Galena, IL--On Thursday, Galena re-aquired OF Reggie Sanders, 28, from the
Hartford Whalers for vetern utility man Bip Roberts, RHP pitching prospect
Mike Campbell, and all of Galena's free agent draft picks in the upcoming
off season draft. Sanders, who has recently been bothered by injuries but
was deemed healthy by Galena trainers before the trade, is batting .291.
"I'm thrilled to be back in Galena," admitted Sanders, "I didn't
want to leave when I was traded in '98. I wanted to stay." Sanders has
always played better as a Hamster. He won the EL MVP in '97 playing right
field for the Hamsters, batting .330 with 24 home runs and 104 rbi.
Sanders was batting over .300 before he was traded in '98, but his numbers
tailed off with Motor City and later Hartford, and he ended up with a .258
batting average in 1998.
Kenny Lofton is excited about the Hamsters outfield with the
addition of Sanders, "I don't know if anyone in the EL can touch our OF!
We got my man Sanders in LF, myself in CF, and superstar Bernie Williams
in RF. We've got speed, defense, and we all hit. Sanders and Williams give
us big time power at the corners." Lofton was a team member of Sanders' on
Galena's 1997 and 1998 teams. Except for the pitching staff, however, most
of the faces on the Hamsters are new to Sanders: "It's nice to see the old
guys...Kenny, Brownie (Brant Brown), Stocks (Kevin Stocker), but
truthfully, this is quite a different team than when I was here last. But
one thing has stayed the same...they're still winning!"
Galena owner and general manager expects Reggie Sanders will give
the club the boost needed to get to the playoffs and possibly win their
second world series in as many years, "Sanders provides us with two
things," Peck explains, "First, he gives the club a morale boost.
Hopefully, the guys will see that this front office is very commited to
winning, and we'll go out and get the guys we need to help us win. Second,
Sanders brings a great game to the field. This guy has all the tools, and
he provides a big bat in LF, which we've needed. I also like the fact that
we didn't have to mortgage our future to get Sanders. We gave up Bip which
was painful and a prospect, but some of the other players available on the
market would have costed much more."
Sanders will be a free agent after the 1999 season. He seems
willing to come back to the Hamsters if the team wants him, "Galena is a
great baseball town and this is one of the most historic and competitive
franchises in the league. At this point, I can't tell you what I'll be
doing. I'll test the waters. See what's out there. Galena has a lot of
young outfielders, so they might not try to sign me. But I can tell you
this--I am going to have the time of my life the rest of this season as we
make our way to the playoffs!"
