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Independent Ball

Guest Bloggers – The Black Sox Series

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Recently, Indy Ball Island introduced our readers to the Black Sox after they participated in an Education Day game.

Now, members of the Black Sox are jumping on board as guest bloggers.  The players who travel all across the country just hoping for a chance are ready to share their stories with you… every step of the way.

Black Sox members, Bobby Orozco and Alex Fishberg, sent in a part of their stories to start the Black Sox series.

Battered Bastards are Back

Black Sox Professional Baseball

Road Warriors

A guy walks into a bar and the rest is history. Baseball is the game of life – It is the only sport you will fail in; but will you respond. For a professional baseball player, there is only one life; baseball. Growing up, every boy in America wants to be in the limelight. They want to be seen at 7:05 pm every night. They want to sign the baseballs and take pictures with the fans. They want the opportunity most well never get.

Being a professional, not just a professional baseball player goes deeper than what is seen at 7:05. Most never see, Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, Derek Jeter, guys who know to arrive at the ballpark at 9 in the morning for a game that starts at 7:05, after a three hour game. Maybe five if they go into extras. It is ambition, grit, and finding a way to stay humble when they are making thousands of dollars per pitch and the guy in the locker next to him has to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because he is happy to be in the clubhouse.

Professional baseball, that most folks see on television is a long bumpy road, filled with pot-holes that you can drown in, then dry off, climb Mt. Everest, twice, and still not see the sun. MLB is the throne, but players must first prove themselves in: A (single-A), AA (double –AA), and then finally AAA (triple-A). There are a select few who get to jump levels because our Father blessed us with attributes they embraced. They spent the long days and late nights perfecting their craft. Then there are the guys who get wrote off before they were even given a chance.

That’s us. Blacksox. The quiet storm that rolls into your town and beats the guys who were given an opportunity. We’re here to take your job and we have no problem doing it. We take pride in it.

Sadly, the Blacksox do not even get the opportunity to play against MLB affiliate teams. We play against the Independent leagues across America. The Atlantic League, The Can-Am League, The American Association, The Frontier League, The Pacific Association, and the Pecos League.  These leagues are funded on their own money to build cathedrals for fans to come watch no name players who are given the opportunity to become the next Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, and Derek Jeter. Players in these leagues can make anywhere from thousand dollars a month to fifty-six dollars a week. How can a human-being survive off fifty-six dollars a week? Ambition.

Players in Independent baseball know what they are getting into. They know they are leaving they’re family, friends, girlfriends, wives, kids, and life back home. There is no more comfort zone. There is sleeping in a hotel with eight guys and two beds. Believe me its possible. Arriving to the next town at ten in the morning, after traveling sixteen hours with those comrades; to be on the field at two in the afternoon to be ready for a game at 7:05. They are doing this all on less than a teacher’s salary. But that’s what it takes for the guys who were written off – and we the Blacksox make it happen.

It is a very low standard of living – a very humble journey. It is not the driving, the traveling, or taking care of business on the field – that we do, and we do it well. Because we are not associated with any of these Independent leagues. We are Independent. We are baseball. These battered bastards save up money in the off-season to drive themselves on their own dime, across the country to win in these Independent leagues and earn a job.

For instance, this year the Blacksox began their spring-training trip April 14th against the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League managed by Ross Peeples. They then stayed in the Atlantic League to face-off against the New Britain Bees on April 17th , managed by Stan Clibrun. Directly after that they embarked on an eleven hour drive to Florence, Kentucky, where out of the kindness of his heart, Manager Dennis Pelfrey of the Florence Freedom (Frontier League) allowed the Blacksox, managed by their fearless leader Joe Torre, to spend two weeks to stop, rest their heads, get on his field, to prepare before the real grind begins.

Joe Torre will take these misfits from across the country, which most have never met before in their lives, and find a way to win with men he has sometimes never met as well. He might hear about you from someone else who heard about you from someone else, but he is willing to invest in you if you are willing to invest in yourself. Baseball is a business and if anyone knows this, The Godfather of Indy Ball, Joe Torre, knows it like your grandma’s sauce. Joe is from New Jersey, a true Brooklyn Brawler. He is in your face, not to scare you, well maybe a little bit, but it is because he knows what it takes to achieve your goals. Joe is the Owner, General Manager, Skipper, player and clubbie. He is our Jackie Moon. It is a good thing we do not have a washing machine because he would trade it for a player. This guy could sell sand to a camel. He took over the Blacksox name 15 years ago, which started as a Men’s league team in New Jersey with a group of guys who still loved the game. They loved it. The Blacksox name is legendary in The Garden State, and Joe has been able to take the pride and soul of the Blacksox across our country and pass it on to the youth, because, Wu-tang is for the Children.

