TAIWAN – The final of the Asia Series taking place in Taiwan is set after the Samsung Lions (KBO) defeated the Uni President 7-Eleven Lions (CPBL) to finish 2nd to the SoftBank Hawks (NPB) in the round robin play.

The Samsung Lions finished 2-1 with its only loss coming 9-0 to SoftBank.

 Game 1 – Samsung Lions 10, Perth Heat 2

In the first game of the Series, Samsung took on the Perth Heat of the ABL. The game was close but after a 6 run 8th, Samsung would win going away 10-2. Jang Won-Sam took the win with Daniel Schmidt taking the loss. Each team hit a home run as Allen de San Miguel hitting a solo shot for Perth and Shin Myung-Chul hitting a grand slam to cap the 6th run 8th inning for Samsung.

Game 2 – Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions 5, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 6

This was a good game as the Uni-President Lions scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th to pull within 1 run. They even had the tying run at 3rd base when the final out was made. Former Texas Rangers pitcher Ryan Glynn took the loss for Uni-President while Nagisa Arakaki picked up the win for SoftBank.

Game 3 – Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 9, Samsung Lions 0

SoftBank took an early 5-0 lead in the 2nd inning and never looked back. Samsung only managed 5 hits against the Hawks pitching as Hiroki Yamada picked up the victory.

Game 4 – Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions 3, Perth Heat 2 (10 innings)

Another great finish to a game happened here. Perth was down 2-0 heading into the 8th inning when they rallied to tie the game. But 3 errors and bad routes in the outfield would do them in as the Lions scored a run in the top of the 10th to steal a victory from Perth. Perth seemed to be out manned along the way. They have a lot of good young talent but the experience level was apparent at times.

Game 5 – Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 4, Perth Heat 0

Perth was out matched in this game, but they played well enough to keep the game close. Perth starter Trevor Caughey pitched well but took the loss as the Heat could not get the bats going. This ended Perth’s run in their first ever Asia Series.

Game 6 – Samsung Lions 6, Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions 3

Yet another good game came in the last one before the championship. With the winner advancing the game was tied in the 8th inning 3-3 when Samsung slugger Hyung Woo- Choi blasted a 2-run home run off of former MLB pitcher Ryan Glynn who took his second loss of the Series. Samsung would add another run in the 9th to win going away 6-3. Kwon Oh-Joon picked up the win for Samsung.

The final is set for November 29th at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium with the Samsung Lions facing off with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.

You can watch the final game online via Naver Sports.

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Event to feature top prep teams and players in the country

DURHAM, N.C. — USA Baseball has announced the 16 high schools that will compete in the inaugural National High School Invitational (NHSI) at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., March, 28-31, 2012. The tournament will be represented by nine states and will feature some of the top prep baseball programs and players in the country. Baseball America and The Town of Cary are partnering with USA Baseball in the hosting and presenting of the event.

The participating teams are as follows: American Heritage School (Plantation, Fla.), Bishop Gorman High School (Las Vegas, Nev.), Brookwood High School (Snellville, Ga.), Carroll High School (Corpus Christi, Texas), Columbus High School (Columbus, Ga.), George Washington High School (New York, N.Y.), Gulliver Preparatory School (Coral Gables, Fla.), Harvard-Westlake School (Studio City, Calif.), Highlands Ranch High School (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Lee County High School (Sanford, N.C.), Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, Calif.), Orange Lutheran High School (Orange, Calif.), Oxford High School (Oxford, Ala.), Parkview High School (Lilburn, Ga.), Russell County High School (Seale, Ala.), and Sarasota High School (Sarasota, Fla.).

“We’re thrilled with the group of participating teams that we have been able to secure for 2012,” said Rick Riccobono, USA Baseball’s director of development. “The tournament field features not only the most elite high school programs in the country, but some of the top draft-eligible players as well.”

The NHSI kicks off the high school season for many of the programs, and the annual event promises to become one of the premiere prep events in the country. The tournament will feature nine of Baseball America‘s top 100 2012 draft-eligible high school prospects — including five of the top 16 — and of the 12 participating schools that compete for state championships (California and New York compete for either section or city titles), 36 state titles will be represented in Cary.

“The Town of Cary is excited and proud to co-host the NHSI with USA Baseball,” said Chris Duty, athletic facility supervisor for the National Training Complex. “This event will be great for our local economy and equally important for our citizens by providing an opportunity to come out and watch some of the nation’s top high school amateur players.”

Among Baseball America‘s top 100 draft-eligible high school prospects are nine players scheduled to compete in the NHSI. The list is highlighted by Harvard Westlake’s Lucas Giolito (No. 2) and Max Fried (No. 7), Bishop Gorman’s Joey Gallo (No. 12), Courtney Hawkins (No. 15) of Carroll, and Brookwood’s Lucas Sims (No. 16).

