10/22- ATLANTIC BRAVES TAKEOVER, SPRING TRAINING PLANS, Scout Day
Wash PA - The Washington Wild Things are the only team to have scheduled Spring Training games, covering their school day games in front of fans. Other teams will reach out along the way to schedule games as their front office gets situated. The Wild Things have always been a strong and organized Front Office and we get these games scheduled with the every year since 2017.
The Wild Things Ballpark will also be our home base for 2023 for the 4th Year of the Yinzer Baseball Confederacy. We almost defeated Washington in Spring Training in 2022, in a 10 inning affair that resulted in a Walk-Off loss, but included a Tyler Reis go-ahead home run the inning before.
Whiting Indiana - The Kenosha Kings had their first workout as a team and have their first names on a roster, including some returners from 2021 and new faces for ‘22. Short-stop General MCARTHUR is very intriguing , spending time in the Pioneer League and Frontier League most recently. Players like McArthur and Black Sox Veteran Frank Podkul hopefully won’t make the roster, as the goal is to get players who aspire to play at the Professional level that chance. Frank has been signed several times thru Black Sox Pro Baseball, most recently out of the Yinzer Baseball Confederacy in PA, when we pulled him from a game he was supposed to be playing to send him to Canada with the Lake Country Dockhounds in the American Association. It was the 2nd time Podkul went over the border as in ‘21 he took the trip to Winnipeg with a couple of different teams.
Kenosha will play a 60+ game season out of a Northwoods League Ballpark in 2023, which will be their 40th year in existence, playing in the Wisconsin State League and Lan O’ Lakes Leagues.
The team is being taken over and run by Black Sox Pro Baseball after a 3 win season that resulted in the re-vamping of recruitment and protocol.
The Team is a back-up plan in case there is no Yinzer League in PA, and for local guys to have the same opportunity with the Black Sox, right In their own back yard.
Kings schedule could include games vs Milwaukee, Chicago, Lake Country and Frontier League Teams as well once the schedules are out.
Delray Beach, Florida - The Atlantic Braves are also being handed over to Black Sox Pro Baseball for the rest of the Fall/ Winter. The team started out 1-6, and will only return 3 players to the 10/23 Lineup today vs the Yankees, another team struggling at the bottom in the league. The lineup has been significantly revamped, with todays 1245pm start in Sable Pines featuring former Atlantic League and Frontier League left handed hitting utility player James Smibert, as well as Pioneer League Infielder Brandon Crosby, Atlantic League Catcher Ed Milian, and future Dubai League player Chazz Brown (5 homers in Yinzer 2022).
The Braves play on Sundays, year-round, and are an opportunity for Black Sox players to engage in competition in the South Florida area. They have been around over 20 years, once our nemesis in the Mens Legaue Circuit in the early 2000’s.
Most home games are played out of Pompey Park in Delray, and the league finds many former and current Professional Players and Free Agents who continue to play year-round, as you should.
Nationals / Astros Complex, WPB Florida - the World Comes to Palm Beaches Tournament starts on Thursday and features a lineup of players who spent time in the 4MLB Partner Leagues this past summer.
Carson McCurdy and Trevor McKinley (Frontier ‘22) make their way down South to join Tyler Hill (Frontier/Atlantic) and Yuta Okazaki (Atlantic/ Yinzer Manager) to form a sort of Black Sox All Star Team that will represent Team USA vs Puerto Rico / Italy and Team Earth.
The 4 day- 5 or more game tournament is played at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches , the home of the Nationals and Astros with our first game Thursday at 1pm being played at the Stadium vs Team Italy.
We are looking to pick-up extra games vs other countries along the way, so stay tuned for schedule changes.
25 player roster has been cut down to 22 by the league, so we will be dropping pitchers as we use them and adding position players as we need them after the games to stay at 22 and give as many guys an opportunity to get action in this event as possible. There should also be a league game Sunday which would split us in half, part of the challenge we face on the Barnstorming Tour when Pro Teams double book us.
Norwalk CT/ Egg Harbor NJ- Scout Day is picking up steam with more MLB Clubs calling me to attend this year than Indy Clubs. Pat Scalabrine, Manager of the Frontier League Champion Quebec Capitales is already locked in for 3 day event, and looking to find talent as his roster shifts in the Frontier League as players experience comes into play when formatting a Frontier League roster.
The Rockies, Royals, Phillies, Red Sox and others have expressed interest in our lists.
Unfortunately, many of my signed players are missing the point of Scout Day, as they said they might not attend since they have a job in professional baseball. That is exactly the reason TO SHOW UP. Because these MLB Clubs are using the Indy System more than ever now and in 2023 to pick up players when they need them. Its unfortunate guys don’t know the exact road that they are going to have to take to get an affiliated opportunity, but I wouldn’t be doing these events if I didnt think they were worth it.
Main point of Scout Day - to get invited by Red Sox Head indy Scout David Scrivines and others to their own private and semi-private MLB workouts at MLB Complexes and other locations in the country before the season starts.
We currently have 9 players in Affiliated Baseball in the Minor Leagues.
We have had 16 Players sign MLB Contracts out of Indy Ball Since 2016.
This will be year 9 of Joe Torre’s annual Scout-Day in the Northeast.
Or do it your way.
-Joe Torre, Sunday Morning Coffee