Sports stats



Northern League Regular Season Heads Down the Backstretch

August 17, 2010 - Northern League (NL) News Release


As the Northern League regular season heads down the backstretch, fans are going to be entertained by an exciting pennant race for the four post-season berths. The Fargo- Moorhead RedHawks and Kansas City T-Bones are tied atop the standings with a three game lead over the Gary Southshore RailCats. The fourth and final playoff spot is currently in a three-way tie between the Winnipeg Goldeyes, Joliet JackHammers, and Rockford RiverHawks. The Lake County Fielders are six and a half games off the pace, but play 15 of their final 21 games at home. All Northern League games can be tracked pitch-by-pitch via its website at www.northernleague.com.

****

Northern League Rosters to be Frozen on August 24th

Per Northern League by-laws, {Article XI; section 6(a)} - No trades or purchases with other independent leagues and no signing of players who are free agents (unless the club holds reversionary rights to a released player) may be executed after 11:59 PM/CST on Tuesday, August 24th . Also noted, is a 24-hour addition (d) to the deadline for player moves will be recognized for the sole purpose of allowing teams to claim players put on irrevocable waivers at the deadline.

****

Kansas City T-Bones Looking to Welcome 2 Millionth Fan

The T-Bones are about to welcome their 2 millionth fan all-time into Community America Ballpark as they sit just under 25,000 fans shy of their second million. At their current pace, the T-Bones should surpass the figure some time around August 24th . In only their 8th season in the Northern League, the Kansas City franchise will become the fastest team to reach the 2 million plateau and fifth in all. The other teams in modern history to reach that mark are the St. Paul Saints and Winnipeg Goldeyes (9 seasons), the Schaumburg Flyers (10 seasons), and the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (12 seasons).

****

24 Million Fans...and Counting!

Operating in its 18th season as the longest tenured independent league in baseball, the Northern League has now entertained more than 24 million fans at its ballparks throughout the upper Midwest of the United States and Canada. In 2010, the league has averaged over 3,700 fans per opening, while the Goldeyes and T-Bones are each averaging over 5,000 fans a game.

****

Northern League Closes Gap on Per Game Attendance with Atlantic League

As the 2010 season is winding down, the Northern League has closed the gap on the Atlantic League in per game attendance. Averaging 3,746 fans per game, the Northern League is only two hundred-plus fans behind the Atlantic's 3,977. The Kansas City T-Bones lead the Northern League at 5,500 fans per game, tied for second amongst indy teams with the Somerset Patriots (Atlantic League). The Long Island Ducks (AL) lead all teams with a 5,902 per game average. The Winnipeg Goldeyes rank fourth at 5,493.

****

Northern League Alumni

Former players of the Northern League continue to succeed and progress through the ranks of professional baseball. Goldeyes shortstop Wes Long had his contract purchased by the Florida Marlins organization on August 6th . Having started 69 of 70 games at shortstop for the Goldeyes, he left the Northern League ranked eighth in batting (.323). Long was assigned to the Marlins Class A affiliate in Greensboro (South Atlantic League).

Alumni Notes:

Wes Long (Goldeyes) played in seven straight games upon his arrival in Greensboro. After seven games, he was batting .214 with a double, a triple, and three RBI...Tim Byrdak (JackHammers/RailCats) has six straight scoreless outings for the Houston Astros dating back to July 23rd ....Brad Ziegler (Flyers) is 2-4 with three saves and a 3.55 ERA for the Oakland Athletics. For more links and updates to the Northern League alumni, please go to www.northernleague.com/alumni

Team Beat

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks: 43-31 (.580), 4-6 last 10 games, 9-11 last 20

The RedHawks are percentage points ahead of Kansas City for the #1 seed in the playoffs. The 'Hawks are attempting to post the league's best regular season record for the eighth time in the franchise's 15 seasons...F-M is eight wins shy of extending their league-record streak of consecutive seasons over-.500 to 15...F-M's magic number to clinch a playoff berth sits at 19. Any combination of 'Hawks wins combined with Fifth Place losses totaling 19 clinches their eighth straight trip to the playoffs...The RedHawks close-out the season with 14 consecutive road games over 12 days.

