Quakes Sweep the Storm: Starring Hanley Ramirez

Rancho Cucamonga really did in fact become Dodgertown this weekend as Dodgers shortstop, Hanley Ramirez, played two of the three games in the Quakes series against the Lake Elsinore Storm. Ramirez was on a rehab assignment for a thumb injury he received while playing in the World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic. From the way he played, you could hardly tell the injury even happened. We'll get to that later though. I gotta keep you interested in reading somehow right? So I'll go over the Storm's performance first.

The Storm's bats were fairly quiet this weekend with only three players hitting above .300 in the series. The Storm managed to get 22 hits in 96 at bats and scoring a total of 9 runs. Outfielder Yeison Asencio went 4-12 and batted .333 with 2 doubles and a home run. Catcher/ designated hitter, Robert Kral went 3-9, also batting .333. He hit a double as well as a home run. Shortstop, Jace Peterson went 4-10 and batted .400 with a home run. First baseman Lee Orr went 2-12, while batting .167 with a double. Second baseman, B.J. Guinn went 1-4 in the one game he played in, batting .250 with a triple.
The Storm pitching staff gave it a good shot, but seemed to lack their usual prowess. Three members of their bullpen faired fairly well this weekend however. RHP Robert Lara went 2 innings whie allowing no runs on just one hit. Matt Branham went 2.2 innings allowing just one hit and no runs. Cody Hebner pitched for just one inning, but allowed no runs and no hits as well.

Now for the part you've been waiting for. The Quakes got there bats going after a sleepy road trip in Inland Empire. They had 33 hits in 100 at bats and managed to score 20 runs. I'll start with Hanley "Hanleywood" Ramirez. He batted .500, going 3-6 with a double. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but that's the Hanley I like seeing at shortstop when I'm at Chavez Ravine. Next up is Jon Garcia. The right fielder went 4-8 (.500)with a home run, his 3rd of the year. O'Koyea Dickson went 6-13 (.462) and hit his 7th, 8th, and 9th doubles of the season. Catcher Chris O'Brien turned up the heat going 3-7 (.429) with a double. Catcher Pratt Maynard retuned to action for a game after a stint on the DL. He went 2-4 (.500) with a double and an amazing catch in foul territory right at the net seperating the field from the stands. Rob Garvey (no relation to Steve) went 2-5 (.400). Shortstop, Darnell Sweeney went 2-9 (.222) with a double. Scott Schebler went 3-10 (.300) with a double and two triples. Angelo Songco went 3-13 (.231) with his 2nd home run of the year.
Now to our pitching staff. Starter, Duke von Schamann had one of the best outings I've seen this year. In game one of the series, he went 7.2 innings while giving up just 1 run on 3 hits and earning the win. Relief pitcher Juan Noriega earned his first win of the year in game two of the series, going 2.2 innings while allowing just one hit after replacing an injured Gustavo Gomez. Following Noriega's one hit performance was fellow relief pitcher, James Campbell. Campbell went three innings while giving up just one hit. For the third and final game of the series, returning Quake, Freddie Cabrera got the win in his first appearance back with the Quakes after being transferred to Rancho from Extended Spring Training. He went 2 innings and allowed three hits and one run. Now the pitcher that really stands out to me is out closer, Michael Thomas. Throughout this series, he pitched 2.1 innings while only allowing 2 hits. He earned not only his 7th save, but his 8th as well.

The Quakes begin their next series in Stockton and from there they go on to San Jose. They return home May 7th and play the Inland Empire 66ers.

Photos taken by Lauren Jennings.

Game 1 victory Final score 1-5 Quakes

Game 2 victory Final score 3-8 Quakes

Game 3 victory Final score 5-7 Quakes

66ers Sweep the Quakes in the IE

The Quakes came into the three game series with a 9-9 record and resting on a .500 win percentage. When they left San Manuel Stadium last night, they headed home with a 9-12 record and a .429 win percentage. The 66ers began this series with an 8-10 record and finished with an 11-10 record after sweeping RC. They begin their next series with a .524 win percentage.

