SAL1 Jersey Shore BlueClaws

Five former BlueClaws in World Baseball Classic

Published on February 21, 2006 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Jersey Shore BlueClaws News Release


LAKEWOOD, N.J. - The inaugural playing of the World Baseball Classic will get underway on March 3. Five former Lakewood BlueClaws will take to the field representing four of the 16 countries participating in the WBC. Robinson Tejeda and Eude Brito will represent their home country of the Dominican Republic, Bradley Harman will be playing for Australia, Scott Mathieson heads back to his home in the north to play for Canada, and Carlos Ruiz will represent Panama.

Of the five former BlueClaws, Robinson Tejeda has had the most success since moving on from Lakewood. Tejeda, a right handed pitcher, started the 2005 season in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and after going 2-0 in five starts he got the call to report to Philadelphia. Tejeda moved into the starting rotation on June 8 and went 4-3 with 72 strikeouts while allowing two runs or less in 11 of his 13 starts. Tejeda made two stops in Lakewood during his days in the minors. He had a short stay during the 2003 season but spent much of the 2001 season with the BlueClaws. Tejeda is second all time in Lakewood history with 28 games started on the mound and is the all-time BlueClaws leader with 172 strikeouts. Tejeda was born in Bani, Dominican Republic and still resides there today.

Also representing the Dominican squad is Eude Brito who was born and lives in Sabana de la Mar, DR. The southpaw spent much of the 2005 season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in Triple-A ball with an impressive 6-2 record. Brito also got a call to the show in 2005 and started in the Phillies bullpen but was forced into a starting role due to his teammate's injuries. Brito went 1-2 with his lone win coming in a game against Atlanta in which Brito threw six shut-out innings. Brito played for the BlueClaws during the 2001 and 2002 seasons and had a record of 5-4 with seven saves with an ERA of 2.69 over the two years. Brito has taken to the mound more than any other BlueClaws' pitcher in the history of the organization with 55 games pitched. After the World Baseball Classic, Brito will most likely find himself in a middle relief role with the Phillies.

Of the five players, Bradley Harman is the most recently removed from Lakewood. Harman spent the entire 2005 season with the BlueClaws playing 105 games as a middle infielder and hitting 11 home runs. Harman's on base percentage of .380 ranks third all time and his batting average of .303 puts him fourth all time on the Lakewood charts.

More recently, Harman played for Australia in the World Cup last September. Harman finished the tournament with an on base percentage of .412 and some scouts feel his defensive skills are better than that of Phillies' second baseman Chase Utley.

Still a couple years removed from getting a chance at playing in the majors, Harman will most likely find himself playing high-A ball in Clearwater to start the 2006 season. Harman was born in 1985 in Melbourne and calls Ferntree Gully, Australia home.

The highest rated right handed starting pitcher in the Phillies' minor league system will be playing for the Canadian team this March. Scott Mathieson hasn't had the greatest numbers in the minors but scouts feel the improvement he has shown in recent years will eventually land him a job in the majors. Mathieson went 3-8 for Clearwater in 2005 and played for Lakewood in the 2004 season. Mathieson was 8-9 as a 25 game starter and had an ERA of 4.32 in 131.1 innings pitched. Like Bradley Harman, Mathieson represented his country in the World Cup and beat Sweden before losing to the tough Cuban squad despite throwing four shut-out innings. Mathieson has a fastball that reaches 96 mph and a decent slider and change-up in his arsenal. Mathieson will most likely find himself in Reading playing Double-A ball come the start of the 2006 season. Mathieson was born in Vancouver and now resides in Alergrove, British Columbia, Canada.

Carlos Ruiz has consistently improved his offensive game to coincide with his already solid defensive abilities. Ruiz hit .300 in 100 games with 25 doubles for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2005. Ruiz has a strong arm that allowed him to throw out 31 percent of base-stealers in Triple-A ball. Ruiz was the backstop in Lakewood during the 2002 season. Ruiz played in 73 games and had a batting average of .261 and had 32 runs batted in for the BlueClaws. Ruiz could find himself in contention for a backup role in Philadelphia this season and could have been called up at the end of last season had it not been for a concussion and a sore shoulder. Ruiz was born in and resides in Chiriqui, Panama.

The World Baseball Classic will begin in Tokyo on March 3. All former BlueClaws will start their first round games on March 7 in Phoenix, Orlando and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Second round games will begin March 12 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Anaheim, California. The Semifinals will be on March 8 and the Finals will take place Monday March 20 at PETCO Park in San Diego, California.

Individual, full season and partial plan tickets for the 2006 BlueClaws season are on sale, including the BlueClaws May 15 game at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia. Ticket windows are open M-F 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. and Saturday's 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Additional information is listed online at www.blueclaws.com or by calling 732-901-7000.

The BlueClaws drew 444,607 fans during their Fifth Anniversary season and welcomed the team's 2-millionth fan, doing so faster than any other South Atlantic League and New Jersey professional baseball team. Lakewood will open the home 2006 season April 13 against Delmarva at 6:35 p.m.

Check out the Jersey Shore BlueClaws Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from February 21, 2006


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.

OurSports Central