Gary SouthShore RailCats : 43-37 (.538), 9-1 last 10 games, 14-6 last 20

Comliments of a recent eight-game winning streak (8/6 to 8/13), the 'Cats moved into third place, only three games off the pace for the best record in the league...G-S only needs eight more wins to ensure their fifth straight season of recording more than 50 wins in the regular season...Of the three top teams, the RailCats schedule may be the most favorable with 13 of their final 20 games at home, even though they have a league-best 27-16 (.628) road record...Gary has a combined record of 8-17 (.320) versus Fargo & Kansas City and a 35-20 (.636) record versus the rest of the league.

Joliet JackHammers : 39-39 (.500), 3-7 last 10 games, 8-12 last 20

The JackHammers are on pace to finish above .500 for the first time since 2004 and make the playoffs for the first time since 2002...The 'Hammers finish the season with 15 of their final 18 games at home...Their last 10 games will be versus two teams they are chasing in the standings Gary (7 games) and Fargo (3)...Joliet has been clutch in close games as they lead the league with extra-inning victories. They have played in the most extra-inning games (7) and won the most (6)...Defensively, the JackHammers have turned the second- most doubleplays in the league (84 double plays in 78 games).

Kansas City T-Bones : 45-33 (.577), 4-6 last 10 games, 7-13 last 20

The T-Bones are well on their way to establishing a franchise single-season record for wins. Their previous high was 48 wins in 2004... Despite never finishing a season with a record over .500, K.C. has averaged 45.3 wins a season...Kansas City sits 12 games over .500, but nearly all the damage has been done versus two teams: the Flyers (11-3, .786) and the RailCats (8-3, .727). The 'Bones are 26-27 (.491) versus the rest of the league...The season-long battle for the best record in the league may very well come down to the final weekend of the season as Fargo comes to Kansas City for five games.

Schaumburg Flyers : 31-48 (.392), 5-5 last 10 games, 9-11 last 20

While the Flyers aren't mathematically eliminated, they may have to resort to playing the role of spoiler over the final two-plus weeks of the season. Any combination of Flyers losses combined with the fourth place team's victories equaling 14 will eliminate Schaumburg from post-season contention...The Flyers have 15 of their final 21 games on the road, but will not have to travel outside of Illinois or Indiana...The Flyers had a 3-11 (.214) season series record versus both the RedHawks and T-Bones. Versus the rest of the league, Schaumburg went 25-26 (.490), including a season series lead versus Lake County (5-3, .625).

Winnipeg Goldeyes : 39-39 (.500), 4-6 last 10 games, 11-9 last 20

The watch to finish the season over .500 continues as the Fish sit at 39-39 with 22 games remaining. The club has finished with a sub-.500 record only one time in franchise history (47-48 in 2005) and it represented the only season in a nine-year period where the team did not post more than 50 wins...The Goldeyes close out the season with nine of their final 22 games on the road. Oddly enough, the Fish have a better record on the road (20- 17, .541) than at home (19-22, .463)...To clinch a berth into the post-season, the Goldeyes will have to play well against the RedHawks as they face-off 10 more times.

Lake County Fielders : 33-46 (.418), 3-7 last 10 games, 8-12 last 20

The Fielders sit six and a half games back from the final playoff spot, but have the most home games remaining. Of their final 21 games, 15 will be played at their new home...The Fielders have seven games remaining versus the Flyers, who have the fewest wins in the league. However, the Flyers lead the season series 5-3 (.625)...Lake County only has one "extended- road trip remaining in the season as they head to Fargo for three games and their only other road games are at nearby Schaumburg...The Fielders have committed the third fewest errors in the league (70).

Rockford River Hawks : 39-39 (.50), 8-2 last 10 games, 13-7 last 20

The RiverHawks put together an eight-game winning streak (8/5 - 8/12) which moved them into a three-way tie with Winnipeg and Joliet for the fourth and final playoff spot...The schedule is set-up so the 'Hawks can take care of their own business as they play the three top teams (RedHawks, T-Bones, & RailCats) as well as six games versus the Goldeyes and four versus Lake County...Rich Austin had his 24-consecutive games on-base streak end on August 10th . Austin leads the league with a .453 on-base percentage.

• Discuss this story on the Northern League message board...

Northern League Stories from August 17, 2010


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central