“Baseball America is pleased to be part of a national high school baseball tournament,” said the Durham-based publication’s co-editor in chief, John Manuel. “It’s important for Baseball America and USA Baseball to show our support for high school baseball, its coaches and its players. We’ll be at every game to chronicle the exploits of some of the nation’s top teams and top players.”

Also set to compete in the NHSI are three members of the 2011 USA Baseball 18U National Team which is in Colombia this week for the COPABE Junior AAA/18U Pan American Championships. Additionally, seven participants in last summer’s Prospect Classic which pit USA Baseball’s 2011 18U National Trials Team against its 2011 Collegiate Team will attend the event as well. The players include Fried (PC), Gallo (18U, PC), Giolito (PC), Adrian Marin (Gulliver Prep, PC), Jeremy Martinez (Mater Dei, 18U, PC), Nelson Rodriguez (George Washington, 18U, PC), and Sims (PC).

The NHSI will be a single-elimination championship tournament, with each participating team guaranteed to play four games. An event schedule will be announced in early 2012.

Please click here to see Baseball America‘s capsules on each participating team andhere to view its top 25 high school prospects (Baseball America subscribers can clickhere to view the entire top 100).

Press Release USA Baseball

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The Frontier League is currently the oldest running independent baseball league dating back to 1993. Teams are primarily located in the Midwestern United States. The league has 2 7-team divisions with each team playing a 96-game season.

The teams for the 2011 season included the Joliet Slammers, the Lake Erie Crushers, Traverse City Beach Bums, Windy City Thunderbolts, Washington Wild Things, and the Rockford Riverhawks in the East Division. The Florence Freedom, Evansville Otters, Gateway Grizzlies, Normal CornBelters, Southern Illinois Miners, and the River City Rascals played in the West Division.

League Leaders

Jake Eigsti led the league in hitting at a .340 clip pounding out 114 hits in 92 games for Rockford. Andrew Davis of Lake Erie finished second just a point behind at .339 pounding out 123 hits in 93 games including 39 doubles and 12 home runs.

Gateway catcher Charlie Lisk led the league in home runs belting 24 round trippers a year after hitting 21. Lisk now holds the all-time home run record for the Frontier League at 113. JT Hall of Traverse City finished 2nd to Lisk with 23 long balls.

Charlie Lisk also led the league in RBI with 94 with Lake Erie’s Andrew Davis finishing 2nd with 87.

Brandon Anderson of Windy City led the league in stolen bases with 53.

Stephen Holdren of River City got on base at a clip of .449 to lead the league.

Southern Illinois’ Will Block led the league in slugging percentage at .610 and was one of 11 with an OPS of over .900.

The leader in OPS went to Stephen Holdren of River City who had an incredible 1.018.

On the pitching side of things, Jake Renshaw of Joliet finished in the lead in wins with 13. Ryan Sheldon of Normal finished second with 12.

Dustin Williams of Windy City led the league in strikeouts with 157, and once again Sheldon finished second with 134.

The ERA title went to Gateway’s Mark Brackman who had a 2.15 mark. Barely behind him in 2nd was Justin Edwards of Washington with a 2.16.

Stephen Holdren (332/21/84) of River City was named MVP for the 2011 season.

Pitcher of the Year was Josh Lowey of River City going 11-2 with a 2.44 ERA .

Pitcher Casey Barnes of Washington was named Rookie of the Year after going 5-5 with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts. During the season Barnes was signed by the Philadelphia Phllies organization.

Playoffs

The Divisional Series pitted Joliet against Lake Erie and Southern Illinois against River City.

Joliet cruised through their series with Lake Erie in 3 games winning close games each time.

Joliet 5, Lake Erie 2
Joliet 3, Lake Erie 1
Joliet 5, Lake Erie 2
*Joliet advances to championship round

River City dropped game one to Southern Illinois but then ran off 3 straight wins to advance to face Joliet in the finals.

Southern Illinois 9, River City 7
River City 3, Southern Illinois 2
River City 5, Southern Illinois 2
River City 4, Southern Illinois 1
*River City wins series 3-1 and advances to championship round

The Best of Five Championship Round had the two top teams in the regular season facing off with one another. After Game 1 was postponed by a day of rain, River City jumped on top in the series by winning 8-5. River City jumped all over Joliet starter Jake Renshaw who allowed 6 runs in only an inning of work. But it would be the only win for River City.

Joliet came back strong in Game 2 winning a close game 3-1. This time the Joliet starter Tommy Mendoza would go 5 innings allowing only 1 run on 5 hits and a walk to earn the victory. The Joliet pitchers kept league MVP in check as Holdren went 0-for-4. The Joliet bats got a big boost from shortstop Brad Netzel and second baseman Hector Pellot who both hit home runs to power Joliet to the win.

