Thursday, May 13
Minors set April attendance mark

While major league attendance continued to sag, minor league teams attracted 5.7 million fans in games played through April, the highest total in the 102-year history of Organized Baseball. The total attendance for the 1,700 playing dates was 5,708,057, an average of 3,358 fans per date.

That represents an increase of 5.3 percent per playing date for the 11 full-season leagues and an increase of 249,255 fans (4.6 percent) in raw numbers of total fans. This was the third straight season that minor league teams played before more than five million fans in April.

Thursday, April 3
Mexican League gets short-season circuit

Minor League Baseball has expanded and will have 21 leagues in operation during the 2003 season. The new Tabasco League will be a short-season circuit in Mexico with teams in eight cities.

The new league will be affiliated with teams in the Mexican League and provide an intermediate stop for young players between that Triple-A league and the Rookie level Mexican Academy League.

Teams in the Tabasco League will play an 84-game schedule running from March to July. Each team will have a roster limit of 26 players, two of whom may be from other countries. Each team will be stocked by two Mexican League teams. Member cities are Balancan, Cardenas, Comalcalco, Frontera, Jalapa, Macuspana, Teapa and Tenosique.

Friday, March 28
Angels' Saunders could miss season

Lefthander Joe Saunders, the Angels' first-round pick last June and their No. 7 prospect, is expected to miss most if not all of the season because of a shoulder injury.

Saunders complained of shoulder discomfort on reporting to minor league camp earlier this month, Angels general manager Bill Stoneman said, and has not pitched this spring. Stoneman declined to reveal a specific diagnosis, since Saunders is seeking a second opinion, but Angels medical director Lewis Yocum has recommended an intensive therapy program over surgery at this time.

Saunders went 5-2, 2.80 in 61 innings between Rookie-level Provo and Class A Cedar Rapids in his pro debut.

Tuesday, March 4
Brewers prospect dies in car accident

Brewers minor league pitcher Augustine Ozorede (o-zo-REED-e) died over the weekend in a car accident outside of his home in Ilorin, Nigeria.

The 18-year old righthander signed with the Brewers on May 8, 2002. Ozorede and catcher Gbenga Olayemi were signed the same day and became the first-ever Brewers players signed from Nigeria.

Ozorede was expected to attend the Brewers extended spring training program in Arizona in April.

Monday, February 24
Indians' Whitney out for 2003

Indians prospect Matt Whitney, drafted in the supplemental first-round last year, will miss the entire 2003 season after breaking his left leg on Sunday while playing basketball. He had surgery this morning.

Whitney, 19, hit .269-10-33 between Rookie-level Burlington and low Class A Columbus in his pro debut last summer. He was slated to play third base for the Indians new low Class A affiliate in East Lake, Ohio, this year.

"Through my limited experience, all good players I know at some point dealt with adversity," Indians assistant farm director Ross Atkins said. "You're automatically thrown into a regimen, a routine of discipline. You value every swing, every time you pick up a ball after something like this."

--Josh Boyd

Carter leads Canada's 2003 Hall class

Ten years after winning the World Series with a walk-off home run, Joe Carter has another reason to jump for joy on Canadian soil, as he will be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum this summer. Joining Carter in the class of 2003 are Kirk McCaskill, Richard Bélec and the Vancouver Asahi baseball team.

Pete Rose was among 42 nominees who did not receive 75% of the required votes to be inducted, and will remain on the active ballot for nine years. The CBHFM does not publicize the breakdown of the total votes cast.

Thursday, January 16
Padres root out false identities

Without waiting for new Major League Baseball rules and regulations to create new identities and older ages for its players, the Padres launched an investigation of their own to look into their Latin players.

"Because the (Immigration and Naturalization Service) rules are even stricter this year regarding validation of visa information, we decided a couple of months ago to make a thorough check of all our foreign players," Tye Waller, the Padres’ director of player development, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "We expected some discrepancies. But there were a lot more than we anticipated. I don’t think we’ll be the only club in this situation."

Eighteen players from the Dominican Republic were found to have different names and earlier birth dates than had been previously thought. Eleven of those played in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League, and the Padres already have released two of them.

Thursday, January 9
Battle Cats now Battle Creek Yankees

The Michigan Battle Cats of the Class A Midwest League have changed their name to the Battle Creek Yankees. The change comes in an offseason when the club switched affiliations from the Astros to the Yankees.

It is actually the third name for the team in the franchise's short history. On Nov. 28, 1994, the team unveiled its name for the inaugural season as the Battle Creek Golden Kazoos. But because of fan uproar and a trademark dispute the name lasted just 102 days. The Michigan Battle Cats name debuted March 9, 1995, and the team played its first game a month later.

Friday, January 3
McEacharn named Eastern League president

The Double-A Eastern League named Joseph McEacharn as its 11th president. He replaces Bill Troubh, who retired Dec. 31.

McEacharn joined the EL in 1996, and has spent the past three seasons as the league's vice president. Bill Rosario joins McEacharn's staff as an assistant to the president.

Thursday, January 2
Royals to double up in Arizona

The Royals’ search for an additional short-season team has ended in–surprise!–Surprise.

Appalachian League president Lee Landers confirmed the Rookie-level league will not be adding an 11th team for the 2003 season. The team would have been a traveling squad of Royals prospects based in the Tri-Cities area on the Tennessee-Virginia border. Instead, the Royals will field two teams in the Rookie-level Arizona League at their new spring-training home in Surprise, Ariz.

One team will operate by the roster rules that govern the complex leagues (the Arizona and Gulf Coast), and one will use the rules that apply to the advanced Rookie leagues, the Pioneer and Appalachian. The Royals had to look for a new spot for their short-season team when their affiliation with Spokane in the Northwest League expired.

Wednesday, January 1
Johnson returns to U.S.

Tim Johnson is returning to the United States, but not to affiliated ball. Johnson, who has managed in Mexico since losing his job with the Blue Jays in 1999 and is the skipper for Obregon in the Mexican Pacific League, was named manager of the independent Northern League’s Lincoln Saltdogs.

"Tim’s big league experience and his contacts make our organization much better," Saltdogs president Charlie Meyer told the Lincoln Star Journal.

Johnson will join the organization when Obregon’s winter season ends. In addition to time in the Mexican Pacific League, Johnson also led the Mexico City Red Devils to the championship of the summer Mexican League in 1999 and runner-up finishes in 2000-01. He left to manage Saltillo last year. He said he turned down an offer to be on Felipe Alou’s new staff with the Giants.

"I just didn’t feel it was the right time to go back to the big leagues," Johnson said. "I’m really glad about this situation. This is great."

News In Brief 2002 Archive