Player Info: RHP Ryne Fraser

Ryne has a good chance to be Cloud County's closer this spring after transfering from Johnson County. His bio on the team roster describes him a having "a lively fastball, a very good late breaking curve and a good feel for a change-up."

Also of note is Ryne's no-hitter during the regional championship game in his senior year at Topeka West.

Game Report: NMSU vs. Alumni (Exhibition)

It was a rough day for Vince Rodden against the New Mexico State Alumni, going 0 for 3, in an exhibition win for the Aggies.

Batting lead off, Rodden stuck out looking in the first. In the third, he hit a line drive into the glove of the second baseman. Coming up again in the 4th inning, he hit into a 6-4-3 double play. Vince left the game in the top of the 5th as one of numerous Aggie substitutions. Story and box score are availiable on the NMSU website.

Additional Player Info: Chris Mackey

This is a follow-up to my January 4th post. Southwest Missouri State has updated it's 2005 player bios, including the one on Golden Giants LHP Chris Mackey.

New information includes the fact that Chris threw 2 no-hitters in his senior year at Springfield Catholic, one of which was a perfecto. Also recently posted is a season preview article, that says Chris will be competing for a starting job as a freshman.

Second Radio Appearance

Golden Giants GM Brett Cowdin will be a guest on KMAJ 1440 AM's News You Need to Know at 7:50 a.m. on Monday (1/31/05).

Beatrice Bruins Schedule

The Beatrice Bruins have posted their 2005 schedule.

It lists the Omaha expansion team as the "Omaha Varsity Gold", apparently named after a corporate sponsor.

Jayhawk League Expansion

The Jayhawk League has expanded to 7 teams with the addition of the Wichita Twins (leaving the WJL) and the Slashers (formerly independent). The Jayhawk League was reduced to 5 teams last season when the Topeka Capitals ceased operations.

Based on the posted schedules of Dodge City and the Springfield Generals, it is still my belief that the Springfield Slashers have relocated to Joplin's Joe Becker Stadium. However, there are still references to the "Springfield Slashers" out there as well.

Player Info: SS Jerad Head

Jerad Head plays both basketball and baseball at Washburn University, transfering after a redshirt season at K-State. He hit .419 last spring after hitting .330 in the spring of 2003. Jerad is no stranger to summer wood bat leagues, having played for the Topeka Capitals and, last summer, for the Lake Havasu Heat of the Pacific Southwest League. As of July 15th last season, he was hitting .330 for Lake Havasu. Although listed as an infielder for the Giants, he has been known to don the "tools of ignorance" from time to time.

Limited Venue Info: Hummer Sports Park

The Topeka Shawnee County Sports Council has some pictures of the Golden Giants home field.

The dimensions of both fields at Hummer are 325-385-325.

Roster Addition: RHP Jake Lenherr

During his 580 AM appearance tonight, GM Brett Cowdin mentioned that Washburn pitcher Jake Lenherr has signed with the Golden Giants. Jake had a 7-2 record and a 5.25 ERA against aluminum bats last spring at Washburn.

Updated Schedule

June -- 1 at Omaha (6:00 p.m.), 3 Omaha, 4 Clarinda, 5 at Chillicothe (7:05 p.m.), 7 Parkville, 10 at Parkville (5:00 p.m.), 11 at Chillicothe (7:05 p.m.), 12 Wichita Gators (non-league), 14 Fellowship of Christian Athletes, 16 at FCA (TBA), 17 at St. Joseph (7:05 p.m.), 18 vs. Springfield Generals at Pittsburgh (4 p.m., 2-7, non-league), 20 Parkville, 21 Chillicothe, 22 Beatrice, 24 Omaha, 28 St. Joseph, 29 Beatrice, 30 at Wichita Gators (7:00 p.m. non-league)

July -- 1 Chillicothe, 2 FCA, 3 at Clarinda (7:00 p.m.), 5 St. Joseph, 6 at Beatrice (7:00 p.m.), 10 at Clarinda (7:00 p.m.), 11 Clarinda, 13 at St. Joseph (7:05 p.m.), 14 at Parkville (5:00 p.m.), 15 at Omaha (6:00 p.m.), 16 at FCA (TBA), 19 at Beatrice (7:00 p.m.), 22-27 NBC Central Regional Tournament at Clarinda

All home games are at 7:00 p.m.
All games are 1-9 unless noted
MINK Make-Up Dates for Rainouts are 6/27 and 7/18

On the Radio

Golden Giants GM Brett Cowdin is scheduled to be interviewed on 580 WIBW's Sportstalk with Bruce Steinbrock around 6 p.m., Monday.