Game 3 was another close victory for Joliet as they pulled it off 4-3 with single runs in the bottom of the 8th and 9th innings. After a sea-saw battle that saw several lead changes, River City went into the bottom of the 8th inning with a 3-2 lead after tying the game in the 6th with a run and taking the lead in the 7th with another.

After Joliet got an unearned run in the bottom of the 8th to tie it, Brandon Peters came up huge with a walk off home run to lead off the bottom of the 9th giving Joliet a 2-to-1 lead in the series.

Game 4 was another close one. This time Joliet would hold off a River City rally to close out the series and win the 2011 Frontier League Championship.

The game was scoreless until the 5th inning when River City got 3 runs in the top half of the inning. However, Joliet came right back with a 3 spot of its own to tie the game. After River City took the lead again in the 6th with a run, Joliet once again scored 3 runs in the 7th to put the game away. Jake Renshaw came back to pitch 5 innings giving up 4 runs but didn’t factor into the decision. Brad Netzel drove in a pair of runs and Ryan Quigley came in to close the door in the 9th to earn the save.

River City 8, Joliet 5
Joliet 3, River City 1
Joliet 4, River City 3
Joliet 6, River City 5
*Joliet wins series and championship 3-games-to-1

The Joliet Slammers won its first title and denied the River City Rascals a repeat championship.

For more information on the league and the 2012 schedule, visit FrontierLeague.com

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Taichung, Chinese Taipei – The 2011 Asia Series will begin on Friday pitting the champions of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), the Australian Baseball League (ABL), Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).

The Series is returning after a couple year absence and is considered one of the better tournaments in the world.

The teams playing will be the Samsung Lions (KBO), Perth Heat (ABL), the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions (CPBL), and the Fukoka Softbank Hawks (NPB).

November 25

Korea vs Australia – Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium @ 12:00pm
Japan vs Taiwan – Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium @ 7:00pm

November 26

Korea vs Japan – Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium @ 12:00pm
Australia vs Taiwan – Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium @ 6:00pm

November 27

Australia vs Japan – Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium @ 1:00pm
Taiwan vs Korea – Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium @ 7:00pm

November 29

Top two teams – Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium @ 7:00pm

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The newest league to join the independent ranks this year was the North American League. The league formed from the merger of 3 independent leagues in the Golden League, the Northern League, and the United League of Baseball. The league played a 96-game schedule.

The league is split into 2 divisions with a North and a South. The teams that made up the North Division were Calgary Vipers, Chico Outlaws, Edmonton Capitals, Lake County Fielders, and the Na Koa Ikaika Maui. The South Division was made up by the Edinburg Roadrunners, McAllen Thunder, San Angelo Colts, Rio Grande Valley White Wings, and the Yuma Scorpions.

Both divisions had good races with each division winner winning by only a game or two. In the North, the Edmonton Capitals (56-32) came out on top of the Calgary Vipers (53-33) by 2 games. Edmonton won the final two games of the season over Calgary by scores of 6-4 and 8-5 to take the division.

The South Division was even closer. The San Angelo Colts (52-36) won the division by 1 game over the Rio Grande Valley White Wings (51-37). Both teams limped into the playoffs losing their final 3 games of the season. Rio Grande Valley had a chance to take the division with San Angelo losing, but they failed to do so.

Playoffs

The top two teams in each division faced off in the first round to see who would advance to the championship round. With both teams limping into the playoffs, San Angelo squared off with Rio Grande Valley. After not being able to seize the division, Rio Grande Valley rattled off 4 straight victories over San Angelo to knock the Colts out of the playoffs. Only Game 1 was close with a score of 4-3. Rio Grande Valley ran away with the other 3 victories by scores of 13-3, 12-4, and 9-0.

San Angelo 3, Rio Grande Valley 4
San Angelo 3, Rio Grande Valley 13
Rio Grande Valley 12, San Angelo 4
Rio Grande Valley 9, San Angelo 0

The North Division playoffs was a bit better of a series with Edmonton winning in 6 games over Calgary. Calgary jumped out to a huge Game 1 win 9-3, but Edmonton bounced back with a 7-5 Game 2 victory.  In the sea-saw battle Calgary trounced Edmonton in Game 3 15-3, but that was all Calgary could manage. Edmonton would win Games 4, 5, and 6 to take the series.

Calgary 9, Edmonton 3
Calgary 5, Edmonton 7
Edmonton 3, Calgary 15
Edmonton 14, Calgary 7
Edmonton 12, Calgary 6
Calgary 2, Edmonton 9

In the first ever North American Baseball League Championship, the Edmonton Capitals took on the Rio Grande Valley White Wings. The series only lasted 5 games with Edmonton taking the first ever North American Championship title.