The Blacksox grind starts in Pennsylvania, then to Kentucky, to Illinois, where the team splits into two. Some will head south to Texas, then to North Dakota while the rest will travel back to Kentucky and continue to New York, until they all meet back up in the beautiful California sunshine. Joe guides these lost souls to where he knows they have an opportunity to gleam in the limelight.

Alex Fishberg, RHP, whom just signed with the 2017 Normal Cornbelters, Normal, Illinois, is one of the hundreds of players Joe has showcased and moved on to the next level. This is just a small part that goes into what it takes to be signed. These are his words.

 

Alex Fishberg
RHP
BlackSox Spring Training Trip 2017

Goals:

-Sign a contract in 1 of 4 main Indy leagues (quickest way to Affiliated ball)

-Maintain velocity while filling up k zone

-Improve with sliders for strikes, already know I can throw it where I want in 0-2, 1-2 counts

-Throw splitter where I can show for 3rd pitch

-Get ahead, get lead off out

 

 

April 14th
(3 1/2 hour drive)
Lancaster Barnstormers-Atlantic league
Manager- Ross Peeples
Pitching coach- Scott Patterson
1 inning, 1k, lineout, groundout, 0 bb, 0 h
Velocity – 91 – 95 mph

Threw strikes while rearing back, got ahead, stayed ahead. Strikeout was on 1-2 slider. They took my name and number.

April 17th
(1 hour 45 min)
New Britain Bees- Atlantic league
Manager- Stan Cliburn

1inning, 3 k, 0 bb, 0 h
Velocity – 90 – 93 mph
Came back in full count against 1st batter with strikeout on fastball. Got ahead of 2nd batter and struck him out on high fastball, 3rd batter had 11 pitch at bat, kept fouling off fastball and slider, struck him out with fastball chest high.

April 18-22
(11 hour drive)
Travelodge $60/night 5 nights
Florence Freedom workout – Frontier League
Manager – Dennis Pelfrey
Pitching coach – Brian White

Day 1 – 19th
Faced mix of Freedom hitters and our guys
2 k’s, 1bb, broken bat – groundout
Velo – 91

Day 2 – 20th
2 k’s, 2 bbs, groundball, hit to right field off shortstop
Velo- 88-90
-not as sharp as first day, but have thrown 4 to7 days now
-Pelfrey would like to see front leg more direct to plate, make adjustment to throw inside to righties

Day 3 – 4 – light toss, flat grounds, bands, running

April 24 – 25
(4 1/2 hour drive)
Doubletree $100/night 3 nights (4 guys)
Frontier League Draft

Day 1
8 pitch pen, hit spots with fastball and slider
Velo- 91

Day 2
Game-time – start with a 1-1 count
Walked first batter and was all over, came back with 2 strikeouts, error on fly ball to rightfielder, then another strikeout
Velo – 93, 77
-not drafted but content with how I threw and came back after 1st batter. Out of my hands. Time to shove in BlackSox spring training games

April 27
(2 hour drive)
Motel 8 $67/night 1 night (3 guys)
Normal Cornbelters workout – Frontier League
Manager- Brooks Carey
– 40 degrees/windy and throwing against normal in games on Tuesday.
– Brooks wants to see 2-3 innings of consistency

-later in day offered contract to united shore professional baseball league by Shane Mccatty
-could be development I need to move to higher league, waiting it out
-offered $650/month
-had Joe talk to coach

April 28
(2 hour drive)
Mansion $25/night 2 nights
Windy City Thunderbolts – Frontier League
Manager- Ron Biga

.2 ip, 2k in a row
Velo- 91-93, 78

-first batter got into 3-1 count, came back and struck him out with fastball. 2nd batter I got ahead 0-2, threw best slider I’ve thrown on trip. Hard low slider that batter swung over. Remember that feel- grip and rip mentality. Focal point was batters hip.

Game 2- rainout
April 30 – 31
Travelodge $60/night 2 nights
Florence Freedom

Game 1
1ip, 2 bb, 1 k
Velo- 87-92

-worst I have felt on spring training trip. Rushed in bullpen to get loose and carried it out to the mound with me. Need to find a way to slow down even if I have to get hot fast. Move on and learn from it.

