Results tagged ‘ Charlotte Knights ’
Red Sox Sign 17-Year-Old Australian Pitcher
Sound the didgeridoo, the Red Sox have inked 17-year-old Australian southpaw, Daniel McGrath.
The ace pitcher was mulling over the decision to sign a pro contract or travel to the States to play college ball. The deal was reportedly made official at his Melbourne home in front of substantial gathering of Australian media.
One (unnamed) major league source stated that as many as 15 big league clubs were interested in the 6-foot-3 lefty whose fastball has been clocked at 91 mph. Fortunately for Boston, “Red Sox Nation” extends to Australia. The Sox happen to be McGrath’s boyhood team which swayed him to turn down more lucrative offers to sign with Boston.
McGrath is believed to have drawn the most interest from major league clubs of any Australian teenager in at least the past 10 years. (foxsports.com.au)
Can you imagine trying to scout a 13-year-old kid? Well, that’s exactly what Jon Deeble, the Red Sox scouting director for the Pacific region, did when he saw McGrath pitch four years ago. Fittingly, it was Deeble who represented Boston at McGrath’s signing Tuesday.
McGrath is scheduled to visit Fort Myers during Spring Training for roughly a week or so, but will return to Australia where he’ll graduate from high school in December (wonder if he has a hard time getting a date for the prom).
Some die-hard PawSox fans might be familiar with the name Shane Lindsay. For what it’s worth, the Australia native previously pitched for the Melbourne Aces (like McGrath recently did) and has spent part of the past two seasons pitching in the International League against the PawSox. First with Columbus (2010) and more recently with Charlotte (2011).
It’ll be some time before we see the Aussie here at McCoy Stadium, but he creates yet another intriguing minor league story for the Red Sox this season.
-AG
Monday’s News and Notes
Eli and the Giants did it again. (Chris O'Meara)
Today is not a fun day at McCoy Stadium. It has nothing to do with the fact that it’s Monday, but everything to do with the man pictured to the left. Short debates have been had here at the ballpark among co-workers as to whether or not last night’s loss was more deflating than the loss 0f 2007. As a guy with no ties to the Patriots, I’m trying to stay low, keep my mouth closed, and avoid eye contact with pretty much everyone.
As sad as I am that football season is officially over, the bright side is that we’re now even closer to the beginning of baseball season. It’s crazy to think that pitchers and catchers report on February 19 – that’s in 13 days! Speaking of which, looks like I’ll be out in Fort Myers for Spring Training March 18-24. I can’t wait to get out there, see the new facility, and start covering the team. I’ll be blogging daily and also conducting interviews to share here and at pawsox.com.
Here are some news and notes the I found interesting this morning:
- For the first time since 2008, the annual Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game will be played on Cape soil. This year’s “Mid-Summer Classic” will be at Whitehouse Field, home of the defending league champion Harwich Mariners. Recently the game has been hosted by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Sox once again invited the Cape League to Fenway this season, but the two sides couldn’t agree on a date that worked for both parties. Despite not hosting the All-Star Game, the Red Sox have declared Sunday, July 22, as Cape Cod Day at Fenway Park. The Cape League will hold the qualifying round of its Home Run Contest at Fenway that day.
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Emily and Brad didn't work out, but who knows, she might find love as the Season 8 Bachelorette (ABC)
The Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, and fellow members of the International League, are working towards a new ballpark in Charlotte’s Uptown area. The club has been looking for a new ballpark deal for years now, but various economic occurrences have delayed the project. Some good news for the Knights is that Mecklenburg County has tentatively approved spending $8 million on a new ballpark and will provide the land for the project. The city of Charlotte is now having talks about putting in somewhere between $6 million and $11 million. No matter the ballpark, I’m just hoping for an Emily Maynard sighting when we travel to Charlotte (her hometown).
- Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was the keynote speaker at a recent banquet to honor the participants in Major League Baseball’s Venezuela-Dominican Republic Showcase. According the redsox.com, “the event was held at the Mets complex in Boca Chica where 25 prospects from each country displayed their skills in front of more than 200 big league scouts in a series of drills that included the 60-yard dash along with infield, outfield and batting practice — before wrapping up with a six-inning game on Friday.”
- Fun fact of the day: after last night’s game in Indianapolis, 15 of the 46 Super Bowls have been played in a city with a minor league baseball club.
