Yankees Have New Field Manager

The Webster Yankees of the New York Collegiate Baseball League have announced that Dave Brust has been hired as the team's field manager for the 2008 season.

Brust, an assistant coach at Monroe Community College, spent the last two seasons as an assistant with the Yankees under Mike Kelly. Brust was also an assistant coach for the Genesee Valley Riverbats during the 2004 season.

On the field, Brust played two seasons at MCC and was named a 1987 JUCO All-American. He finished his collegiate career at Ball State University. As the Cardinals catcher, Brust was a team captain and team MVP in 1988 and 1989. Brust was named to the All-Mid America Conference team as a senior.

The western New York native played three seasons in the Atlanta Braves farm system. Brust's minor league career included two seasons with the Durham Bulls of the Carolina League and manager Grady Little.

Coincidentally enough, Brust was a member of the Durham Bulls when the team was owned by Miles Wolff. Wolff is the current president of the Little Falls Miners of the New York Collegiate Baseball League

Brust earned a masters degree from Brockport State in 2003 and is currently a teacher in the Spencerport Central School District.

Kelly To Lead Tribunes In 2008

Over the summer, Webster Yankees field manager Mike Kelly was promoted to head coach of the baseball team at Monroe Community College.

Kelly managed for three seasons in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. He was the very first manager of the Genesee Valley Riverbats during the 2004 season. Most recently, Kelly helmed the Webster Yankees (ne Rochester Royals, 2006) for two seasons (2006-2007).

In 2006, Kelly guided the Rochester Royals to the New York Collegiate Baseball League playoffs as one of two wildcard selections. After a rough start, the team finished the second half 14-3 and ended the year with a record of 23-20.

Coach Kelly is in his ninth season with the Monroe Community College baseball program as a coach. He had spent the previous eight seasons as an assistant coach.

Prior to coaching, Kelly enjoyed a standout career as a player at Monroe Community College and Brockport State. At MCC, Kelly played for current NYCBL commissioner David Chamberlain and then Skip Bailey. In 1997, he batted .412 and was named all-region. Kelly was also given the prestigious David Johns Memorial Award.

Kelly played two seasons at SUNY Brockport (98-99) under head coach Mark Rowland. He helped the Golden Eagles to back-to-back winning seasons and he was named to the SUNYAC all-academic team in 1999.

As a skipper in the New York Collegiate Baseball League, Kelly coached several All-NYCBL selections including Joe Rizzo (St. Bonaventure), Matt Chollett (St. John Fisher), Ryan Jablonski (Delaware), Jordan Herr (Delaware/Pittsburgh) and Jordon Petraitis (Miami OH).

Monroe Community College has won over 1,000 games in 40 seasons of baseball. The Tribunes have won 18 NJCAA regional titles, five district titles and have made five appearances in the NJCAA World Series.

Great Stories Of 2007

When the NYCBL blog started in January of this year, one of the first features was a lookback to the great stories of the 2006 season including Saratoga's run to the NYCBL title, Louie Bernardini's undefeated season on the mound, the Genesee Valley Riverbats turnaround from almost worst to first, the West Coast Invasion and the success of all three expansion teams.

And it's one of the three 2006 expansion teams that leads off December's multiple-part series, the Great Stories of the 2007 NYCBL season. That team of course won the 2007 NYCBL championship, the Elmira Pioneers. The story will be posted later this weekend.

Also, we'll look more in-dpeth at NYCBL Player of the Year Shane Wolf (Ithaca), the amazing season of the Glens Falls Golden Eagles, PJ Saporito's (New Jersey Tech) perfect game, the turnaround of the Geneva Red Wings, the amazing playoff race in both divisions that came down to the final hours that included a play-in game, and the rush of former NYCBL talent into professional baseball (league-high 27 NYCBL grads taken in this year's draft). If there's anything you think I'm missing, please e-mail me at SaltCitySports@aol.com

NYCBL, Independent Baseball, 2007

Atlantic League
Nate Espy (Hornell '97) York Revolution
Ray Navarette (Geneva '96) Long Island Ducks

