PCL1 Omaha Storm Chasers

Storm Chasers Announce 50th Season All-Franchise Team

Published on July 16, 2018 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Omaha Storm Chasers News Release


Omaha Storm Chasers 50th Season All-Franchise Team
Omaha Storm Chasers 50th Season All-Franchise Team
(Omaha Storm Chasers)

PAPILLION, NE - The Omaha Storm Chasers have announced the organization's 50th Season Team as voted on by Storm Chasers fans in an online vote. Fans voted from a list of players chosen by members of the local media, as well as current and former Storm Chasers front office staff. A canvas featuring all 14 players and the 50th Season Team manager created by Dayne Dudley will be given away to the first 2,000 fans to enter Werner Park on Sunday, August 26 thanks to the Nebraska Department of Transportation Highway Safety Office. 8x10 prints will also be available for purchase in the Storm Front Team Store.

Catcher: Salvador Perez

First Base: Eric Hosmer

Second Base: Frank White

Shortstop: Buddy Biancalana

Third Base: George Brett

Outfield: Lorenzo Cain

Outfield: Alex Gordon

Outfield: Willie Wilson

Pitcher: David Cone

Pitcher: Danny Duffy

Pitcher: Zack Greinke

Pitcher: Dan Quisenberry

Pitcher: Paul Splittorff

Designated Hitter: Luis de los Santos

Utility Player: Whit Merrifield

Manager: Mike Jirschele

National Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett headlines the 50th Season squad at third base. Brett played with the Omaha Royals during the 1973-74 seasons, posting a .281 average (132-469) along with 75 runs, 18 doubles, four triples, ten homers and 78 RBI while earning American Association All-Star status in 1973. He went on to play 21 seasons with Kansas City from 1973-93, garnering 13 All-Star nods in addition to being named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1980. He would go on to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1999.

1995 Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame inductee Frank White is the 50th Season Team's second baseman. He played in 86 games with the Omaha Royals in 1973, batting .264 (92-348) with 49 runs, 19 doubles, two triples, four homers and 32 RBI. In 18 Major League campaigns, all in Kansas City, White compiled a .255 average (2006-7859), adding 912 runs, 407 doubles, 58 triples, 160 homers and 886 RBI. In addition to five American League All-Star selections, White earned eight Gold Glove Awards, including in six consecutive years between 1977-83, while also receiving a Silver Slugger honor in 1986.

Catcher Salvador Perez was voted as the 50th Season Team's backstop. Perez participated in 24 games with the Storm Chasers between the 2011-12 seasons, before returning to Werner Park for a Major League Rehab Assignment in 2018. In 28 combined contests with Omaha he owns a .345 average (39-113) with 19 runs, nine doubles, two homers and 20 RBI. Since making his Major League debut with Kansas City in August 2011, Perez has gone on to receive six American League All-Star selections, in addition to four Gold Glove honors. He was also named the Most Valuable Player of the 2015 World Series to lead the Royals franchise to their second title.

Infielder Eric Hosmer was chosen by fans as the 50th Season squad's first baseman. He played in 26 games with the Storm Chasers during the inaugural season at Werner Park in 2011 before wearing the Omaha uniform again in 2014 as part of a Major League Rehab Assignment. In 28 total bouts with the Storm Chasers he compiled a .426 mark (46-108) with 23 runs, five doubles, four homers and 18 RBI. Hosmer is currently in his eighth Major League season, having played seven with Kansas City from 2011-17. He has earned three Gold Glove Awards and was selected as an American League All-Star in 2016, winning the Mid-Summer Classic's Most Valuable Player honor.

Buddy Biancalana rounds out the 50th Season infield at the shortstop position. The fan-favorite played for the Omaha Royals during the 1982-84 seasons before returning for two more years from 1987-88. In 395 total matchups with the O-Royals, Biancalana tallied a .243 average (313-1290) with 167 runs, 56 doubles, 25 triples, 15 homers and 139 RBI. He went on to play six years in the Major Leagues, spending a large majority of that period with Kansas City. Biancalana was also a member of the Royals' 1985 World Series Championship Team that won the first title in franchise history.

2000 Kansas City Royals Hall of Fam inductee Willie Wilson headlines the trio of outfielders on the 50th Season Team as voted on by fans. Wilson played in 132 games with the Omaha Royals in 1977, batting .281 (139-495) with 67 runs, ten doubles, six triples, four homers and 47 RBI, along with 74 steals, the second-highest single-season stolen base total in franchise history. A 19-year Major League veteran, Wilson was a two-time American League All-Star selection, in addition to receiving Gold Glove and Silver Slugger honors in 1980. He totaled 668 stolen bases in his Major League career and won the American League batting title in 1982 with a .332 average.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln alum and Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon was also selected to Omaha's 50th Season Team. Gordon played with the Omaha franchise in 2009-10, earning Pacific Coast League Mid-Season All-Star honors in 2010, in addition to Major League Rehab Assignment stints in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 99 career games with Omaha, Gordon has hit .323 (120-371) with 17 homers and 64 RBI. A 12-year Major League veteran, Gordon has been tabbed an American League All-Star three times, in addition to receiving four Gold Glove Awards.

Rounding out the group of outfielders is Lorenzo Cain, who played with Omaha during the 2011-12, 2014 and 2016 campaigns. In 139 games with the Storm Chasers, Cain has accumulated a .309 average (164-530) with 88 runs, 31 doubles, seven triples, 17 homers and 87 RBI. A nine-year Major League veteran, Cain has been selected to play in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game twice, in addition to being named the second runner-up to the American League's Most Valuable Player Award in 2015 en route to helping lead the Kansas City Royals to a World Series title that year.