Former Colorado Rockies catcher J.D. Closser led the way for Edmonton on the offensive end. Closser hit .421 with 2 home runs, 13 RBIs, and 10 walks in the 11 games of the playoffs. Steve Brown chipped in with a .400 average with 3 home runs and 9 RBIs. Brent Matheny went nuts in the playoffs hitting 5 home runs in 10 games while hitting .359.

On the hill Lou Pote was outstanding. In 4 games started, Pote went 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA. Dallas Buck added 2 wins in 3 starts with a 2.87 ERA.

Rio Grande Valley 1, Edmonton 7
Rio Grand Valley 4, Edmonton 7
Edmonton 10, Rio Grande Valley 3
Edmonton 1, Rio Grande Valley 5
Rio Grande Valley 3, Edmonton 7

Regular Season League Leaders

Chico Outlaws second basemen Danny Gonzalez was named Rookie of the Year. Gonzalez hit .310 with 11 doubles and 27 RBI while playing some great defense up the middle of the diamond.

Edmonton Capitals outfielder Todd Linden was named Most Valuable Player after hitting .355 with 14 home runs and 79 RBI.

San Angelo Colts pitcher Chandler Barnard was named the Pitcher of the Year after leading the league in wins with 12 and finishing 2nd in ERA at 3.25.

David Peralta (RGV) led the league in hitting at .392 and hits with 133.  Finishing second was Jimmy Rohan (CAL) and Wilver Perez (CAL) both who hit .379.

Daryl Jones (SAN) led the league in home runs with 28 and RBI with 90. Cory Patton (SAN) finished 2nd behind teammate Jones with 25 while Landon Camp (SAN) finished 3rd with 24 to finish out the trifecta for San Angelo.

Eric Blackwell finished 1st in the league in ERA at 3.01.

A few new teams will join the league in 2012 including the Fort McMurray (Alberta, Calgary), the Henderson Roadrunners, and the San Rafael Pacifics.

For more information visit NorthAmericanLeague.com

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Press Release Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig and Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner announced today that MLB and the MLBPA have agreed to a five-year collective bargaining agreement that will allow play to continue uninterrupted through the 2016 season.

The announcement was made today at a joint press conference at Major League Baseball’s offices in New York City.  Commissioner Selig and Weiner were joined at the press conference by Rob Manfred, MLB’s Executive Vice President, Labor Relations and Human Resource; Tony Clark, Director of Player Relations for the MLBPA; and Major League players Andrew Bailey of the Oakland Athletics, free agent David Bush, Andrew Miller of the Boston Red Sox, and Carlos Villanueva of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The five-year agreement matches the previous labor contract, which is to expire on December 11, 2011, as the longest in baseball history.  By the end of the new contract, baseball will have gone 21 years without a strike or a lockout, which continues the longest period of labor peace the sport has had since the inception of the collective bargaining relationship.

”I am thrilled for the fans that the Clubs and the Players of Major League Baseball, together, have the opportunity to further build on our game’s unprecedented popularity,” Commissioner Selig said. “Labor peace has proven essential to the best interests of baseball and its millions of fans, who have attended our ballparks in historic numbers over the last eight years.  During this remarkable era, we have seen outstanding competitive balance, record business performance and a seamless transition to the new modes in which fans want to embrace our sport.  I truly believe the best is yet to come for the game we love.”

Weiner said: “I am proud to announce, on behalf of the MLBPA and its members, our new collective bargaining agreements with the Clubs – the Basic Agreement, Benefit Plan Agreement and Joint Drug Agreement. These agreements address nearly every facet of our collective bargaining relationship and will benefit all involved with our great game – players past, present and future; each of the 30 Clubs; and our legions of loyal and enthusiastic fans.  These agreements would not have been reached without the broad and personal involvement of our membership – roughly 250 different players attended at least one bargaining session – and without the dedication, leadership, determination and patience of the players on our negotiating committee.  Player engagement has long been the key to the MLBPA’s efforts; this generation of players was as engaged in the bargaining as much as any that I’ve been privileged to represent.”

Commissioner Selig said: “On behalf of Major League Baseball, we thank Michael Weiner, his colleagues, and all the players for their shared commitment.  I appreciate all of the hard work of Rob Manfred, Dan Halem and the Labor Relations staff, and I am especially grateful for the guidance of Arte Moreno and Jerry Reinsdorf, who devoted their time and expertise to representing the Clubs.  I believe that the diligence and creativity of all those who participated in this agreement will take our sport to new heights in the years ahead.”