Can-Am League
Josh Colafemina (Amsterdam '04) Grays
Thomas Koch (Watertown '02) New Haven County Cutters
Shawn McNamara (Glens Falls '05) Worcester Tornadoes
Brad Rea (Watertown '00) North Shore Spirit
Matt Reilly (Plattsburgh '05) Brockton Rox
Shawn Ryan (Glens Falls '04) Quebec Capitales
Chris Shank (Watertown '00) Worcester Tornadoes
Andy Weimer (Rome '01) New Haven County Cutters

Frontier League
Ryan Basham (Glens Falls '04) Florence Freedom
Mike Benacka (Hornell '05) River City Rascals
Ryan Bethel (Hornell '03) Washington Wild Things
Phil Butch (Gen. Valley '06) Slippery Rock Sliders
Jason James (Hornell '05) Rockford Riverhawks
Jared Locke (Hornell '05) Traverse City Beach Bums
Sam Mann (Hornell '05) Kalamazoo Kings
Ryan Saltzgaber (Glens Falls '05) Gateway Grizzlies
Alex Sharick (Gen. Valley '06) Washington Wild Things
Jeff Vincent (Watertown '04) Gateway Grizzlies

Golden Baseball League
EZ Ruvalcaba (Saratoga '06) Orange County Flyers

Northern League
Dan Maycock (MV '05) Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks
Matt Mazurek (MV '05) Joliet Jackhammers
Aaron Williams (Hornell '02) Joliet Jackhammers
Ryan Wyland (Alfred '05) Calgary Vipers

South Coast League
Rocky Collis (Geneva '03) Bradenton Juice
Jake Upwood (Watertown '01) South Georgia Peanuts

United Baseball League
Brendan Hitchcock (Geneva '05) Amarillo Dillas
Andy Noonan (Watertown '02) Edinburg Coyotes

NYCBL, Short-Season Rookie Baseball, 2007

Appalachian League
Cliff Flagello (Plattsburgh '05) Bluefield Orioles, Baltimore
Bobby Hastry (WAT '05/AM '06) Burlington Royals, Kansas City
Tom Hill (Glens Falls '04) Burlington Royals, Kansas City
Brendan Monaghan (Hornell '05) Bluefield Orioles, Baltimore
Michael Parker (Amsterdam '04) Kingsport Mets, New York (NL)

Arizona League
Ryan Hill (Glens Falls '04) AZL Padres, San Diego
Jacob Kaase (Brockport '07) AZL Rangers, Texas
David Pellegrine (Watertown '04) AZL Angels, Los Angeles (AL)

Gulf Coast League
Joe DiGeronimo (MV '05/LF '06) GCL Orioles, Baltimore

Pioneer League
Angel Cabrera (Hornell '05) Billings Mustangs, Cincinnati
Ryan Eigsti (Hornell '05) Idaho Falls Chukars, Kansas City
Chris Garcia (Amsterdam '07) Orem Owlz, Los Angeles (AL)
Levi Maxwell (Watertown '05) Great Falls White Sox, Chicago (AL)
Andrew Mead (MV '02) Great Falls White Sox, Chicago (AL)
Chris Rosenbaum (Watertown '04, '06) Orem Owlz, Los Angeles (AL)

NYCBL, Short-Season A Baseball, 2007

New York-Penn League
James Barksdale (AC '04-'05) State College Spikes, Pittsburgh
Matt Bouchard (Plattsburgh '05) Brooklyn Cyclones, New York (NL)
Adam Campbell (Glens Falls '06) Jamestown Jammers, Florida
Chris Carlson (Glens Falls '04) Oneonta Tigers, Detroit
Dallas Cawiezell (Glens Falls '06) Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Cleveland
Brian Espersen (Hornell '06) Tri-City Valley Cats, Houston
Will Groff (Glens Falls '04-'05) Batavia Muckdogs, St. Louis
Zach Lutz (Hornell '07) Brooklyn Cyclones, New York (NL)
Darin Mastroianni (Saratoga '06) Auburn Doubledays, Toronto
Caleb Mangum (Saratoga '04) Williamsport Crosscutters, Philadelphia
Jake Rogers (Hornell '06) Vermont Lake Monsters, Washington
Mark Suchowiecki (Amsterdam '05) Hudson Valley Renegades, Tampa Bay
Casper Wells (Saratoga '04) Oneonta Tigers, Detroit
David Williams (Glens Falls '04-'05) Staten Island Yankees, New York (AL)
Jordon Wolf (Amsterdam '05) Aberdeen Ironbirds, Baltimore

