Winter Work as Important for Holdzkom and Delabar As for Future $200,000,000 Man Scherzer

Max Scherzer is going to sign a new contact any day now which may be worth as much as $200 million.  If everything breaks just right in the new season, two other onetime Independent Baseball hurlers could earn $1 million between them for their work in 2015, yet these winter preparatory months seem every bit […]

One More Independent Star Gets Big Pact in Far East; Colabello Gets Fresh Start With Toronto

Add one more acclaimed Independent grad to those heading to the Far East for a nice payday. Left-hander Ryan Feierabend (York, PA, Atlantic League) has signed with the Nexen Heroes in Korea for what The Korean Herald reports is $300,000, including a $30,000 signing bonus, with another $80,000 possible in options. Like southpaw Kris Johnson […]

Southern Maryland Growth, Including Possible Local Investor, Next Targets as Opening Day Partners Shifts Priorities

With their recent sales of both the Lancaster (PA) Barnstormers and the Sugar Land (TX) Skeeters now history and with Brinks trucks of money safely tucked away in that both deals are believed to have been for the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars, it would be very easy to see Opening Day Partners […]

Cuban Sports Officials ‘Understand’ the Cultural Goals As Quebec’s Michel Laplante Builds Unique Baseball Experience

Michel Laplante remembers all too well how difficult it can be when a baseball player is thrown into a new culture without knowing the language.  He saw it every day during his playing days and again when he became manager of the Quebec Capitales, with the norm being Spanish-speaking players in English-speaking environments, or those […]

Lengthy Conference Call a New Step As Independent Leagues Try to Help Each Other

While Independent Baseball has 22 seasons of history since the modern version of the non-major- league-affiliated game started (1993), most every decision has been made by individual leagues.  Some type of governing body has been discussed from time to time, and the Independents have held a few offseason gatherings to exchange ideas and hear from […]

The Best Average Postseason Attendance in All of Minor Leagues Belongs to the Atlantic League

Chalk this one up to the Atlantic League. Its average attendance for postseason games was the best in the United States, topping all 14 National Association leagues.  The 13 Atlantic League playoff games averaged 4,145 fans, led by a whopping 7,483 on one occasion at Somerset, NJ.  Affiliated baseball’s two Triple-A leagues, the International and […]

Memory of Mantle and Stadium’s Outfield Hill Part of Story for Independent’s Newest Team

Mickey Mantle helped put Joplin, MO on the baseball map in 1950 when he reeled off 199 hits and a Western Association-leading .383 average in only 137 games.  Old-timers in the city of 60,000 and market of 250,000 still talk about the feats of the 18-year-old. Joplin is officially back in professional baseball for the […]

If Diamondbacks Have Their Way, Record of Independent Players In Majors Will Continue to Climb

The D-Backs’ thirst for quality prospects outside of the June draft and foreign environments saw them purchase 18 contracts during the regular Independent season, now they have picked up the services of eight more players through their annual fall invitation-only tryout camp.  A second such event geared largely for the older talent in the Atlantic […]

Wichita’s Job Is Done, Somerset Next as Indy Powers Try to Add Postseason Championships

It seems doubtful anyone would put up much of an argument that the two best teams in Independent Baseball this season, considering the level of play in their separate leagues, have been the Wichita (KS) Wingnuts and the Somerset (NJ) Patriots. Wichita has finished its quest, winning six of seven playoff games to earn its […]

Atlantic League Honors Ken Shepard’s Memory And Bridgeport Pays Tribute to Its General Manager

Both the Atlantic League and the host Bridgeport (CT) Bluefish had already gone to extraordinary lengths to make Sunday’s Ken Shepard Day an memorable experience.  Extra steps were taken this week in light of the sudden death of the popular Bluefish general manager only nine days ahead of the event when kidney cancer claimed him […]

Independent Baseball Ties Its Record With 40 in Majors After John Holzkom’s Meteoric Climb in 10 Weeks

Nearly 200 players have made their way to the major leagues after playing Independent Baseball although very few debuts have carried the significance of John Holdzkom’s first appearance, which came this week with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The fact the giant Californian struck out all three St. Louis Cardinals hitters he faced in the eighth inning […]

Call-Ups Start With Edwards, Herrera, Axelrod; Some Thoughts on Who May Follow to Majors