Weiner added: “I thank Commissioner Bud Selig and his committee for their contributions to these successful negotiations.  I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank and commend Rob Manfred, Dan Halem and the LRD staff for their professionalism and their commitment to the collective bargaining process. “

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24-year-old Outfielder of Seattle Mariners stabbed to death on Monday morning

The baseball community worldwide mourns the death of 24-year-old Gregory Halman, an outfielder of the Seattle Mariners. The police and family confirmed that he died on Monday morning following an alleged stabbing at a house in Rotterdam, Netherlands. His brother got arrested by police for questioning. The full circumstances of the tragedy are still under investigation.

Gregory Anthony Halman was born on August 26, 1987 in Haarlem, Netherlands. After beginning his baseball career in Holland and making his debut in the Dutch Hoofdklasse at the age of 16, he was signed by the Seattle Mariners as an amateur free agent in 2004. He moved up through the minor league system until reaching Major League Baseball with the Mariners in September of 2010. Since then he appeared in 44 games, batting .207/.233/.302 with two homeruns.

Ten days ago Halman was part of a group of Major League players touring Amsterdam, Utrecht, Prague and Parma in the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Italy on invitation of Rick van den Hurk’s European Big League Tour and holding baseball clinics for kids from all over Europe.

Riccardo Fraccari, president IBAF and FIBS: “This is terrible news for the whole baseball community. It’s really sad and it’s really terrible the way it happened. We mourn for him and respect his family’s sorrow”

Massimo Fochi, Vice President Italian Baseball and Softball Federation (FIBS): “I cannot believe it. I met personally Greg on Saturday November 12th in Parma, where he was with the European Big League Tour. He was a great guy and the most appreciated by the kids. His passing away is really painful”.

Robert Eenhoorn, Technical Director Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association (KNBSB): “It’s a tremendous tragedy for everybody, but our thoughts go especially to his family and the way they need to cope with this”.

Courtesy IBAF.org

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The Technical Commission of the Confederation of European Baseball announced the approved schedule for the 2012 European Championship in Rotterdam, Haarlem and Utrecht, Netherlands on Friday. The tournament will be played from September 7 to 16, 2012.

No change to the format in comparison to the 2010 edition in Germany. After a preliminary round robin, the top three teams in each pool move up into the second round, which again will be played in a round-robin format. The top two teams will play in the championship game.

Italy is the defending champion after defeating the Netherlands in the Gold Medal Game in Stuttgart in the summer of 2010. Germany finished in third place, Greece in fourth.

Pools:

Pool A
Italy
Greece
Sweden
Spain
Croatia
Russia

Pool B
Netherlands
Germany
France
Czech Republic
Belgium
Great Britain

Schedule:
Preliminary round

Friday 7-sep-12.
1. Haarlem 14:00. ESP-GRE
2. Utrecht 14.00. SWE-RUS
3. Rotterdam 14.00. CZE-GER
4. Utrecht 19:30. FRA-GBR
5. Haarlem 19:30. CRO-ITA
6. Rotterdam 19:30. BEL-NED

Saturday 8-sep-12.
7. Haarlem 14:00. RUS-ESP
8. Utrecht 14:00. GER-BEL
9. Rotterdam 14:00. GRE-CRO
10. Utrecht 19:30. GBR-CZE
11. Haarlem 19:30. ITA-SWE
12. Rotterdam 19:00. NED-FRA

Sunday 9-sep-12.
3. Utrecht 14:00. FRA-BEL
14. Rotterdam 13:00. NED-CZE
15. Haarlem 14:00. SWE-CRO
16. Rotterdam 19:30. GER-GBR
17. Haarlem 19:30. ITA-ESP
18. Utrecht 19:30. GRE-RUS

Monday 10-sep-12.
19. Utrecht 14:00. CRO-RUS
20. Rotterdam 14:00. SWE-ESP
21. Haarlem 14:00. FRA-CZE
22. Utrecht 19:30. BEL-GBR
23. Haarlem 19:30. ITA-GRE
24. Rotterdam 19:30. NED-GER

Tuesday 11-sep-12.
25. Rotterdam 14:00. GER-FRA
26. Utrecht 14:00. ESP-CRO
27. Haarlem 14:00. GRE-SWE
28. Utrecht 19:30. CZE-BEL
29. Haarlem 19:30. RUS-ITA
30. Rotterdam 19:30. GBR-NED

Classification ranking 7th – 12th
Wednesday 12-sep-12.
31. Utrecht 14:00. 4A – 4B *
32. Haarlem 14:00. 5A – 5B *
33. Rotterdam 14:00. 6A – 6B *

2nd Round
Thursday 13-sep-12.
34. Haarlem 14:00. A2 – B3
35. Haarlem 19:30. A1 – B2
36. Rotterdam 19.30 A3 – B1

Friday 14-sep-12.
37. Rotterdam 14:00. B2 – A3
38. Rotterdam 19.30 B1 – A2
39. Haarlem 19.30 B3 – A1

Saturday 15-sep-12.
40. Haarlem 14:00. A3 – B3 *
41. Haarlem 19:30. A2 – B2 *
42. Rotterdam 19:00 A1 – B1 *

Final
Sunday 16-sep-12.
43. Rotterdam 13:00. #1 – #2

*Home team to be decide by draw of lot

If the Netherlands qualifies for the 2nd round their games will be played in Rotterdam at 19.30, except on Saturday 15th when the game starts at 19.00.

