SAL1 Charleston Dirty Birds

New Affiliation Brings New Excitement

Published on November 4, 2004 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release


The Milwaukee Brewers have a rich baseball tradition that will be shared with West Virginia Baseball in the 2005 season. Rated baseball's top farm system by Baseball America in 2004, the Brewer's minor league system is one that is full of talent and should help to bring lots of excitement to the new ballpark next season. In this week's newsletter we'll take a look at some of the players individually who played at the Single A level for the Beloit Snappers in the Midwest League. We will also get to know Bill Applebee, one of the new faces in the Alley Cats Front Office.

Cleaning grill tops, washing fryers and passing out hot dogs are not new tasks for Bill Applebee. Bill, 26, used to be the assistant director of concessions for the Erie SeaWolves back in 1999. His one-year reign with the SeaWolves was his first in minor league baseball. He later made his way to South Bend and worked with the Notre Dame athletic department for two years, followed by the 2004 baseball season when he worked as an Inside Ticket Sales Representative with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 2005 season will be Bill's 3rd in the minor league circuit.

In the summer of 1999, Bill was an intern for the Erie SeaWolves and served as the Assistant Director of Concessions and also helped with the opening of the ballpark in Mahoning Valley. While with the University of Notre Dame, Bill helped to construct brochures for summer camps coordinated by the University. He was in charge of contacting coaches to organize dates, times and other pertinent information to help put the camp together. He also scheduled guest speakers for the summer camps.

After working with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an Inside Ticket Sales Representative, and having some previous minor league baseball experience, Bill notices a lot of differences between the two venues from a front office standpoint. In the minor leagues Bill says that you have to know how to do a little bit of everything. One day you may be selling tickets, the next day you may be helping out with promotions, and the next day you may be contributing to concessions. While working with the Pirates, his job was a little more concentrated to one particular venue. Working with the Pirates he had one responsibility, to sell tickets. Here with West Virginia Baseball he knows that the responsibilities will change from one day to the next.

Bill is an avid sports fan and loves working in sports. He loves the idea that every morning he wakes up doing something that he loves to do, and doesn't wake up every morning knowing that he's going to work to do something that he has to do. He takes great pride in the fact that he is able to pay his bills while doing something he has always wanted to do. His favorite teams include the Toronto Blue Jays, The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, North Carolina Tar Heels, the Indianapolis Colts and he loved watching "The Human Highlight Reel" Dominique Wilkins. He also enjoys watching movies; he's a huge movie buff. His favorite movies are The Shawshank Redemption and the Star Wars Trilogy.

Snapping Stars

Last year the Beloit Snappers finished the 2004 season at 72-68 in the Midwest League. They had some promising young superstars pass through, and some may end up in Charleston during the 2005 season. Vinny Rottino was perhaps their most consistent hitter last season. He hit .304 in 139 games.

His 161 hits were best on the team and tied for 2nd best in the league. He knocked in a league high 124 runs, he also led the team in total bases (255), games played (139), at bats (529), triples (9), and he tied for the team lead in homeruns with 17. Terry Trofholz and Drew Anderson were the only other players on the team to play over 100 games and hit over .300.

Drew Anderson hit .307 in 123 games with 140 hits, 64 runs, 22 doubles, 59 RBI, his 45 walks tied for the team lead. Terry Trofholz hit .300 even in 119 games. He was the team leader in runs scored with 86, which also ranked 4th in the league, he ranked 3rd on the team in hits with 138, drove in 42 runs and his 48 stolen bases were 2nd best in the Midwest League.

Only time will tell who may come to Charleston from this Beloit Snapper squad, but these are the guys who made the biggest impact on the team last season. Next week, we will preview Matt Thompson, a Ticket Sales Executive for West Virginia Baseball who comes to Charleston with some experience in minor league baseball. We will also take a look at the Helena Brewers, who were the rookie league affiliate for the Milwaukee Brewers during the 2004 season and could supply a number of players to our 2005 squad. Thanks for subscribing and have a great weekend.

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South Atlantic League Stories from November 4, 2004


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.

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