Side-winding hurler Dan Quisenberry helms the 50th Season Team pitching staff. Quisenberry pitched for the Omaha Royals during the 1979 campaign, posting a 2-1 record and 3.60 ERA (14 ER/35.0 IP) with five saves. He would go on to pitch in the Big Leagues for 12 seasons, including ten with Kansas City. A three-time American League All-Star, Quisenberry recorded 244 career saves and was featured in the top three of Cy Young Award voting four times.

A member of the American Association Championship 1969 and 1970 Omaha Royals, southpaw Paul Splittorff combined for a 25-24 record and 3.79 ERA (167 ER/397.0 IP) with 243 strikeouts in 64 career outings (59 starts) with the O-Royals. He went out to pitch for 15 seasons in Kansas City, tallying a 166-143 mark and 3.81 ERA (1082 ER/2554.2 IP) in 429 appearances, including 392 starts. He became the first 20-game winner in franchise history in 1973, and would go on to be inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame in 1987.

Right-hander David Cone pitched for Omaha during the 1985-86 campaigns, accruing a 17-19 clip and 4.08 ERA (104 ER/229.2 IP) with 178 punchouts in 67 appearances (29 starts). He would go on to spend 17 seasons in the Major Leagues, earning four All-Star nods in addition to being named the American League's Cy Young Award winner in 1994 with Kansas City. Cone would go on to win four World Series titles between Toronto (1992) and the New York Yankees (1992, 1996, 1998-2000).

Right-hander Zack Greinke was electric in his short stint in Omaha during the 2004 campaign, posting a 1-1 record and 2.51 ERA (8 ER/28.2 IP) with 23 punchouts. A 15-year Major League veteran, Greinke has been named to five All-Star teams and received American League Cy Young Award honors in 2009 with the Kansas City Royals. Entering today he owns a 182-112 record and 3.82 ERA (470 ER/1108.0 IP) with over 2300 strikeouts in 442 appearances (401 starts).

Left-hander Danny Duffy rounds out the 50th Season Team's pitching staff. The southpaw threw the very first pitch by a Storm Chasers pitcher at Werner Park in 2011 and since has compiled a 7-2 mark and 3.64 ERA (47 ER/116.1 IP) in 26 outings (24 starts) with Omaha between the 2011, 2013-15 seasons, in addition to a Major League Rehab Assignment stint in 2017. Duffy is currently in his eighth season with Kansas City and has accumulated a 50-51 record and 3.84 ERA (377 ER/883.0 IP) in 178 appearances (150 starts) along with 773 strikeouts.

Infielder/outfielder Luis de los Santos has been selected as the Omaha franchise's 50th Season Team's designated hitter. De los Santos participated in 505 games with Omaha between 1987-90, accumulating a .294 average (577-1961) with 215 runs, 108 doubles, 14 triples, 16 homers and 290 RBI. He ranks fourth in franchise history in hits (577) and at-bats (1,961) in addition to fifth in runs batted in. He would go on to play three seasons in the Major Leagues, including two with Kansas City from 1988-89.

Infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield was selected as the Omaha franchise's 50th Season Team's utility player. Merrifield played with the Storm Chasers during the 2014-17 seasons, recording a .290 average (340-1173) in 289 total games, adding 19 homers and 105 RBI. He was a member of the 2014 Triple-A National Championship squad that completed the franchise's Back-to-Back Triple-A National Championships run. Since making his Major League debut with Kansas City in 2016, Merrifield has compiled a .292 average (366-1253) with 116 runs, 84 doubles, nine triples, 26 homers and 137 RBI in 317 games with the Royals.

The franchise's leader in managerial victories Mike Jirschele was voted as the Omaha franchise's 50th Season Team Manager. During his 14-year reign (1995-97, 2003-13) as Omaha skipper, Jirschele recorded 995 victories while earning four Division crowns, two Pacific Coast League titles and the 2013 Triple-A National Championship. In 2011 he was awarded Minor League Baseball's Mike Coolbaugh Award. Jirschele has served as the Kansas City Royals' third base coach since 2014 and was a member of the coaching staff that led the Royals to the franchise's second World Series title in franchise history.

A canvas featuring the 14 players and manager Mike Jirschele will be given away to the first 2,000 fans to enter Werner Park on Sunday, August 26 thanks to the Nebraska Department of Transportation Highway Safety Office. 7x10 prints will also be available in the Storm Front Team Store.

The Storm Chasers franchise will celebrate their 50th home game of the season on Friday, July 20 while wearing 1985 Omaha Royals jerseys as part of the franchise's Flashback Friday Jersey Series presented by First National Bank. 1969-72 Omaha Royals manager Jack McKeon is also scheduled to be in attendance to sign autographs for fans during the game. First pitch that evening is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT.

Tickets are still available for that game and all remaining Storm Chasers home dates in 2018, and may be purchased at www.omahastormchasers.com/tickets as well as by calling the Werner Park Ticket Office at (402) 738-5100.

Check out the Omaha Storm Chasers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Images from this story

Omaha Storm Chasers 50th Season All-Franchise Team
Omaha Storm Chasers 50th Season All-Franchise Team
   



Pacific Coast League Stories from July 16, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central