Rancho Roundup (These are the players who did something to stand out this series. Note not all players are mentioned even though they may have played.)

Batting
Darnell Sweeney went a total of 3-12 in this three game series, with one of his three hits being a triple. Unfortunately though, he was responsible for 3 of the Quakes 4 errors.
O'Koyea Dickson went 2-10, with one of his two hits being a double.
Jon Garcia went 4-12 with three doubles. He went 2-4 in the first two games of the series.
Outfielder Scott Schebler may have only gone 1-8 in the series but that one hit was a home run, his third of the year!
Infield utility man, Elevys Gonzalez went 1-7 with a double.
Third baseman, Ryan Mount went 1-8 with his second home run of the year.

Pitching

Ross Stripling had the best start of the three starters used by the Quakes. He went 6 innings allowing only three hits and one run.
Relief pitcher Craig Stem went 2 and 2/3 innings while allowing only one hit and one run.
Recently converted pitcher, Pedro Baez seemingly had the best luck against the 66ers in his one inning of reilef, by allowing no runs or hits.

Inland Empire's "Income"

Batting

Outfielder, Joel Capote went 4-12 with a triple.
Infielder, Eric Stamets went 3-10, while fellow infielder, Alex Yarbrough went 2-14 with a double.
Catcher Zach Wright (4-8) and infielder, Michael Snyder (3-11) both hit doubles, Wright having two in total.
Outfielder Ryan Jones went 2-10 with a double and a triple.
Last, but not least is the infielder, Zach Borenstein who went 5-10 with a double and a home run.

Pitching

The starting pitcher who reigned over the Quakes was Mark Sappington, who went 6 innings while only allowing 1 run on 4 hits.
The bullpen faired quite well in this series. Relief pitcher, Eric Cendejas pitched 3 innings and did not give up a run or a hit.
Mike Morin pitched 4 innings in relief and gave up just 2 hits.
R.J. Alvarez gave up just one hit in one inning of relief work.
Ty Kelley gave up one hit in 2 innings pitched.

Scoring Totals

The Quakes' pitching staff allowed 17 runs on 27 hits in 96 at bats, while the 66er's pitching staff allowed 10 runs on 18 hits in 96 at bats.

The Quakes next series is back home at LoanMart field against the Lake Elsinore Storm. They hope to get their bats going as Hanley Ramirez of the Dodgers is said to be making a rehab appearance sometime during this series. Game time for Friday and Saturday is 7:05 while Sunday's start time is set for 2:05.

HD Mavericks vs RC Quakes Series Review 4/18-4/21

This past weekend, the High Desert Mavericks took on the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in Rancho Cucamonga, California. The Mavericks and Quakes split the series, earning two wins each in the four games played. The Mavericks outscored the Quakes 22-16. In 144 AB, the Mavericks managed to get 38 hits, which means they batted .264 this series, 71 "points" less than in the last series against the Quakes. The Quakes managed to get 26 hits in 118 AB, giving them a series average of .220, 56 "points" less than in the series in Adelanto. Below is a summary of the total hits and at bats for both teams.

Maverick's Batting Stats
                        H - AB
Jamal Austin 3 - 17

Chris Taylor 6 - 16
Kevin Rivers 2 - 18
Daniel Paolini 5 - 16
Ramon Morla  3 - 8
Michael Dowd 2 - 8
Patrick Brady  4 - 12
Dillon Hazlett  4 - 12
Anthony Phillips 3 - 11
Ji -Man Choi 3 - 9
Steven Baron 2 - 8
Nathan Melendres 1 - 9

Quakes's Batting Stats

Darnell Sweeney 3 - 11
Angelo Songco 3 - 14
Noel Cuevas 3 - 11
O'Koyea Dickson 3 - 13
Ryan Mount 1 - 15
Jon Garcia 3 - 10
Scott Schebler 6 - 15
Chris O'Brien 0 - 9
Scott Wingo 1- 6
Elevys Gonzalez 1 - 6
Webster Rivas 1 - 4
Robbie Garvey 1 - 4

The Mavericks allowed 26 hits and 16 runs while the Quakes allowed 38 hits and 22 runs. Below is a summary of innings pitched, hits allowed, and runs allowed by pitchers for both teams.

