Atlantic League Bullpen
Published on April 28, 2023 under Atlantic League (AtL) News Release
ATLANTIC LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES
Seasons Greetings!: While usually reserved for the traditional holiday season, the dawn of a new baseball season is also reason to celebrate a new season!
Silver Season: The 2023 season marks the 25th anniversary of the Atlantic League.
Founded in 1998, the league has thrived and coincidentally arrives at both its 25th season of play and the 25th anniversary of the first game. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when all of baseball outside of MLB shut down, the ALPB can celebrate both honors in 2023.
New Faces, New Places: For the second consecutive season, the Atlantic League line-up features 10 teams. The Kentucky Wild Health Genomes have been replaced by a new club in Frederick, Md. The new club, which will announce its branding in the near future, will be managed by former Genomes skipper Mark Minicozzi. The Lexington Legends are under the new ownership of Nathan and Keri Lyons and have been re-branded as the Counter Clocks. There are three new managers in the ALPB in 2023. Rick Forney has replaced Mark Mason in York, Homer Bush is the new skip- per in Staten Island following the departure of Edgar Alfonzo, and Barry Lyons has taken over in Lexington from P.J. Phillips.
Defending Champs: The Lancaster Barn- stormers won their third ALPB Championship in 2022 by defeating High Point 3-0 in the League Championship Series. Lancaster's Oscar De La Cruz tossed a four-hit complete game to lead the 'Stormers to a 6-1 in the final contest and earn LCS MVP honors.
All-Stars Return: Among the 2022 Atlantic League Postseason All-Stars who appear poised to return in 2023 are 1B Andretty Cordero (Lancaster), SS Jack Reinheimer (Gastonia), OF Zander Wiel (High Point) and DH David Harris (So. Maryland). Daryl Thompson, the three-time defending ALPB Pitcher of the Year is back for an 11th season with the Blue Crabs. Thompson is the winningest pitcher in league history with 91 wins. Also returning is All-Star Carlos Franco who earned the honor at York in '22 but will suit up for Gastonia this season.
Top-Notch Defenders: Returners from the 2022 Red-White-Blue All-Defensive team, include C Ryan Haug (So. Maryland), 1B Nellie Rodriguez (York), 2B Melvin Mercedes (Lancaster) who was the ALPB Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, 3B Michael Russell (High Point), OF Braxton Lee (So. Maryland) and P Mitch Lambson (So. Maryland).
Stat Leaders: Among the top active Atlantic League players in career stats, nobody can top So. Maryland's Daryl Thompson. Thompson owns the league record with 91 all-time wins and is also on top in the record book with 209 all-time starts, 968 strikeouts, 1,340.2 innings pitched and five career shutouts. Long Island's Lew Ford will suit up in a Ducks uniform for the 13th season. His 1,002 all-time hits ranks fourth and also puts him on top among active players. Charleston has acquired Telvin Nash from York as he looks to expand on his 104 all-time homers, currently the eighth-most in league history.
Milestones on the Horizon: High Point man- ager Jamie Keefe enters his 21st season as a manager and fourth at High Point. Keefe has 981 wins and will soon be seeking his 1,000th ... So. Maryland, with 950 all-time wins, is just 50 victories away from becoming the sixth ALPB club to top 1,000 ... So. Maryland's Stan Cliburn is 38 wins away from 1,800 for his career.
Silver Squad: The ALPB is celebrating its 25th Anniversary and has selected elite former players to comprise the offi cial ALPB Silver Anniversary team. A total of 25 players have been selected to commemorate the league's fi rst quarter century. The list of honorees is comprised of former Players of the Year, Pitchers of the Year, League Championship MVPs, All-Stars and record holders, the most talented players to ever grace an Atlantic League ballpark. The 16 players honored thus far include:
RHP Tim Cain
RHP Mike Guilfoyle
OF Glenn Murray
3B Jeff Nettles
RHP Lincoln Mikkelsen
UTIL/DH Ray Navarrete
RHP Jim Ed Warden
1B Josh Pressley
C Francisco Morales
C Luis Rodriguez
SS Victor Rodriguez
RHP John Brownell
SS Bryant Nelson
RHP Dwayne Pollok
OF Blake Gailen
RHP Jon Hunton
The final nine honorees will be announced in the coming weeks.
Atlantic League Stories from April 28, 2023
- High Point Rockers Edge Long Island Ducks, 3-2 - High Point Rockers
- Rockers Rain on Ducks' Opening Day Parade - Long Island Ducks
- Atlantic League Bullpen - AtL
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