Grant Gregg Pitcher of the Year

September 8, 2005 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Chico Outlaws News Release


The Golden Baseball League Thursday awarded several players for their outstanding play during the inaugural 2005 season, and among the honored elite was Chico Outlaws left-hander Grant Gregg, who was named the GBL's Pitcher of the Year.

The awards were voted on by league managers, general manager and GBL executive staff. In addition to Gregg, Desi Wilson of the Surprise Fightin' Falcons was named the GBL's Most Valuable Player, Nick Guerra of the San Diego Surf Dawgs was selected as Rookie of the Year and Manny Ayala of the Mesa Miners was chosen as the league's Rookie Pitcher of the Year.

"Giving Grant the award only makes official what we've known all year," Outlaws general manager Bob Linscheid said Thursday. "He was easily the top pitcher on Chico's staff, and during the last two months of the season he was absolutely dominant." Gregg was a combined 9-1 during July and August, tossing six complete games and posting a 1.71 earned run average.

Outlaws manger Mark Parent was pleased with Thursday's announcement. "It's nice to see someone rewarded for their hard work. Grant got a chance to be a starting pitcher and took advantage of the opportunity. It just goes to show that good things happen to good people."

The 25-year-old former San Diego Padres farmhand finished the 2005 season with a 12-2 record, topping the GBL in ERA (1.97), was first in innings pitched (137), tied for the league lead in victories (12), was second in complete games (6) and fifth in strikeouts (118). Gregg was victorious in his last six decisions and helped the Outlaws reach the playoffs by winning three times in the final nine days of the regular season.

Two other Outlaws players were recognized in the league's post-season awards selection. Shortstop Jesse Kovacs (.260 batting average, 2 home runs, 29 runs batted in) was one of the top vote-getters for GBL Rookie of the Year honors, while left-handed reliever Robert Anaya (2-1 record, 2.79 ERA in 21 appearances) was one of the top contenders for the Rookie Pitcher of the Year award.

Chico finished the 2005 season with a 49-41 record and earned a berth in the Golden Baseball League Championship Tournament. The Outlaws fell just short of the league title, losing to eventual champion San Diego in the tournament semi-final game.

Thank you fans... As general manager of the Chico Outlaws, I want to express my appreciation to the community and fans throughout the region for their support of the Chico Outlaws and the Golden Baseball League.

About one year ago we announced professional baseball was coming back to our community.

Since then, the support has been nothing less than overwhelming. Our founding partners, Tri-Counties Bank and Feather Falls Casino, and our official health care provider, Enloe Medical Center, stepped up early in the process to help us return this quality family entertainment to Chico.

The university, from President Paul Zingg and Vice Presidents Dennis Graham and Jim Moon to the facilities management staff, worked to help us return to Nettleton Stadium on time for the start of the season.

We appreciate the commitment of the game day staff, most of them students from Chico State, Butte College and Chico and Pleasant Valley high schools, during a busy, hot summer.

Our players came to Chico from all over the country and I want to thank them so much for the memories.

Finally, a big thank you to the folks who made all of this possible, the front office staff: Assistant General Manager Chris Holen; Director of Operations Becca Hoffer; Director of Ticket Sales Brian Ceccon; Office Manager Tracey Perotti; Jennifer Butterman and Jessica Freitas; and PR Director and Director of Broadcasting Rory Miller, who was on top of his game this year and helped bring our games to the listening audience throughout the country.

Bob Linscheid General Manager

A thank you from our league office:

As we have just crowned our inaugural championship team, the San Diego Surf Dawgs, we would like to personally thank all of you that have joined us at the ballpark this summer. Over the past two and a half years, we have met a tremendous group of individuals and organizations who share our passion for the great game of baseball and its impact on local communities. Together, we have put smiles on thousands of children's faces and provided players with a chance to fulfill their dreams of making it to the big leagues.

The atmosphere in our stadiums has been electric all season long, and this weekend was no different. More than 450,000 fans came out to a GBL ballpark this summer, helping four of our teams set all-time attendance records at their respective ballparks. Our fans also witnessed history as we welcomed the Japan Samurai Bears as a charter team in the League.

On the field, we have watched with excitement as our players and managers competed for a spot in this weekend's Championship Series. Fans came out in large numbers to support Rickey Henderson as he exemplifies true "love for the game" and watched in awe as Desi Wilson eclipsed the magical .400 plateau as he continues his quest for 2,000 career hits. The inaugural season also provided a collection of firsts: our first 3 pitch inning, our first triple play, and of course our first no-hitter (by Chico's Seth Johnson). Finally, we were fortunate to catch a glimpse of those special baseball talents who will soon be playing and coaching in major league stadiums across the world. At the conclusion of our regular season, thirteen GBL players had been sold to major league organizations.

For those of you that spent Labor Day weekend with us, thank you for joining us at the Island of Armada to celebrate the conclusion of what has been a truly special season for the GBL family. We again saw some truly memorable baseball games. There were lots of funs activities for the kids, player autograph sessions, mascots galore, and a great fireworks show. We enjoyed seeing all of you, and thank you for sharing your favorite memories from the season. We hope those memories will last a lifetime.

See you in 2006!

Play Ball!



Golden Baseball League Stories from September 8, 2005


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