Maverick's Pitching Stats
                                IP / H / R
Jordan Shipers 5.2 IP / 8 H / 5 R
Seon Gi Kim 2.1 IP / 0 H / 0 R
George Mieses 2 IP / 2 H / 2 R
Cameron Hobson 6 IP / 6 H / 1 R
Domicnic Leone 1 IP / 2 H / 2 R
David Colvin 2 IP / 0 H / 0 R
Trevor Miller 5 IP / 4 H / 4 R
Kyle Hunter 2 IP / 1 H / 1 R
Jordan Pries 6 IP / 3 H / 2 R
Rusty Shellhorn 1 IP / 0 H / 0 R
Steven Shackleford 1 IP / 0 H / 0 R

Quakes's Pitching Stats

Ross Stripling 5.2 IP / 6 H / 2 R
Juan Noriega 2.1 IP / 3 H / 0 R
Pedro Baez 2 IP / 5 H / 2 R
Michael Thomas 3 IP / 2 H / 0 R
Jarret Martin 3.1 IP/ 3 H / 4 R
Jon Michael Redding 2.2 IP / 3 H / 2 R
James Campbell 2 IP / 1 H / 2 R
Daniel Coulombe 2 IP / 1 H / 0 R
Duke von Schamann 6 IP / 5 H / 3 R
Gustavo Gomez 3 IP / 8 H / 6 R
Raydel Sanchez 2 IP / 1 H / 1 R
Craig Stem 2 IP / 1 H / 0 R

RC Quakes vs LE Storm Series Review 4/15-4/17

I didn't mean for this to take so long, it just kinda happened. Sorry. Enjoy

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes battled it out these past three days with the Lake Elsinore Storm, in Lake Elsinore. The first two games had lopsided scores while the final game ended in a one run differential. The Storm took two of the three games while out scoring the Quakes, 20-14. The Quakes had 26 hits in 104 at bats, giving them an average of .250, while the Storm had 30 hits in 103 at bats, giving them an average of .291.

Quakes Batting Stats
                                                                         H - AB

