MWL1 Beloit Sky Carp

Gardenhire, Smith Big Hit with Snapper Crowd

Published on January 29, 2009 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Beloit Sky Carp News Release


With a packed Country Club of Beloit, Minnesota Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire and General Manager Bill Smith entertained baseball fans with the up coming 2009 season and stories from their previous baseball experiences at the Snappers Fifth Annual Hot Stove Banquet Wednesday night.

The evening kicked off with Snappers General Manager Jeff Vohs presenting the first ever Stateline Player and Team of the Year awards.

Mike Jacobs from Beloit (WI) Tuner High School was presented the Player of the Year Award. Jacobs had a solid junior season for Turner High by striking out 99 hitters as well as posting a 1.10 earned run average.

Vohs then presented the team award to Hononegah High School lead by head coach Matt Simpson. The Hononegah squad went 23-9 during the 2008 season and won the Regional Championship and reached the Sectional final and fell to the eventual Illinois state champion.

Then the main event kicked off with Smith as he took the podium. Smith talked about how important the minor league system was to the Twins organization and how the Twins have been successful at the major league level by sticking to that philosophy.

Smith also addressed the fans about the new home of the Twins "Target Field" which will be open for the start of the 2010 season. It took about ten years before the Twins had their new field, and Smith acknowledged that it may take a while for the Snappers to get a new stadium and encouraged the Stateline Area to keep working towards that goal.

After Smith, Gardenhire took the mic, and commented as to how he was impressed with all the talent that has come through Pohlman Field. Gardenhire also commented on how his son Toby enjoyed his time playing for the Snappers.

After Gardenhire concluded with his speech both Smith and Gardenhire fielded questions from the audience, stemming from Ozzie Gullien and the rival White Sox to the World Baseball Classic.

The evening was very successful with fans bidding on many autographed baseball items in the silent auction - everything from Paul Molitor and Joe Mauer to Ben Revere and Anthony Swarzak. Gardenhire and Smith were very entertaining and took time throughout the night to speak with fans and sign autographs.

Ticket packages for the 2009 season are now available with plenty of perks to go along with them. Contact a Snappers' representative at 2301 Skyline Drive in Beloit, 608-362-2272, or www.snappersbaseball.com for more information.

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Midwest League Stories from January 29, 2009


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