FSL1 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels

Miracle to Honor Professional Baseball Scouts

Published on July 9, 2009 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels News Release


Fort Myers, FL (July 9, 2009) -Al Goldis and John Barr will be inducted into the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame (PBSHOF) prior to tomorrow night's Fort Myers Miracle game at Hammond Stadium.

This is the second year of honorees, with the selections announced by The Goldklang Group, and sponsored by The Topps Company, who also include eight additional scouts in a trading card set paired with star players they scouted.

The induction ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. in front of the Topps Scout Wall, near the main entrance of Hammond Stadium.

John Barr is the Special Assistant to the General Manager in charge of Amateur and International Scouting for the San Francisco Giants. He has left his footprints all over the baseball map during his illustrious career. Holding posts with the Twins, Dodgers, Orioles, and Mets, as well as serving a stint with the San Diego Padres as Assistant General Manager.

Barr was inducted into the Mid-Atlantic Scouts Association Hall of Fame in 2008 and has been responsible in some way for the evaluating, drafting, and signing of over 100 major league players including, Mike Mussina, Russell Martin, and Jonathan Broxton

Al Goldis was a professional baseball player, teacher, coach, and sports information director prior to his re-entering the game as the East Coast Supervisor of Scouting for the California Angels, a position he held until 1986.

Following his stint with the Angels he took a position with the Chicago White Sox as their Director of Scouting and Player Development. Under Goldis' direction the "Pale Hose" experienced a resurgence having all his first round draft picks make it to the big leagues within two years of being drafted.

Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, Frank Thomas and Alex Fernandez were four players who went on to have outstanding careers.

In 1991, Goldis joined the Milwaukee Brewers as Vice President of Scouting and Player Development where he stated for two years before joining the Chicago Cubs as Vice President. Brooks Keischnick and Kerry Wood again were some of the first round selections that reached Wrigley Field under Goldis. Goldis' organizations have put more than forty-eight players in the major leagues.

With players, executives, umpires, writers and broadcasters honored annually in Cooperstown at the Baseball Hall of Fame, this is a unique honor given to those at the very foundation of player development for the Major Leagues. The inductees are commemorated with their names on the walls at the six minor league clubs operated by the Goldklang Group (Charleston RiverDogs, Ft. Myers Miracle, Hudson Valley Renegades, St. Paul Saints, Brockton Rox and Sioux Falls Canaries).

This year's honorees include the great Tom Greenwade, the only inductee who is deceased. Greenwade had a long scouting career for the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees and is best remembered for his signing of Mickey Mantle, and later of Bobby Murcer. Greenwade, who died in 1986, also gave Branch Rickey the definitive scouting report that made him decide that Jackie Robinson was the player best suited to integrate the Major Leagues.

Greenwade, along with the Phillies' Marti Wolever will be honored this season in St. Paul. Honored at Hudson Valley will be Joe McIlvane (Minnesota) and Joe Rigoli (St. Louis). Honored at Brockton will be Rene Mons (Milwaukee) and Roland Johnson (New York Mets Honored at Sioux Falls will be Bob Fontaine (Toronto) and Gary Hughes (Chicago Cubs). Honored at Charleston will be Tom Burns (Toronto) and Howard McCullough (Arizona).

The scouts selected for inclusion on Topps cards in 2009, paired with a prominent player they have signed, are Paul Cogan, now a scout for Cleveland (paired with his "find", C.C. Sabathia), Clarence Johns, Houston (Russell Martin), Mark Wilson, Minnesota (Joe Mauer), Pat Daugherty, Colorado (Matt Holliday), Larry Pardo, Milwaukee (Ryan Braun), Fred Repke, Tampa Bay (Evan Longoria), Matt Lundin, Philadelphia (Chase Utley), and Darrell Conner, Philadelphia (Cole Hamels).

(Last year's inaugural year inductees were John Tumminia (Chicago White Sox), Tom Giordano (Texas), Tom Kotchman (Los Angeles Angels), Rudy Santin (San Francisco), Lennie Merullo (MLB Scouting Bureau), Buzz Bowers (Boston), Lon Joyce (Los Angeles Dodgers), Donny Rowland(New York Yankees), Brad Sloan (Los Angeles Angels), Art Stewart (Kansas City), Phil Rizzo (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Hep Cronin (Atlanta).

The Goldklang Group activated a ballpark campaign in 2008 to spotlight the tremendous dedication of Professional Baseball Scouts, tireless and devoted individuals who spend a significant amount of their lives on the road, and create recognition for their invaluable contributions to the game of baseball.

The criteria for induction includes a minimum of 20 years of pro scouting experience, with selection based on a combination of quantifiable success in the field, contributions made to the game in other areas of the sport whether professional or amateur, and importantly, their involvement and dedication to the local community that is honoring them through induction.

The PBSHOF is the culmination of recent broad scale efforts to create a forum designed to honor one of the game's most valuable professions. The combined reach and recognition achieved through the partnership of industry leader Topps and the Goldklang Group has succeeded in shining a long overdue spotlight on scouts across the landscape of professional baseball.

ABOUT THE GOLDKLANG GROUP The Goldklang Group is a sports entertainment consulting and management firm. The Group provides operational consulting and management services in all areas relating to sports franchise and event acquisition, promotion and operation.

The principals in the Group are Marvin Goldklang and Mike Veeck. Goldklang is a noted owner and operator of several highly successful minor league baseball franchises, Chairman of M.S. Goldklang and Company, a New Jersey-based merchant banking firm, and a limited partner in the Yankees. Veeck is a noted public speaker and author, as well as an owner and operator of minor league baseball clubs that continually are recognized nationally for their promotional innovation and financial success. (www.goldklanggroup.com)

ABOUT THE TOPPS COMPANY, INC. Founded in 1938, Topps is a leading creator and marketer of sports and related cards, entertainment products, and distinctive confectionery. Topps entertainment products include Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA and other trading cards, sticker album collections, and collectible games. The Company's confectionery brands include "Bazooka" bubble gum, Ring Pop," "Push Pop," Baby Bottle Pop" and "Juicy Drop Pop" lollipops. For additional information, visit http://www.topps.com/.

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Florida State League Stories from July 9, 2009


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