Darnell Sweeney                                                3 - 13

Noel Cuevas                                                      4 -13

Angelo Songco                                                  4 -13

O'Koyea Dickson                                              5 - 13

Ryan Mount                                                       1 - 8

Chris O'Brien                                                     0 - 7

Scott Schebler                                                   4 - 7

Robbie Garvey                                                  0 - 5

Scott Wingo                                                      2 - 11

Jon Garcia                                                         2 - 7

Webster Rivas                                                   1 - 4

Elevys Gonzalez                                                 0 - 3

Lake Elsinore Batting

Jace Peterson                                                   3 - 11

Travis Jankowski                                              3 - 14

Chase Headley                                                 2 - 6  

Yeison Asencio                                                3 - 12

Kyle Gaedele                                                   1 - 11

Austin Hedges                                                  3 - 9

Lee Orr                                                            6 - 11

Travis Whitmore                                               0 - 5

Wynton Bernard                                               1 - 4

Duanel Jones                                                    5 - 8

Cory Spangenberg                                           2 - 8

Luis Domoromo                                               1 - 4

Rancho Cucamonga Pitching
                                                     Innings Pitched / Hits Allowed / Runs Allowed
Gustavo Gomez                                                 5.2 IP / 5 H / 3 R
Juan Noriega                                                     1.1 IP / 0 H / 0 R
Pedro Baez                                                       1.2 IP / 4 H / 2 R
Michael Thomas                                                1 IP / 0 H / 0 R
Ted Lilly                                                            5 IP / 7 H / 4 R
James Campbell                                                1 IP / 1 H / 0 R
Daniel Coulombe                                              .1 IP / 0 H / 4 R
Jon Michael Redding                                         1.2 IP / 4 H / 2 R
Garrett Gould                                                    4.1 IP / 7 H / 4 R
Raydel Sanchez                                                 2.2 IP / 2 H / 0 R
Craig Stem                                                        1 IP / 2 H / 1 R

Lake Elsinore Pitching

Colin Rea                                                         5 IP / 4 H / 3 R
Matt Branham                                                  1 IP / 3 H / 3 R
Luis De La Cruz                                             2.2 IP / 5 H / 3 R
Robert Lara                                                     2.1 IP / 1 H / 1 R
Matthew Wisler                                               5 IP / 4 H / 1 R
Dennis O'Grady                                              2 IP / 1 H / 0 R
Matt Lollis                                                       1 IP / 1 H / 0 R
Cody Hebner                                                   1 IP / 0 H / 0 R
Frank Garces                                                   5 IP / 3 H / 2 R
Johnny Barbato                                               1 IP / 3 H / 1 R
Greg Gonzalez                                                1 IP / 1 H / 0 R

Quakes Stadium: From the perspective of a ticket taking, baseball lovin, girl

 The heat of the day is beginning to fade away as I make my way down to the stadium. I park my car in the employee parking lot and begin walking towards the field. The teams are taking batting practice, so the crack of the wooden bat meeting the ball rings out from the infield. Music flows from the speakers and I smile to myself when I know the song. I go into the stadium and see my fellow employees running around in our green staff shirts in preparation for the nights game. We have our meeting in a huddled group and get ready to open the gates. The fans have begun to line up outside, decorated in Dodger blue. A player comes down to the gate to sign for fans and we are underway. The smell of popcorn swirls around us as we take tickets in our wind tunnel. The game begins an hour later, bringing more fans trickling in through the gates. The Quakes score a run and the "Hey!" song plays through the speakers. The crowd cheers in the stands above us. I'm released from my duty and I head up to watch the game. The runner on second has dirt covering the front of his jersey, telling me he had to slide into second with a close play right behind him. I make my way over to the left field cafe and stand where bleachers once stood. The Quakes bullpen is separated from me by only a small, metal fence. The relief pitcher is warming up. He grunts as he throws the ball to the waiting catcher. The ball hits the glove and makes a thump. After a few more pitches, another pitcher waves his blue hat at the manager to say that the new pitcher is ready to play. Ball meets bat and I see the ball fly towards the left field wall. It hits the yellow line, bounces of the wall and back onto the field. The umpire spins his finger to announce that it is in fact a home run. The fans cheer and I do too. The Quakes win and the players head out to the middle of the infield to give one another congratulatory high fives. They throw squishy victory balls into the stands and the young fans squeal with glee. The fans slowly trickle out and my night is finally done. 

Quakes stadium is an important place to me because it lets me be who I want to be. I get to be the crazy baseball fan and hard working employee. It has made me more outgoing and will forever and always be my "home away from home".

RC Quakes vs HD Mavericks Series Review 4/11-/4/14

This past weekend, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes took on the High Desert Mavericks in Adelanto, California. The Mavericks took 3 of the 4 games in the series. The Mavericks outscored the Quakes 41-22.
In 145 AB, the Quakes managed to get 40 hits, which means they batted .275 this series. The Mavericks managed to get 51 hits in 152 AB, giving them a series average of .335. Below is a summary of the total hits and at bats for both teams.

