Article: This is The Season: 15 Thunder Pigs
Written By: Edward Nigma
For: Squamish Daily Free PressCelebrity guest announcer for The Season: 15 Thunder Pigs Season Opening Presser, Chuck Woolery, walks to the podium and asks for the crowds quiet so he may begin.Woolery:"Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, Scouts and Players, to Season 15, and welcome to Squamish Thunder Pigs baseball.
"For those of you who have been with the Thunder Pigs before, you know that we're committed to building on an already solid foundation of success. As always, we'd like to thank our returning players/scouts for their continued dedication to making this one of the best teams, and part of the what we hope will be the greatest franchise, in 2OR history.
"Without further adieu, I give you the Squamish Thunder Pigs 25 man roster!"
BATTERS1. SS Henry Skrimshander - Henry has been a staple on the Thunder Pigs roster. He's earned his full-time SS status, and has done everything we've asked of him over the past two seasons. An outstanding leader, and tough competitor, Henry exemplifies what it means to be a Thunder Pig.
2. 2B Oldie Olson - Oldie has been one of our biggest offensive producers to date. While he may not be much of a talker, he's a great team player, and gives definition to the term "Clutch".
3. 1B Paul Kerins - Paul has been our everyday 1B for the past two seasons. As the highest level member of the Thunder Pigs, we've grown to depend on his leadership on and off the field. While he will undoubtedly share time at 1B with Fuzzy this season, he will be a mainstay in the heart of our lineup.
4. DH/1B Fuzzy Callaghan - A new acquisition in the off-season before season 14, Fuzzy put up dominant stats in his first two years, and was a major catalyst throughout the playoffs on the road to our Championship victory. While Fuzzy has settled nicely into the role of DH, he will be called upon to expand his horizons on the defensive side of the ball this year.
5. C Moseph Johnson - Moseph earned a franchise player contract this year partially due to his ability at the plate, but mainly due to his ability behind the plate. As our full-time catcher, Moseph did no miss a game last season, and commanded our rotation and bullpen to an outstanding 145 - 15 record last season.
6. CF David McGowan - David is a player who took a major turn for us in the Thunder Pigs inaugural season. While he struggled early on, he was able to correct an issue with his approach at the plate, which has ultimately made him one of the most important bats in our offense. Also, David is our safety blanket in the outfield. It has been suggested that he is where fly balls go to die.
7. 3B Bugsy Hopkins - Another player who became a part of the Thunder Pigs in our inaugural season, Bugsy has been a defensive stalwart at 3B, and a juggernaut at the plate. Providing some serious muscle in the back half of the lineup, we expect this will be another stellar season from our star 3B.
8. RF Antwon Humphrey - Antwon is a new acquisition for Season 15. While on the Philadelphia Questions last year, he put up and impressive .341/.392/.518 slash line with over 200 hits on the season. We will be expecting big things from him this season as he will share the majority of playing time with our usual everyday RF, Ray Garraty.
9. LF Duncan Knobbs - Knobbs is another life long T-Pig who has been an invaluable asset as a lead-off hitter, and LF. He posesses all the right tools for the job, and will be another mainstay in the Thunder Pigs lineup this season. We look forward to seeing Duncan build on his previous successes this season.
BN1. RF Ray Garraty - While it's crazy to suggest that Garraty has been a quiet producer for the Thunder Pigs, it's easy to believe when he's matched up with the other players on this roster. Garraty has been an excellent player hitting in the bottom half of the order for the past two seasons, and is easily the everyday starting RF on almost any other team.
BN2. 1B Alex Hoover - A former Wolverine for a brief period of time, Alex Hoover comes to us as a developmental player for season 15. We're hoping to see a lot of growth from Alex as we help him build on his skills this year with the hopes of promoting him to a more prominent role within the organization in the future.
BN3. 3B Cody Clark - Cody is another new name and face to the franchise. He has definitely shown an ability to produce in past seasons, and we're hoping he will be a compliment to Alex on the other side of the infield when the time and opportunity presents itself.