Game 2 – down

May 2
(4.5 hour drive)
Motel 8 $67/night 4 nights
Normal Cornbelters

Game 1
1 ip, 3 k, 1h, 0bb, 0r
Velo- 91-94, 78

-shoved. Consistently threw to glove, slider was nasty. Normal scoreboard was amped up and had me 95-96, hit 97. Awesome feeling
Game 2
1 ip, 2 h, 0 bb, 0k, 0r
Velo- 88-91

-not as sharp but got it done

SIGNED by Normal Cornbelters Wednesday May 3, 2017.

For more information on the Black Sox, please check out their official website HERE.

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Independent Ball

2017 Frontier League Draft Class – Who Are They?

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The Frontier League Draft Class for 2017 is made up of 26 players – 13 pitchers and 13 position players.  The draft results are listed below along with all information that could be found about where each player was last season (or the last season that they played). Some players were very hard to find even through an extensive search, so some of this information may not be the most up-to-date on every player (it’s hard to find solid statistics on the Empire League or all winter leagues). The following information and statistics were found using a combination of Baseball Reference, The Baseball Cube, Pointstreak, or the players respective college websites.

  • Pick 1: Schaumburg Boomers, Austin Goss (RHP)
    Goss pitched the last two years at Tennessee Wesleyan University. Over the course of those two seasons, he had a 4-1 record with a 3.19 ERA over 53.2 IP.
  • Pick 2: Windy City Thunderbolts, Cody Mincey (RHP)
    Mincey last pitched in 2015 for the University of South Carolina. He made 18 relief appearances, went 2-3 with a save and a 6.75 ERA in 28.0 innings during his senior year.  In his previous season, he went 5-0 with a 1.04 ERA in 29 relief appearances.
  • Pick 3: Traverse City Beach Bums, James Simpson (C)
    In High School, for Naaman Forest HS in Garland, TX, he was a 2014 Under Armour Preseason All-American and 2012 Under Armour National All-Star. 
  • Pick 4: Gateway Grizzles, TBA
  • Pick 5: Normal CornBelters, Bob Wheatley (LHP)
    Wheatley was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014. Spent last year in the Cardinals organization – short season and single A.  With the short season State College Spikes, he went 3-0 with a 0.50 ERA in 9 games.  During his stint with the single A Peoria Chiefs, he posted a 3.09 ERA with a 1-1 record in 7 games.
  • Pick 6: Lake Erie Crushers, Nick Bozman (LHP)
    Bozman spent last season with the White Sands Pupfish in the Pecos League.  He took the field as both a pitcher and an outfielder. As a pitcher, he went 3-4 with a 5.54 ERA, and as an outfielder, he batted .320 in 25 AB.
  • Pick 7: Washington Wild Things, Aaron Burns (RHP)
    Burns last pitched in 2016 for his senior season with the University of Texas – San Antonio. He started in 14 games (appearing in 1 additional game), pitching 80 innings with a 3-8 record and a 5.40 ERA.
  • Pick 8: Schaumburg Boomers, Cosimo Cannella (1B)
    Cannella played his senior season in 2016 for Missouri Western State University.  During that season, he had a .360 avg with 9 HR and 61 RBI.
  • Pick 9: River City Rascals, Stephen Swagerty (RHP)
    Swagerty played for the Great Bend Boom in the Pecos League last season.  In 12 starts (76.1 IP), he had a 3-4 record with a 3.42 ERA.
  • Pick 10: Joliet Slammers, Steven Pollakov (C)
    Pollakov spent last season in rookie ball for the Chicago White Sox. He had a .278 avg in 36 AB for the Great Falls Voyagers.
  • Pick 11: Evansville Otters, Andrew Bynum (C)
    Bynum’s senior season in 2014 was spent with at Valparaiso University.  In 34 games and 112 AB, he had a .241 avg with 15 RBI.  The previous season, he batted .313 in just 67 AB.
  • Pick 12: Southern Illinois Miners, Ryan O’Malley (3B)
    O’Malley was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 2016.  He spent the season in rookie ball for the Danville Braves.  In 138 AB, he batted .188 with 5 HR and 19 RBI.
  • Pick 13: Schaumburg Boomers, Pass
  • Pick 14: Windy City Thunderbolts, Danny Britt (C)
    Britt played college ball at Trinity Christian College. His senior season was 2014. He also worked with the Black Sox to train before the draft.
  • Pick 15: Traverse City Beach Bums, Brook Clark (UTL)