Jon Edwards started the parade of Independent players getting a late-summer major league reward when the Texas Rangers added him to their pitching staff–and giving the young-but-determined Pecos League its first major leaguer–then the postseason-bound Los Angeles Angels added right-hander Yoslan Herrera (Lancaster, PA, Atlantic League) to their staff and Cincinnati did the same with […]

Former Atlantic Leaguer Nearly Perfect in Class AA Game While Raben, Fox Continue Huge Displays of Power

Independent Baseball’s player contributions to Major League Baseball never cease to amaze.  Sometimes, it seems almost impossible to study a minor league box score without the names of one or more players popping up because they have spent time improving their skills in a non-affiliated league. One such event in recent days was nothing short […]

York Revolution Max Out Every Indy Team’s Goal With a Title and Five Players in the Major Leagues

Various Independent Baseball leagues have different objectives in that they may cater to the more youthful professionals with time on their side to develop or to the more experienced players, but every team  is in agreement that it has two objectives every season.  One is to win a championship and the other is to get […]

Majors Not Alone With Storied Lefties; Lane, Willis, Paxton Bring Indy Leagues Into Play

For our weekly quiz, ladies and gentlemen, what do Jason Lane, Dontrelle Willis and James Paxton have in common? Hint:  While they have not been involved in as many trade rumors or have as many zeroes in their contracts as Jon Lester, Cole Hamels or David Price they also share the same similarity. If you […]

A Breakthrough: First Castro Regime-Approved Cuban Player Debuts in Can-Am League

The Can-Am League appears to have pulled off a major feat any professional league would like to duplicate. Culminating an effort that started about five years ago, the league’s Quebec Capitales have the first Cuban Government-sanctioned imported player since the Fidel Castro regime started decades ago.  More Cubans could be allowed to compete in the […]

All-Star Start Last Appearance for Tracy McGrady; Atlantic League Mound Visits to Shrink–Dramatically

Unlike the attention paid when Michael Jordan aborted his effort to play professional baseball, recent NBA star Tracy McGrady’s experiment to try pitching ended without great fanfare even though the Atlantic League gave him the rare platform of being the starting pitcher for host Sugar Land, TX in this week’s All-Star Game against the other […]

Atlantic League Seems Poised to Introduce Some Speed-Up Measures as Early as Next Week

The Atlantic League has already enjoyed a big week because of Julio DePaula’s record-breaking ascension from the York (PA) Revolution to the Baltimore Orioles bullpen although after getting a sneak peak at some of its possible pace-of-play recommendations the 17-year-old circuit seems to be on the brink of stirring up considerable debate, possibly stretching throughout […]

Atlantic League Record-Holder Welcomes New ‘LHP’ Son, Discusses Recent No-Hit Teammate Scarpetta

Therecord-holder for career mound appearances knows a great deal about wake-up calls for players coming into the Atlantic League because he has seen a lot of them the last 10 years although, if I may try to interject a little humor, Ross Peeples has learned about a different type of wake-up alert the last 20 […]

Oh, Yes! The Four-Man Rotation Is Alive With Tagert’s American Association Team

The four-man rotation is not dead.  Far from it. Greg Tagert, who has his defending champion Gary (IN) SouthShore RailCats atop the American Association’s Central Division, has long been a proponent of having only four starting pitchers, which has to have him respected by old-school baseball people since virtually all of the professional baseball universe […]

Whether It Is a Pete Rose Appearance, Community Pride Or Anti-Bullying Efforts, Independents Bring Dividends

Pete Rose’s one-day managerial stint provided the biggest national publicity bump in some time, but if one is willing to look just a bit beneath the surface of the baseball games themselves it is easy to find all sorts of positives emerging in communities with Independent Baseball teams. We will see all sorts of flag-waving […]

Laredo’s Travis Denker Putting Up Stunning Numbers; Pete Rose Luring the Media for One-Day Managerial Role

Travis Denker is putting up such gaudy offensive numbers this season as if there is no tomorrow. He won’t turn 29 until August, not exactly ancient the way major league organizations are snapping up 30-somethiing Independent players these days, nevertheless, if you have only had 37 big-league at-bats in a 12-year pro career it probably […]

David Peralta, Jason Lane Debuts Highlight Busy Week of Indy Players Getting to Major Leagues

David Peralta would seem to have the greatest upside of four former Independent players promoted to the major leagues since the left-handed outfielder, who was playing in the American Association (Amarillo, TX) only 11 months prior to his major league debut with Arizona, has not even reached what normally is prime time for a baseball […]

What Would Farm Systems Do Without Indy Players? Atlantic League Team Loses 4 Hurlers in a Week

