Category: Arizona Fall League

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!!!