Richie Lewis Signed as Free Agent
August 4, 2003 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Edmonton Trappers News Release
EDMONTON, AB - The Edmonton Trapper Baseball Club announced today that right-handed pitcher Richie Lewis has been signed as a free agent by the Montreal Expos and has been assigned to the Trappers' roster. In addition, right-handed pitcher Chuck Crumpton has been transferred from the Trapper roster to Double-A Harrisburg. Edmonton's roster currently stands at 23 players; 12 pitchers, two catchers, five infielders and four outfielders, plus three players (right-handed pitcher Jose Colon, right-handed pitcher Bo Donaldson and first baseman Luis Ortiz) on the disabled list.
Lewis, 37, has not played this season. He has a career major league record of 14-15, 4.88 (293.1 IP - 159 ER) in 217 appearances (four starts) from 1992-1998 with Baltimore, Florida, Detroit, Oakland and Cincinnati. Lewis appeared in a career-high 72 games with Detroit in 1996, going 4-6, 4.18 (90.1 IP - 42 ER) in 72 appearances (all in relief) with two saves. He has a career minor league record of 65-56, 3.72 (1127.1 IP - 466 ER) in 276 appearances (13 starts). He appeared in 11 games (one start) with the Trappers in 1997, going 1-1, 5.85 (20.0 IP - 13 ER) before being released on June 17.
Lewis was originally selected by the Montreal Expos in the second round of the 1987 draft. The Muncie, Indiana native was traded by Montreal to the Baltimore Orioles for left-handed pitcher Chris Myers on August 24, 1991. He was selected by Florida in the major league expansion draft on November 17, 1992. Lewis was signed by San Diego on January 18, 1996, but the Padres traded him with outfielder Melvin Nieves and catcher Raul Casanova to Detroit for outfielder Todd Steverson, right-handed pitcher Sean Bergman and right-hander pitcher Cade Gaspar on March 22. Lewis was released by Detroit on November 20 and signed with Oakland on January 6, 1997. He signed with Cincinnati on June 20 and was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he became a set-up man for Scott Service, until Service was traded on July 15. Lewis subsequently became the closer, recording nine saves.
Lewis signed with Philadelphia on January 10, 1998 but was released on March 22. Baltimore signed him on April 22. After being granted free agency on October 16, he was signed by the Reynosa Broncos of the Mexican League and pitched for that club for part of the 1999 season until the New York Mets purchased his contract on May 16 of that campaign. He re-signed with the Mets on January 21, 2000 before being traded to Cleveland for future considerations on May 22. After signing with the Indians as a free agent on January 25, 2001, Lewis was traded by Cleveland to the Mets for future considerations on May 14. He was released by the Mets on August 27. Lewis was signed by the Chicago Cubs on March 7, 2002 before being released on March 29. He split last season between three teams, going 3-0, 1.42 (19.0 IP - 3 ER) with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League, 0-2, 6.10 (20.2 IP - 14 ER) with the Long Island Ducks, also of the Atlantic League, and 2-2, 4.64 (33 IP - 17 ER) with the Campeche Pirates of the Mexican League.
Crumpton, 26, went 1-1, 5.45 (34.2 IP - 21 ER) with four saves in 14 appearances (one start) with the Trappers this season after being transferred from Harrisburg on June 13. The native of Temple, Texas was 4-5, 3.32 (59.2 IP - 22 ER) with three saves in 23 appearances with Double-A Harrisburg. He began the campaign in the Senators' rotation and was 1-1, 5.14 (14.0 IP - 8 ER) in three starts before briefly moving to the bullpen. He made two more starts at the end of April, including an eight-inning stint against the Reading Phillies on April 26 in which he allowed only three runs, two earned, but was still charged with the loss. Crumpton made his final 16 appearances out of the bullpen for Harrisburg and recorded a save in three consecutive outings, May 31-June 5. Crumpton was originally selected out of Arizona State University by the Montreal Expos in the 25th round of the 1999 draft. He split the 2002 season between Harrisburg, where he was 2-3, 3.64 (59.1 IP - 24 ER) with three saves in 21 appearances (three starts) and Triple-A Ottawa, where he was 0-2, 5.40 (25.0 IP - 15 ER) in 19 appearances. Crumpton began the season with a lifetime minor league record of 10-17 with 27 saves in 174 appearances (14 starts). He posted a 3.87 ERA in that span, which included four seasons in the Expos' farm system.
The next Trapper home game will be on Monday, August 4, when the club will take on the Oklahoma RedHawks. The game will begin at 1:35 PM. Tickets for all regular season home games are on sale and can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 451-8000. For more information call 414-4450.
Pacific Coast League Stories from August 4, 2003
- Lugo returns to rotation, sparks Express to third straight win - Round Rock Express
- River Cats Announce 2003 Puglia Award Winners - Sacramento River Cats
- Figueroa Tosses Gem In Sounds' 3-0 Win - Nashville Sounds
- Zephyrs Trainer Mike Freer Named PCL Athletic Trainer of the Year - New Orleans Baby Cakes
- Zephyrs and 51's Postponed - New Orleans Baby Cakes
- Trappers Plate Five in Fifth, Down RedHawks, 8-4 - Edmonton Trappers
- Alfaro, Stein Take PCL Awards - PCL1
- Alfaro Named PCL Batter of the Week - New Orleans Baby Cakes
- Jim Rome World Tour comes to The Dell Diamond - Round Rock Express
- Nashville outlasts Sox - Colorado Springs Sky Sox
- Richie Lewis Signed as Free Agent - Edmonton Trappers
- Edwards Homer Wins it for River Cats in 10th - Sacramento River Cats
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