GENEVA, IL - With the 2009 World Series between the Phillies and Yankees kicking off this Wednesday, some uniquely similar circumstances surround a pair of former Cougars who will be depended on by their respective teams in this year's Fall Classic.Each is a right-handed starting pitcher with considerable postseason experience. Each already wears a World Series ring. And both Major League stars first paved a way to fame in Geneva as young Cougars, opening up their professional careers with much promise in west suburban Chicago.
Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton, a Cougar in 2003, hopes to work some mound magic and help the Phillies to their second consecutive world championship. As an Oakland A's farmhand in '03, Blanton made 21 starts for the Cougars that season, posting an 8-7 record, 2.57 ERA, and striking out 144 batters in 133 innings. The burly right-hander was a Midwest League All-Star that summer along with seven of his Cougars teammates, including present-day Major Leaguers Nelson Cruz, John Baker and Jared Burton.
Just one season later, Blanton made his big league debut on September 21, 2004 for the A's, becoming the 75th former Cougar to reach the bigs. Blanton spent the '05, '06, '07 and a portion of the '08 seasons in the green and gold of Kane County's parent club before a mid-season trade brought him across the country to Philadelphia. Upon his arrival, Blanton flourished in his new surroundings and his effort in last fall's World Series will be remembered in baseball circles for a long time. In a pivotal Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Rays, Blanton provided steady mound work while slugging a home run - the first time a pitcher homered in a World Series game since 1974.
On the other side of the field is A.J. Burnett, hoping to cap off his first season in Yankees' pinstripes with a taste of World Series bubbly. Burnett's stay in Geneva preceded Blanton's, as Burnett spent the '98 season at Elfstrom Stadium. Throughout his Major League career, Burnett has been regarded as an overpowering pitcher with commanding stuff, but Cougars fans saw that long before the rest of the country did. In 119 innings of work in '98, Burnett fanned an astonishing 186 Midwest League batters. Burnett's 186 victims that season ranks first in Cougars history among single-season records, yet his 20 starts in '98 comes nowhere close to a single-season record, reflecting Burnett's mound dominance with a 14.07 K/9.0 IP ratio. A year later, Burnett's number was called by the Marlins and he made his big league debut on August 17, 1999 - officially the 50th former Cougar to reach baseball's biggest stage.
Burnett's time as a Cougar coincided with Kane County's affiliation with the Marlins, a fruitful partnership that included many ex-Cougars (Burnett included) sharing the world championship trophy as Marlins in 2003. That season, Burnett along with former Cougars Josh Beckett, Miguel Cabrera and Josh Willingham, celebrated a come-from-behind World Series win over Burnett's present employer.
A third familiar Cougars face will be gunning for a title - Phillies broadcaster Scott Franzke, who was the voice of Kane County from 1999-2001 and broadcast the Phillies' world championship team last fall. Franzke was behind the microphone for the Cougars' Midwest League championship team in '01 - a squad that included the aforementioned Miguel Cabrera as well as Padres All-Star Adrian Gonzalez.
Notes on Blanton and Burnett
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Both pitchers rank among the Cougars Top 10 in single-season pitching records - Burnett's 186 strikeouts in 1998 ranks first, while Blanton's 144 strikeouts is good for 10th. Burnett's 1.97 ERA that season is third-best in Cougars history and Blanton's 2.57 mark ranks eighth on the all-time list. -
Each pitcher's respective seasons at Kane County resulted in the second-highest strikeout totals in all of Minor League Baseball. -
Each player has won a World Series championship - Burnett's came in 2003 as a Marlin, while Blanton's came just last season with Philadelphia. -
Burnett became the 50th former Cougar to reach the Majors in 1999, while Blanton's debut in 2004 was the 75th such occurrence in Cougars franchise history. -
As Cougars: Blanton was 8-7 with a 2.57 ERA, Burnett was 10-4 with a 1.97 ERA.
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