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Amarillo Sox Sox Sign Three

January 17, 2012 - American Association (AA)
Amarillo ThunderHeads News Release


AMARILLO, TX -The Amarillo Sox Baseball Club announced this afternoon they have re-signed INF Matthew Tucker, OF/DH Tim Alberts, and agreed to terms with LHP Trent Lare for the 2012 season.

Tucker, a resident of Parker, Colorado, attended the University of Washington and Dallas Baptist University. The 6'1", 180 lb. switch-hitting infielder was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 31st round of the 2007 MLB Amateur Draft. Matthew spent four years in the Orioles minor league system, advancing to Double-A (AA) Bowie of the Eastern League, until his unconditional release following the 2010 season. Signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Amarillo Sox in 2011, Tucker appeared 51 games posting a .270 batting average in 200 official at-bats with 9 triples to go along with 32 runs batted in. His 9 triples tied him for 4th best in Amarillo independent baseball history.

The 6'3", 210 lb. Alberts resides in Syracuse, New York and attended Niagara University. His father Butch Alberts played professionally for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1978. Tim was a standout outfielder for NU, where he achieved a career .360 batting average producing Metro Athletic Conference All-Star Selections in 2006 and 2007. He began his professional career in Washington of the Frontier League in 2009, before moving on to Joliet in the Northern League. He briefly returned to the Frontier League in 2010 with Windy City, before joining Sioux City in the American Association, where he hit .338 in just 45 games. Last year with the Sox, Tim appeared in 94 games posting a career second-best .332 batting average in 382 at-bats with 72 runs batted in to go along with his 8 home runs.

A native of Lyndon Kansas, the 6'4" 195 lb. lefty was originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 42nd round of the 2004 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Oklahoma State University, but did not sign. Prior to his time at OSU, Lare played two seasons at Coffeyville Community College where as a sophomore, was 9-3 with a save in 13 appearances, including 11 starts with a 2.78 ERA and earned second-team all-conference honors in 2005.

Lare made his professional debut with the Kalamazoo Kings of the Frontier League in 2007 pitching parts of three seasons for the Kings compiling a record of 15-12 before being acquired by the New York Yankees during the 2009 season. Trent spent two seasons in the Bronx Bombers minor league system working both as a starter and reliever appearing in 56 games with 14 starts posting a 6-7 record to go along with 148 strike outs, in 151.1 innings of work. Lare was released by the Yankees following the 2010 season.

In 2011, Lare split his time between three teams in the American Association of Professional Baseball with the Wichita Wingnuts, Kansas City T-Bones, and Gary South Shore RailCats respectively. He appeared in 27 games with 10 starts with a record of 4-6 posting 6.10 ERA while striking out 56 batters while just walking 29, in 79.2 innings of work as starter and reliever. Lare was acquired by the Amarillo Sox on November 2, 2011 as the player to be named later in the trade that sent RHP David Nathanson to the Gary South Shore RailCats on March 25, 2011.

Join the Sox For "The March To A Million!" Season tickets are currently available for purchase in-person or over the phone by visiting the Amarillo Sox Executive Offices at 801 South Polk Street or by calling (806) 242-GOLD (4653). Game day tickets go on-sale May 1, 2012. VISA, MasterCard, and Discover accepted.

For more information about season and individual game tickets, game times, promotions, marketing opportunities, full game schedule, and everything else Sox Baseball, visit the "Official Website of the Amarillo Sox" by logging onto www.amarillosox.com.

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