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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.
It's a return visit to the Mets' Florida home in Port St. Lucie, this time for a 2016 showdown with the Yankees. (Below), Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman chat during batting practice. Aaron Judge and Rob Refsnyder have their game faces on in the dugout... though neither would be in the starting lineup. (Above) A couple of Brooklyn natives that made their mark in New York baseball -- Lee Mazzilli and John Franco. (Below) Mets pitcher Josh Smoker makes friends by signing a few autographs. (Above) Mets reliever Jeurys Familia; (Below) 2nd baseman Neil Walker (Above) Curtis Granderson, one of the select few players to star for both the Yankees and Mets, getting ready for his third summer at Citi Field. (Below) Aaron Hicks came to the Yankees in a trade the previous November. 3rd baseman Chase Headley enjoying the Grapefruit League vibe, even against Mets ace Jacob deGrom. (Above) Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes watches where he hit one... so does Joe Girardi from the visitor's dugou...
The news spread quickly and stunningly on Monday afternoon: after 36 seasons, 5,420 regular season games -- 5060 consecutive -- and 211 more in the postseason, John Sterling was retiring as the radio voice of the Yankees. The booming baritone, his energetic style and signature home run calls -- from "Bern, Baby, Bern" through "A Soto Photo" -- made the native New Yorker an enduring part of Yankee history. Sterling narrated a remarkable era in Bronx baseball -- five World Championship clubs built around the Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. But there's so much more on his resume. After first making a name as the voice of the the NBA's Baltimore Bullets, John came to New York to host an evening radio sports talk show, that soon led to doing play by play for the Islanders and Nets... Then, after several years in Atlanta, calling Braves and Hawks games on TBS, he returned home after landed the Yankees radio job in 1989. From Alvar...
...you share it with AJ Burnett . The well traveled righthander, who after seven years with the Marlins. spent time with the Yankees, Pirates, Blue Jays and Phillies, won 164 big league games and struck out more than 2500, but inconsistent control kept him from becoming an ace: he twice led the American League in wild pitches and once in hit batters. The Arkansas native earned a pair of World Series rings -- with the 2003 Marlins (while recovering from Tommy John surgery) and 2009 Yankees (where he set a record for hitting five batters in a post-season series). Also in the January 3rd birthday circle: longtime big league reliever Gary Lavelle , the late Phllies catcher Darren Daulton and utilityman Luis Sojo , who between his time with the Mariners and Yankees, made the post-season six times in 13 seasons. But among the 68 players born on this date who've played in MLB, Burnett was -- if you go by WAR -- the most productive of them.
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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