BayBears off-season report
Published on February 13, 2007 under Southern League (SL1)
Mobile BayBears News Release
Many former Mobile BayBears made baseball news this off-season, including one who may re-join the BayBears with their new affiliate, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ronnie Merrill, the BayBears Most Popular Player in 2004, has signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks after spending 2006 with the Oakland Athletics organization. Merrill may be with the BayBears this season. If so, he would be the first BayBear to play in Mobile as both a Padres and Diamondbacks affiliate. While with the BayBears on the 2004 championship team, he batted .252, and split 2005 between Mobile and Triple-A Portland.
Adam Eaton, a BayBear in 2000, signed a 24-million dollar contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. While with Mobile in 2000, he went 4-1 before being promoted directly to San Diego.
The San Diego Padres this off-season released Kennard Jones, a BayBear in 2005 and 2006. With the BayBears, Jones hit .281 in 2005 and was named team MVP. In 2006, he hit .263 in 49 games with Mobile before being promoted to Triple-A Portland.
Brian Lawrence missed all of the 2006 season due to shoulder surgery, and will join the Colorado Rockies for the 2007 season. Pitching for the BayBears in 2000, he was 7-6 with a 2.42 ERA.
Rodrigo Lopez will join Lawrence in Colorado's rotation after leaving the Baltimore Orioles. Lopez was the starting pitcher in the Southern League Championship clinching game in 1998 at Hank Aaron Stadium, and went 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA that season. Lopez also holds the BayBears team records for strikeouts in a season and starts in a season. He was the 1999 BayBear Pitcher of the Year.
Gary Matthews Jr., a BayBear in 1997 and 1998, signed a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this winter. In 1998 with Mobile, Matthews recorded the final out of the Southern League Championship clinching game against Jacksonville. In 2006, he was nominated for Play of the Year with an over-the-wall catch in centerfield for the Texas Rangers.
The 2007 Mobile BayBears open their season on Thursday, April 5th against Chattanooga at 7:05.
Southern League Stories from February 13, 2007
- Suns Promotional Schedule Released for 2007 Season - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- BayBears off-season report - Mobile BayBears
- Birmingham Barons Selected to Host 2009 Southern League All-Star Game - Birmingham Barons
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