of Liberty University in the first week of July was the catalyst of the Rascals offense. The slick second baseman was the only regular in the lineup to hit over .300 for the season and of his 52 games played, 21 were multi-hit games for the former Liberty star. In 205 at-bats, Just collected 65 hits coming off of a senior year in which he set the Flames record with 94 hits in the spring.

Despite a 16-29 record at the All-Star Break, River City was recognized by its peers around the Frontier League by getting six of their players named to the West Division All-Star Team. It was the most recipients voted in of any other West Division squad and each Rascal did St. Charles County proud by either knocking in a hit or throwing a shutout inning of relief. DH Eddie Kim and OF Eric Chevalier both started the game for the West and OF Eddie Guessford was a key reserve scoring the tying run in the 9th inning of what became a West Division upset 5-4 win. Aaron Ledbetter and Steve Brook each worked scoreless stanzas and Mike Cockrell also singled in the contest.

The Rascals also added a chapter to the Frontier League record books when the hometown St. Louis Cardinals purchased the contract of former River City starter Josh Kinney. Kinney is the first Rascals alum and 13th player in Frontier League history to play a game for a major league ballclub. As of September 7th, Kinney is 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 14.0 IP with the Cardinals.

Even with the league-wide praise of River City players in July, the Rascals still sputtered early in the second half of the year. After suffering through three-game sweep at the hands of Evansville, great changes were made that changed the complexion of the lineup for the remainder of the year. On July 17th, popular slugger Eddie Kim was traded to Florence for 1B/DH Chris Brown and 3B Greg Buscher. Kim was an all-star and a beloved figure by Rascals fans in the first half of the season and in return River City received two players with 25 RBI apiece and greater flexibility in their offense. While Buscher did not remain healthy and only had 18 at-bats with River City, Brown flourished slamming out six home runs and drove in 26 more for his new ballclub. Kim was frequently injured with his new club and only hit .190 with one home run and six runs batted in after the trade.

The second significant trade the Rascals made in 2006 involved their best-known player and arguably the very best to ever don a River City uniform. With the roster freeze approaching the Rascals sent staff ace Aaron Ledbetter to Washington for RHPs Shawn Phillips and Greg Lasinski as well as complete a previous deal with the Wild Things for OF Jason Boyd. The deal gave the Rascals all-time leader in wins (24), strikeouts (293), and complete games (12) a chance to play for a team that had a strong chance to win a FL championship. Washington ended up winning the regular season East Division Championship and Ledbetter finished the year just one win shy of the league's all-time wins record.

Despite the strong finish to the year, the Rascals still had a franchise-high 56 losses in 2006. They were able to take two-of-three from Florence to end the year ahead of the Freedom in the overall standings but there is still plenty of room for improvement. The responsibility of making River City a winner will rest now rest on the shoulders of a new owner who promises to once again bring the excitement passion for the game back to St. Charles County. President of PS & J Professional Baseball, Steve Malliet, will now take over the reigns of the Rascals beginning in October. Malliet was very influential in the construction of three new baseball facilities including the brand new Silver Cross Field in Joliet, IL. He was the Executive of the Year of the Midwest League in 1995 while overseeing the operations of the Wisconsin TimberRattlers of the Seattle Mariners organization. He plans on starting from the ground up and changing the perception of the Rascals with the hopes of making them a championship contender. With Malliet's baseball knowledge, constant support from the community, and momentum that has been built since the final month of the 2006 season, there is no reason to believe that River City won't become the capital of the Frontier League for many years to come.

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Frontier League Stories from September 9, 2006


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