*NOTE - Something horrible must have happened to Cody's face recently as we do not have a current picture of this player. Hopefully once he recovers he'll be able to give us an updated photo*ROTATION/BULLPENSP1. Anton Schlotkin - Tier D Red League's Cy Young winner comes back to us for season 15 with a greater challenge to face than he has ever had before. The star of our rotation will be looked toward for leadership through his play. We are hoping for continued success from Anton.
SP2. Ellis Redding - "The Redd Rocket" has been an absolute K machine for us in the past and we expect no less from him this season. We are all very excited to see what Ellis will be able to give us from the mound this season.
SP3. Bill Blazejowski - Bill comes to us from the Tier D Death Mountain Death Mountain Maniacs. While the Maniacs were not able to get it done against the Wolverines in semi-final round of the playoffs, Bill was a shining star in their rotation. We 're hoping for continued success from Bill and that he'll remain in the franchise for a good long time.
SP4. Jebediah Jenkins - Jeb has been another fireballer in seasons past and we expect a lot more of the same this season. As runner-up for the Tier D Red League's Cy Young award, we are blessed to have such a fantastic arm to take the mound for us in this power-house rotation.
SP5. Johnny Scalp Jr. - What do you say about a man like Johnny Scalp Jr. Since he signed on with the Thunder Pigs in their inaugural season, Johnny has taken on almost every conceivable role. When he was added to the back end of the rotation last season, he most certainly did not disappoint. We are glad to have him back this year and expect that he will only become more dominant has his career progresses.
CP. Wally Dingletree - Wally has been our closer now since the beginning, and has served us very well in that role. While there is usually quite a bit of flux in the bullpen, Wally has been a rock in the 9th, and will continue to serve us as our Closer.
LR. Sanjeev Ranatunga - Sanjeev came to us late in the inaugural season on the Thunder Pigs. While he has the ability to start, and will do so if the match up calls for it, he has been a prized posession of our bullpen. A former cricket bowler, he throws a bender like no other. Watch out for our Sri Lankan import in Season 15.
MR1. Scott Sangster - Another player who has stayed loyal to the Pigs into their third season, Sangster has been a key player in the success of our bullpen to date. We're excited to see the progression of his growth and are hoping to give him more responsibility as one of our elder statesmen in the bullpen.
MR2. Mark Langston - A relative unknown to the Thunder Pigs, Langston will be an exciting project this season as we monitor his development and find him the most opportune spot for him to succeed with the Thunder Pigs.
MR3. Jerrod Washburn - Jerrod comes to us as another longer term asset with Mark and John for Season 15. We're lookin forward to seeing what he can provide the team out of the bullpen.
MR4. John Halama - Another product of the mikelust system of baseball supremacy, Halama along with Langston and Washburn will be three big names to watch as the season progresses.
SU1. Sonny Sarsparilla - Sonny came to us last season as a long reliever and spot starter. He eventually became a regular starter last season, but has given way to some more veteran players for season 15. He will be vying for a starting role with Sanjeev and Johnny as the season progresses. Sonny has been a pleasant surprise in the Pigs lineup to date, and we expect big things from him in the future.
SU2. Jesus Ewing - Ewing is another new addition to the Thunder Pigs roster for Season 15. While he may come in as a development player this season, he posted outstanding numbers in Tier D and will play a very important role in seasons to come for the Thunder Pigs. We are certainly excited to see what this player can bring to the mound.
*NOTE - While the story is unconfirmed, we suspect Jesus and Cody were together when Cody's accident happened. It's our understanding that Jesus may have attempted to save Cody and may have also suffered the same fate, causing his photo to be rendered unavailable. We will update as soon as we have confirmation of updated photos from our players*Chuck Woolery wrote:I believe that concludes introductions for Season 15, many thanks to the scouts who made this possible. Lets work hard to contend this year and fight for a playoff berth. Lets all come together and continue building on the Squamish Thunder Pigs winning tradition!
GO PIGS GO!
Sorry bud, probably could have left it be. Point taken.
