Spawning Season, Part Three: More retirements...

On the heels of the retirements of Adam Heisler and Carlton Tanabe, two other Goldeyes have announced their retirements from baseball.

Willie Cabrera continued his stellar season after coming to Winnipeg from the Joplin Blasters midway through 2016; he wound up representing the Goldeyes at the American Association All-Star Game in St. Paul alongside David Rohm. Cabrera came as a fill-in for injured St. Paul Saints star Angelo Songco. Willie ends an 11-year career on a high-note with an American Association championship ring.

Much has been made elsewhere of the Goldeyes' key acquisitions from Joplin during 2016. Could they have won the championship without Willie Cabrera in the batting order and pitchers Winston Abreu and Victor Capellan? Perhaps the strongest argument in that case is Cabrera. He absolutely contributed at the plate: .318 batting avg., 17 HR and 77 RBI.

There is a long tradition of teams stocking up on key players in anticipation of a post-season run. The fact is, the Goldeyes didn't make the playoffs until the last day of the season. But when it came to getting a hired gun, Cabrera fit the bill and delivered as promised.

The last retirement to report could be perhaps the toughest to fill: LHP Eric Eadington. Despite having two Tommy John surgeries previously, Eadington proved to be a durable reliever that wound up being one of the most dominant lefties in the American Association. He was one of the reasons that The Fish were able to clinch a playoff spot and the championship. Here's a guy who probably could have been throwing in affiliated ball, but he came at the right time for Winnipeg.

Meet your 2016 American Association Champions!

It's been quite month for the Winnipeg Goldeyes: make the playoffs in the last day of the season, come back from a 2-1 deficit to beat St. Paul, and then they do it again, coming back from a 2-1 deficit to beat Wichita for the championship.

I thought I'd celebrate this win...after all, championship seasons don't come around often...with a special digital card set. This design will be used again, my hope is to do a complete league set in the off-season. Gentlemen, it's a been a pleasure to follow this amazon season!

2016 American Association/Can-Am All-Star Game Part 1: the Winnipeg connection

Got back from St. Paul yesterday, full credit to the St. Paul Saints organization, who collectively worked their asses off to make for a memorable two-day American Association/Can-Am All-Star event. CHS Field is a world-class facility and it was the perfect location to showcase the best players in indy ball. The North beat the South/Can-Am team 6-1, thanks in large part to an outstanding performance by MVP David Rohm. He's as reliable a hitter as they come, and Aug. 2 was no exception.

As one of the shooters in the Goldeyes' photo pool, my main goal of the trip was fairly simple: get as many shots of Rohm and Willie Cabrera (a late addition to the North All-Stars in place of injured Saint Angelo Songco) as possible. So I definitely had my lens pointed in their direction much of the time. At one point, while he was fielding, Rohm looked over at me as if to say "dude, quit it, I'm not even doing anything right now." I don't think David and Willie will be filing restraining orders against me just yet...they asked me to shoot several shots during pre-game and the home-run derby...but I won't push my luck much further...

Another highlight was seeing former Goldeyes Josh Mazzola and Luis Alen once again. Regardless of what jersey these gentlemen are wearing, they are two of the best ambassadors for the game the American Association could ask for.

More shots to come in the next few days. A big thanks to Paul McKeen, who came through with a 70-200 lens after I bounced mine off the concrete steps at Shaw Park a couple weeks ago (a casualty of Bark in the Park). Every lens has its own personality, and while I don't think I got my strongest shots at the All-Star event, I got by all right and that's all that matters. 

Also a big thanks to Kevin Luckow, Bill Tyler, leaders of the St. Paul tailgate crew. They were great hosts and it was fun to meet Steve Hamburger, Alonzo Harris Sr. and Will Alexander--a few of the all-star dads who also enjoyed a few hot dogs and beer just like the rest of us. Great, down to earth people who made the trip all the more enjoyable.

Dateline: St. Paul

The Northern Battery has ventured cross border deep into Saints territory for the American Association's All-Star Game at the fabulous CHS Field. The Goldeyes own David Rohm and Willie Cabrera will be representing the Northern Front on Tuesday night. Home run derby/Soul Asylum concert tomorrow night to start things off, should be a fun couple days of baseball, hot dogs and rocking in the free world!

Rohm has been as solid as they come for The Fish, while Cabrera was a fantastic mid-season addition from the Joplin Blasters. The latter Goldeye comes in as a replacement for the injured Angelo Songco, who was originally selected from the Saints. Still kind of surprising to see only two Goldeyes selected for the game, but it's a well-deserved honour for these two gentlemen. Looking forward to getting some great shots at CHS!