If Italy qualifies for the 2nd round their games will be played in Haarlem at 19.30 except the game versus the Netherlands which will be played in Rotterdam.

Courtesy IBAF.org

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Colombian-born MLB pitcher Julio Alberto Teheran was in the slum areas of Cartagena to launch “Beisbol por la Paz”, a program that aims to prevent juvenile delinquency in Cartagena and Medellin.

Cartagena de las Indias-Colombia On Friday 11/18 the city of Cartagena in Colombia hosted the launch of “Beisbol por la paz”. The 3-year program (in English Baseball for Peace) aims to bring structure and supervision into the lives of marginalized young people from 8 to 16 years old drawn to violence and street gangs in two of the most unsafe cities in Colombia.
The program is led by the Colombian (Federaciòn Colombiana de Beisbol) and the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), in collaboration with Peace and Sport, L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport (in English: “The organization for peace through sport”) with the support of Major League Baseball (MLB), Ecopetrol, Kenko, Grupo Internacional de la Paz andFundauniban.

Psychosocial professionals and sports educators will work hand in hand to teach vulnerable young girls and boys respect for the Rules of the Game, both in baseball and in society. As part of the program, the specific dynamics between baseball players and the intrinsic values of the sport will be used as educational vehicles to spread messages of tolerance, dignity, self-esteem and non-violent confrontation necessary to lead a better life and foster a culture of peace.
Ultimately, the program’s methodology aims to reduce violence and juvenile delinquency, increase youngsters’ resilience and facilitate reconciliation between communities that are victims of armed gangs.

Julio Alberto Teheran launched the program as a Champion for Peace, the name given to a group of over 60 international athletes committed to serve peace in the world through sport, an initiative created by Peace and Sport.
Teheran was born in 1991 and grew up in Cartagena’s slums, he signed his first professional contract in 2008 for the Atlanta Braves as an undrafted free agent. He pitched 6 games in his first season at the Rookie Level and 7 the year after. In 2010 he worked his way up to Double A, where he was voted a League All Star, participated in the Futures All Star Game and tagged as a top prospect. Considered the number 1 prospect of the Atlanta organization, he started 24games for the Gwinnet Braves of the AAA International League in 2011 and made his debut in the Big Leagues on May 7th.

Talking about “Beisbol por la Paz”, Julio Teheran said:  “I am extremely proud and happy to inaugurate this project today. Baseball has brought me so much in life, enabling me to live from my passion, to be recognized by many and to be the person I am today having fully integrated baseball’s values in my daily life. It is a great pleasure to now be able to give back to society and especially to my country through the game.”

Joel Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, declared: “The presence of such a champion as Julio at the launch of ‘Beisbol por la Paz’ is crucial to the program’s success. He knows how to communicate his passion for baseball to children and show them all that this sport has brought him on a personal level. This is the best source of inspiration you could ever dream of for these kids who need role models and new benchmarks in life.”

Riccardo Fraccari, IBAF President said: “Beyond the sporting values related to the game, IBAF and the game of baseball can also play a role in civic education, socialization and citizenship. We are extremely pleased to contribute to this program that will change the lives of hundreds of young people in vulnerable situations in Colombia.”

Beisbol por la Paz is also supported by baseball legend and Champion for Peace Edgar Renteria.
The program will be implemented in 5 youth centres/clubs in Medellin and Cartagena. Designed as a pilot project, it will be duplicated and transformed into a national program called ‘Beisboleritos’ by the Colombian Baseball Federation with the support of the organization “Grupo Internacional de la Paz” at a later stage.

Peace and Sport and IBAF signed a partnership in 2010 to pioneer activities promoting reconciliation, dialogue and social stability in the most volatile countries through baseball. The “Beisbol por la Paz” program is the first fruit of this partnership

Courtesy IBAF.org

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Gauchos shut out Ecuador 5-0 in Gold Medal Game

Argentina has won the X South American Baseball Championship at the Ezaiza National Stadium in Buenos Aires. They shut out Ecuador 5-0 in the Gold Medal Game on Saturday to capture the title. Federico Tanco pitched a complete game in the rain to lead the way. Jacinto Cipriota was the main player on offense, highlighting his performance with a two-run triple in the eighth.

