NL Gary SouthShore Railcats

RailCats Icon Tanner Townsend Back In Fold For 2010

April 20, 2010 - Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release


GARY, Ind. - The only player in franchise history to win the Northern League Player of the Year award will get his first chance to defend that 2008 crown as the Gary SouthShore RailCats today announced that third baseman Tanner Townsend has signed a contract for the 2010 season.

Townsend, 29, tore through the Northern League in 2008, setting a multitude of RailCats records en route to the player of the year honor and a spot on the Baseball America All-Independent Leagues First Team. After being sold to the Florida Marlins that offseason, Townsend went to the Puerto Rican Winter League and continued to hit, pacing the circuit in postseason batting before a back injury in Spring Training with the Marlins cost the slugger the entire 2009 season.

A longtime fan favorite at U. S. Steel Yard, Townsend first joined the RailCats in 2005, coming over from the Frontier League in a trade that included longtime teammate Steve Haake before Manager Greg Tagert's first season in Gary. That trio would help create the RailCats tradition of on-field excellence that includes five consecutive Northern League Championship Series appearances (2005-09) and two league titles (2005, 2007). Townsend left the RailCats in 2008 as the franchise's all-time leader in home runs, RBI and runs scored.

Townsend's signature 2008 season ended with the Kentucky native breaking seven team records and leading the Northern League in RBI (84) and slugging (.623). Townsend set the RailCats single-season batting record in 2008 with a .371 average and ranked in the top four in the Northern League in six different offensive categories. Townsend's final 2008 line was impressive, with that .371 average, 26 doubles, 14 home runs, 84 RBI (a team record), 44 extra-base hits (a team record), an astronomical 1069 OPS and .446 on-base percentage and, for good measure, 11 stolen bases without once being caught.

A starting third baseman in the Northern League All-Star Game in 2007 and 2008, Townsend was also named to the Northern League's Post-Season All-Star Team following the 2008 season. Never one to shy away from the big moment, Townsend has been an excellent hitter in the playoffs, batting .319 over four postseasons, driving in 20 runs in 37 games and stroking 12 extra-base hits. Townsend actually had his most productive playoffs in 2005, including a memorable five-RBI effort in Game Four of the Northern League Championship Series while going 15-for-33 (.455) overall.

Known as much for his defensive ability at third base as his prowess at the plate, Townsend's career has been a study in patience, with steadily improving numbers in each of his four RailCats seasons. After hitting just .239 in 2005, Townsend's average has risen each year, as has his hit total. Townsend played in 95 of 96 RailCats regular season games in 2007, all at third base, still a club record for a player at any position. Amazingly, Townsend played in only 79 games in his record-setting 2008 campaign.

The only player in RailCats history to hit 10 or more home runs in three different seasons (2005-06, 2008), Townsend still sits atop the team's home run leader board with 39 longballs, six ahead of Haake. In fact, Townsend ranks in the top five in the RailCats record book in an astounding 21 different categories, including hits, runs scored, doubles, triples, stolen bases and games played.

An All-Sun Belt Conference pick at Western Kentucky University, Townsend joined the San Diego Padres organization as a non-drafted free agent in 2002 before being signed by Tagert and the Kenosha Mammoths of the Frontier League in 2003. Townsend followed Tagert to Springfield-Ozark in 2004 - when he hit 12 home runs and drove in 61, both personal bests before 2008 - before being dealt to the RailCats after the season.

Townsend's signing gives the RailCats 20 players under contract for 2010, including Townsend's longtime teammates Jay Pecci and Willie Glen. The RailCats will have at least 28 players in camp when Spring Training begins May 6.

Townsend and the RailCats open the 2010 season at U. S. Steel Yard when the Kansas City T-Bones come calling, Thursday, May 20 at 7 p.m. Single-game tickets for all 50 RailCats home games are on sale now by calling 219.882.2255 or visiting www.railcatsbaseball.com. Season tickets, group outings, mini plans and tickets to the all-new U. S. Steel Yard Diamond Club are also on sale by calling the 'Cats offices.




Northern League Stories from April 20, 2010


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