Cardinals Caravan Attendees Announced
January 5, 2016 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Peoria Chiefs News Release
PEORIA, IL - The St. Louis Cardinals have announced which players will attend the Peoria stop of their caravan and right-handed pitcher Carlos Martinez leads a group that includes Luke Weaver, Mitch Harris, Mike Ohlman, Tom Lawless, Andy Benes and emcee Mike Claiborne. The 2016 Cardinals Caravan will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in East Peoria on Friday, January 15 at 6:00 p.m. The Caravan will be hosted by 1290 WIRL and tickets for fans are $2.00 and available at the door. Proceeds benefit the Oldtimers Baseball Association.
The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the players and coaches will sign autographs before taking questions from fans. In a new autograph policy implemented by the Cardinals in 2013, the first 400 kids 15 and under through the door will receive one autograph per player.
Martinez, 24, is coming off a 14-7 season in which he struck out 184 batters in 179 2/3 innings while posting a 3.01 ERA before a late season injury. Martinez pitched eight times with the Quad Cities River Bandits in the Midwest League in the 2011 season as a 19-year-old
Harris, 29, made his MLB debut in April 2015 and pitched 26 times for the Cardinals going 2-1 with a 3.67 ERA over 27 innings. Drafted in the 13th round of the 2008 draft, Harris served as a Navy Lieutenant before starting his baseball career in 2013 with the State College Spikes.
Weaver, 21, was the Cardinals first round pick (27th overall) of the 2014 draft out of Florida State and last season he went 8-5 with a spectacular 1.62 ERA in 16 starts for the Advanced-A Palm Beach Cardinals. Weaver also went 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA in seven games in the Arizona Fall League.
Ohlman, 25, was acquired by the Cardinals last off-season from the Baltimore Orioles and he spent the 2015 season as the Double-A Springfield Cardinals catcher. With Springfield he hit .273 with 12 homers, 17 doubles and 69 RBI in 103 games.
Lawless was the Chiefs manager in 2001 after an eight-year MLB career that included a 1985-88 stint with the Cardinals. As a player he is best known for a dramatic go-ahead three-run home run off Frank Viola in game three of the 1987 World Series at Busch Stadium. He managed the Houston Astros in an interim basis in 2014 and has worked with the Astros as a Minor League coach last season.
Benes pitched for the Cardinals in 1996-07 and again 2000-02 after being the number one overall pick of the 1988 draft by the San Diego Padres. With the Cardinals he won a career-high 18 games in 1996 and made two starts in the NLCS that season. Benes currently hosts Cardinals Kids while working pre and post-game with the Cardinals on Fox Sports Midwest.
Claiborne has covered sports in St. Louis for more than 30 years starting with KMOX in 1981 and has been part of the Cardinals broadcast team for more than a decade. In addition to hosting the pre-game show and the post-game show "Live at Shannons", Claiborne also provides play by play and does the Star of the Game interview.
The Monday luncheon at Dozer Park has been sold out. The event at Embassy Suites Sunday will sell tickets at the door.
Tickets and Promotions:
Season ticket packages and group tickets are currently on sale by calling 309-680-4000. Remaining promotions, giveaways, theme nights and daily specials will be announced later in the offseason. All game times and promotions are subject to change throughout the offseason.
Midwest League Stories from January 5, 2016
- Cardinals Caravan Attendees Announced - Peoria Chiefs
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- Dragons Announce 2016 Coaching Staff - Dayton Dragons
- TinCaps Hiring Seasonal Staff for 2016 Season - Fort Wayne TinCaps
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