It is the second South American title for Argentina after winning in 2004. Brazil finished in third place after beating Chile 10-0 in the Bronze Medal Game on Saturday morning. Already on Friday Peru had stopped Bolivia 5-2 to end up in fifth place. The next South American Championship is scheduled for 2012 in Santiago de Chile.

Final Standings:
1) Argentina
2) Ecuador
3) Brazil
4) Chile
5) Peru
6) Bolivia

Individual Awards:
Best Catcher: Jean Delgado (Ecuador)
Best First Baseman: Ignacio Castro (Chile)
Best Second Baseman: David Rosario (Ecuador)
Best Third Baseman: Gabriel Sansó (Argentina)
Best Shortstop: Javier Sommerville (Chile)
Best Left Fielder: Diego Pérez (Ecuador)
Best Center Fielder: Daniel Shimura (Brazil)
Best Right Fielder: Mauricio Nagahashi (Argentina)

Most Runs Scored: David Rosario (Ecuador)
Most RBI: Jean Delgado (Ecuador)
Most Stolen Bases: Mauricio Nagahashi (Argentina)
Best Slugger: Jean Tome (Brazil)
Best Hitter: Ariel Frigo (Brazil) .563 AVG
Best Slugging Percentage: Ariel Frigo (Brazil) .875 SLG

Most Wins: Pablo Ossandon (Chile), 2 Wins
Best Earned Run Average: Jun Sato (Brazil) 0.00 ERA

Best Pitcher Finals: Federico Tanco (Argentina)
MVP of the Finals: Federico Tanco (Argentina)

Courtesy IBAF.org

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SOUTH KOREA – The newest addition to the KBO unveiled their new uniforms, and they are quiet good.

The NC Dinos will play in Changwon and begin play in 2013. Owned by software make NCsoft, makers of the highly popular online game Lineage, won the rights to the newest franchise earlier this year.

The colors of the uniform will be ocean blue and metallic gold.

NC Dino Uniforms

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This weeks video comes to us courtesy of the Baseball Prospectus Up and In Podcast. I am an avid listener since finding the podcast recently and in episode 72 Kevin Goldstein and Jason Parks talk about the new Cuban sensation Yoenis Cespedes.

Cespedes is now a free agent after having defected from Cuba and will be looking to auction his services off to a MLB club very soon. He is a highly hyped, and rightfully so, MLB prospect that will make an impact on a big league team very soon.

To help with the hype, a video was made to showcase his talents and its quite good. It is a long video but I recommend you watch the entire thing.

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Need to find some info on a stadium you are going to visit? This is the place to go. The guys over at Stadium Journey have put together an amazing list of stadiums that get reviewed. Whether it is a MLB stadium, minor league stadium, college park, or even if you want to check out a football, basketball, or soccer game they have the stadium covered.

The list of places reviewed is impressive, and they continue to add stadiums on a daily basis from all over the world.

They also released their very first issue of Stadium Journey Magazine which will be a bi-monthly publication.  Their first issue focuses on the South Eastern Conference but you can be assured that they will be covering issues you’ll want to know about.

So head on over to StadiumJourney.com and check out the reviews. You can ask questions and find all sorts of info on different stadiums around the world. You can find them on Facebook and Twitter as well.

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Dirk Hayhurst, pitcher and author, is releasing his 2nd book in February titled Out of My League.

Hayhurst has spent time in the minors with the Padres, Blue Jays and Rays. He missed the entire 2010 season after having surgery and returned to AAA in 2011 starting 11 games. Mostly a relief pitcher, Dirk wrote a book a few years back about life in the minors called the The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran. It received rave reviews and he has since said he will publish a series of 3 books. Fans only have to wait a few more months for the 2nd of those 3.

Due out at the end of February,pre-order here, the 2nd book deals with Dirk’s time in the majors. He spent a season with San Diego and Toronto in the majors and now he tells tales about those days.

If you haven’t read the The Bullpen Gospels: Major League Dreams of a Minor League Veteran, I highly recommend it. It’s a great entertaining read.

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With most of the baseball over (there are some excellent winter leagues that we will continue to cover), we will be taking a look back at all of the leagues throughout the world. We will be starting with the independent leagues in the USA and then continue to climb the ladder of baseball in the States and all over the world.

Now let’s get this started.

The Pecos League was a new league for the 2011 season. Six teams competed throughout New Mexico and Texas for the inagural crown. The teams included the Roswell Invaders (perhaps with the greatest uniforms of all time?), White Sands Pupfish, Ruidoso Osos, Alpine Cowboys, Las Cruces Vaqueros, and the Carlsbad Bats.

The six teams played a shortened season (70 games in 2012) starting in May and lasting through mid August.

