Edition 17 (World Series Edition) November 5, 1998
Contents
- Galena Wins World Series!: A tribute to the Galena Hamsters,
the 1998 World Champions.
- Interview with Hamsters President: Matthew Peck talks of past,
present and future for the Galena Hamsters.
- Free Agent Plan Enacted for Second Year.
- New Teams for 1999 Season.
- Notes from PR Official: What's new for 1999 (PLEASE READ).
* * *
Galena Wins World Series!
(AP) Reggie Jefferson singled and drove in the winning run in the top of
the seventh inning as the Hamsters won 3-2. Galena brought home the second
ever PVBL World Series and the first in the team's history.
A crowd of 46,621 attended XRAY Stadium to cheer on the Sea Dogs, but the
home team was unable to force a sixth game which would take the series back
to Galena. If anything, this was the easiest series for Galena.
"The Tucson series was our toughest," said Reggie Jefferson. "Once we beat
them, we just gained momentum and really felt we could take the whole
thing."
It was only appropriate that the game was decided by Galena's speed on the
basepaths, a team that totaled 300 steals during the season. The Hamsters
stole a total of 5 times off Washington pitching, including 3 alone in the
5th inning, which permitted both Castillo and Lofton to score.
Said manager Peck after the game, "when you got guys like Lofton,
Glanville, Castillo, Bip, and Stocker, you know you're gonna steal some
bases. We don't have a lot of long ball hitters, so those steals are very
important to get runners in scoring position."
"Those steals are what cost us the game, no question," said the losing
pitcher, Mack Leefenhaufenhauz. "Not because they stole 5 times. They
distracted me from my pitching, and I had a hard time throwing strikes.
Leefenhaufenhauz struck out 5, but walked 2 batters and gave up 8 hits in 7
innings.
"If you can get Lofton and Glanville off the basepaths, you are in much
better shape," added the rookie pitcher.
Lofton was 3-for-5 and Glanville was 2-for-5 on the night.
The Sea Dogs were unable to mount any sort of rally after tying the game in
the fifth inning. After Eric Young singled to move Johnny Damon to third,
the Sea Dogs were held hitless for the rest of the game. Roy Clingman Jr.
stopgapped the 9th, earning the save.
In the first inning, Dave Nilsson was taken out of the game after being hit
in the knee by a pitch. Catcher Candy Powell replaced him as a pinch
runner. Then in the bottom half of the inning, Washington scored right
away. After Lance Johnson singled and stole second, Harold Baines drove him
in on a single to right field.
Leefenhaufenhauz shut down the Hamsters in the first 4 innings, despite
allowing hits in all the fourth inning. But in the fifth, Galena broke out
with 2 runs on 3 singles and 3 steals. Jefferson struck out to end the
inning.
Down 2-1, Washington came back fighting with a double by Damon and then a
single off Young. Catcher Ben Petrick drove in Damon on a sacrifice fly to
tie the game, but Lance Johnson hit into the fielder's choice and
Knoblauch, 0-for-4 in the game, grounded to the shortstop. As it turned
out, that would be Washington's last chance to score.
Leefenhaufenhauz got out of the sixth inning, allowing only a single to
Jeff Cirillo. In the seventh, with one out, the shortstop Kevin Stocker
doubled off the wall and Kenny Lofton beat out a bunt to put runners on
first and third. After Glanville struck out, Reggie Jefferson hit a bloop
single over second to score the winning run.
"Hell," joked Jefferson in the clubhouse, "all I was thinking about at the
time was getting the run on base home. I didn't think it would be the
deciding factor....."
Clingman Jr. struck out the last two batters, Harold Baines and Roberto
Kelly, in the 3-2 win over the Washington Sea Dogs.
Kevin Appier took the win and was named World Series MVP after the game.
Appier was unquestionably the most dominating pitcher in the playoffs--the
Hamsters won every game he pitched. Still, he was modest about his World
Series clinching performance. "The key was to keep those guys off the
basepaths. They're offense is just like ours. If you let a few guys on,
they'll probably steal and end up scoring. I made sure that didn't happen."
Peck was hesistant to single out Appier's performance or any player for the
MVP award. He said sincerely, "every player contributed to our success in
the post season."
* * *
Interview with Hamsters President, Matthew Peck
Q) First question: The Galena Hamsters are now being compared to the
Chicago Bulls of basketball and the Detroit Red Wings of hockey. For a
second time in a row, the Hamsters were the best team in baseball during
the season. Does your team deserve such comparaisons?
A) I think that when people compare us to the franchises you mention, it
shows they have a lot of respect for us. And I must say, I think we earned
it. We won 106 games in '97, and we proved we weren't a fluke by winning
109 in '99 and taking the world series as well. And while I can't promise
Hamster fans that we'll win the series, or even our division, every year, I
can promise that we will be very competitive.
We should be very good well into the 21st century. We have a great young
nucleus of talent that we are developing. 1999 should see Luis Castillo,
Andruw Jones, and Johnny Butler playing full time.
Q) How are the Galena fans?
A) Galena Hamsters fans are great! There are only 3500 people in Galena, so
most Galena fans come from out of town to see the Hamsters play. We always
have 40,000-plus patrons in attendance.
