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May 23, 2005 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Princeton WhistlePigs News Release


We now have a month and a half of full-season baseball under our belts and more importantly, less than a month away from the beginning of the 2005 Appalachian League season. Hopefully, the Princeton Devil Rays will be your team of choice and you will know who is where in the Appy League standings more easily than who is occupying both the top and the bottom of any division in the major leagues. Let's get even more prepared for the arrival of our P-Rays with another edition of "Raywatch," the official monthly e-mail newsletter of the Princeton Devil Rays.

Keep reading as we will reveal pictures of the artwork for our new P-Rays' souvenir shirts for 2005 later in this newsletter!!

P-RAYS' TICKET OUTLETS READY TO SERVE YOU: Fans may now purchase P-Rays 2005 "season ticket" booklets at several P-Ray ticket outlets located throughout our immediate area. These booklets contain 30 undated tickets, which may be used in any quantity at any P-Rays' regular season home game during the 2005 season. This is an outstanding value at $50.00 per book, which breaks down to only $1.67 per ticket to catch all the family entertainment and exciting action that is Princeton Devil Rays baseball! Booklets are available for purchase at BB&T Bank locations in both Princeton and Athens, both First Century Bank locations in Princeton (Stafford Drive and Springhaven Drive), Elizabeth's Boutique (901 Mercer Street-Princeton), and at the MCNB Bank location on South Walker Street in Princeton. Naturally, these ticket booklets are also available both at the team's Hunnicutt Field office and from any member of the team's Board of Directors. People wishing to purchase reserved "box" seats under the grandstand roof are invited to contact the P-Rays' front office by telephone at (304) 487-2000.

OUTSIDE THE ORGANIZATION: When the full season teams across this land began play in early April, many names of former Princeton players showed up on rosters other than those within the Tampa Bay organization: for Boston, both pitcher Talley Haines (1998) and infielder Jared Sandberg (1997) were on their AA Portland (ME) roster but Haines has since been released; for the Chicago Cubs on their major league roster was pitcher Chad Fox (1992). Chad, who became the first former Princeton player to earn a World Series ring (as a member of the 2003 Florida Marlins), has since developed arm problems, which has him on the disabled list. The Colorado Rockies list pitcher Joe Kennedy (1998) on their major league roster as a member of their starting rotation, and their AAA Colorado Springs roster includes pitcher Travis Phelps (1997). Infielder Frank Moore (1998) is a member of the Jupiter Hammerheads, a single-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins. Of course, pitcher Brandon Backe (1998) is still a member of the Houston Astros starting rotation and is joined in the Astros organization by pitcher Roberto Giron (1995-96), who is pitching for Houston's AA club at Corpus Christi, TX. Princeton is represented in both Los Angeles organizations by pitcher Buddy Carlyle (1996), who started the regular season as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers but has since been demoted, and pitcher Delvin James (1997), who is pitching for the Los Angeles Angels' AA team, the Arkansas Travelers. Moving over to the "Big Apple," both pitchers Victor Zambrano (1997), and Bartolome Fortunato (2000) started the 2005 regular season as members of the New York Mets major league roster. The Pittsburgh Pirates feature catcher Humberto Cota (1998) behind the plate for the big league club while their AAA Indianapolis squad includes pitcher Mark Corey (1995), and infielder Yurendell Decaster (1999). Joining this Pirates' trio is outfielder Scott Neuberger (1997), who is a member of Pittsburgh's AA team, the Altoona (PA) Curve. Evan Rust (2000) is just one step away from his major league debut while he continues to serve as a pitcher for the Memphis Redbirds, the AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Texas Rangers' AAA pitching staff at Oklahoma City includes two former P-Ray pitchers: Jason Standridge (1998), and Jose "Enger" Veras (1999). Rounding out this list of Princeton alumni is infielder Dan DeMent (2000), who is on the roster of the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs, an affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

GOING THE INDEPENDENT ROUTE: Many names of former Princeton players are showing up in baseball's independent leagues (these are leagues whose teams are not farm teams of any major league team). Still playing and going strong in the Central League are pitchers James Lira (1998) and Elliott Shaw (2001-02) of the Coastal Bend Aviators, pitcher Steve Wilkerson (1994) of the Edinburg Roadrunners along with two members of the Shreveport "Sports," pitcher John Vigue (2001) and first baseman Hector Lebron (1998). Two players appeared on rosters in the Northern League: catcher Brent Cordell (2001) of the Sioux Falls Canaries, and pitcher Jeff Sparks (1995) of the Winnipeg Goldeyes. Other 2005 players and their teams are Will Pennyfeather (1988,1995) of the Bridgeport Bluefish, pitcher Joe Yarbrough (2002) of the Brockton Rox, catcher Ronnie Deck (2002) of the Elmira Pioneers, pitcher Tim Keinath (2002) of the New Haven County Cutters, pitcher Jordan Olson (2003) of the Long Beach Armada, and infielder Justin Schuda (1999) of the Yuma Scorpions.

