Record six Sea Dogs to participate in 2005 Hannaford EL All-Star Game
June 30, 2005 - Eastern League (EL1)
Portland Sea Dogs News Release
Portland, Maine- The Eastern League has announced the rosters for the 2005 Hannaford Eastern League All-Star Game. The Portland Sea Dogs have a franchise record six players headed to the mid-summer classic: INF Hanley Ramirez, RHP Jon Papelbon, LHP Jon Lester, OF Brandon Moss, INF Kenny Perez and INF Jared Sandberg will play in the game on Wednesday, July 13th at Hadlock Field. The Sea Dogs will send more players (six) than any other Eastern League team, and set a record for Sea Dogs participation in the All-Star Game. The previous participation record was set in 2003 when Portland sent five representatives to the All-Star game.
The All-Star Game will feature the Northern Division All-Stars against the Southern Division All-Stars. Each team will consist of 24 players. The All-Star teams were selected through Rite Aid fan balloting along with selections from media personnel, club field personnel, and Eastern League administrators. Each Eastern League team has at least three players, including at least one pitcher and one position player. Hanley Ramirez and Jon Papelbon were selected by the fans in the Rite Aid fan balloting, while Lester, Moss, Perez, and Sandberg were selected by media, league officials, and team personnel.
Hanley Ramirez, a 21-year-old shortstop from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was signed by the Red Sox as a non-drafted free agent in July 2000. Ramirez is ranked as the #1 prospect in the Red Sox organization and the #10 prospect in all of minor league baseball by Baseball America. He is also rated as the "Best Athlete," "Fastest Base runner," "Best Defensive Infielder," and "Best Infield Arm" in the Red Sox organization by Baseball America. Ramirez is batting .271 with 2HR, 22 RBI, 10 doubles, 16 stolen bases, and a league-leading 7 triples for the Sea Dogs in 2005.
Brandon Moss, a 21-year old outfielder from Loganville, Georgia was selected by the Red Sox in the eighth round of the 2002 draft. Moss is rated as the #2 prospect in the Red Sox organization and the #41 prospect in all of minor league baseball by Baseball America prior to the 2005 season. He is also rated as the organization's best hitter for average. Moss was named the Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year and South Atlantic League Player of the Year in 2004 after batting .339 in 109 games for Single-A Augusta, and .422 in 23 games for Single-A Sarasota. In the 2005 season, Moss is hitting .287 with 11 HR, 20 doubles, and 39 RBI for the Sea Dogs.
Jon Papelbon, a 24-year old right-handed pitcher from Jacksonville, Florida was selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. Papelbon enters the 2005 season rated as the #3 prospect in the Red Sox organization and the #91 prospect in all of minor league baseball by Baseball America. He is also rated by Baseball America as possessing the best fastball and slider in the Red Sox minor league system. He was named the Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year for Single-A Sarasota in 2004. In 13 games with the Sea Dogs in 2005, Papelbon is 4-2 with a 2.67 ERA (6th in the Eastern League).
Jon Lester, a 21-year-old left-handed pitcher from Puyallup, Washington was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the second round of the 2002 draft. He was rated as the #4 prospect in the Red Sox organization by Baseball America prior to the 2005 season. He leads Portland in innings pitched (82.1) and is 5-1 for the Sea Dogs in 2005. Lester is fourth in the Eastern League in both ERA (2.51) and strikeouts (84).
Kenny Perez, a 23-year-old infielder from Miami, Florida was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2000 draft. He was rated as the #27 prospect in the Red Sox organization by Baseball America prior to the 2005 season. This will be the second Eastern League All-Star game for Perez, who represented the Northern Division in 2004. Perez finished the 2004 season ninth in the Eastern League with 31 doubles. Perez is batting .296 with 5 doubles, 2 home runs, and 20 RBI in 40 games for the Sea Dogs in 2005.
Jared Sandberg, a 27-year-old infielder from Olympia, Washington was signed by the Boston Red Sox as a minor league free agent on March 25, 2005. Prior to joining the Red Sox organization, Sandberg spent parts of three seasons in the major leagues playing for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In 2002 Sandberg played in 99 games for the Devil Rays and finished the season with 18 home runs, third most on the club behind Aubrey Huff (23) and Ben Grieve (19). Sandberg is the Devil Rays' all-time minor league leader in home runs (113) and RBI (473). He is batting .253 with 16 doubles, 15 home runs (4th- Eastern League) and 49 RBI for the Sea Dogs in 2005.
Tickets for the 2005 Hannaford Eastern League All-Star game are Sold Out.
Complete rosters and additional all-star game information can be found at www.seadogs.com/allstar.
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