    Clark was a senior at Walsh University during the 2016 season. In 52 games, he batted .258 with 13 RBI.
  • Pick 16: Gateway Grizzlies, Chris Dula (RHP)
    Dula was drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2013.  He has spent his entire pro career in their organization. He played at 3 different levels in 2016 (A-, A, A+) with a combined ERA of 6.89 in 15.2 innings with a 1-1 record.
  • Pick 17: Normal CornBelters, Kyle Carter (LHP)
    Carter is listed as a LHP on the draft results, but was signed as a utility player. There was a Kyle Carter who played OF for the Florence Freedom in 2015. Carter batted .224 in 98 AB. (There is no confirmation that this is the same – especially with differing in positions between the FL draft information and transactions page.)
  • Pick 18: Florence Freedom, Mark Fowler (OF)
    Fowler last played in the Frontier League in 2015 where he was a member of the Lake Erie Crushers. He batted .250 in just 27 games. During the 2015 season, he was also a member of the Roswell Invaders in the Pecos League, batting .275 in 15 games. Fowler also worked out and played with the Black Sox travel team before being drafted.
  • Pick 19: Washington Wild Things, Matt Sabel (LHP)
    Sabel completed his senior year in 2016 with the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh.  In 40 career games, he had a 6.27 ERA in 112 IP. His career record was 3-4 with 4 saves.
  • Pick 20: Lake Erie Crushers, Roman Gomez (RHP)
    Gomez pitched with the Vallejo Admirals in the Pacific Association in 2016. He finished the season with a 4-4 record and a 4.52 ERA in 93.2 IP (15 starts in 17 appearances.)
  • Pick 21: River City Rascals, Trevor Jaunich (RHP)
    Jaunich played 4 years of college ball at North Dakota State. During his senior year in 2015, he had a 4-2 record with a 5.16 ERA in 29.2 IP (17 games).  His twitter bio states that he was a part of the New Hampshire Wild in the North Country/Empire League.
  • Pick 22: Joliet Slammers, Brian McKenna (C)
    McKenna played his last two seasons of college ball at Post University. During his senior season in 2015, he hit .182 with six doubles and a triple, helping to lead the Eagles to a berth in the CACC Tournament. He signed with the Beach Bums last year, but was released in spring training. Before the draft, McKenna was a member of the Black Sox travel team.
  • Pick 23: Evansville Otters, Ryan Cheek (RHP)
    Cheek played his last two seasons of college ball at Indiana State. While there, he appeared in only 11 total games with a 2-0 record. In his junior year, he had an ERA of 8.10 in 10 IP.  During his senior year, he had a 0.00 ERA but only had 3.1 IP. He did spend his freshman and sophormore years at Vincennes, where he appeared in 32 games (16 as a starter) with a 10-5 record between the two years.
  • Pick 24: Southern Illinois Miners, Chris Amato (SS)
    Amato spent four years at Kean University. During his senior year in 2016, he had a .345 avg in 139 AB and had 16 SB.
  • Picks 25-27: Schaumburg Boomers, Windy City Thunderbolts, Traverse City Beach Bums, Pass
  • Pick 28: Gateway Grizzlies, Colin Kelly (RHP)
    Kelly played three years with the Catholic University Cardinals after sitting out his junior season due to injury.  During his senior season in 2016, he made a comeback and pitched in 11 games (9 starts) with a 5.47 ERA and 38 K. Prior to his injury, he had ERAs of 3.72 and 2.89 during his freshman and sophomore years.
  • Pick 29: Normal CornBelters, Pass
  • Pick 30: Florence Freedom, Lucas Owens (C)
    Owens spent all four years of his college career with the UNC Asheville Bulldogs. In his senior season in 2016, he batted .281 with 17 RBI and 29 BB. His OBP was also .415 during his senior year.
  • Picks 31-32: Washington Wild Things, Lake Erie Crushers, Pass
  • Pick 33: River City Rascals, Dillon Clift, (C)
    Clift played his freshman year at East Tennessee State University in 2016. He had .190 avg in 21 AB.
  • Picks 34-36: Joliet Slammers, Evansville Others, and Southern Illinois Miners, Pass
  • Pick 37: River City Rascals, Matthew Haskins (OF)
    Haskins spent last season with the Sante Fe Fuego in the Pecos League. He had a .321 avg with 65 RBI, 22 HR, and 16 SB.

 

When the official season begins, Indy Ball Island will have the first update on all of these players… which ones will make an opening day roster? Subscribe and stay tuned to find out!