The Once and Future Muckdogs

[Matt]

8-15-88

Batavia came into the season with high hopes for the future after having 14 picks in the 1988 draft. From that draft a few potential gems were chosen, but much like pearls and diamonds it might take years to see exactly how shiny they become.

Instead this year Batavia has had to rely on a cast of characters that were acquired from waiver wire pickups, Rule 5 draftees, trades, and drafts from years ago. Currently sitting last in the Porter (again) the Muckdogs do have a winning record (59-58) which for them is a first in mid August. They aren't all going to be stars, and some of them have played only a few games, but here's some of the players that have sparked the run in Batavia this year.

1B Raul De Jesus - 22 years old

With already more press in New York than the "real" Jesus these days Raul was the 170th player taken in the 1984 draft by Batavia. Working his way though the minors he made his BLB debut on June 30th and in 46 games has hit .372/.426/.557 with 22 doubles, 4 HR's, and 23 RBI's. He is the only position player ever drafted by the Muckdogs to register an at bat.

C Pat May - 23 years old

Pat was drafted in 1983 by the Dallas Snappers and went straight to AAA in '84. Called up in '85 for 13 games he was sent right back down to AAA and lived his days in minor league limbo. On 6-1-87 though he was traded to Batavia along with Robby Crockett for Muckdog 3B Gabriel Huxham. Then on 5-30-88 his big break came as he was called back up to the BLB. In 58 game since he's hit .295/.339/.410 with 4 HR's and 28 RBI's. He's also had zero errors and thrown out 11 of 24 base runners.

SS Daryl Pollard - 23 years old

Pollard was a 7th round pick in 1982 by the Wilmington Wildcats, never reached the BLB, and was selected by Batavia in the 1987 Rule 5 draft. Daryl started out in April hitting .274 but a disastrous May hitting .176 has given him a current day line of .227/.274/.319 with 2 HR's and 27 RBI's. The scouts love his abilities though so there is much hope (and praying) in Batavia for him.

3B Robby Crockett - 26 years old

The second half of the Huxham trade was the Snappers 6th round pick in the 1982 BLB draft. He has called up briefly in '86 and hit .203 in 19 games and was sent back down. Like May he made his Batavia debut on May 30th and immediately struggled. He hit .184 in June but turned it around with a .319 clip in July. So far in August he is hitting .293 with an overall now of .255/.277/.423 with 9 HR's and 47 RBI's.

1B Jud Cobb - 25 years old

Cobb was drafted in the 7th round of the 1985 draft by the Pittsburgh Millers and traded to Batavia in '87 along with OF Rubin Marin for Batavia SP Billy Noke. Shortly thereafter Cobb appeared as #97 on the BLB Top Prospect list and continued to get better, eventually making the AAA All-Star team in '88. Called up to the BLB last Monday, Jud was forced to play LF and hit .316 in his first week.

RF Shaw Barnes - 26 years old

To start Barnes career we have to go way back to 1981 when he was drafted with the 1st pick of the 2nd round by the California Wildfire. Not showing much potential to their management he was not protected during the 1983 expansion draft and was selected by Batavia. During the past five years Shaw went from A to AA to AAA to A to AA to A to AA to AAA. If you're confused from that just think how he felt! Finally last month Barnes received his call to come on up to Batavia. In 18 games he has hit .270/.341/.500 with 3 HR's and 22 RBI's.

MR Don 'Dutch' Jones - 25 years old

Jones was drafted by Washington in 1983 and was traded to Pittsburgh in '87 after never reaching the BLB. Not protected in the Rule 5 draft he was scooped up by Batavia with the 4th pick in the 1st round. On the year Dutch has pitched in 56 games with an ERA of 3.23, WHIP of 1.17, and a K/BB line of 42/14. Jones had a sub 3.00 ERA but on 8-8-88 he gave up 3 runs without registering an out against Los Alamos. Since then he has recovered and is playing well again.

[Carlos]

This is what it takes when you're developing a team. You find the players that didn't cut it elsewhere and find a place for them in your park.

I also like that you're not afraid to release a player that isn't working. You're set on finding the right mix even if it means a few more losses here and there before striking some gold.

The Muckdogs are in good hands.