ApL Princeton WhistlePigs

Princeton Devil Rays News

Published on May 4, 2003 under Appalachian League (ApL)
Princeton WhistlePigs News Release


BASEBALL FEVER-COLLEGE STYLE: This coming weekend would be the perfect time for our fans to whet their appetite for the P-Rays season by attending the WVIAC "Final Four" college baseball playoffs at Princeton's Hunnicutt Field. The double-elimination NCAA Division 2 event will feature at least six games beginning Friday, May 9, with our local school, Concord College, taking on the Bobcats of West Virginia Wesleyan at 3:00 p.m. There will be one additional game on Friday, three games on Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m., with the championship round to begin at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Don't forget that any youth baseball or softball player attending in uniform will be admitted free to any session.

DO YOU WANT YOUR SEASON TICKETS RIGHT NOW?: It will still be about another two weeks before P-Rays season ticket books will be available at several ticket outlets around the area, but you can buy a book now by contacting members that make up the team's board of directors and special advisors. Our board members are working on this pre-season ticket drive right now and would be happy to assist you in getting ready for the arrival of the "Boys of Summer." Ticket books feature 30 undated tickets that may be used in any quantity at any time at any P-Rays 2003 regular season home game. These books are only $45.00, which means it breaks down to only $1.50 per ticket!! If you recognize any of the following names, feel free to give them a call: Joe Allen, Linda Alvis, Junior Billings, Ted Boggess, Dick Daisey, Bob Edwards, John Groseclose, Jim Holland, Marshall Lytton, Charles Pace, Susie Pace, Lee Ross, Dewey Russell, John Stafford, Will Stafford, Jim Thompson, and Bud Tolley. Special congratulations from "Raywatch" to Bob Edwards and Joe Allen, who have already achieved the season ticket sales goal set for each director for this year. Season ticket books are also currently available at the stadium, where good box seat locations are still available for purchase.

HOW DO YOU SPELL RELIEF?: Through games of April 30, two ex-Princeton pitchers appeared in minor league baseball's Rolaids relief man standings. In the overall combined standings, Josh Parker (2001) of Bakersfield is eighth while also being tops in the California League. Mark Corey (1995), who now pitches for Nashville in the Pittsburgh organization, is tied for ninth overall and is third in the Pacific Coast League.

GREAT FOR YOUR KIDS.... THE P-RAYS YOUTH BASEBALL CLINIC: June 28 will mark the date for this year's version of the P-Rays youth baseball clinic for kids ages 7-15. Instructors for the clinic will be P-Rays manager Jamie Nelson, hitting coach Manny Castillo, and pitching coach Brad Woodall, as well several of the P-Rays players. Each camper will receive a Rays t-shirt and a Rays bat bag. The event will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and pre-registration is encouraged. Our thanks to Newberry Ford, Bill Lewis Insurance, and Phoenix Sports for their sponsorship assistance in helping to make this day special for the youngsters. Cost is $20.00 per participant for a great morning of learning baseball the Devil Rays way!! Please contact the P-Rays front office by telephone at (304) 487-2000 to obtain your registration form as well as other additional details.

LAST MONTH'S TRIVIA ANSWER: The April trivia question received the most correct responses in the history of our "Raywatch e-mail newsletter. To review, the question was asked "since Thurman Munson in 1976, who is the only New York Yankee to win the American League's Most Valuable Player award for a season?" The answer, of course, was Yankee first baseman Don Mattingly, who captured the award in 1985. It was a special month for the local correct responses as in addition to a $5.00 gift certificate from My Dad's Drive-In, the winners also received a $5.00 gift certificate from one of the best local places to get your pastries, cakes, and homemade bread—The Breadman Bakery. To learn more about this bakery, please visit their website at www.thebreadman.com and be ready to compete in this month's question later in this newsletter as the Breadman is hanging around and ready to award more gift certificates. The local winners of these two gift certificates by having the correct Don Mattingly response were Lynn Bayle, Will Horton, Mark Morehead, Tami Dodder, Dusty Harman, Jim Dietz, Frank Lewis, Steve Crowe, Janice Wiblin, Wilma Larew, Niki Akers, Dale Geiger, Angela Finley, Sally Collins, and Marshall Lytton. We also had seven other correct responses from readers outside the local area that wanted to prove their skill: Cy Campbell of Denton, TX (a stadium operations assistant with our team here from 1998-2001), Mark Cryan (General Manager of the Burlington Indians—thanks for participating, Mark!), Mike Judge of Palmyra, VA (former baseball beat writer for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph), Tim Miller of the Washington, PA area (you will see Tim's name again in this newsletter), as well as Frank Hoard of Cuyahoga Falls, OH, Bill Harley of Fayetteville, OH, and Rob McNamara of Rockville, MD. As for May's trivia question, keep reading this newsletter!

NEWS FROM THE SUNSHINE STATE: Two ex-Princeton players recently made headlines in starring roles for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Rocco Baldelli (2000) capped off the first month of his major league debut season by being named American League "Rookie of the Month" for April 2003. Rocco pounded out 40 base hits for the month and it is believed this is a record for a major league rookie's first month of play. Also, on May 2 in Detroit, Joe Kennedy (1998) became the first pitcher in Tampa Bay history to toss a one-hit complete game shutout in a 2-0 victory over the Tigers. Ironically, it was the first batter for the Tigers that got the hit and then Joe cruised from there. Also, be sure to watch for the major league All-Star game ballots when they come out, as you will see the names of Tampa Bay outfielders Carl Crawford (1999), and Rocco Baldelli (2000) on the ballot. Be sure to vote!!!

NEXT BOOSTER MEETING: The next meeting of the Princeton Devil Rays Booster Club is at 7:00 p.m. on May 15 at the Princeton Salvation Army Building. MORE SOUVENIRS HAVE ARRIVED: Additional P-Rays t-shirts, all P-Rays ladies wear, Appalachian League pennants, and two styles of coffee mugs (one with a picture of Hunnicutt Field and one with a picture of Princeton's "Bat Pack Gomes-Bankston-Pridie) have arrived at our stadium gift shop and are available for immediate purchase. Call the P-Rays front office at (304) 487-2000 for more details.

P-RAYS STAFF INTERNS NAMED FOR 2003: One big key for the success with the P-Rays is our annual recruitment of some of the finest college interns to work summers at Hunnicutt Field as part of their training to be part of baseball's future executive world. This year's sports management interns will include Tim Miller (Washington-Jefferson College), Steven Lawhorn (Concord College), Matt Hill (Chowan College), John-Michael Tolar (West Virginia University), and Todd Roll (Bowling Green). There is a possibility that one more intern may yet be added.

MAY TRIVIA QUESTION: Okay, we have decided this month to really test your baseball knowledge (and to remind you to make use of all the internet resources you have at hand). The first 15 local winners will receive both a $5.00 gift certificate from the Breadman Bakery and a $5.00 gift certificate from My Dad's Drive-In. As always, we invite our out of area subscribers to play along also. We really would like to see our readers match last month's 22 total correct responses. Here is your May question: What pitcher recorded the most career major league strikeouts and did not have the letter "n" anywhere in his last name? Please respond back to us at raysball@sunlitsurf.com with your guesses. We consider this to date to be the toughest question we have asked in the history of our newsletter and want you to meet the challenge and meet last month's response numbers.

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Appalachian League Stories from May 4, 2003


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