Northwest League
Jose Made (Bennington '07) Boise Hawks, Chicago (NL)
Andrew Groves (Amsterdam '05) Tri-City Dust Devils, Colorado
Keith Meyer (Gen. Valley '06) Everett Aqua Sox, Seattle

NYCBL, Class A Baseball, 2007

Midwest League
Jim Dougher (Glens Falls '05) - Lansing Lugnuts, Toronto
Derrick Gordon (Amsterdam '04) - Kane County Cougars, Oakland
Vinny Pennell (Watertown '05) - Burlington Bees, Kansas City
Mike Schellinger (Watertown '05) - Swing of the Quad Cities, St. Louis
Justin Souza (Hornell '04) - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Seattle
Brett Zamzow (Glens Falls '04) - Clinton LumberKings, Texas

South Atlantic League
Steve Calicutt (Glens Falls '04) - Augusta GreenJackets, San Francisco
Daniel Griffin (Saratoga '04) - Augusta GreenJackets, San Francisco
Jeremy Hall (Glens Falls '04) - Columbus Catfish, Tampa Bay
Andrew Holder (Alfred '04) - Lexington Legends, Houston
Avi Rasowsky (Amsterdam '04) - Greensboro Grasshoppers, Florida

NYCBL, High Class-A Baseball, 2007

California League
Terry Blunt (Glens Falls '04) - Bakersfield Blaze, Texas

Carolina League
Quentin Davis (Amsterdam '03) - Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Atlanta
Jed Stephen (Saratoga '04) - Fredrick Keys, Baltimore

Florida State League
Matt Devins (Rome '02) - Vero Beach Rays, Tampa Bay
Mike Marksbury (Allegany County '04) - Brevard County Manatees, Milwaukee

NYCBL, Double-A Baseball, 2007

Eastern League
Chip Cannon (Cortland '01) - NH Fisher Cats, Toronto
Joe Serfass (Wellsville '03) - Binghamton Mets, New York (NL)

Southern League
Anthony Raglani (Schenectady '02) - Jacksonville Suns, Los Angeles (NL)
Brett Wayne (Wellsville '01) - Montgomery Biscuits, Tampa Bay

Texas League
Jason Motte (Rome '01) - Springfield Cardinals, St. Louis
Matt Pali (Rome '02) - Arkansas Travelers, Los Angeles (AL)

NYCBL, Triple-A Baseball, 2007

International League
Sebastien Boucher (Plattsburgh '03) - Norfolk Tides, Baltimore
Justin Mallett (Watertown '02) - Louisville Bats, Cincinnati
Mike Rozema (MV '02/Geneva '03) - Richmond Braves, Atlanta
Scott Sauerbeck (Ithaca '92) - Syracuse Chiefs, Toronto
Earl Snyder (Little Falls '96) - Charlotte Knights, Chicago (AL)
Terry Tiffee (Hornell '98) - Norfolk Tides, Baltimore

Pacific Coast League
Scott Cassidy (Geneva '97) - Portland Beavers, San Diego
Lou Merloni (NYCBL '90) - Sacramento RiverCats, Oakland
Val Pascucci (Schenectady '97) - Albuquerque Isotopes, Florida

NYCBL, Major League Baseball, 2007

Jeremy Accardo (Wellsville '02) - Toronto Blue Jays
Dallas Braden (Hornell '03) - Oakland Athletics
Brett Carroll (Hornell '02) - Hornell Dodgers
Rajai Davis (Hornell '00) - San Francisco Giants/Pittsburgh Pirates
Brendan Harris (Schenectady '99) - Tampa Bay Rays
Tim Hudson (Hornell '94) - Atlanta Braves
Steve Kline (Little Falls '92) - San Francisco Giants
Brad Lidge (Ithaca '96) - Houston Astros* (Now with Philadelphia Phillies)
John McDonald (Cohocton '93) - Toronto Blue Jays
Hunter Pence (Schenectady '02) - Houston Astros

Boucher (Plattsburgh '03) Playing South of the Border

Baltimore Orioles prospect Sebastien Boucher (Plattsburgh '03) is spending the minor league off-season in the Dominican Winter League with Aguilas Cibaenas.

