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NL Gary SouthShore Railcats

Seven RailCats Selected for Northern League All-Star Game

June 30, 2009 - Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


GARY, Ind. - Four-time All-Star Jay Pecci headlines a list of seven Gary SouthShore RailCats players tabbed to participate in the 2009 Northern League Field of All-Stars Game, the league announced today. Pecci will be joined by Eric McNamee, Steve Haake, Mike Massaro, Andy Shipman and Eddie De la Cruz. Edwin Walker was voted into the game but will not participate after being signed Sunday by the New York Yankees.

The six RailCats will take the field as part of the Great Lakes All-Star Team, consisting of players from the RailCats, Joliet JackHammers and Schaumburg Flyers. The Great Lakes Team will square off against the Great Plains All-Stars, featuring players from the Winnipeg Goldeyes, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and Kansas City T-Bones. The game will be played Tuesday, July 7 at Silver Cross Field in Joliet.

Pecci has been a part of every Northern League All-Star Game since 2006, earning the starting nod at shortstop in 2007 and 2008. Pecci homered in last year's All-Star Game in Winnipeg helping the Chicagoland club to a 6-5 victory, earning Most Valuable Player honors in the process. After a sluggish start to 2008, Pecci has raised his batting average to .260 by hitting .356 in the month of June. Since returning to the lineup June 6 after suffering an upper leg injury, Pecci has recorded at least one hit in 17 of 20 games and has a team-leading .435 on-base percentage. The 32-year-old former Stanford Cardinal recorded the 1,000th hit of his professional career on June 15 at U. S. Steel Yard and is the club's all-time hits leader with 423.

McNamee will be making his third straight All-Star appearance as Pecci's double play partner, and enters tonight's action with a .256 batting average. One of the most patient hitters in the league, McNamee leads all Northern League batters with 26 walks and carries a solid .384 on-base percentage. McNamee has also five stolen bases in 2009 and is on pace to walk more times than he strikes out for the fifth straight season.

Haake is having arguably the best offensive season of his five-year RailCats career and earns his second consecutive All-Star berth. The Northwestern grad ranks in the top five in the Northern League in RBI (35 - 2nd), stolen bases (11 - 2nd), doubles (12 - 3rd), triples (3 - 2nd), walks (25 - 3rd) and extra-base hits (21 - 2nd). Currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, Haake is batting .272 and leads the RailCats with six home runs. The 28-year-old has split time this season between first base, right field and designated hitter, and is hoping to make his first start in an All-Star Game.

Massaro highlights the RailCats four first-time All-Star selections as the team's top hitter through the first 40-plus games of the year. The ‘Cats leadoff man since day one, Massaro is eighth in the league with a .320 average and has nine doubles, three triples and one home run. Massaro also ranks second on the ‘Cats with seven stolen bases and has walked 22 times against only 18 strikeouts.

The RailCats closer, Shipman is one of three members of the bullpen named to the All-Star Game. Released earlier this season by the Kansas City T-Bones, Shipman has been lights out in 11 appearances for the RailCats, posting six saves and a 0.82 ERA in 11.0 innings of work. Shipman has allowed only nine hits and three walks while striking out 12. This is the third All-Star selection of Shipman's professional career, but first since the 2005 Southern League (AA) All-Star Game.

De la Cruz earned his spot on the All-Star Team by virtue of a near perfect first half of the season, which started with the 27-year-old throwing 17.1 consecutive scoreless innings. Through 17 outings in 2009 De la Cruz is 3-0 with a 0.41 ERA, having allowed just 12 hits and one run in 22.0 innings. De la Cruz picked up the first save of his two-year RailCats career in Sunday's win over Joliet.

Walker earned the win Sunday against Joliet and after the game had his contract sold to the New York Yankees, who assigned the 25-year-old southpaw to Charleston (A) in the South Atlantic League. Before leaving the RailCats, Walker recorded an astonishing 29 strikeouts in 19.1 innings and posted a 3-0 record. It is the second straight All-Star selection for Walker, who pitched in the 2008 Frontier League All-Star Game representing the Chillicothe Paints.

The 2009 Northern League All-Star Teams were selected by representatives from each of the league's six teams, including managers, coaches, broadcasters, newspaper writers, veteran players and other staff. Joliet Manager Wally Backman will skipper the Great Lakes All-Star Team against Kansas City's Andy McCauley.

For more information on the 2009 Northern League All-Star Game or to purchase tickets, visit www.jackhammerbaseball.com or www.northernleague.com.

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