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WhiteWings Sign Five Players

May 29, 2009 - United League Baseball (ULB)
Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings News Release


Harlingen - United League Baseball's Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings announced today they have signed outfielder Alfred Joseph and pitchers Reymond Cruz, Mike Swords, Steve Romero and Fendi Vasquez.

Selected by the Cubs in the 15th round of the 2004 drafts, Joseph went onto player in 44 games for the Arizona Cubs that season, hitting .268.

Joseph began the 2005 season at Class-A Peoria, hitting .296 in seven games before moving to Low-A Boise of the Northwest League, where he hit .271 in 16 games.

The Corpus Christi native spent a full season at Boise in 2006, hitting .306 with 14 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 29 RBI.

Joseph split the 2007 season between Peoria and High-A Daytona. Last season, Joseph played in a combined ten games between Schaumburg (Northern League) and Traverse City (Frontier League), where he went 4- for-30.

Signed as a nondrafted free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2004, Cruz played in the Dominican Summer League that season, going 3-4 with a 3.14 RA in 17 games (five starts). In 57.1 innings he struck out 52 while walking eight.

The right-hander has kept up the dazzling strikeout-to-walk ratios ever since, compiling a 178:39 mark over the course of four seasons.

In 2006, Cruz recorded a 1.25 ERA with six saves in 23 games for Low-A Batavia (New York-Penn League). After missing the 2007 season, Cruz split time between High-A Clearwater (Florida State League) and Class- A Lakewood (South Atlantic League), compiling a combined 4.98 ERA.

Swords, Romero and Vasquez are all right-handed pitchers. Swords and Romero drove to Harlingen from Florida together.

All five players have arrived in Harlingen and are practicing with the team.

The WhiteWings open the 2009 season against the Coastal Bend Thunder on Thursday, June 11 at Harlingen Field. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6:05. It's Thirsty Thursday, meaning $1 draft beers.

Season tickets are on sale now and start at $125. Mini-plans start at $40. Tickets can be purchased by calling the WhiteWings at (956) 423- WING (9464).

Individual game tickets go on sale June 1.

The WhiteWings are members of United League Baseball, an independent league of six professional baseball teams located in Texas. In its fourth season, the United League is preparing for a great summer with teams located in Amarillo, Edinburg, Coastal Bend, Laredo, Harlingen and San Angelo. Opening Day is June 11.

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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.

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