In 10 games for Aguilas, Boucher is batting .296 (8-for-27) with four RBI. However, Boucher is listed as not having played since November 2.

Boucher spent the 2007 season with three different teams and two different organizations. The Hull, Que., native opened the season with the West Tenn. Diamond Jaxx of the Double-A Southern League. Boucher batted .219 with 37 runs scored, 13 stolen bases and 11 RBI in 59 games for the Jaxx. He was then promoted by the Seattle Mariners to Triple-A Tacoma in the Pacific Coast League. In 28 games with the Rainiers, Boucher hit .298 with one home run, 12 RBI and 16 runs scored.

An August trade sent Boucher from the Mariners to the Orioles. Boucher finished the season with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides of the International League. Boucher batted .217 in 23 games with one home run, 12 RBI and 13 runs scored. In total, Sebastien scored 66 runs, drove in 34 and smashed three home runs in 110 games total.

Boucher was a member of the 2003 Plattsburgh Thunder. As a junior at Bethune-Cookman, Boucher was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Year. The Seattle Mariners chose Boucher in the seventh round of the 2004 Major League Baseball entry draft.

Motte (Rome '01) Finishes Strong In Arizona

Jason Motte (Rome '01), a member of the St. Louis Cardinals farm system, recently competed in the prestigious Arizona Fall League for the Mesa Solar Sox.

After struggling through his first two appearances from the bullpen, Motte allowed just two runs in his final nine outings, earning one victory and one save. In total, Motte was 1-0 with one save and a 3.38 earned run average in 11 appearances and 10 and two-thirds innings pitched. The Iona College product allowed four earned runs on nine hits, walked five and struck out 10.

Motte pitched a pair of shutout frames in his final two appearances of the fall against the eventual league champion Phoenix Desert Dogs.

Jason Motte is the third graduate of the New York Collegiate Baseball League to play in the Arizona Fall League over the last two years. Toronto Blue Jays farmhand Chip Cannon (Cortland '01) played for the Phoenix Desert Dogs last fall and he won the AFL's Most Valuable Player award. Current Houston Astros outfielder Hunter Pence was a member of the Mesa Solar Sox last fall as well.

Recently, the St. Louis Cardinals activated Motte, a former collegiate catcher, to their 40-man, Major League roster. Motte's promotion cleared him from the list of potential candidate's for the upcoming Rule V draft.

Motte helped the Rome Indians to the 2001 NYCBL championship. He is one of six members from the 2001 Indians to play professional baseball.

Recknagel (GF '06) Ranked With Top First Basemen Nationally

Michigan senior first baseman Nate Recknagel (Glens Falls '06) has been selected as one of the top first basemen in the country by Rivals.com.

http://collegebaseball.rivals.com/viewcbaseballse.asp
*Select First Base on the roll down menu where catcher appears

Recknagel was selected 15th by Rivals.com after being named All-Big Ten second team for the second year in a row. Recknagel batted .352 with a career-high 12 home runs and 61 runs batted in. He won Michgan's Bill Freehan Award that is given to the team's top offensive player as voted upon by the coaching staff. In addition to helping Michigan to a Big Ten title, he was named MVP of the Nashville Regional in the NCAA playoffs where he collected six hits, two home runs and seven RBI. Prior to going to Ann Arbor, Mich., Recknagel was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American at Oakland University.

The Lake Orion, Mich., native was a member of the 2006 Glens Falls Golden Eagles. Recknagel batted .274 with a team-high three home runs and 26 RBI. He was tabbed second team All-NYCBL for his efforts.

Saporito (Brockport '07) Featured On CSTV.com

Thanks to our good friends at the College Baseball Blog for providing this link.

http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/stories/110807aah.html

CSTV's Doug Kroll featured New Jersey Institute of Technology junior pitcher PJ Saporito in his November 8th college baseball column on CSTV.com (link above).

