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Beach Bums Place Frontier League Record Nine All-Stars on East Division Squad

July 4, 2012 - Frontier League (FL)
Traverse City Beach Bums News Release


The Traverse City Beach Bums will be well represented at the Frontier League All-Star game one week from today in Normal, IL as a record nine Beach Bums were voted onto the East Division squad.

Additionally, Traverse City manager Gregg Langbehn will skipper the team, giving him the honor of selecting the final three players who will round out the roster. One of those selections must come from Washington, who did not have a player voted on the team. The nine all-stars voted into the game for Traverse City break the previous high of eight that was set by Southern Illinois in 2010.

The significance of that many All-Stars was not lost on Langbehn,

"It recognizes the fact that the Beach Bums are having a very good first half of the year," Langbehn commented. "On an individual level it lets players know that people around the league think quite highly of them."

Three Beach Bums will start the game as Ryan Still was voted as the starting second baseman while Jeff Flagg and Brian Heere were both voted starters in the outfield. Still is currently fifth in the Frontier League in hitting with a .340 average while leading the circuit in walks with 45 and on-base percentage at .563. He is also tied for third in runs scored with 34.

Flagg was the leading vote-getter in the outfield for the East and is hitting .287 entering play on Wednesday. The right-handed hitting slugger is tied for second in the league in homeruns with 12 and is sixth with 40 RBI.

Heere has been a mainstay at the top of the Beach Bums lineup, having played every inning of the season out in leftfield, batting .300 with three homers, 26 RBI and has 10 doubles. Heere also has two outfield assists on the year.

Six Traverse City players were voted in as reserves as Chase Burch and Jose Vargas were selected as infielders, Marcus Nidiffer will be one of the three catchers on the squad while Reid Kelly, Scott Mueller and Jacob Clem are all on the pitching staff.

Burch is hitting .304 with five homers and 35 RBI. Earlier this season, Burch set the Beach Bums career records for hits, runs scored and doubles. It is the third All-Star appearance for Burch who also represented Traverse City in 2010 and 2011.

Vargas is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak and leads the Frontier League in homers with 14 and RBI with 48 in addition to hitting .304. He also has seven homers in his last seven games, going deep in six of them.

Nidiffer is hitting .257 with four homers and 14 RBI. In addition to his offense, Nidiffer leads the league with a 1.000 fielding percentage behind the plate and has the highest caught stealing percentage of any East Division catcher.

Kelly and Clem have been top of the rotation starters for the Beach Bums this season. Kelly is tied for the league lead in wins with a 6-1 record and dots the FL leaderboards in ERA at 2.77 (T-10) and strikeouts with 53 (T-3). He has gone seven or more innings in each of his last five starts and Traverse City is 7-2 in games where he has taken the hill.

Clem has been at or near the top of the Frontier League ERA leaderboard for the majority of the season and is currently 3-3 with a 2.98 ERA. A durable starter, he has gone six or more innings in five of his eight starts and has recorded at least 15 ground ball outs in four of them.

Mueller is the Beach Bums all-time saves leader with 45 and is currently second in the FL with 10 on the season. He is also just 11 saves shy of tying Bobby Chandler's all-time Frontier League saves record. This is the third All-Star appearance for Mueller who also represented Traverse City in 2010 and 2011.

Langbehn's three manager selections are due to the league office on Thursday.

The Beach Bums currently hold the best record in the Frontier League and will take on the Normal CornBelters with a very special Welcome Home Celebration on Wednesday night with all active duty military and veterans being welcomed onto the field for a pregame ceremony. Gates will open at 5:00 p.m. and the evening will close with an extended fireworks show, presented by Team Bob's. The series wraps up against the CornBelters on Thursday with a Two-for-Ticket Thirsty Thursday with all chairback seats being 2-for-1 and a dollar off fountain drinks and beer. For tickets call 943-0100 or stop by the Wuerfel Park ticket office.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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