Q) Your team's style of play is described as scrappy and gutsy. While there
are no superstars on your team (other than Reggie Jefferson), almost every
key player is a star player. Which players best exemplify the "scrappiness"
of your team?
A) It is true that we are solid at every position. As far as what players
epitomize Galena scrappiness, I would have to say Bip Roberts, Luis
Castillo, Doug Glanville, Kenny Lofton, and Kevin Stocker all fit that
mold, and to a certain extent Brant Brown.
Q) How does the loss of Dave Nilsson affect your franchise? Will Andruw
Jones be able to replace him?
A) Actually, Dave Nilsson was a catcher for Galena, so the question is will
rookie Pat Cline and Candy Powell be able to replace him. And my answer to
that would be yes. We're very high on Pat Cline. He should be one of the
top EL catchers in a few years.
Q) Comments on the current protest of the trade between your franchise and
Sacremento?
A) Both the Sacramento and Galena franchises are a bit peeved by the
protest, because both franchises thought the deal was fair and was going to
help both teams. I hope for a swift resolution to the ordeal.
* * *
Free Agent Plan Enacted for Second Year
(AP) At the last minute, Tampa Bay declined to participate in the Free
Agent Plan. They were expected to draft sixth overall out of eight teams.
Chris McMurty, the Mets team president and general manager, was unavailable
for comment at the time. The Tampa Bay area is aswath with rumours. The St.
Petersburg Times reported that the Mets accepted a money offer from Phoenix
in exchange for not drafting a player, but this report is unconfirmed.
Hartford publicly declined to participate at the onset of the playoffs.
Thunder Bay picked up powerhitting rightfielder Dave Nilsson from the
Galena Hamsters, despite the logjam they already have at right with Tony
Gwynn and Manny Ramirez.
Gary Niles, the 19-year old fastball pitcher, expected to be the first
pick, went to Sacramento. Niles will join a young pitching staff, boasting
rookie Matt Morris and number one draft pick Kerry Wood.
Anchorage, after having moved from Cincinatti, has bolstered it's lineup
with slugger Gary Sheffield and now with one of the best shortstops in the
league, Omar Vizquel.
Houston acquired firstbaseman Tino Martinez from Deadwood. Calgary
(formerly the Chicago Hoersts) got Marty Cordova from Punxatawney in the
draft. Macon, 7th in the draft but last to select a player, chose reliever
Bobby Ayala from Washington.
The Tucson Border Patrol, who earned the EL Wild Card spot, and the Phoenix
Gila Monsters, were unhurt by this year's Free Agent Plan. Ed Sprague was
unprotected, but lucky for Phoenix, remained unchosen.
* * *
New Teams for 1999 Season
A lot of franchises have changed hands for the coming 1999 season, and
hopefully some for good. After two dissapointing seasons, the Cincinatti
Bearcats moved to Alaska, becoming the Anchorage Abominations. The Laurel
Lynx moved again, after only a year in the PVBL, to become the Truro Bears.
Ann Arbour acquired a franchise, the former Cockeysville Crazies, and are
now called the AllKnighters.
Due to all these moves, only two teams in the Spock division remain from
the beginning of the 1998 season, Macon and Galena.
The Chicago Hoersts found an owner and then hastily moved the team north to
Calgary. It is the second attempt to bring the PVBL to Calgary, after the
North Hosers moved to Houston at the end of the 1997 season (I think I've
got that right).
With the new Calgary Cowboys, "Canada's Team" will be contested among four
franchises--the Edmonton Oil Kings, Montreal Royals, Thunder Bay Storm and
the Cowboys.
* * *
Notes from PR Official
I'm still posting press releases on the web page for all those who write
them. We have far exceeded the totals from last year. In 1998 we all wrote
together nearly 400 press releases. Almost everyone wrote a press release
in 1998, even if it was only one or two. Jeremy, Jason, Dan, Aaron--don't
let up! Personally, I don't care how long or short you write them, it's
just good to hear what's going on with other teams. One note, though: it's
helpful if you add the date and title to a press release.
I will continue to post transactions (as long as Matt sends them to me),
despite having lost track of them in August and July.
Remember, I continually update the Communications Page with all the e-mail
addresses and ICQ numbers (plus owner info).
Since no one has taken responsibility of the Statistician, I will still do
the Player-of-the-Months, which I don't want to give up anyhow because it's
really fun. There will be a new feature starting in 1999: I will archive
ALL the scoring summaries (from the "League Schedule" file) into 1 BIG
file. That way, you can look back and see how your team did against other
teams throughout the season. It's partially a substitute for the "Recent
Boxscores", which John Dybala used to manage. I won't take over that--I
just don't have the time, or the web space.
Check out the press releases page at the end of the season. It's kinda cool
just to look at all the things that happened to your team during the
season, the injuries and the trades and the turn of events (it's hard to
believe my team, the Montreal Royals, started the season with something
like a 4-13 record, and they just missed the playoffs).
I will continue the "State of the PVBL" next season, but I'm going to try
something new. Stay tuned for that.
