IL1 Columbus Clippers

First-place Clippers have share of great stories

Published on July 9, 2008 under International League (IL1)
Columbus Clippers News Release


The Columbus Clippers, the only professional sports team in Ohio that is in first place, returns home to The Coop Thursday to start a four game homestand against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

The Clippers are full of wonderful stories.

Hitting Coach Rick Erstein will be leaving later this month to coach the USA Olympic Baseball Team in Beijing. Rick is a wonderful interview. He is the brother of Toronto's shortstop David Eckstein.

Both Rick and David are very active in the Kidney Foundation. They have three siblings that had kidney transplants as infants.

Third baseman Yurendell de Caster (Netherlands) has been asked to play for his country. (Yurendell speaks four languages fluently.) Second baseman Pete Orr (who leads the league in triples) could play for Canada again. He played in the 2004 Olympics. Orr leads the league in triples.

Closer Brian Sanches will play in the Triple-A All Star Game in Louisville next week. Brian has eleven saves and an 1.52 ERA. He was with Washington from 5/23 to 6/21.

The youngest player in the International league, RHP Shairon Martis (21) will pitch in the Futures Game. Shairon is also another Olympic candidate. He pitched for the Netherlands in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

This weekend if you present your Ohio Fishing or Hunting License you can purchase Box, Club or Reserved Seat tickets at buy one get one free. The two biggest outdoors men are outfielder Ryan Langerhans and Pete Orr. Talk about great fish stories! Langerhans has been red hot since returning from Washington In the past two weeks he is hitting .339 (20-59) with ten runs, four doubles, two triples, seven RBIs, five steals.

Are you an Ohio State football fan... you can't hold a candle to RHP Tyler Clippard. Born in raised in Florida, Clippard comes by his OSU allegiance naturally; Tyler's dad is a Buckeye grad.

Talking about the pigskin... catcher David Wallace was a QB at Vanderbilt and his brother plays TE in the NFL.

RHP Garrett Mock comes from an athletic family too. His Dad and brother were pitchers and his wife is a former college athlete, whose father also played in the NFL. Their son has some great genes! Garrett is a great interview.

We are coming up on the anniversary of the most famous pitch that Mike Bacsik ever threw... Barry Bonds' record breaking home run. Mike tells a great story about that evening. Talking about family genes, Mike's dad was a major league pitcher also.

Here is a piece of history for you. Larry Broadway is the first Columbus player in 70 years to be listed as a position player and a pitcher on the manager's score card. The first baseman has taken the mound four times (1.59 ERA) for the Clippers this season. Larry went back and graduated from Duke University this off-season.

Going into today's DH, 15 of the last 17 of the Clippers' wins have been by two runs or less. Talk about great pitching! Pitching Coach Steve McCatty can give you great insight on the staff.

Manager Tim Foli has had 123 roster changes so far this season, yet he has the Clippers in first place! That is as many moves as we did all last season. The record is 155 by the 2006 Clippers. The Clippers have sent 20 players to Washington so far this season. Eleven pitchers and nine position players.

Columbus fans have been flocking to The Coop for the final season of the legendary old ball park. More people have seen a minor league game at the stadium on Mound Street than any park in history!

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International League Stories from July 9, 2008


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