The Story of a League

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Spring Training

Starting with the arrival of pitchers and catchers, followed by the rest of the club's entourage of players, coaches, medical staff and front office personnel, the spring training circus is ramping up. And a circus it will be, with fans from all across the United States flocking to training facilities in a rare chance to see their heros and future stars mingle in an exhibition show like no other. Opening day is not far off!

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Spring Training Results:




News and Notes:

Phoenix closer Domingo Ramos is out for the entire season with a torn rotator cuff.

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Bill Owen reported to spring workouts in Houston on March 18. During camp on the 25th his best friend Toyo woke him up hastily with exciting news, "I'm going to Texas!" He said.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Bill responded, half awake, "were already in Texas."
"No you idiot, the Texas Copperheads! I am going to the bigs!"
"Your full of ****."
"No man, I mean it, it's true! Jeffery Mason is out for a month, the first few weeks of the season, they want me to be the back up catcher until he gets back!"

Bill was happy for Toyo, but also a bit jealous. Toyo was his backup all last year but he was the one to be called up. Granted, Bill's offensive output last season left a lot to be desired, but still...
Toyo was a solid defensive catcher however, Bill thought, and despite much fewer plate appearances he did have a .216 batting average. While that wasn't high by any means, it was higher than Bill's.
The newness of being a pro player last year had worn off, and Bill was feeling the heat. In the bigs Jeffery Mason was one of the best catchers in baseball, and in the amateur draft Texas for one reason or another drafted yet another rookie. Paul Austin grew up in Seattle, not far at all from Bill. Was a year older with two years experience catching for the University of Washington Huskies. He started his sophomore season was successful there garnering all PAC-10 honors and was named to the 2nd team all NCAA.
Bill felt he was better though, he knew he was better defensively at the very least. But another poor offensive season and he worried he would be traded or relegated to the minors for the rest of his career.
Of course being a first round draft pick he had a lot more leeway then most. But the minors were a cut throat business, players giving their all for a chance to make it to the bigs. Of course many won't, and those that have a chance, like Bill, have their every move, hit or pitch scrutinized.
It was a tough life, but a good one Bill thought. He was a pro ball player, and he was going to prove he could play with the best of them. This year he was determined to show how good he could be.
But deep inside, he was scared...

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April 2001 Wrap-up






Accomplishments:

On April 18, 2001, Johnny "Freeze" Henderson, the ace pitcher for Seattle threw a gem. Against Denver at home he gave only one hit and struck out an amazing 16 batters, an MLB record, to record the 1-0 win.

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Down to Old San Antone

Through the first month of the season Bill was already improving from the previous year, perhaps it was the offseason training regimen, or maybe just another year under his belt helped improve his performance.
While not blowing the world away, his .244 batting average was much better then last years .173 BA.
During the last week Toyo returned from his cup of coffee in the bigs, and things seemed pretty normal. Bill was working hard and really felt he was making great progress daily. Despite losing 6-5 to Albuquerque April 30th, he went 4-4 on the day with 7 RBIs and was extremely proud of himself.
However after the game he was called in to the managers office.
"Sit down, please."
"What is it sir?", Bill asked Politely. He was curious but also excited, he thought he might finally get to the majors. Yeah his stats weren't great but he was much improving and no one could deny how great a defensive catcher he was. Sure he would be a back-up to Mason but he could learn the ropes and get a game in here or there to prove himself.
"I have something for you." Manager Herrera handed Bill an envelope.
Bill opened it to find a plane ticket to San Antonio. His mind went blank, "I don't understand."
"You have come a long way, were very happy with your progress and we feel you would do best getting some playing time in San Antonio. The competition is lower and it would be a great place to perfect the finer points of your game. You start there tomorrow."
His heart dropped like an anvil. He couldn't believe it, he was being demoted. "Yeah...Uh...Yeah, thank you.", he said as he pocketed the ticket and left the room.

.......

