MINOT MALLARDS CROWNED 1996 PRAIRIE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS STRAUSS NAMED PLAYOFF MVP PRAIRIE LEAGUE PLAYOFF RESULTS -- CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL September 15, 1996 G A M E F O U R MINOT MALLARDS 17 @ GRAND FORKS VARMINTS 4 GRAND FORKS - The turnaround in Minot is complete. The Mallards, a second division team last year which changed ownership in the off season have won the 1996 Prairie League Championship with a convincing 17-4 drubbing of the expansion Grand Forks Varmints. Minot won the final three games of the series after dropping the first game to Grand Forks at home. Minot scored runs in every inning but two and showed the power that made them the most feared offensive unit in the Prairie League this season. The Varmints actually led the game 2-1 after 1 inning but allowed 6 runs in the top of the 2nd, letting the air out of the upstart Varmint's balloon. Brad Strauss of Minot, named the Prairie League's Playoff MVP, was 3-4 with a double, home run, and 4 RBI's. His three run blast to right in the 2nd keyed the big offensive outburst by the Mallards. The Varmint's rookie Rob Howell was 3-5 in a losing cause. Minot pitcher David Tellers fanned James Wambach in the 9th to spark the celebration. R H E Minot 17 17 0 Grand Forks 4 10 3 Batteries-- Minot- Mark Stephens, Mark Voisard (5), Mike Kelly (7), Kenny Osterkamp (8), David Tellers (9), and Cory Reeder and Mack Chapman (8): Grand Forks - Steve Spurgeon, Rob Gaiko (2), Craig Baumann (8), and Tom Carcione, Jeff Anderson (8) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Minot 1 6 1 2 0 0 4 2 1 Grand Forks 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 WP-- Mark Voisard (1-0) LP-- Steve Spurgeon (1-1) HR-- GF - Ty Griffin (4): Minot- Brad Strauss (4), Lou List (1), Cory Reeder (4), Darryl Robinson (1) 2B-- G.F- Jaime Hoffner (3), Tom Carcione(1), Rob Howell (2), Beau Champoux (1): Minot - Brad Strauss (3) SB-- Minot- Lou List (3), Cory Reeder (1) Attendance-- 1216
GREY OWLS SELL 'SHOE' TO MARINERS September 13, 1996 Sometimes a silver lining can be found in dark clouds. The Brandon Grey Owls, dead last this season in the Prairie League of Professional Baseball, have assigned the contract of RHP John Shoemaker to the American League's Seattle Mariners. Shoemaker, who started the season with the Brainerd Bobcats and was picked up by the Owls in the dispersal draft, will attend spring training in Arizona next year with the Mariners. Terms of his contract or the sale price were not disclosed. Shoemaker's record this year indicates he would be the unanimous winner of the "hard-luck hurler" award. He was 2-12 with a 4.51 ERA, starting 17 games and throwing over 125 innings in the Prairie League this season. Shoemaker, with four complete games and only two victories, endured the worst run support possible, leading to his high loss total. He also was burned for 26 unearned runs this season, pointing another finger at a subpar Brandon defence. The Grey Owls error total of 168 muffs was worst in the ten team loop. A starting pitcher, Shoemaker primarily relies on a dancing knuckleball, but scouts feel his effectiveness is due more intelligently changing speeds with his fastball, which has been clocked in the high 80 mph range. Hitters can't afford to sit on the knuckler for fear he could blaze a heater past them. Joe Powers, president and owner of the Grey Owls, is pleased to have helped in the development of Shoemaker. "He worked very hard this year, and this is a great reward especially for everything he had to go through," said Powers, who also expects to assign the contract of stellar RHP Josh Foshie to a major league organization in the next few weeks. "(Brandon manager) L.J. (Dupuy) spent a lot of time with John, and the effort is paying off. We wish him nothing but the best, and I know he has nothing but positive things to say about how his development was helped by the calibre of play in the Prairie League."
