Barnstormin’

It’s finally here. The Atlantic League champs take on the Road Warriors at Clipper Magazine Stadium tonight at 7:05.
Pre-game ceremonies begin promptly at 6:30. They include a ring ceremony, which will feature the return of All-Star pitcher Denny Harriger. Lawn seating is still available if you don’t have a ticket and want to come out […]

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Monday’s New Era will include a column on closer James Lira and a story about the first Lancaster-York professional baseball game in 48 years.
Lira has taken an unusual path through the minors. He quit playing for two years after he graduated high school and worked for his father’s construction company. He wanted to make money […]

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The Barnstormers held their first practice at Charlie Gehringer Field this morning. All of the surrounding fields at this complex are named after Detroit Tigers legends, which is a nice touch.
Frank Klebe worked the guys hard. They started about 15 minutes early, did some running, some light throwing and then went directly into an […]

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Hello from Lakeland.
First, let me apologize for the shortage of posts in the last few days. I was in Tampa and the only internet connection I had was powered by tiny field mice. If you have ANY questions about spring training, post them in the comments section and I’ll try to answer them this week. […]

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This press release just came from the Route 30 rivals:
The York Revolution has signed seven players, highlighted by former Japanese major league OF Kazunori Tanaka and two former major league pitchers, it was announced on Wednesday by manager Chris Hoiles.
In addition to Tanaka, the Revolution also announced the signings of former major league lefties Wayne […]

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It hasn’t been a good spring for the Barnstormers who made it back to affiliated ball. Rob Henkel is the latest to get released. Henkel was in camp with the Boston Red Sox and was hoping to earn a spot in the starting rotation with their Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket, R.I.
Henkel, 28, went 7-4 with […]

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Rob Blackstien forwarded me this article he wrote about Norm Hutchins.
The former Barnstormer was a second-round draft pick by the Angels in 1994. His best season came in 1998, when he posted an .831 OPS with 32 stolen bases in 89 games in Double-A. As Blackstien noted, a lack of plate discipline doomed Hutchins, who […]

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One fact is slowly becoming evident as teams around the Atlantic League build their rosters: The South Division will again be stronger than the North.
This is good news for Long Island, the league’s glamour franchise. The Ducks have the luxury of competing against the Road Warriors, who are almost certain to have a losing […]

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According to the Frontier League’s official site, former Barnstormer Chris Clem has signed with the River City Rascals. First point: That’s a great team name. Second: It’s nice to see an independent league so diligent about publicizing its transactions.
Clem, 23, posted a 4.10 ERA in 15 games after coming to the Barnstormers from the Road […]

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When you look back at spring training 2006, you realize the Barnstormers were absolutely loaded with pitching. They had eight starters who were either Atlantic League All-Stars or had advanced as far as Triple-A: Denny Harriger, Scott Sobkowiak, Andy Zwirchitz, Cam Smith, Brian Whitaker, Rob Henkel, Enemencio Pacheco and Mike Ziegler. It was the indy league equivalent […]

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