Canaries Honor a Legend, Retire Ben Moore's Number
Published on July 14, 2018 under American Association (AA)
Sioux Falls Canaries News Release
Sioux Falls Canaries pitching coach Ben Moore took his place in club history on Saturday, having his number 25 retired in a pregame ceremony at Sioux Falls Stadium.
"It means that I was good enough to stay with the same team for a long time," Moore said before the ceremony. "This league is full of turnover, and the guys that usually stay on teams become synonymous with those teams, because they're good players."
Moore is the American Association's all-time leader in strikeouts, wins and innings pitched. He played for Sioux Falls from 2008 to 2011, and again from 2013 to 2014.
Moore is the second former Canary to have his number retired, after Beau Torbert's number 7.
Canaries manager Mike Meyer, in his eighth season alongside Moore, delivered a heartfelt speech at the ceremony, his voice cracking at times. Meyer called Moore his "right-hand man" throughout his career.
"90 percent of what I preach is something Mike preached to me," Moore said. "We rarely disagree, and when we do it's with a mutual respect."
Moore said Meyer was the main reason why he got into coaching.
"I've been playing baseball since I was a little kid, and I couldn't have ever imagined doing anything else," Moore said. "I know it sounds crazy, but it gets better every year."
While the ceremony was touching for the 3,164 fans at the Birdcage, the Canaries weren't able to top the night off with a win, falling to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 12-5.
The RedHawks scored five runs in the first, leading 12-0 after six.
Canaries right-hander Tyler Wolfe, making his first pro start, allowed nine runs (eight earned) over four innings, taking the loss.
The Birds scored all five of their runs in the last third of the game, including a two-run home run by David Bergin in the eighth. It was Bergin's fourth blast of the year.
ODDS AND ENDS
Bergin's two-hit night extended his hitting streak to 11 games, his second-straight mulit-hit game ... Jabari Henry has a nice seven-game hitting streak of his own, also with back-to-back games with multiple hits ... Bergin's home run was the 61st of his American Association career, after hitting his 60th on Thursday night at Winnipeg.
ON DECK
Game three of the series against Fargo-Moorhead is set for 1:05 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. Birds fans can get their tickets at the Sioux Falls Stadium box office or by calling 336-6060.
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