Rancho Cucamonga Batting

                                                               H - AB

Elevys Gonzalez                                       2-10

Noel Cuevas                                            2-11

Angelo Songco                                        7-18

O'Koyea Dickson                                    3-17                       

Ryan Mount                                             3-12
Jon Garcia                                               5-15
Pratt Maynard                                         1-6
Scott Schebler                                         5-15
Scott Wingo                                            5-10
Darnell Sweeney                                     4-14
Robbie Garvey                                        0-6
Chris O' Brien                                         3-11

High Desert Batting

Dillon Hazlett                                          3-5
Anthony Phillips                                     5-14
Ramon Morla                                        5-15
Jamal Austin                                          4-22
Chris Taylor                                          5-15
Stefen Romero                                       2-6
Kevin Rivers                                         4-13
Michael Dowd                                      3-10
Ji-Man Choi                                         5-12
Daniel Paolini                                        4-10
Jabari Blash                                          6-17
Steven Baron                                        3-7
Nathan Melendres                                1-2

Due to the Mavericks ballpark being very hitter friendly, the pitching for both teams was a little shaky. The Mavericks allowed 40 hits and 22 runs while the Quakes allowed 51 hits and 41 runs. Below is a summary of innings pitched and hits allowed by pitchers for both teams.

Rancho Cucamonga Pitching
                                                                     Innings Pitched / Hits
Garrett Gould                                                        2+  IP / 8 H
Raydel Sanchez                                                     4 IP / 3 H
Jon Michael Redding                                             1.2 IP / 3 H
Craig Stem                                                            3 IP / 7 H
Daniel Coulombe                                                   2.1 IP / 3 H
Ross Stripling                                                         5 IP / 5 H
Matt Shelton                                                          2 IP / 2 H
Pedro Baez                                                           1 IP / 0 H
Michael Thomas                                                    1 IP / 2 H
Jarret Martin                                                          4 IP / 5 H
James Campbell                                                     2 IP / 3 H
Duke von Schamann                                              4 IP / 9 H
Elevys Gonzalez                                                     1 IP / 1 H

High Desert Pitching

Brett Shankin                                                         6 IP / 8 H        
Matt Brazis                                                            1 IP / 0 H
David Colvin                                                          3 IP / 4 H
Mayckol Guaipe                                                    5 IP / 7 H
Robert Shore                                                        1.2 IP / 3 H
George Mieses                                                      1.1 IP / 3 H
Kyle Hunter                                                           3 IP / 6 H
Jordan Shipers                                                      6 IP / 7 H
Tyler Blandford                                                     1 IP / 0 H
Stephen Shackleford                                             1 IP / 0 H
Cameron Hobson                                                  3.1 IP / 4 H
Seon Gi Kim                                                         3.2 IP / 0 H

Lake Elsinore Storm Opening Night

Last night was the first night the Lake Elsinore Storm (2-5) got to play on their home field in 2013. They played the first seven games of the season in Rancho (4 games) and Lancaster (2 games, 1 postponed). Last night they began a 4 game series against the Inland Empire 66ers (4-4). I was lucky enough to be in attendance at the game. Now where to begin? I think I'll start with the final score. The game went scoreless by both teams until the bottom of the 7th when the Storm scored two runs. An inning later they scored one more. That wraps up the scoring. 3-0 was the final.

Austin Wood started the game for the 66ers and went 6 innings while allowing 4 hits. He allowed no runs and struck out 5, while walking none. In the seventh inning, Wood was removed in favor of Stephen Tromblee, who earned the loss after allowing 3 runs on 4 hits. He struck out one and walked another. Offensively, the 66er's had two fewer hits than the Storm. Michael Snyder, the first baseman, went 2 for 4 with two base hits. The short stop, Eric Stamets went 1 for 4 with a two bagger, as did the center fielder, Joel Capote. Third baseman, Brian Hernandez and first baseman, Zach Wright, both went 1 for 4 with a single apiece. The remainder of the Inland Empire batters were hitless.