AWARD WINNERS: Several former Princeton players are racking up special recognition throughout minor league baseball in the still early 2005 season. Infielder Jared Sandberg (1997) of the Portland Sea Dogs and catcher/infielder Chairon Isenia (1999) of the Montgomery Biscuits have both already garnered "Player of the Week" honors in the AA Eastern League and the AA Southern League respectively while pitcher Mark Corey (1995) of the Indianapolis Indians led all relievers in the International League in the Rolaids Relief Man Standings for games through the end of April.

APRIL TRIVIA: As always, there are winners to list when it comes to "Raywatch" trivia and last month was no exception as our readers rose to the challenge of answering "Who had the highest batting average for the Boston Red Sox for the four games that made up the 2004 World Series?" The answer is Bill Mueller. We had five local readers who submitted the correct answer and won $5.00 gift certificates from both The Eccentric Fish Restaurant and Breadman Bakery and they were Christie Cook, Daniella Hatfield, Mark Morehead, David Lawson, and Frank Lewis. Our newsletter has always had a great following from outside our immediate area also and the following eight readers also submitted the right answer: Cy Campbell (Denton, TX), Scott Gibson (St. Albans, WV), Ron Martin (Clemmons, NC), Grant McKay (Cincinnati, OH), Melanie Roth (Scott Depot, WV), Jeffery Smith (Cleveland, OH), Roman Stout (Kingsport, TN), and Mark Wilson (Arden, NC).

SURPRISE VISITOR: One of the biggest names in Princeton professional baseball history made a surprise visit to Princeton and Hunnicutt Field on April 18. John Stearns, who piloted the 1994 Princeton Reds to the franchise's only Appalachian League championship and was named the league's "Manager of the Year" for that same year, toured our stadium when he stopped by for an afternoon/evening on his way between assignments in his current capacity as roving catching instructor for the New York Mets. It was his first visit here since the new stadium was constructed in 2000 and he was duly impressed with the facilities.

2005 P-RAYS INTERN STAFF: The Princeton Devil Rays have indeed been fortunate throughout the years to have an outstanding group of college interns majoring in the sports administration field to choose Hunnicutt Field for their training as their last stop before landing their first job in professional baseball. This year will be no exception as the P-Rays will have a staff of eight interns here to help make your evenings at our games both more enjoyable and comfortable. The P-Rays intern staff will include Kevin Bryant (Morehead State University), Jessica Davis (West Virginia University), Grant McKay (University of Cincinnati), Megan Parker (Concord University), Brett Ripley (Davis and Elkins College), Will Russell (University of Memphis), Todd Thompson (Morehead State University), and Michael Zucconi (Eastern Mennonite University). Several of these names may already be familiar to you. Grant's name seems to be a regular listing with the listing of our monthly trivia winners over the past five months or so. Brett recently spent the weekend of May 6-8 at Hunnicutt Field as the starting centerfielder for Davis and Elkins during the 2005 W.V.I.A.C. college "final four" tournament held here as an NCAA Division II event. Finally, Todd is continuing his stay after interning here since January and assisting in getting things put together to this point in preparation for the 2005 campaign. We hope you will join us in welcoming them and making their stay in Princeton a memorable one.

PRINCETON "HALL OF FAMER": Brandon O' Hearn, who was an Appalachian League All-Star outfielder with the 1996 Princeton Reds, was inducted into the Columbus (GA) State University "Hall of Fame" as a member of their induction class of 2005. Just prior to arriving in Princeton for the 1996 Appy League season, O'Hearn was named an All-American and NCAA Division II "Player of the Year" for the CSU Cougars in 1996.

MAY TRIVIA: We are going to really test (although the question is not impossible to answer) our trivia boasters out there this month with the May, 2005 "Raywatch" e-mail trivia question. Our first 12 local winners will receive a $5.00 gift certificate from both the Eccentric Fish Restaurant and Breadman Bakery while our first 10 readers from out of the area to submit the correct answer will be mailed the June issue of "At The Yard" magazine and here is the question: "Who are the only two former Princeton players who have played major league baseball at some point in their career to be involved in a trade for each other (please note: there were other players involved in the deal also)?" We will be waiting on you to submit those two players' names to us. Those who answer this question correctly will definitely be deserving of being listed as "best of the best" in our next "Raywatch" e-mail newsletter in June.

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Appalachian League Stories from May 23, 2005


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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