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ApL Princeton WhistlePigs

P-Rays' 34-31 final record marks the team's first winning season since 1998

September 13, 2005 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Princeton WhistlePigs News Release


Hello to everyone and while we hope you are still enjoying the memories of our terrific 2005 season, we hope that you are already thinking about the summer of 2006 with your Princeton Devil Rays. Now that we are back into the "offseason," we will pick up where we left off, by starting once again to send you monthly editions of "Raywatch," the official monthly e-mail newsletter of the Princeton Devil Rays.

FOR THE RECORD: The P-Rays' 34-31 final record in 2005 marked the team's first winning season since 1998 when the team won the Eastern Division. The 34th victory gave Jamie Nelson his 80th career managerial victory in a Princeton uniform, which now puts him at the top of this category ahead of Edwin Rodriguez, who notched 79 career managerial victories with the P-Rays from 2000-2002. Our team finished with the third best overall record in the ten-team Appalachian League after finishing tenth each of the previous four years.

MOST POPULAR PLAYER: Unfortunately, due to our last home game being cancelled due to wet grounds, many of you were not able to learn the identity of this year's "Most Popular Player" for the 2005 Princeton Devil Rays. Well, the winner (through fan voting from ballots available in our program/yearbook) was outfielder Eppi DeLeon. Eppi was presented with a trophy (courtesy of Trophies and More of Princeton) to commemorate the event.

SOUVENIR SALE CONTINUES: We do have stock on several items remaining from our 2005 P-Rays' end-of-season souvenir sale, which are still being marked at sale prices. All New Era hats, all t-shirts, long-sleeve t-shirts, and "hoodies" are $5.00 off each while all P-Rays' logo balls and Hunnicutt Field mugs are being currently listed at only $2.50 each. Please contact the P-Rays' front office either by e-mail at raysball@sunlitsurf.com or by telephone at (304) 487-2000 for more details.

LUCKY NUMBER PRIZES: We remind you to check your expiration dates on gift certificates and prizes you won at the ballpark this summer. Do not lose out on the chance to redeem them as many of them have a September 30 expiration date. The merchants who provide these lucky number prizes deserve our patronage as they play a large part in making sure there is professional baseball here each summer through their participation. We always encourage you to shop first at vendors who sponsor the P-Rays.

APPY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: For those of you who may not have heard, the 2005 Appalachian League Championship was won by the Western Division Champion Elizabethton Twins, who defeated the Danville Braves by two games to one in the best-of-three series. The P-Rays finished second to Danville in the Eastern Division but did win the regular season series versus the D-Braves by five games to four. The P-Rays front office staff would like to congratulate both the Twins and Braves on a fine season and for giving fans such a memorable Championship Series.

NEXT P-RAYS BOOSTER CLUB MEETING: The next meeting of the Princeton Devil Rays Booster Club will be on Thursday, September 15 at 6:00 p.m. at Hunnicutt Field, home of the P-Rays. All current members as well those interested in joining the Booster Club are invited to attend.

CHAMPIONSHIP INK: In many of our previous newsletters, you have heard the magazine named "At The Yard" mentioned. Well, if you do not subscribe to this magazine already, there is some incentive for you to pick up the October, 2005 issue of ATY. The reason is that on the bottom of page 40 you can find a photo of the Princeton Devil Rays celebrating at home plate at Bluefield's Bowen Field on August 9 when they captured the 2005 Mercer Cup from the Bluefield Orioles. The monthly magazine carries a yearly subscription fee of only $12.00 and you may visit their website at www.attheyard.com to learn more about this magazine that depicts the 2005 P-Rays enjoying their finest moment. By the way, with this Mercer Cup triumph, the P-Rays have won the Cup two of the last three years.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Congratulations to P-Ray outfielder Andrew Lopez, who was named the Tampa Bay organization's "Minor League Player of the Month" for August. Also, the Houston Astros named pitcher Roberto Giron (1995-96 Princeton Reds) as their July "Player of the Month " for their AAA affiliate, the Round Rock (TX) Express.

PRINCETON RECORD BOOK: With the conclusion of another season comes the updating of the all-time Princeton professional baseball record book. The Princeton record book has been updated complete with 2005 data and you may access the information by visiting our website at www.princetondevilrays.com to see who from the 2005 team has dented the record book. We are proud to be one of just a very few teams in minor league baseball that lists their franchise record book on their website.

