Sports stats



NL Winnipeg Goldeyes

Northern League Update

August 5, 2010 - Northern League (NL)
Winnipeg Goldeyes News Release


T-Bones and RedHawks Ahead of the Pack with One Month Remaining

With a little over a month of baseball left in the Northern League regular season, the Kansas City T-Bones and Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are leading the way, each with 24 losses. The Joliet JackHammers are the closest competitor, trailing each by six games in the loss column. With a nine game lead over the fifth place team on August 1st , Kansas City possesses a magic number of 28 to clinch a playoff berth. Any combination of T-Bones victories combined with the fifth place team's losses (currently the RailCats) totaling 28 guarantees a playoff spot for the 2008 NL Champs. Having played three fewer games, the RedHawks' magic number sits at 31. While Kansas City and Fargo have a firm grasp on the top two spots, there should be a hotly contested battle for the final two playoff seeds headed down the final month. Joliet, Winnipeg, and Gary are separated by less than three games while Rockford, Lake County, and Schaumburg are a winning streak away from getting heavily into the mix.

****

Fielders Begin Playing Under the Lights, co-Owner Kevin Costner Visits

After enduring a road trip that lasted over two weeks, the Lake County Fielders returned home on July 26th and played their first game under the lights at their new stadium located in Zion, IL. The first night game played at Fielders Stadium was a success for the home team as they beat Kansas City 7-5.

Only days before the first night game was played, academy award winner and Fielders' co-owner Kevin Costner made a "surprise- visit to the ballpark where he flipped the switch for the lights while fans, sponsors, and political dignitaries watched. Mimicking a line from Costner's classic movie Field of Dreams, Zion Mayor Lane Harrison said, "I have one question. Is this heaven?" Costner replied with the answer, "No...this is Zion."

****

RiverHawks O'Sullivan hits Milestone Home Run in Grand Fashion

Rockford RiverHawks designated hitter/first baseman Patrick O'Sullivan hit his 200th career home run on July 28th versus the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Rockford was trailing 3-0 with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning, when the 12-year veteran blasted his 13th home run of the season leading the home-team RiverHawks to a 4-3 victory. Originally selected by the New York Mets in 34th round of 1999 draft, O'Sullivan has a career batting average over .300 and has over 1,300 career base hits.

****

RailCats Return to Pitching Strategy of Past Successes

Moving back to what has worked the previous five seasons, Gary SouthShore manager Greg Taggert has pulled the plug on the experiment of using a five-man starting rotation earlier in the season. Over the 15 games since returning to a four-man rotation after the All- Star break, the RailCats starters have gone 8-5 with a 3.49 ERA. A former Northern League Pitcher of the Year with the RailCats, Willie Glen has gone 3-0 with a 1.27 ERA since the switch. "I think the more you're on the mound, the better off you are," Glen said.

****

Northern League Average Attendance Over 3,000 Per Game

The Northern League ranks second in all independent leagues with a 3,002 per game average while six of its eight franchises are averaging over 3,100 fans a game. Winnipeg ranks third in all indy leagues with a 5,503 average attendance. The Long Island Ducks (Atlantic League) and Somerset Patriots (Atlantic League) are the only other teams averaging more than 5,500 fans a game. The Kansas City T-Bones are fourth amongst all teams at 5,418.

Through 248 openings, the Northern League has already welcomed 3/4 million fans through its gates in 2010. Now in its 18th season, the Northern League will embark on surpassing 24 million all-time fans later this month.

****

Northern League Alumni

Former players of the Northern League continue to succeed and progress through the ranks of professional baseball.

Alumni Notes:

Brad Ziegler (Flyers) has not allowed a run in five consecutive outings for the Oakland A's. He has lowered his ERA to 3.45...Travis Schlichting (T-Bones) was demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque to make room for newly acquired Octavio Dotel...Brian Mazone (JackHammers) is 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA over his last two starts for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Class AAA - International League). He is 6-11 with a 3.65 ERA on the year. For more links and updates to the Northern League alumni, please go to www.northernleague.com/alumni.

Check out the Winnipeg Goldeyes Statistics



Northern League Stories from August 5, 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.

Other Recent Winnipeg Goldeyes Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central