Saporito played for the Brockport Riverbats this past summer and pitched what is believed to be the first perfect game in the 30-year history of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. Saporito's history-making night came against the eventual league champion Elmira Pioneers at SUNY Brockport's Clark V. Whitted Baseball Complex on July 26th.

At the end of the 2007 season, Saporito was selected a second-team selection to the NYCBL all-star team. He went 3-2 with a 1.80 earned run average in 10 appearances and he tied for a team high with 50 innings pitched.

Riverbat Garners Academic Award

Widener University senior Jamie Schild (Genesee Valley '05) has been honored as a second team CoSIDA academic all-region selection for football.

Schild was a member of the 2005 Genesee Valley Riverbats. He played baseball for two seasons at Widener (2005, 2006) and was a two-time, first-team All-Commonwealth Conference honoree.

In 2005, Schild was named first team CoSIDA academic all-region for baseball.

The Fairport, N.Y., native has excelled on the gridiron as well as in the classroom. Last season, Schild was first-team All-MAC in football and second-team all-region. This year, Schild was Widener's second leading receiver heading into the Division III playoffs. He had 29 catches for 281 yards and three touchdowns.

Away from the field, Schild is a civil engineering major.

Widener won the Middle Atlantic Conference football championship this fall, but fell in the first round of the Division III playoffs, 21-20, to Case Western Reserve.

Rosters

The snow has just started falling in upstate New York and several New York Collegiate Baseball League teams are firing up the hot stove.

Six teams have posted preliminary rosters on their web sites for the upcoming season. Keep in mind, these are subject to change.

Allegany County, Amsterdam, Saratoga and Watertown all have full rosters while Little Falls and Brockport have a handful of players listed.

Allegany County
Amsterdam
Brockport
Little Falls
Saratoga
Watertown

Kelly (GF '07) Among Nation's Top Catchers

Southern Illinois junior Mark Kelly (Glens Falls '07) has been selected as one of the top 15 catchers in the nation by Rivals.com.

The full list is available here: http://collegebaseball.rivals.com/viewcbaseballse.asp

Kelly was selected 10th after a standout sophomore season with the Salukis in which he was named first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) all-region. Kelly hit .379 with 28 runs scored, 13 doubles, two home runs and 63 RBI in 56 starts.

Due to injury, the Hoffman Estates, Ill., native played in 11 games for last year's Glens Falls Golden Eagles. He batted .156 but scored seven runs, walked five times, smashed one home run and drove in three.

Pence (Schenectady '02) Finishes Third in NL Rookie of the Year Voting

Houston Astros outfielder Hunter Pence (Schenectady '02) finished third in voting for the Jackie Robinson National League Rookie of the Year award behind Milwaukee's Ryan Braun and Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki. Braun was the award winner, edging Tulowitzki by two points in the final balloting.

Pence received 15 third-place votes and placed ahead of Arizona's Chris Young, Philadelphia's Kyle Kendrick, Atlanta's Yuniel Escobar and James Loney of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In his first Major League season, Pence batted.322 with 17 home runs and 69 runs batted in. He finished the opening half of the season with a .342 batting average and was among the early favorites for NL Rookie of the Year. But, an injury to Pence in late July sidelined him for a month and both Braun and Tulowitzki picked up steam in the season's second half.

After being called up in late April, Pence spent the rest of the season as the Astros starting center fielder. He led the team in batting average, slugging percentage (.539), triples (9) and stolen bases (11).

Pence played for the Schenectady Mohawks in 2002.

NYCBL Alum Promoted To High Scouting Post

Glen Barker (Schenectady '91) has been named the Houston Astros new director of Pacific Rim scouting. According to the Astros press release, Barker will oversee all of the Astros scouting efforts in the Pacific Rim including Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Australia and he will be the first full-time team employee to devote his time exclusively to the Pacific Rim.

Barker was a member of the 1991 Schenectady Mohawks and played under current general manager Brian Spagnola who, at the time, was the team's field manager.