ROLAIDS RELIEF MAN AWARD: Congratulations to P-Rays' relief pitcher Robert Findlay, who captured the honor of "Rolaids Relief Man of the Year" for 2005 in the Appalachian League. Robert beat out Tim Lahey of Elizabethton by six points, 49-43, for the award. The Rolaids point system awards three points for a save and two points for a win but subtracts two points for a loss. Robert logged a 3-1 record with 15 saves for a total of 49 points while Lahey recorded a 0-1 record with 15 saves for a total of 43 points. Robert is the first Princeton pitcher to win this honor since James Lira in 1998. Largely because of Robert, it is understandable why the P-Rays carried a 23-1 record for 2005 involving games that the P-Rays led after eight innings. Two other former Princeton pitchers were also making noise in the Rolaids races through games of August 31. Jose "Enger" Veras (1999) was third among Pacific Coast League pitchers while pitching for the Oklahoma Red Hawks, the AAA affiliate of the Texas Rangers and was the top Rolaids relief pitcher in the PCL for the month of August. Through games of August 31, Veras was 3-5 with 24 saves. Also at the AAA level, Mark Corey (1995) was leading all pitchers in the International League for the season as a member of the Indianapolis Indians (AAA-Pittsburgh) with a 4-5 record and 28 saves through games of August 31.

STREAKERS IN PRINCETON UNIFORMS: Two players tied for the longest hitting streak by a player wearing a Princeton uniform in 2005 and they were Chris Cunningham and John Matulia, who both had at least one hit in twelve consecutive games in which they appeared. Matulia accomplished his feat early from June 24 to July 5 while hitting .426 (23-for-54) while Cunningham reached his dozen games at season's end by hitting .353 (18-for-51) in a span of games from August 16 to August 28. Even more interesting are our leaders for consecutive games on-base streaks (reaching base in any fashion). Chris Cunningham reached base in all 29 home games in which he appeared in 2005 from June 22 to August 26. That figure was tops in the Appalachian League in that category. The league leader in this same category for road games was none other than P-Ray outfielder Eppi DeLeon, who reached base safely in 24 consecutive road games in which he appeared from June 27 to August 30. The overall league leader reaching base consecutively (both home and away games combined) was once again Chris Cunningham, who reached base safely in 25 straight games in which he appeared stretching from July 31 to August 28.

FALL BASEBALL, P-RAYS STYLE: If you are looking for some P-Rays to keep track of this Fall, keep your eyes focused toward the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. The Dogs' roster will feature three players with Princeton ties-pitcher Brian Stokes (1999 P-Ray) and two members of the 2002 P-Rays: infielder Elliot Johnson, and first baseman Wes Bankston, who was the Most Valuable Player of the Appalachian League in 2002. The Arizona Fall League begins play on October 14 and is considered a league full of top-flight major league prospects.

MAJOR LEAGUE IMPACT: With less than three weeks to go in the 2005 major league season, two pitchers from the 1998 P-Rays, Brandon Backe of the Houston Astros and Joe Kennedy of the Oakland Athletics are doing what they can to help their teams climb into the 2005 postseason. Through games of September 12, Houston is ½ game behind the Florida Marlins in the National League's "wild card" standings while Oakland is in third place in the American League "wild card" chase, 1½ games behind Cleveland and a half-game behind the New York Yankees. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will also play a part in the Yankees' chances as they open a three-game home series versus the Bronx Bombers at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, September 13 with Doug Waechter (1999 P-Ray) on the mound for Tampa Bay. Princeton's parent team is 11-5 versus the Yankees for the season heading into this series, and so far have been a thorn in the Yankees chances to return to the playoffs this year. This is the one of the best times of year to be a major league baseball fan as the drama to settle the final playoff spots unfolds over the balance of September.

CONCLUSION: When you think of all of the 2005 season's great memories, including the many "come from behind victories" you witnessed at Hunnicutt Field this summer, don't forget some other sights that will tell you when it is time to begin pro baseball in Princeton in 2006 such as the face of a youngster who has retrieved his first foul ball or received his first player autograph. Or how about the sight of the same fans being the first ones through the gate every night that stake their claim on the same bleacher spots they have sat in for many years? Or how about the rhythmic chants and the noise from the cowbells of the P-Rays' "Rah-Rah Sisterhood," a group of ladies from the community who may have never met if it wasn't for their common interest in coming to the ballpark for their summer evenings. We thank all of you for attending our games this summer and hope you will continue your role through the winter of being ambassadors for both the Princeton Devil Rays and the great sport of baseball. Let none of us forget how fortunate we are to have professional baseball in this area and let's share a common goal over the winter of thinking of new people we can get off of their respective porches and into Hunnicutt Field for a taste of fun and family entertainment next season.

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