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Bush Molding the Black Bears

February 14, 2003 - Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Berkshire Black Bears News Release


Hello Black Bear fans! Hope everyone is enjoying the Valentine's Day weekend. Love is in the air and here at the Black Bears office, we love baseball and the thought of a warm summer day at Wahconah Park. We would like to apologize for this newsletter being late a week or two. Our website experienced some problems when the server crashed recently. Among the things we could not do on the website, one was sending out BEAR TRAX at the end of January. Thanks to much hard work by our web team, Boxcar Media, the site is up & running once again.

Now onto the news. Manager Darren Bush has wasted no time in molding the Black Bears into his image. He recently released 12 players off the 2002 roster, but is quickly filling the holes. New to the team are reliever B.J. Leach, infielder Mack Paciorek, his brother 1st baseman Pete Paciorek, and outfielder Kevin Forbes. Leach, a 14th round pick by the Boston Red Sox in the 1999 draft, has a career minor league record of 12-9 with a 2.97 ERA in 119 games, 44 saves, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.7/1. In 2000, he led the South Atlantic League with 40 saves and games pitched with 60 as a member of the Augusta GreenJackets.

Mack Paciorek is a middle infielder who spent 2002 with the Joliet Jackhammers in the Northern League Central. The Iowa State graduate played in 2001 for the Johnstown Johnnies in the Frontier League, hitting .292 with 24 doubles.

Pete, a 1994 draft pick of the San Diego Padres, played for the Western League's Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox in 2002 where his coach was Black Bears manager Darren Bush. He hit a career-high .330, and is one of the best defensive first basemen Darren has ever seen. He fits the perfect veteran role with his blend of enthusiasm & experience. His best season came in 1998 with Single-A Rancho Cugamonga, batting .277 with 17 HRs and 86 RBIs while leading the Quakes to the California League finals.

A native of Woomera, Australia, Kevin Forbes was a 1996 draft pick of the Montreal Expos. He spent two years with Vermont in the New York-Penn League before voluntarily retiring in 1999. Forbes returned in 2002 with the Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox of the Western League and batted .316 for the season. He possesses the qualities of a seasoned veteran. Kevin's above average arm, speed (14 stolen bases in 2002), and the ability to handle the bat are just some of the tools he brings to the table.

A winning team also features experienced coaching and Darren Bush is covering that area quite well. Coach Jim Dedrick pitched in college at the University of Southern California & compiled a career record of 51-37 with a 3.61 ERA in 357 minor league games. His best season came in 1993 as a member of the Orioles' Double-A affiliate in Bowie. Jim went 8-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 106 innings while holding batters to a .218 average and displaying versatility as both a starter and reliever. He made it to the majors in 1995 and pitched in six games with the Orioles, compiling a 2.35 ERA. He shares Darren's philosophy that working harder will make the chances for victory much greater.

The Berkshire Black Bears also announced a partnership with Ohio-based TRZ Sports Information Services to bring the broadcast of all 92 games this season to the TEAMLINE network. TEAMLINE allows for out-of-market fans and the families of players to listen to the live play-by-play via telephone. Since 1990, this service has provided live coverage of over 40,000 events annually. More than 50 minor league teams used the TEAMLINE service in 2002, including the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Northern League, Birmingham Barons, & Toledo Mud Hens. Fans planning to listen to the Black Bears can dial 1-800-846-4700 and enter in the team code 0120. For more information on TEAMLINE, go to www.teamline.cc.

Tired of the same old fundraisers? Then the Berkshire Black Bears Bonus Books are here to help. A Bonus Book consists of six undated Grandstand tickets valued at $5 each. Your organization or group sells the books for $25 each and gets to keep 50% of the money raised! For example, sell 50 books for $25 each and you've raised $625!

Think about it. Most programs that have groups selling candy bars or magazine subscriptions only return about 30% if they sell enough. With the Bonus Books, you're offered 50% no matter how many you sell. Fundraising with the Black Bears is a terrific way for your organization to raise money. Both on and off the field, everybody wins!

The Berkshire Black Bears begin their second season at Wahconah Park on June 2 against the Quebec Les Capitales. Season and individual game tickets are now on sale by calling the Berkshire Black Bears office at (413) 448-2255. More information on the Berkshire Black Bears can be obtained by visiting their website at www.berkshireblackbears.com.

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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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