Major leagues: August 2009 Archives

Revs pitcher Dave Gassner (pictured above during spring training) announced his retirement today. He has left the team to return home to Wisconsin. The Purdue graduate and former Minnesota Twins pitcher had an up-and-down career with York. One of the few bright spots (3.06 ERA) on a club that struggled in the first half last season, Gassner earned a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox.

But this year, a muscle strain near his neck caused him to be ineffective in his final starts of the season. He went 4-12 with a 5.59 ERA. He struck out 64 and walked 39. He allowed at least four runs in five of his final six appearances. Demoted to the bullpen under new manager Andy Etchebarren, Gassner made one relief appearance before he left the club.

It will be interesting to see what career path Gassner pursues. A Purdue graduate, he could find work outside of baseball, in a job that would allow him to stay close to his family -- including two young daughters. Although soft spoken, he offered insight into the game. But coaching jobs will no doubt be an option for him. After signing with the Red Sox last season, a Division I college offered him a job as their pitching coach.

Revs pitching coach Tippy Martinez missed Monday's game and will not be in York Tuesday because he is filming an interview with former major league catcher Tim McCarver.

Martinez is being interviewed for a segment on former Yankees catcher Thurman Munson (pictured above with Somerset Patriots skipper Sparky Lyle).

Martinez and Munson played together in New York for parts of three seasons (1974-76) before he joined the Orioles in a trade. Munson played with the Yankees from 1969-79. He died Aug. 2, 1979 when the plane he piloted crashed about 1,000 feet short of the runway at Akron-Canton Airport.

From the press release: The Newark Bears are proud to announce that the contract of outfielder Tike Redman (pictured above early in his career) was purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Redman becomes the 13th member of the record-setting Newark Bears who has been picked up by a major league affiliate this season.

Redman is a major league veteran who has played for both the Pittsburgh Pirates (2000-2001, 2003-2005) and the Baltimore Orioles (2007). Redman sports a career batting average of .281 in the big leagues. This season, Redman played 74 games with the Newark Bears, and he was batting .292 with 49 runs scored, 7 doubles, 5 homeruns, 36 runs batted in, and 10 stolen bases.

Blogger's note: This is the second time Redman has earned a contract with a major league organization by playing in the Atlantic League. After playing with the inaugural Revs club in 2007, he earned a contract with the Orioles and ended the season in the major leagues.

Andy Etchebarren (pictured above with Brooks Robinson, left, and Dave McNally) wanted to keep managing after the Orioles cut ties with him before the 2008 season. His entrance in the Atlantic League came when he called Robinson, a teammate and friend from the 1966 World Series club.

Robinson, who is a member of the Revolution's ownership group, suggested he take a coaching job with Southern Maryland. York decided to turn to Etchebarren to manage the Revolution now, and bring him back in 2010.

We discuss the Revs' hiring Andy Etchebarren to finish the season as York's manager.

Blogger's note: This is a story that originally appeared in the Daily Record/Sunday News in 2008.

Baseball saved Andy Etchebarren's life once.

Finished as a player and finished as a coach -- or so he thought -- he was driving to the golf course for the third or fourth time one week, when he stopped his car and asked himself what he was doing.

Is golf the only reason why he should crawl out of bed in the morning?

Andy Etchebarren, 66, the former Orioles catcher and the current bench coach for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, is expected to be announced as the next manager for the York Revolution, according to Opening Day Partners President Jon Danos.

Danos expects Etchebarren to manage his first game for York when the Revolution return to Sovereign Bank Stadium against the Long Island Ducks Friday.

Danos also confirmed Revs Director of Baseball Operations Adam Gladstone has been "relieved of his duties." Gladstone had been responsible for signing all of York's players, dating back to the club's first season in 2007.

Etchebarren will now be in charge of signing all of York's players, Danos said.

By the end of this week, the Revolution ownership group -- Opening Day Partners -- hopes to make a decision about who will manage the club. The decision to stick with interim manager Sam Snider or look elsewhere could determine what direction the franchise takes during the next year.

When Southern Maryland's Kenny Rayborn tossed eight innings of one-hit baseball at Sovereign Bank Stadium earlier this summer, it got us thinking: Whatever happened to all those players who tossed no-hitters for and against York's professional baseball teams?

Most never reached the majors. And those who did, often burned out with arm injuries. Of the 15 pitchers to record no-hitters for and against professional franchises in York, Steve Arlin might have the most interesting stories. A rising-prospect in the Phillies farm system in 1967, he was one of four pitchers during that year to toss a no-hitter against the hapless White Roses -- one of the worst teams in Eastern League history.

Selected by the Padres in the expansion draft, Arlin never experienced much success in the majors. He posted a 34-67 career record, and only once posted a winning record during a season -- his 1-0 mark in 1970 didn't exactly turn heads. Yet he could dominate at times. On several occasions in the big leagues, he flirted with no-hitters. But he never matched his effort in 1972 when he took a no-hitter into the bottom of the ninth with two outs against the club that drafted him -- the Phillies. Denny Doyle, a slap-hitting second baseman, broke up the no-hit bid.

Here's a look back at York's no-no list:

York acquired former Mets reliever Juan Padilla in a trade with New Hampshire of the independent Can-Am League for future considerations. Padilla (0-1, 2.76 ERA) had 17 saves in New Hampshire.

Padilla returns to York after going 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA and two saves for the second-half champions last season. Recovering from arm surgery last season, Padilla improved as the season progressed and he threw more innings.

The move to re-acquire Padilla illustrates how difficult a season it has been for the Revs. Padilla is the 45th player and 23rd pitcher activated by the club this season -- both qualify for franchise records. Even the 2007 expansion club didn't use as many players as this year's squad.

P.J. Rose (pictured above) knocked in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 12th with a sacrifice fly to plate Kennard Jones in an 11-10 victory against the Camden Riversharks at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

Knowing a sac fly would win the game, Rose joked that he went to the plate just hoping to see a ball and "put it into the pasture."

He went 3-for-6, knocking in three runs and scoring two runs. He homered, doubled and singled. And the ball seemed to be jumping off his bat as he pulled one ball over the right field fence and another three-quarters of the way up the right-field fence. The reason for his recent hot streak? His dad, hit king Pete Rose.

Blogger's note: The following is a version of a story reported for the Thursday edition of the Daily Record/Sunday News.

Chris Hoiles said he felt no pressure from the York Revolution's front office or the team's ownership group to step down as manager. The decision was his alone, one last maneuver to motivate a last-place club.

"I believe in this club and its potential," Hoiles said in a telephone interview. "I didn't feel I was getting the most out of them. I felt there was plenty of time left in the season, and this move might help the team make a move. That's the reason why I did it now."

The Revolution are 33-63 under Hoiles this season, and York has started the second half 9-17 -- the worst record in the Atlantic League Freedom Division.

"It's entirely like he explained it, he's trying to give us a little spark," said York outfielder Jason Aspito, who played for Hoiles the last three seasons. "Right then and there that tells you how selfless he is.

"I'm going to miss him."