He told Toyo as soon as he got back to the room. Bill couldn't believe it, he felt as though the organization had already given up on him. "I just can't believe it," he said, "I just want off this team, they don't want me then just trade me to a team that does! Anywhere but here!"
"I wouldn't worry." Toyo laughed.
"What do you mean, and why the hell are you laughing?"
"They are probably just testing you."
"Testing me?"
"Yeah, they want to bounce you around, see how you react to adversity. You are one of their top prospects, and improving, you really think they are just going to give up on you?"

.......

He arrived in San Antonio early the next morning, he was to start that very night against Anaheim. When he arrived to the field, unlike the new sleek and modern facilities he had in Houston he was confronted with an old stadium. Complete with rickety looking metal stands and with a locker room that was little more then a few benches under the bleachers.
The stadium was named Hopes field, built in 1958 it could seat about 17,000 fans and use to be the home of the UT San Antonio Roadrunners.
UT San Antonio was the only division 1 school the city had, and the city supported the team pretty well. Sure they weren't the Longhorns but they has a dedicated following themselves. They had decided a few years back to build a brand new facility, and had long moved out. The owner of the Outlaws, Kurt Kelly, was notoriously cheap, he refused to pay rent to UTSA to play at their field and instead bought the old stadium and did as little as he had to to bring it up to code.
He was a jolly fellow though, he and the team welcomed Bill with smiles and handshakes. They seemed to be in good spirits. Many were guys who went un-drafted and were trying to prove themselves, or a few draftees trying to prove they deserved to get drafted. Plus it didn't hurt that they were 20-7 and in first place in the PCL.
In his first game in San Antonio Bill went an unassuming 1-4 but his team did get the 5-4 victory to improve to 21 wins.

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May 2001 Wrap-Up

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June 2001 Wrap-Up






Whole there are no major single-game accomplishments it is interesting to note in the AL the battle of California raging on with San Francisco and Los Angeles. It's been a battle all season with San Francisco leading the series 10-6. Out in the NL the New York Titans are simply outclassing the competition and hold a 10.5 game lead.

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2001 All-Star Game, July 3

It is a great year for the city of New York so far. They have a team dominating the National League competition and also get to host the 2nd annual All-Star game.
Before the game started, chairman Mitch Washler and National League president Rob Burde both stepped on the field to make the exciting announcement everyone was waiting for, what two cities would be granted an expansion franchise.
The first city announced: Atlanta, Georgia. The MLB believed that putting a team in Atlanta would give pro baseball a strong southern presence.
The second team would go to St. Louis. A large midwestern city that loves baseball with a passion, it would be a perfect fit for the National League.
The names of the new teams were not revealed.

....

The National League would win their 2nd straight All-Star game in thrilling fashion. After scoring 3 runs in the second, 1 in the third and 3 more in the fourth the Nationals had a commanding 7-0 lead, but the Americans wouldn't just lay over.
The Americans put up 2 runs in the 6th to narrow the deficit, in the seventh they went wild, putting up 5 runs thanks in part to a Namboku Yamada home run, the Phoenix Roadrunner hit the first Grand Slam in All-Star game history. The game suddenly went from a blow out to a 7-7 tie.
At the bottom of the inning Cleveland Captain 2B Gary Simpson hit a solo shot to give the Nationals an 8-7 lead. The very next inning the Americans tied it up 8-8 and the score remained the same after 9, extra innings!
The game finally ended in the bottom of the 11th inning, it was a fitting ending. New York Titan Dave Latendresse stepped up to the plate in his own home stadium and sent out a solo shot to give the National League a 9-8 victory.
Despite playing for the losing team, LF Namboku Yamada won MVP thanks in part to his grand slam.

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July 2001 Wrap-Up






Accomplisments:

On July 13th at Boston, Fo-hian Cao of the Chicago Chiefs went 3 for 5. All 3 hits were for home runs, driving in 6 RBIs. But Chicago still lost the game in 12 innings to Boston 7-6.