The Storm's starting pitcher, Matthew Wisler, went 5 innings and allowed only 3 hits, with no walks and 6 K's. Robert Lara went in to relieve Wisler in the 6th and allowed one hit, a walk, and 2 K's. Luis De La Cruz relieved Lara after one inning and allowed two hits. He was credited with the win as the Storm scored in the bottom of the 7th. De La Cruz was replaced in the 8th by Cody Hebner, who recorded a walk and three strikeouts. Johnny Barbato came into the game in the 9th facing a save situation. He recorded two strikeouts and was awarded the save. Offensively, the Storm did fairly well. Three players really stood out to me though. The first being the center fielder, Travis Jankowski. Last night he went 2 for 3 with 2 singles. Next up is Jace Peterson. The short stop may have only gone 1 for 4, the hit being a single, but he did manage to drive in two of the Storm's three runs. Last, but most certainly not least, Yeison Ascencio. The right fielder went 1 for 4 last night, but that one hit was an important one. In the bottom of the 8th, he blasted a solo shot to left-center field that went an estimated 424 feet!

Player of the Game

My player of the game "award" will be going to the Storm starting pitcher, Matthew Wisler. Going 5 innings is a semi normal thing for starting pitchers, but the fact that he only allowed three hits and struck out six, gives him support. Not to mention he didn't give up a walk or allow a run to score.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on twitter. If you want to of course. I talk about baseball in 95% of my tweets. Twitter Handle: @Baseball_lvr
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4/10/2013 RC Quakes Game Review

Lasts night's final game of the Quakes opening week home stand sent the Nuts back to Modesto with a 3-4 record. The Quakes got their offense together and managed to score 9 times after only scoring 3 runs in the two games before. Gustavo Gomez made his Cal League debut, going 4 innings while only allowing 4 hits. He had 6 strikeouts, 1 walk, and only allowed 2 runs, both earned. Last nights "hero", if you will, was the center fielder, Noel Cuevas. Last night he went 4 for 5 with 2 singles, a triple, a home run, and a stolen base. Both Chris O'Brien and Scott Wingo got their first hits of the year as well. Third basemen, Ryan Mount went 3 for 5 with two base hits and a home run. Jon Garcia got a hot start last night with two base hits and a stolen base.
The Nuts starter, Chris Jensen, gave up 4 runs in five innings pitched and threw three strikeouts, without giving up a walk. Kraig Sitton came in to relive Jensen and gave up one run. The Nuts second reliever of the night, Russell Brewer was knocked around in just 1 and 2/3 innings. He allowed 4 runs on 6 hits, all earned. Offensively for the Nuts, was better than the start of the series however, as they scored 3 runs in the first game and none in the second, but 4 last night. Center fielder, Tyler Massey, went 2 for 4 with two base hits. First baseman, Jordan Ribera, went 2 for 4 with a double and a home run. He scored two of Modesto's 4 runs. Trevor Story launched a solo shot in the top of the 9th inning after DH, Harold Riggins doubled and scored, giving the Nuts their final two runs of the night.

Player of the Game

My player of the game "award" goes to Noel Cuevas and his 4 hit night. He scored three of the Quakes nine runs and even had a bunt single.

Tune into AM 1510 tonight as the Quakes take on the High Desert Mavericks in Adelanto at 7:05.

2013 Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Roster Review (Returning Players)

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They have been in their partnership with the Dodgers since 2011. This year we have 15 returning members from previous years and 12 new players. This post will be focusing on the returning players with one for the new players following shortly. In this post I will be using some shorthand, so before I jump into this, I'll provide an "answer key".