One has to wonder what the major leagues would do these days to keep their farm system rosters full if Independent Baseball teams were not available. The Somerset (NJ) Patriots have filled the equivalent of nearly one-third of a pitching staff all by themselves in the last week.  Four pitchers, including three starters, were purchased […]

As Can-Am League Opens Season, A Former MVP Breaks Up No-Hit Bid

Perhaps it was an omen with the Can-Am League starting its season less than 24 hours later (Thursday) that a onetime Most Valuable Player in the league made news by breaking up a no-hitter in its companion league, the American Association. Nick Giarraputo, who won MVP honors while with the New Jersey Jackals (Little Falls) […]

Long Island’s Blevins Has Done a Great Deal While Still ‘Fighting for An Opportunity’

Bobby Blevins has accomplished a great deal on the pitcher’s mound, including establishing the all-time record with 32 victories at LeMoyne College, playing a key role in the Long Island (NY) Ducks’ back to back Atlantic League championships and getting to take part in the Asia Series last November, but when you talk to the […]

Nathan Winston Wants to Pitch Despite Prosthetic; Chris Martin Latest Indy Player in Majors

Longtime Independent scouting expert Nick Belmonte alerted me to a possible story when I ran across him in Florida in late February, then called a few days ago to explain that Nathan Winston, who had his left leg amputated when he was four because of a birth defect, had been a part of the intently […]

Major Leagues Still Grabbing Independent Talent With Arizona and Atlanta the Busiest

This week’s tip to Independent Baseball players hoping to attract a major league organization:  Reach out to the first Arizona Diamondbacks scout you can find. While all 30 major league organizations have at least one player who has been in an Independent league, the D-Backs are the most active in trying to utilize such talent.  […]

Atlantic League Boss Reveals Start of Licensing, and Talks Of MLB Meeting and Expansion as 17th Season Launches

The unveiling of the Atlantic League’s 17th season–Independent Baseball’s 22nd campaign–begins in earnest Thursday night with the usual suspense because teams have such a short pre-season to sort through roster issues although the on-the-field interest could be rivaled this time around by some of the board room planning which could change the league’s business dynamics […]

NBA Star Tracy McGrady, Japanese, Cuban Hurlers All Part of Buildup to New Atlantic League Season

The 2014 Independent Baseball season debuts next week with the startup of the Atlantic League season, which once again opens about three weeks ahead of everyone else on the non-major-league-affiliated map because of its 140-game season. The interest in the Atlantic League seems especially high ahead of Thursday’s (April 24) openers not only to eventually […]

Adjustments Paying Off for Chris Colabello, Who Still Speaks Highly of Years in Independent League

Speaking of 2011 Independent Player of the Year Chris Colabello, the seven-year Can-Am League (Worcester, MA and Nashua, NH) vet currently hitting cleanup every day for Minnesota, has another honor, sharing American League Player of the Week honors with the Los Angeles Angels’ now-injured Josh Hamilton. Colabello, who has already been used at first base […]

Independent Count in Majors Doubles in Two Years And Opening Week Performances Are Dazzling

Baseball’s Opening Day is such a celebration some have suggested it should be a national holiday. No group has more reason to be happy with the first few days of the season this year than the Independent Baseball industry because a record 20 of its former players were on active major league rosters and another […]

Ian Thomas of Braves May Be Biggest Surprise Among Former Independent Players in Major League Camps

The biggest surprise among the 51 former Independent Baseball players who started spring training with major league teams may be southpaw reliever Ian Thomas, who spent his first three seasons and part of a fourth after coming out of Virginia Commonwealth University as a non-drafted player in three separate non-affiliated leagues.  He always struck out […]

After Four Years of Seasoning, Still Another Independent Star Could Be Heading Toward the Minnesota Twins

The stars all seem aligned perfectly for C. J. Ziegler as last year’s power king tries to become another Independent Baseball product to pull on a major league baseball uniform.  It probably will not come as early as this year, but the leader of last season’s Wichita (KS) Wingnuts bears close scrutiny. Ziegler seems to […]

Which Independent Players Will Make It to Opening Day? 51 Have Been in Major League Camps

One year it was Chris Coste, another Jon Weber and last season Scott Rice and Chris Colabello. The names change, but the stories are similar.  Players who have devoted years of determination and grit to beat the odds of climbing all the way from Independent Baseball leagues, through the affiliated minors and perhaps…just perhaps…squeezing their […]

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