Texas Rangers Caravan to Visit OKC this Saturday, January 17
Published on January 13, 2009 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release
Oklahoma City, OK. - Jan. 13, 2009 - Oklahoma City RedHawks fans will get a preview of the upcoming 2009 season on Saturday, Jan. 17 when Texas Rangers players German Duran, Matt Harrison and Tommy Hunter visit Oklahoma City during the annual Texas Rangers Caravan. The players will be accompanied by RedHawks long-time skipper, Bobby Jones.
The RedHawks will also host a baseball clinic for children with instruction from Rangers players and coaches on Saturday beginning at 8:30 am. The clinic is open to 6 - 14 year olds; cost is $70 per child. Participants will receive baseball instruction in the following areas: hitting, fielding, catching and throwing. Registration also includes an autograph session with the players and coaches.
In addition to Rangers players, the clinic will provide instruction from Ryan Budde, Major League catcher for the Los Angeles and Jace Brewer, former minor league player for the Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays and Kansas City Royals organizations.
Fans may register for the clinic online at www.oklahomaredhawks.com or by calling 218-1000.
Bobby Jones
Manager, Oklahoma RedHawks
The winningest manager in Oklahoma City's Triple-A history, Bobby Jones returns in 2009 for his seventh season as RedHawks' manager and ninth overall in Oklahoma City. In three stints as a Triple-A manager in Oklahoma City, Jones has 568 local wins, four division titles (2002, 2004-05, 2008) and one conference title (2008). About to enter his 22nd year as a coach or manager in the organization, Jones is the system's all-time leader in games managed (2,558) and wins (1,285). He won league titles at Class A Charlotte (1989) and Double-A Tulsa (1998). In 2005, he guided the RedHawks' to the best record in the PCL at 80-63. He also served as a Rangers coach in 2000, 2001 and 2006 under former managers Johnny Oates, Jerry Narron and Buck Showalter. Jones played in 314 major league games over parts of nine seasons for Texas and the California Angels from 1974-86. He holds the Rangers' record for career pinch hits with 42. In 2008, Jones won the inaugural Mike Coolbaugh Award, presented to an individual who has shown an outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game and skill in mentoring young players on the field.
Tommy Hunter, right-handed pitcher
A member of the Rangers' extensive class of first-round selections in 2007, Hunter took slightly more than a year to make his major league debut Aug. 1, 2008 for Texas. The supplemental first round pick out of the University of Alabama appeared at four levels of the organization last year, starting at Class A Bakersfield and progressing through Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Oklahoma before making three August appearances for Texas. With the RedHawks, Hunter went 4-2 with a 2.89 ERA in eight starts. He tossed Hunter matched Rangers Minor League Pitcher of the Year Derek Holland for the most wins in the system with a combined 13 at three levels, while working 163.2 innings, a system high. Hunter is a 22-year old who pitched for two seasons for the Crimson Tide.
German Duran, infielder/outfielder
Versatile infielder/outfielder made his major league debut in 2008 and spent the majority of the season in a utility role for the Rangers, batting .231 with three homers and 16 RBIs in 60 games. Spent two stints with the RedHawks, the second shortened by a torn ligament in his left thumb sustained July 22 at Salt Lake. The RedHawks' opening-day second baseman, Duran batted .260 with one home run and six RBIs in Triple-A. An infielder throughout his minor league career, Duran appeared in six games in left field and three in right for Texas in addition to time at second, third and shortstop. Duran is a 24-year old Fort Worth native who attended TCU and Weatherford (Texas) College.
Matt Harrison, left-handed pitcher
Part of an impressive array of players acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the 2007 Mark Teixeira trade, Harrison progressed from Double-A to the major leagues in 2008. Along the way, the lefthander tossed a seven-inning no hitter for the Frisco RoughRiders in the first game of a doubleheader May 18. After going 3-2 with a 3.33 ERA in nine games for Frisco, Harrison was promoted to Triple-A in early June and 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA in six RedHawks starts before getting the call to the major leagues and spending the remainder of the season with Texas. Harrison was 9-3 with a 5.49 ERA in 15 Texas starts, including a complete-game, five-hit shutout at Oakland Sept. 12. Harrison's nine wins tied him for second on the staff (with veteran Kevin Millwood) behind Vicente Padilla's 14. Harrison, a 23-year-old out of Stem, North Carolina, was originally a third-round pick by Atlanta in the 2003 draft.
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