ERA: Earned Run Average                      IP: Innings Pitched
W: Win                                                    L:Loss
Sv: Save                                                 G: Games
AVG: Batting Average                           AB: At Bats
H: Hits                                                   HR: Home Runs
SB: Stolen Bases

GL: Great Lake Loons (Dodgers Class A Affiliate) OGD: Ogden Raptors (Dodgers Rookie Level Affiliate) RC: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (We already had this conversaton up there, so no need to repeat right?) CHA: Chatanooga Lookouts (Dodgers Class AA Affiliate) AZL Dodgers: Arizona League Dodgers (Dodgers Rookie Level Affiliate)

ARK: Arkansas Travlers (Angels Class AA Affiliate)


Now for the real fun. I'll begin with the returning pitching staff and some of their stats from 2012. Garret Gould was a starting pitcher last season and will be returning to that role again this year. Gould earned 5 wins over 130 IP throughout 27 games. He finished the season with a 5.75 ERA. Michael Thomas started off last season with GL, as did Jarret Martin. They both finished the 2012 season on the Quakes and are back at again this year for more. Thomas posted a 1.59 ERA while Martin ended with a 4.65. Thomas appeared in 47 games, and earned five saves, while Martin appeared in just 18. Both finished 2012 with 4 wins. Jon Michael Redding returns after a quick stint in Double CHA. He was awarded 11 wins while playing in only 29 games and pitching 140.2 innings. Craig Stem returns to Rancho after a brief 2012 visit. He started last season in OGD and finished in GL. In just 40 innings pitched, he earned 3 wins and 4 saves while posting a an ERA of 4.05. The last of our returning pitchers is Pedro Baez. No stats are available for him for 2012 because he was a third baseman then. During the off season, he converted to pitching after a year at third for RC. I personally am expecting good things from Thomas, Stem, and possibly Redding this season, based on their numbers from 2012.

Now on to the returning catchers. This season we only have two catchers at the moment and both are returning. I'll start with Pratt Maynard. He split last season between GL and RC while batting .248 with 77 hits, 3 HR and 7 SB in 310 AB. Chris O'Brien is our other catcher who spent all of last season in RC, while batting .252 with 76 hits in 302 AB. He hit 7 long balls and stole 1 base. Judging from this, both catchers have some power and could be very beneficial to this team.

To the infield we go! I'll start with first base and go on from there. At first base, we have Angelo Songco. He started as a Quake in 2011, even earning league MVP, but began 2012 in GL after recovering from a leg injury. His AVG was .201 at the end of 2012 while hitting 12 HR in 308 AB. He collected 62 hits and stole 1 base. To second we go now and find Scott Wingo, the former University of South Carolina Gamecock. Last season he had an AVG of .246 with 87 hits and 2 HR in 353 AB with 13 stolen bases. 2012 was a great year for him at the beginning, hitting wise, but a mid season  thumb injury slowed him down a little after the all-star break and he never really got back to where he started. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do this year, because I know how well he can play. Another option we have for second base is Pedro Guerrero (no, not that one...). He played for the Quakes in 2011 and split 2012 between RC and GL. Last season, he posted a .220 AVG with 69 H in 313 AB. He hit 10 long balls and stole 7 bases.  At third base, we have Ryan Mount. He was with the Quakes in 2008 when they were the Class A Advanced Affiliate of the Angels. In 2012 for ARK, he hit .236 in 254 AB. He ended the season with 60 H, 5 HR, and 3 SB. Our returning short stop is Casio Grider. Not only does he play short, he also plays just about every position on the field. He spent most of the season on the disabled list and begins this season on it as well, but the times that he did get to play on the field, he certainly left an impression. He hit 2 HR in 152 AB and ended last season with 33 H and a .217 AVG. His speed certainly benefits the team as he had 7 SB last year and is quick to get the ball at short and get it out of his glove and to the necessary base.

Last, but not least, we move to the outfield where we have two returning players. Jonathan Garcia usually plays in right field. He posted a .378 AVG last season with 88 H in 378 AB. He knocked in 12 HR and stole 2 bases, but was notorious for striking out. I can already see a difference this year. He is making contact with the ball and hitting it well. Our final returning player is Noel Cuevas. He played for the Quakes for a short time in 2011, and split 2012 between the AZL Dodgers, OGD, and GL. In 288 AB, he managed to earn 2 HR and 77 H. He finished the season with a .267 AVG and with a whopping 35 SB.  Judging from his SB record, Cuevas has the speed the Quakes need in the outfield to make those noteworthy catches.

