ApL Princeton WhistlePigs

Princeton Rays News

Published on January 18, 2004 under Appalachian League (ApL)
Princeton WhistlePigs News Release


Hello to all and now that the new year is here, that can only mean the next Appalachian League season is heading your way and the opening day of the 2004 season on June 21 feels like it is only day after tomorrow! Over the past two weeks, we have e-mailed to our subscribers our 2004 schedule as well as information on our 2004 coaching staff. If you did not receive either of these bulletins, please contact us at raysball@sunlitsurf.com and we will e-mail these right out to you.

MOVING ON: There is one franchise shift in the Appalachian League to report and that is the relocation of the Astros' franchise to Greeneville, TN. With this move, it appears that Martinsville, who joined the Appalachian League along with Princeton for the 1988 season, will be without professional baseball for the first time since the summer of 1987. The new team will be called the Greeneville Astros and will play their home games on the campus of Tusculum College. There will be a divisional realignment in the Appalachian League as a result, with the league's West Division to now consist of Bristol, Elizabethton, Greeneville, Johnson City, and Kingsport. The East Division will be represented by Bluefield, Burlington, Danville, Princeton, and Pulaski. The new agreement for the Astros with Greeneville is six years in length.

CLUBHOUSE MANAGER: One of the most unheralded but one of the toughest jobs in baseball is that of the clubhouse manager. The P-Rays are happy to announce that Matt Gallant will return in 2004 in that capacity for the team. The 27-year old resident of Bedford, MA got his start in professional baseball here last year and wants to let everyone know that he is looking forward once again to seeing the many new friends he made last summer. Gallant appeared in two NCAA Division III World Series at nearby Salem, VA as a player. He also has four years experience as a head baseball coach on the collegiate level at Fitchburg (MA) State College.

DECEMBER TRIVIA: Our readers rose to the challenge again as many of you responded and correctly identified the answer to last month's question. To review, the question was "Who is the only non-New York Yankee shortstop to be named as the Most Valuable Player of a World Series since the award's creation in 1955?" The correct answer is Alan Trammell of the 1984 Detroit Tigers. The local winners who received a $5.00 gift certificate to the Eccentric Fish Restaurant and a $5.00 gift certificate to the Breadman Bakery were Christie Cook, Steve Crowe, David Ebert, Angela Finley, Jerry Flanagan, Dale Geiger, Will Horton, Frank Lewis, Jaimie Morehead, James Proctor, Mike Stiltner, and Janice Wiblin. We also had seven out-of-area readers join the December honor roll and they were Cy Campbell (Denton, TX), Leo Finkelstein (Lima, OH), Rich Hively (Nitro, WV), Mike Judge (Fishersville, VA), Ryan Schauer (Port Orchard, WA), Roman Stout (Kingsport, TN/Kingsport Mets General Manager), and Richard Ward (Dublin, VA). The January question will follow later in this newsletter and there will be some additional incentive for our out of area readers so stay tuned!

WE'VE GOT A SEAT FOR YOU: Several people brightened Christmas for their favorite baseball fan through the purchase of box seats and season tickets for the P-Rays 2004 season. If this is something you have been thinking about either for someone else or for that person staring back at you in the mirror, please call the P-Rays front office at (304) 487-2000 or stop by and pick your seats! Also, be aware that the team also offers some individual game box seat sales subject to availability.

PROSPECTING IN PRINT: Always one of the most anticipated editions of Baseball America magazine annually is the "Top Prospects" issue that reviews the Tampa Bay farm system. The January 19-February 1 issue is now out and the Rays results are in. One of the features is projecting how the Tampa Bay starting lineup of the future will appear in 2007. Several former Princeton players appear in the form of Travis Schlichting (2003) at third base, Carl Crawford (1999) in left field, Rocco Baldelli (2000) in center field, with a starting pitching rotation of Doug Waechter (1999) in the number one slot, Victor Zambrano (1997) at number three, James Houser (2003) at number four, while the "closer," who can come in from the bullpen to "shut it down" will be Lewisburg, WV's own Seth McClung (1999). The TB section also has a "Best Tools" section to highlight the strengths of the Devil Rays' farmhands. Pitchers Carlos Hines (2001) was recognized for having the best fastball, Seth McClung (1999) for having the best curveball, Chris Seddon (2001) for having the best changeup, and James Houser (2003) for having the best pitching control. Former P-Rays make up half of whom the magazine considers to be Tampa Bay's top ten current prospects:

3. Doug Waechter (1999)

4. James Houser (2003)

7. Wes Bankston (2002)

8. Seth McClung (1999)

10. Jonny Gomes (2001)

ADOPT-A-PLAYER PROGRAM: With the arrival of the new year, it is also time for you to consider "adopting" a player for the 2004 season. Despite the program's title, the players do not physically live with you, but you do represent a local contact for a young man who may be away from home for the first time in his life. The program is what you make of it, whether it is treating a player to an evening meal, making a scrapbook of the season for him, lending a word of encouragement when warranted or one of many other ideas you may create. Who knows, the player you assist in Princeton now may end up playing in a World Series in the future. Even if you have participated in this program in the past, we still would like a confirmation from you that you wish to participate this year. Please contact the P-Rays front office via e-mail at raysball@sunlitsurf.com or by telephone at (304) 487-2000 if you are interested in participating.

JANUARY TRIVIA: It is now time for your January trivia question. The first 15 local correct responses will receive a $5.00 gift certificate to the Eccentric Fish Restaurant of Princeton as well as a $5.00 gift certificate to the Breadman Bakery. Our out of area readers, as always, are encouraged to participate, and the first ten correct answers from out of the area will be mailed a surprise gift. All entries must be e-mailed to us at raysball@sunlitsurf.com and please do not forget to include your U.S. postal mailing address with your answer so we will know where to mail your prize. If everyone now has their thinking caps on, here is your question: Other than Mark McGwire, what batter in the history of Major League Baseball has the most career home runs and has the letter "e" in his last name? We will be waiting on your answers!

TANNER OTEY, 1988-2004: As participants and fans of athletic events, we all share a common bond, whether we know each other or not. The players, coaches, and front office staff of the Princeton Devil Rays professional baseball team ask you to join us in offering our condolences to, and to include in your prayers, the family, friends, teammates, and classmates of Princeton Senior High School athlete Tanner Otey. Moreover, please include the administration and faculty of Princeton Senior High School in your thoughts and prayers. Tanner, a 15-year old sophomore, tragically collapsed and then passed away while sitting on the bench during the fourth quarter of a junior varsity basketball game in the Princeton Senior High School gymnasium on the evening of January 6. Tanner had played in the third quarter of that game and was taken out at the end of the quarter in anticipation that he would see playing time in the varsity game to follow. He saw significant playing time for both the school's football and basketball squads and was also active in other school activities as well as his church. The words of comfort that his family, his school, and our town have received to date from those all over the country show conclusively that Tanner was a young man who lived his life to the fullest each and every day while even today still sowing a positive effect on both those he did and did not know. For those of you who would like to leave a tribute memoir about Tanner or wish to sign the guest book with a note to his family and friends, there has been a website established where you can do just that: http://www.hcl1.com/tanner/main.html. It is also a site where you can learn more about the young man himself.

In the coming months, as the 2004 season creeps ever closer, we will begin to share with you some of our promotions already scheduled for this year. More details will follow in upcoming editions but for those of you who are already doing your summer planning, our 8th annual P-Rays youth baseball clinic will be held on Saturday, July 10 while our 9th annual fans' bus trip will be on Saturday, July 17 to see the P-Rays take on the Burlington Indians. See you next month!

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Appalachian League Stories from January 18, 2004


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