The Roswell Invaders, led by manager of the year Chris Paterson, took 2-of-3 from the Ruidoso Osos in the finals to win the first Pecos League crown.

With six teams only four teams made the playoffs. Roswell finished with the best record in the league at 47-27. They were led by some of the better hitters in the league as well. Clifton Thomas, named league MVP, was near the top of the league in batting average at .369. He was also tied for 4th in home runs with 9, 2nd in RBIs with 61, and 2nd in hits with 94.

Thomas had a lot of help though. Catcher Adrian Martinez hit .321/7/46 and outfielder Trivon Howard hit .302/1/29 with 34 stolen bases.

On the hill Roswell was led by pitchers Reed Brown (4.52 ERA) and Josh Grady (5.55 ERA) who both tied for the league lead in wins with identical 7-2 records. Anthony Carrillo (3.93 ERA) led the league in saves with 6.

Playoffs

In the first round of the playoffs, Roswell faced off with 4th place finisher Alpine. Roswell took the first game in a huge way winning 19-4 but failed to put Alpine away in game 2 of the best-of-3 series losing 6-5. Then in dramatic fashion the Invaders advanced to the finals with an 11-9 win in 10 innings. With 1 out and  a runner at 2nd, Brian Ramirez a 1-2 pitch and deposited it over the fence for a home run, a walk-off series winner.

Roswell 19, Alpine 4
Alpine 6, Roswell 5
Roswell 11, Alpine 9
Roswell advances with 2-1 series win

In the other first round match up, Ruidoso (2nd place) took on White Sands (3rd place). Ruidoso made quick work of White Sands winning the series in 2 games closing them out 7-0 in Game 2

Ruidoso 8, White Sands 6
White Sands 0, Ruidoso 7
Ruidoso advances with 2-0 series win

The top two teams of the regular season faced off with one another in what turned out to be a good finals. Ruidoso won Game 1 5-3 but Roswell bounced back in Game 2 winning 7-1 to force a decisive final Game 3. The final game turned out to be a good one with Ruidoso jumping out to an early 1-0 lead after a half inning on a Jason Hyland home run (2nd of the playoffs). But Roswell would bounce back in the bottom of the 6th inning to take the lead 2-1 on a Clifton Thomas 2-run home run.

However, the 1-run lead was short-lived as Ruidoso came back in the top of the 7th to tie the game at 2. Kip Masuda reached first after the 3rd strike got away from the catcher. He advanced to 2nd on a sacrifice bunt and then scored the tying run on a Sean Proni single.

But in strong fashion, Roswell quickly regained the lead for good in the bottom of the 7th. Brian Ramirez doubled with 1 out and scored on a Brycen Bell single. The Invaders got an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th on a Josh Cakebread sacrifice fly. Josh Grady finished the game earning the save pitching 2 innings after being a starter for most of the season.

Clifton Thomas led the Invaders in the playoffs like he did all year long hitting .464 with 1 home run, 1 triple, 2 doubles, and 13 hits in the 6 playoff games. He also drove in 9 runs.

Roswell 3, Ruidoso 5
Ruidoso 1, Roswell 7
Roswell 4, Ruidoso 2
Roswell wins 1st Pecos League Title

Final Standings:
Pecos League

The Pecos League will be back in 2012 but will have a few changes. The Ruidoso Osos and the Carlsbad Bats will not return in 2012. To replace these two teams, the league has added the Sante Fe Fuego and crossing into a third state in Colorado, the Trinidad Triggers.

The 2012 season looks like it will be an exciting one with the additions of the new teams in the league. The league will continue to develop talent. During the 2011 season the league placed 43 players with higher independent and affiliated teams.

For more information, visit the leagues website at PecosLeague.com

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PENSACOLA – The new Southern League AA-Affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds will combine the colors and textures of the Florida Gulf Coast with the unveiling of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos new logo.

Neon red, a first for a sports team in honor of the neon signs that illuminate Pensacola Beach, Gulf Coast royal, Blue Angel navy (the Navy’s Blue Angels are stationed in Pensacola), and Tin Roof tin will make up the colors of the new team.

The team worked with countless locals including staff, fans, and community leaders to create a team logo that would embody the spirit of Pensacola and the entire Emerald Gulf Coast.

The Blue Wahoos will play in the new$52 million Maritime Park which is scheduled for completion in January 2012.

Maritime Park Pensacola

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The Pecos League, an independent baseball league in the US, will be having a tryout camp on December 4th in Riverside, California.

The Pecos League has teams in the New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado.

Details for the tryout:

December 3rd 11AM PST
La Sierra University,4500 Riverwalk Parkway
Riverside, Ca 92515
This camp is for the White Sands Pupfish and will be conducted by manager Chris Paterson - Chris.Paterson AT pecosleague.com

For more information visit PecosLeague.com

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