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Closing out Trenton's Season
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Nothing better than baseball on Labor Day -- today, I made my first visit to New Britain, Connecticut, home of the Twins' Double-A farm team. The lure was another chance to catch the Yankees' affiliate the Trenton Thunder. New Britain Stadium has seen several top Twins prospects blossom over the years, including current major league stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. But my focus today was on a likely future Yankee -- shortstop Eduardo Nunez. Fans getting autographs from this talented shortstop had best hold onto them -- in a couple or three years, they'll be able to say they saw Nunez before he was famous (and charging big bucks for his signature!). Both teams lined up on the field for the national anthem before the game. (Above) Nice to see the Twins train their prospects in the almost lost art of bunting. (Below) it's mascot time! Trenton 3rd baseman Marcos Vechionacci has spent several years in the Yankees' farm system. But with Alex Rodriguez only two years into a 10-year contract, his major league destination won't be the Bronx -- despite this impressive home run. It proved to be the Thunder's only score. I paid special attention to Eduardo Nunez today. Impressed when I saw him in spring training -- where he got ample opportunity to play while Derek Jeter was away with the US squad of the World Baseball Classic -- and again in my visit to Trenton, I snapped away during his at bats (even walking down to the field boxes for the best view). Back to young Mr. Nunez. Nice swing, good form. He hits the ball with authority, even though today he went 0-for-4 as Trenton lost 4 to 1. Trenton's loss the day before eliminated them from a chance at the playoffs. So this game rings down the curtain on the Trenton season.
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Nothing better than baseball on Labor Day -- today, I made my first visit to New Britain, Connecticut, home of the Twins' Double-A farm team. The lure was another chance to catch the Yankees' affiliate the Trenton Thunder.
New Britain Stadium has seen several top Twins prospects blossom over the years, including current major league stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. But my focus today was on a likely future Yankee -- shortstop Eduardo Nunez.
Fans getting autographs from this talented shortstop had best hold onto them -- in a couple or three years, they'll be able to say they saw Nunez before he was famous (and charging big bucks for his signature!).
Both teams lined up on the field for the national anthem before the game.
(Above) Nice to see the Twins train their prospects in the almost lost art of bunting. (Below) it's mascot time!
Trenton 3rd baseman Marcos Vechionacci has spent several years in the Yankees' farm system. But with Alex Rodriguez only two years into a 10-year contract, his major league destination won't be the Bronx -- despite this impressive home run. It proved to be the Thunder's only score.
I paid special attention to Eduardo Nunez today. Impressed when I saw him in spring training -- where he got ample opportunity to play while Derek Jeter was away with the US squad of the World Baseball Classic -- and again in my visit to Trenton, I snapped away during his at bats (even walking down to the field boxes for the best view).
Back to young Mr. Nunez. Nice swing, good form. He hits the ball with authority, even though today he went 0-for-4 as Trenton lost 4 to 1.
Trenton's loss the day before eliminated them from a chance at the playoffs. So this game rings down the curtain on the Trenton season.
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