PRAIRIE LEAGUE'S TOP LEFTY SIGNED BY NEW YORK METS September 12, 1996 The Prairie League of Professional Baseball and the Aberdeen Pheasants are proud to announce that prized left handed pitcher Leonel Vasquez has been assigned to the New York Mets organization. Vasquez is scheduled to report immediately to the Mets Instructional League program in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where he will play until October 18. Vasquez, a native of La Romano in the Dominican Republic, will attend spring training with the Mets and most likely will play next year for the St. Lucie Mets in the Florida State League, although he will challenge for a spot in Class-AA. No terms of the contract were disclosed. Vasquez had been followed around by numerous organization scouts for his last half-dozen starts, being watched by bird-dogs from the Mets, Yankees, Reds and Expos. He put together an impressive 11-2 record with a 2.22 ERA in 105 innings. He struck out 106 batters in 19 games, 16 of them starts. The 22-year-old was voted the league's top left handed pitcher and named to the Prairie League All-Star Team. Days later, he was named the independent loop's Rookie of the Year. Vasquez was a key player in the Pheasants 54-24 record, best in the Prairie League this season. The Pheasants were upset in two straight games by the Minot Mallards in the South Division final series. Vasquez is the fourth Prairie League player to be sold to a major league organization this season. The defending champion Regina Cyclones assigned hard-throwing RHP Tommy Taylor to the Milwaukee Brewers Class-AA affiliate, the El Paso Diablos in the Texas League, and the Grand Forks Varmints, currently embroiled in the Prairie League championship series with Minot, sent veteran 2B Warren Sawkiw to AA Birmingham in the White Sox chain. The Austin, MN based Southern Minny Stars also sent stellar SS Sean McKamie to El Paso in early August. For more information, contact the Aberdeen Pheasants at 605-225-4488 or the Prairie League office at 306-934-5599.
1996 PRAIRIE LEAGUE SEASON NOW COMPLETE PL HAS DRAWN OVER 650,000 FANS IN FIRST TWO SEASONS, 1997 SEASON JUST AROUND THE CORNER September 16, 1996 Count it up -- it's just 271 days from the final out of 1996 Prairie League season until the first pitch will be thrown out for 1997. With the championship now decided and the on-field action of 1996 behind us, the Prairie League of Professional Baseball now begins the winter-long task of preparing for another exciting season. Tentative plans for next year are to have opening day on Friday, June 14, with the 72-game schedule extending to August 30. Professional baseball on the U.S. and Canadian plains enjoyed another successful season, with well over 300,000 fans turning out to see Prairie League baseball. In total, the final league attendance mark was 325,489, almost identical to last year's total of 339,490 -- bringing the two-year tally of 664,979. The Moose Jaw Diamond Dogs led the league in 'seats-in-seats' with 76,696 fans for an average of 2,018 per game. The Minot Mallards, a last-place South Division team in 1995 with a 24-47 record, completed a remarkable comeback by finishing second overall in the regular season and advancing to win the Prairie League championship trophy. The Mallards, managed by Mitch Zwolensky to a 54-26 regular season mark, dispatched of Aberdeen in two straight in the South Division final before downing the expansion Grand Forks Varmints three games to one in the final. The Mallards dropped the first game of the series to the Varmints, and roared back to steal the next three games. Minot recorded convincing 10-1 and 17-4 wins in the final two games. Minot RF Brad Strauss, who failed to be voted on to the Prairie League's all-star team despite leading the league with 27 home runs, was named the playoff MVP on the strength of a .632 average, four homers, and nine RBIs. Strauss was 12-for-19 with 10 runs scored in six playoff games. Once again, Prairie League players rated high with scouts from major league organizations, as five players were snatched up by big league franchises. 2B Warren Sawkiw (Grand Forks, signed by the White Sox), RHP Tommy Taylor (Regina, signed by Milwaukee), SS Sean McKamie (Southern Minny, Brewers), LHP Leonel Vasquez (Aberdeen, signed by the Mets), and RHP John Shoemaker (Brandon, signed by the Mariners) were all watched very closely by scouts this season. Some others expected to be in demand by affiliated teams this offseason include RHP Craig Baumann, SS Rob Howell (Grand Forks), OF Wayne Weinheimer (Saskatoon), RHP Mike Toney (Moose Jaw), RHP Josh Foshie (Brandon), RHP Linc Mikkelsen, OF Brad Strauss, RHP Collin Kerley (Minot), OF Ray Moon (Dakota), and SS Edgar Tovar (Aberdeen).
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