Rodden quote in NM State article

Vince Rodden is discussed and quoted in a season preview article on New Mexico State's website:

Another lefty that should provide Hopkins with many opportunities to drive in runs is junior college transfer Vince Rodden (Overland Park, Kan.). Rodden, who came to NMSU from Johnson County Community College, should be the Aggies starting centerfielder and hit at the top of the order this spring. As a sophomore at Johnson County, Rodden led the nation with 64 stolen bases and was named first team All-Region VI after hitting .363 with 70 runs.

"I need to perform well and do whatever I can to help the team be successful," Rodden said. "The biggest adjustment for me this season will be the quality of pitching. The competition will also be a lot better here at NMSU."

Think Spring

Sorry for the lack of content recently, baseball news has been a little scarce of late. Seems hard to believe (it's 20 degrees and falling in Topeka as I write this) but college baseball will start for some of the Giants in less than two weeks. Vince Rodden and the New Mexico State Aggies will participate in the Bob Schaefer Memorial Tournament at Arizona State University starting on February 3rd and Arkansas-Little Rock opens at home against snowbird Western Illinois on the 5th. Once the spring season is under way, there will be info to post on a daily basis.

Oldest living major-leaguer

Here's a nice little human interest story from Canada's Globe and Mail. It has both a National Baseball Congress and a Topeka baseball connection.

Player Info: OF Tych Cowdin

Tych Cowdin will be playing in the outfield for Johnson County Community College this spring after transferring from Hutchinson Community College, where he played football.

Tych was a four year letterman at Topeka West High School in baseball and football. Known for his hitting, speed, and work ethic; he was a 2 time All-City selection, and named Player of the Year (hitting .583) in Topeka his senior season.

Limited Venue Info: Christenson Field

Christenson Field is the home of the Beatrice Bruins. The info is "limited" this time because I haven't seen a game there yet. Hopefully I'll be able to expand on this post at some point this summer.

In the meantime you should be able to get some feel for the atmosphere there from this newspaper article and television transcript that the Bruins have posted on their website, or you can read a little about Beatrice baseball history.

Elsewhere in the NBC

The Pacific International League now has five teams, expanding into Mt. Vernon, Washington.

Player Info: C Brian Martinek

Brian Martinek will be a sophomore catcher at Washburn this spring. In his previous season at WU he hit .388 with 9 doubles, a triple and 2 home runs. At Silver Lake High School he earned all-league honors in all four seasons he played baseball, and all-state honors in 3 of those years. Brian bats and (of course) throws right-handed.

Player Info: INF Nick Carlson

Nick Carlson will play his first college ball this spring as a freshman at the University of New Mexico.

Nick was named first team all state, as well as City Player of the Year and Centennial League Player of the Year in 2004, as a member of the 5A state champion Seaman Vikings team. He played for the Sluggers during the summer (the 18 and under Sluggers, not the MINK team).

Nick was originally planning to play for K-State, but changed his committment to New Mexico around the same time his brother transfered there as well. Here's what KSU coach Brad Hill said in a press release when Nick was still a K-State recruit:

“Nick’s intangibles are off the charts,” Hill said. “He is a great competitor that hates to lose. He is a solid defensive player and a left-handed hitter who handles the bat well and makes things happen. He has an excellent background coming from a good high school program and playing with the Kansas City Sluggers organization.”

Elsewhere in the NBC

A yet to be named team is starting up in Dodge City. The plan is to have the team play as an independent NBC-affiliated semi-pro team this year, and then join the planned Southwestern League (which is planned as an independent professional minor league) in 2006. The Southwestern League (being the latest reincarnation of the failed Arizona-Mexico league) has also considered teams in Amarillo, Garden City, Pueblo and Santa Fe. I've also seen this league refered to as the "Longhorn League".

Butler County is the largest county in Kansas, and apparently it's big enough for two NBC teams: The established El Dorado Broncos and the new Butler County Cubs, who will play on the high school field in Augusta.

Wichita Gators Schedule

The Wichita Gators of the Walter Johnson League have posted a tentative schedule which includes a June 30th game with the Golden Giants (apparently at Word of Life Field in Wichita).

Update: Either the Gators have updated their schedule or I missed it the first time, but there is also a non-league game with the Golden Giants in Topeka on June 12th.

Here it is...The Logo. 

Teaser

Golden Giants General Manager Brett Cowdin was kind enough to email me a copy of the brand-new, official Topeka Golden Giants logo. Looks like the Clarinda image below posted correctly, so there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do the same thing with the logo.

