Spirit catcher purchased by San Diego Padres

Published on December 20, 2002 under Canadian American League (Can-Am)
North Shore Spirit News Release


LYNN – The North Shore Spirit, a member of the independent Northeast League, sold the rights of catcher Ryan Smith to the San Diego Padres. Smith, a Mifflinburg, Penn. native who was drafted out of high school in 1998 by the New York Mets, spent most of last year with the Berkshire Black Bears before being traded to the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs for the last six weeks of the season. Both Berkshire and Albany are members of the Northeast league.

In 13 games with Albany, Smith, 23, hit .368 with a .467 on-base percentage. In 76 games overall, Smith hit .249 with 18 RBI.

Smith, who attended the Padres invitational camp in Chicago in September, was described by Padres representative Mal Fichman "as a player who can throw, run and hit. We liked what we saw at the invite camp, and I let Ryan know that we were going to wait until the conclusion of the Rule 5 draft (which took place Dec. 14 in Nashville) to see if we pick up a catcher, which we didn't."

According to Northeast League President Dan Moushon, since the inception of the Northern League in 1993 (the former league of current Northeast League members), more than 500 players have been signed by affiliated clubs.

With the loss of Smith, the Spirit have 17 players on their roster. The Spirit begin their inaugural season on the road against the Brockton Rox on May 22. They will begin their home season at the new Fraser Field on May 28 at 7 p.m.

Keep up-to-date with all the Spirit action by logging on to www.northshorespirit.com.

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Canadian American League Stories from December 20, 2002


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