Girls In the World of Sports: Debunking Female Fan Stereotypes

Girls in the World of Sports

         In today’s world, stereotypes are as common as books in a library. Whether they relate to race or gender, they are well known. Being a female, I find myself being cast into the shadows of stereotypes by the male population. To add insult to injury, I am also a die-hard baseball fan. Males have created quite a few stereotypes for female fans that I would like to prove wrong. Those stereotypes include being afraid of the ball, having no knowledge of the sport, and the idea that all female fans are cleat chasers.

The first stereotype I plan to debunk is a classic. There is always a guy who is quick to say something like, “ She can’t be on our team! She’d run away from the ball!” or my personal “favorite”, “She wouldn’t want to get her outfit dirty.” I found myself in the first situation just recently. A male student claimed, after reading “Automatic walk… Easy out” (Kingston 42), that all girls were afraid of the ball. In all honesty, I wanted to give him a piece of my mind then and there, but I could not. Little does he know, that I have been playing catch with my dad for longer than I can even remember. I have been swinging a bat and running after fly balls for almost as long. I also do not have the fear of dirt guys always seem to mention. I love hiking in the forest, riding horses around the mountains, and diving for a ground ball. The dirt and grass stains show how hard you are willing to work to do what you love.

The second stereotype I would like to take on is the belief that girls do not understand the sport, nor do they know what they are talking about. When I am keeping score at a game and I hear someone wonder aloud who is playing left field, I want to turn around in my seat and tell him. About 90% of the time, they ask another male fan even though they can clearly see the scorebook in my lap. It also bothers me when I mention a team fact or a player stat and I am ignored. One day, I was helping a teacher by putting papers into an envelope and I found myself working with two baseball players. One was describing and miming what he did after wining a game. I had seen the same move before, so I mentioned it by saying, “Doesn’t Fernando Rodney do that?” I judged by his silence and quick subject change that I was correct in my assumption. Being an unofficial statistician, who is female, helps me shatter that stereotype.

A third stereotype, that I find highly offensive, is the belief that all female fans are cleat chasers, or girls who only wish to sleep with the players. It is a common misconception that both the fans and some players buy into. I find this very offensive due to the fact that I love the sport as much as I do and do not wish to be portrayed as someone who is “easy”. I will admit, I do sometimes take a second look at a player, but my love of the sport easily outweighs that extra look. I follow several baseball related accounts on Twitter that prove my theory that says men believe women do not know the sport and only wish to chase after the players. One person said “If your not a cleat chaser what r u?”, to which I replied, “A girl who loves the sport of baseball and isn’t in it just for the guys.” I proved my point and showed him the other side of the female fan base. It gave me a great feeling of satisfaction.

The group of fans I belong to is vaguely similar to the male fan base, although the amount of  female fans with as much passion for the sport as I have comes nowhere near the amount of male fans who are the same way. We are a rare breed who can talk the talk. We know the terms and the shorthand, and enjoy keeping score from time to time. A conversation with a baseball player would be fairly simple for us. Our style of dress consists of blue jeans, or shorts depending on the weather, and conservative shirts we wear to show our allegiance to a favorite player or team. We wear fitted hats with pride and our hair pulled back. Our focus stays on the field and we try to limit bathroom and food breaks. I personally try to only leave my seat after the game has ended, or if worse comes to worst, I will get up immediately after the third out of an inning. In a way, it is like we are showing respect for the game.

I am happy that I have been able to clear up the stereotypes associated with the female fan. I hope, one day, that the male fans will see things through the eyes of the female die-hard fan. I hope it will give our group more respect over time and show that females know how to step up to the plate just as well as the next man.