So tomorrow evening, I plan on posting, for the first time anywhere: the Topeka Golden Giants logo.

Venue Info: Clarinda Municipal Stadium

Clarinda's Municipal Stadium is the home of the Clarinda A's. There is a large grandstand behind home plate, which looks similar to a high school football grandstand (it doesn't wrap around the backstop). However, most of the local fans seem to prefer to set up their own lawn chairs on the 3rd base side of the diamond, between the grandstand and the concession stand.

Municipal Stadium's most unique feature is the way the fence does not extend all the way down the left field line, leaving no boundary between the fans and the outfield. Based on my own fuzzy memory and squinting at old photos I have taken there, the outfield dimensions are 340-395-335. (Any A's fans out there feel free to correct me in the comments section.) The corn behind the right field fence adds a nice Field of Dreams element as well.

This is a bit of an experiment, but here is a photo from the Clarinda Municipal Stadium grandstand, taken at last summer's NBC Central Regional. 

Elsewhere in the MINK League

The Clarinda A's have inducted 6 new members into their Hall of Fame: catcher Harry McCulla, infielder Giffin Moore, catcher/outfielder Steve Searl, as well as supporters Darrell Murphy, Ed Brown, and Kristi Brown.

Player Info: C Tommy Mangino

Tommy Mangino is a sophomore catcher at JCCC (who can apparently play 3B as well). Tommy bats and throws righthanded.

Quoting a JCCC press release from last spring:

Mangino is an outstanding defensive catcher who is a natural leader on defense. He demonstrated this fall his ability to work with his pitching staff and call an effective game.

(And yes, he is the son of KU head football coach Mark Mangino.)

Venue Info: Creighton Sports Complex

The Creighton Sports Complex will be the home of the expansion MINK League team in Omaha. A unique facility which has been squeezed into the downtown campus, it has seating for about 1,000 fans located entirely above the 3rd base dugout. The playing surface is artifical turf in both the infield and outfield. Outfield dimensions are 332-402-332.

It's nice to have one artifical turf field in the league. It'll be good experience for the MINK League's representative in the NBC World Series, which is played on a turf infield at Wichita's Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

Player Info: RHP Jeff Kohlmeier

Jeff will play his first college ball this spring at Emporia State University, after making all-state as a pitcher at Cottonwood Falls High School last year. (His older brother Ryan pitched at AAA Charlotte in the White Sox organization in 2004.)

Player Info: RHP Mike Grosdidier

Before joining the Golden Giants, Mike Grosdidier will pitch at PSU this spring, where he has been used primarily in a middle-relief role for the last 2 years. He was 1-1 with a 6.26 ERA last year at PSU. (The PSU team ERA was 6.63).

Player Info: LHP Chris Mackey

Chris Mackey will be a freshman this year at Southwest Missouri State (SMS). He pitched last spring for Springfield Catholic High School, including pitching in the State semi-finals.

Player Info: OF Vince Rodden

This is the player I'm probably most excited about. (First, a slight correction to the roster published in the Capital-Journal: Vince will play for New Mexico State this spring, not New Mexico.) Vince bats and throws left-handed.

He previously played for Johnson County Community College, and last spring he led the entire NJCAA in stolen bases with 64 stolen bases in a 55 game season. He was named to the All Jayhawk Conference East, All Region and All Central District first teams.

Last summer Vince played for Arrow Rents in the Ban Johnson League (in Kansas City) and led the league with 44 stolen bases (in only 48 attempts!), while also leading the league in on-base percentage (.535!) and runs scored (33).

I'm guessing Vince will bat lead-off and play centerfield for the Golden Giants.

Elsewhere in the NBC

The Alaska Baseball League voted not to participate at all in the 2005 NBC World Series, and hold their own tournament in Anchorage instead. However, when it was determined that Mulcahy Stadium would not be availiable due to a scheduling conflict with the state American Legion tournament, the ABL decided to participate in the 2005 NBC World Series after all, but send only the ABL champion, rather than the usual top two teams. They will revisit the Anchorage tourney plans after the 2005 season.

The Pacific International League has gone from a 12-team league in 2004 to a 4-team circut for 2005. Most of the losses were due to defection to the new West Coast Collegiate Baseball League, an NCAA sanctioned league, not affiliated with the NBC. Based on ther posted schedule, it appears the 2004 NBC Champion Aloha Knights are planning on returning to Wichita to defend their title, despite moving the the WCCBL.

Player Info: RHP Adam Schroeder

The St. Louis Billikens website contains this Adam Schroeder bio. Looks like he was used primarily in middle relief last spring.