After a successful career at the College of St. Rose, Barker was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 11th round (305th overall) of the 1993 Major League Baseball entry draft. After several years in the Tigers farm system, he was taken in the 1998 Rule V draft by the Houston Astros and made his Major League debut during the 1999 season. Barker batted .288 in 81 games with the Astros in 1999. He played two more seasons with the Astros and would later finish his playing career during the 2003 season with the Bowie Baysox of the Eastern League.

In 235 career games with the Astros, Barker hit .232 with 30 stolen bases.

Carraway (Saratoga '06) To Pitch On Cape

University of Virginia junior pitcher Andrew Carraway (Saratoga '06) is bound for Cape Cod next summer. Carraway, a member of the 2006 NYCBL champion Saratoga Phillies, is listed on the 2008 roster of the Hyannis Mets, members of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League. Carraway is one of three UVA pitchers listed on the Mets roster.

Last summer, Carraway pitched for the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He went 3-1 with a 2.19 earned run average and 40 strikeouts in eight appearances and 37 innings pitched. Carraway finished tied for third on the team in victories and was third in strikeouts and second in ERA. Newport finished the NECBL regular season tied for first place in the Southern Division with Torrington and played in the NECBL Championship Series against the Vermont Mountaineers.

Before heading to Newport, Carraway had a solid spring for the Wahoos in Charlottesville. In 22 appearances, he was 5-0 with a 3.60 earned run average and 43 strikeouts in 45 innings pitched.

Should Carraway make the Mets official roster come June, he would be the second NYCBL graduate to play in the Cape Cod Baseball League in two years. Ollie Linton (Little Falls '06) was a valuable member of the Orleans Cardinals last season after helping Cal-Irvine to the NCAA Division I College World Series.

Lidge (Ithaca '96) Traded To Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies have acquired reliever Brad Lidge (Ithaca '96) in a five-player trade from the Houston Astros. Lidge pitched for the 1996 NCBL champion Ithaca Lakers and later was selected by the Houston Astros in the first round (17th overall) of the 1998 Major League Baseball entry draft.

The Astros sent Lidge and Eric Bruntlett to the Phillies in exchange for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary and Mike Constanzo.

It is reported that Lidge will step into the closer roll for the Phillies and Brett Myers will return to manager Charlie Manuel's starting rotation. The former Ithaca Laker had been Houston's closer since the 2004 season before losing his job early in 2007. He ended the year 5-3 with 19 saves and a 3.36 earned run average.

Lidge's best seasons with the Astros came in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, he recorded a career-high 157 strikeouts in a personal-best 80 appearances and he recorded 29 saves. The following season, Lidge helped Houston to the World Series with 42 saves in 46 chances and a 2.29 earned run average.

Brad Lidge's first round selection in the 1998 draft is the highest any alumus of the New York (ne Northeast) Collegiate Baseball League.

Phillies Sign Fish Draft Pick For '08

Saratoga Phillies managing partners Dan Scarring and Keith Rogers have announced the signing of left-handed pitcher Kellen St. Luce (Vanderbilt) for the 2008 season.

St. Luce, a freshman at Vanderbilt, was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 37th round (1119th overall) of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft. He previously attended All Saints Cathedral High School in St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Entering the draft, St. Luce was ranked 311th nationally by Perfect Game Crosschecker. According to PG Crosschecker:

“He has a big, strong body that resembles Dontrelle Willis of the Florida Marlins. St. Luce pitched very well this past October (2006) in Jupiter, Fla., at the Perfect Game WWBA Championships showing three quality pitches. His fastball was up at 89 mph with some tailing life. He also threw a big breaking 72-74 mph curveball and had a solid 78-80 mph change up. Overall, St. Luce has good tools and the potential to get much better.”

On Oct. 27, St. Luce pitched for the Black team in Vanderbilt’s Black and Gold World Series. He held the Gold team without a hit, but allowed one run, walked four and struck out two in two and a third innings of relief.

The Saratoga Phillies have hosted several Commodores over the last four years including Mark Lamm, Brian Harris, Adam Cronk and Gil Kim. Vanderbilt’s Jonathan White was first-team All-NYCBL for the Glens Falls Golden Eagles in 2006.