Author: Teddy Ballgame

Ben Zobrist

My flight from Chicago got me to Phoenix at 9:30 AM, a short cab ride later, and I was in the Hohokam Stadium parking lot in Mesa. I double check the schedule, asked a team bus driver in the parking lot if there was a game today, and ended up walking into the ballpark with a construction contractor before the gates opened to the public. There I was basking in the sunshine, the only fan in the stands, with both teams on the field getting ready for the game, it was surreal. I noticed a scout pick up a stat pack off a card table and I followed suit. Looking over the media notes I observed three players from today’s game received mentions, they were Ben Zobrist, Chip Cannon, & Jake Fox. I learned that Desert Dog Zobrist (TB) had reached base safely in all 24 of his games played, Cannon (TOR) a Phoenix teammate was leading the AFL in HR (11), tied for the lead in RBI (26), and was third in hitting (.362), while Mesa catcher Fox (CHC) drove in three runners and went 2-5 with a double & a HR on Saturday.

As I settled in to watch the ballgame here are some of my day’s happenings. I met writer Michael Point & photographer Jim Pierce from Baseball America. There were 205 paid fans in the stands, and me. One little boy caught two foul balls on consecutive pitches, what are the odds? Mesa’s SS Matt Tolbert (MIN) tried to convince the ump he was hit by a pitch, Manager Pat Listach even had the trainer go out to examine Tolbert, which amused Phoenix’ manager, but the umpire wasn’t buying any of it. The homeplate umpire, who was giving the pitchers about a foot outside, ejected MSS Brooks Conrad (HOU) & PDD Kody Kirkland (DET).

Here are some of the stars of this eleven inning 5-5 tie, which eventually was determined as a Desert Dog victory. Mesa Solar Sox starting pitcher Mark McLemore (HOU) struckout eight of the nine men he faced (Chip Cannon popped to 3rd), three guys on three pitches. Other impressive Mesa players were 3B David Winfree (MIN) a well hit homer over the leftfield wall, DH Anthony Raglani (LAD) three hits including a double, and SS Matt Tolbert (MIN) with a nice defensive play in the hole. Top Desert Dogs were SS Ben Zobrist (TB) a couple of hits including a homer batting lefthanded down the line in right, C Curtis Thigpen (TOR) a sac fly to right, a two run single, a bloop double to right, & four blocks of pitches in the dirt, P Corey Hamman (DET) struckout two in one and a third perfect innings pitched.

For me it was one game down, three to go. It was fun escaping Chicago’s cold, dreary weather, escaping to the sunshine of Arizona, AND BASEBALL!

Valentin, Vaughn, Robinson, Biggio

“Where have you gone Mr. Robinson?”, to paraphrase the famous Simon & Garfunkel song. It’s funny how my path happened to cross that of Marteese Robinson as I traversed through the Arizona Fall League. More importantly is what I’ve discovered about the man after returning to Chicago. I first noticed Mr. Robinson sitting behind the plate in Scottsdale, studying the action. I pulled a chair up in the next section over and we settled in to watch the action. Marteese had a huge NL Championship ring on his finger, to go along with a huge scar on his right elbow. Turns out the scar is a souvenir from his days at Seton Hall, when SS John Valentin’s throw drew firstbaseman Marteese into the path of the baserunner. Robinson’s arm snapped backward, but he chuckles, “I didn’t get knocked down and I didn’t cry”. While at Seton Hall he was the best hitter in a lineup that consisted of John Valentin, Mo Vaughn, & future Hall of Famer Craig Biggio. Although Martese Robinson never made it to the Big Leagues as a player, he’s soon going to have his BIG ring replaced with an even BIGGER one as he’s the Professional Scouting Director for the St. Louis Cardinals, the 2006 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. He’s as nice a guy as a day is long. I congratulated him on winning the World Series and he kidded me about my not being able to get an accurate reading for him from a malfuntioning radar gun.

SO HERE’S TO YOU, MR. ROBINSON!!!

Don and Charlie’s in Scottsdale, AZ

Although I’m a vegetarian I had to stop off at Don & Charlie’s for a beer before catching November 15th’s night game in Scottsdale. Don & Charlie’s is a great place to have a drink, even though they are best known for their BBQ ribs. The restaurant/lounge is decorated with all kinds of baseball, as well as other sports, memorabilia, and the ballplayers actually hang out there. Can’t wait to get back out there in the spring, where one of the owners said, they’ll have a table waiting for me.

Susan Price

I had no idea when I went to Scottsdale that I would notice Susan Price, but there was no way I could miss her. Susan sits behind the Scottsdale dugout and cheers on her boys, through thick & thin. She is so positive, always saying positive things to encourage the Scorpians. In preseason ball she’s out there rooting on the SF Giants who train in Scottsdale. From the first pitch to the last out, Price was yelling, “fire it in there” to her pitchers. While sometimes her rants can become annoying, her undying optimism has made me a fan of hers and I look forward to hearing her again when I visit Scottsdale in the spring.

Kevin Frandsen

Kevin Frandsen (San Francisco) of the Scottsdale Scorpians beat out five other nominated AFL’ers to win the 2006 Dernell Stenson Sportsman of the Year Award. Dernell Stenson was a prospect with the Cincinnati Reds, who was shot to death while playing in the AFL for Scottsdale in 2003. Mark Teahen (Kansas City) won the first Stenson Award in 2004, made it to the big leagues in 2005, and starred for the Royals in 2006. Last year Andre Ethier (Oakland) won the award, before being traded to the LA Dodgers, where he earned an everyday major league job in 2006. Frandsen hopes the success of these two previous winners rubs off on him. The one thing all three winners share is a great determination to succeed. I was in Scottsdale when Kevin received this award November 15th.

CONGRATS TO KEVIN FRANDSEN!!! AND GOOD LUCK IN 2007 & BEYOND!!!

Brent Clevlen

The Phoenix Desert Dogs won their 3rd straight Arizona Fall League Title Saturday November 18, 2006 in Scottsdale, AZ with a 6-2 win over the Grand Canyon Rafters. Here is the boxscore from the game.

I’d like to say, “I was there”, but that would be a lie. 2006 was the year that I finally made it out to the desert to take in some Arizona Fall League action, but I left before the championship game was played. I’ll fill you in on my adventure later, but wanted to report on the title game before it became a distant memory. The Phoenix Desert Dogs were the only AFL team above .500 during the regular season and won their 3rd straight title, despite only getting four hits. Brent Clevlen (Detroit) was the hitting star, with a two run single & a solo homer. Fernando Perez (Tampa Bay) also drove in a pair of runs for Phoenix, as they triumphed over Grand Canyon 6-2. Virgil Vazquez (Detroit) allowed only one run over five innings of work to pick up the W.

CONGRATS PHOENIX DESERT DOGS!!!