New York-Penn League Birthdays - March 8

Here is a list of former New York-Penn League prospects who were born on March 8. Click on the names to link to more information at Baseball Reference.

Credit: Topps Company

Jim Bouton (Auburn Yankees, 1959). Born in 1939. He pitched for 10 seasons in the major leagues (1962-70, '78) and was a best selling author (Ball Four).

Dick Allen (Elmira Pioneers, 1960). Born in 1942. Allen played 15 seasons in the major leagues and had 351 career home runs. He was inducted into the New York-Penn League Hall of Fame in 2016.

George Gerberman (Wellsville Braves, 1961). Born in 1942. Gerberman pitched in one major league game for the Chicago Cubs in 1962.

Jim Rice (Williamsport Red Sox, 1971). Born in 1953). Rice hit 382 career home runs during a 16 major league seasons and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. He was inducted into the New York-Penn League Hall of Fame in 2012.

Credit: Topps Company

Credit: Topps Company

Mickey Pina (Elmira Pioneers, 1987). Born in 1966. He played five seasons in the minor leagues.

Vladimir Perez (Little Falls Mets, 1988). Born in 1969. Perez pitched during 8 minor league seasons.

Jesus Pena (Erie Sea Wolves, 1995) Born in 1975. He pitched during two major league seasons for the Chicago White Sox (1999-2000) and Boston Red Sox (2000).

Ryan Freel (St. Catharines Blue Jays, 1995). Born in 1976. He played 8 seasons in the majors with the Toronto Blue Jay (2001), Cincinnati Reds (2003-08), Baltimore Orioles (2009), Chicago Cubs (2009), Kansas City Royals (2009).

Craig Stansberry (Williamsport Crosscutters, 2003). Born in 1982. He played for the San Diego Padres during three seasons (2007-09).

James Mayer (Hudson Valley Renegades, 2006-07). Born in 1984. Mayer played three seasons in the minor leagues.

Tommy Pham (Batavia Muckdogs, 2007). Born in 1988. Pham is beginning his sixth season in the majors. He has played for the St. Louis Cardinals (2014-18) and the Tampa Bay Rays (2018-present).

Nick Merullo (Aberdeen IronBirds, 2014). Born in 1992.

Source: Baseball Reference

NY-Penn League News and History is not affiliated in any way with Minor League Baseball, the New York-Penn League or any of its teams

Birthdays on March 7

Here is a list of former New York-Penn League prospects and one umpire who were born on March 7. Click on the names to link to more information at Baseball Reference.

Credit: Topps Co.

Galen Cisco (Corning Red Sox, 1958). Born in 1936. He pitched 7 seasons in the majors with the Boston Red Sox (1961-62, '67), New York Mets (1962-65), and Kansas City Royals (1969).

Art DeFilippis (Geneva Senators, 1970). Born in 1952. He went 9-2 with a 1.61 ERA for Geneva in 1970 and led the NYPL in pitching winning percentage (.818). He pitched 9 seasons in the minor leagues.

Dan Penale (NYPL umpire, 1973-74). Born in 1953. Penale umpired in the Midwest League (1975-76), Southern League (1977-78), and American Association (1978-1981).

Todd Heimer (Batavia Trojans, 1977). Born in 1955. He played five seasons in the minor leagues.

Mauro "Goose" Gozzo (Little Falls Mets, 1984). Born in 1966. Gozzo pitched six seasons in the majors with the Toronto Blues Jays (1989), Cleveland Indians (1990-91), Minnesota Twins (1992), and New York Mets (1993-94).

Credit: Trading Card Database

Jeff Kent (St. Catharines, 1989). Born in 1968. Kent played 17 seasons in the major leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays (1992), New York Mets (1992-96), Cleveland Indians (1996), San Francisco Giants (1997-2002), Houston Astros (2003-04) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2005-08).

Calvin Chipperfield (Oneonta Tigers, 1999). Born in 1978. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 14th round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft and played five seasons in the minor leagues.

Rudy Pena (Lowell Spinners, 1998). Born in 1979. Pena played eight seasons in the minor leagues and one season in an independent league.

Taylor Tankersley (Jamestown Jammers, 2004). Born in 1983. Tankersley pitched four season for the Florida Marlins (2006-08, '10).

Scott Mitchinson (Batavia Muckdogs, 2005; Williamsport Crosscutters, 2007). Born in 1984. He pitched six seasons in the minors before returning home to play seven seasons in the Australian Baseball League (2012-present).

Joel Carreno (Auburn Doubledays, 2009). Born in 1987. Carreno pitched in a total of 22 games for the Toronto Blue Jay (2011-12).

Source: Baseball Reference

NY-Penn League News and History is not affiliated in any way with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League or any of its teams

On this date: March 6, 1963

Former Erie Sailors pitcher Jim Merritt impresses Minnesota Twins' manager Sam Mele in Spring Training in Florida.

Merritt went 19-8 with a 3.67 ERA in 35 games in 1962 at Erie. He went on to an 11 year career in the major leagues with the Minnesota Twins (1965-68), Cincinnati Reds (1969-72), and Texas Rangers (1973-75). See his complete stats at this link.

Source: Newspapers.com

 References: Newspapers.com;  Baseball Reference

NY-Penn League News and History is not affiliated in any way with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League or any of its teams

March 6 Birthdays

Here is a list of former New York-Penn League prospects and managers who were born on March 6. Click on the names to link to more information at Baseball Reference.

Nestor Velazquez (Erie Sailors, 1960). Born in 1940. He died on July 31, 2014. Velazquez played 13 seasons in the minor leagues.

Mike Cook (Batavia Trojans, 1968). Born in 1947. He died on June 23, 2013. Cook played five seasons in the minor leagues.

Photo Credit: Trading Card Database

Dave Bialas (Staten Island Yankees manager, 2016). Born in 1954. Bialas played 10 seasons in the minor leagues and served as bullpen coach for the San Diego Padres (1993-94) and Chicago Cubs (1995-96). He served as the Cubs third base coach in 2002 and was the Cubs' minor league field coordinator (2003-11) and the Atlanta Braves minor league coordinator in 2013.

Doc Brummer (Elmira Pioneers, 1979). Born in 1958. Brummer played three seasons in the minor leagues.

Glen Franklin (Jamestown Expos, 1978). Born in 1958. He played seven years in the minor leagues.

Joe Hall (Hamilton Redbirds, 1988). Born in 1966. He played three seasons in the major leagues with the Chicago White Sox (1994) and Detroit Tigers (1995, '97).

Anthony Telford (Newark Orioles, 1987). Born in 1966. Telford played nine seasons in the major leagues with the Baltimore Orioles (1990-91, '93), Montreal Expos (1997-2001), and Texas Rangers (2002).

Photo Credit: Trading Card Database

Richard Negrette (Watertown Indians, 1995). Born in 1976. He played seven seasons in the minor leagues.

Cristhian Martinez (Oneonta Tigers, 2004, '06). Born in 1982. He played five seasons in the major leagues with the Florida Marlins (2009) and the Atlanta Braves (2010-13).

Esequier Pie (Jamestown Jammers, 2006). Born in 1984. He played three years in the minor leagues.

Francisco Cervelli (Staten Island Yankees, 2006). Born in 1986. He has played 11 seasons in the majors league with the New York Yankees (2008-14) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (2015-present).

Domingo Acevedo (Staten Island, 2015, rehab 2018). Born in 1994. He has played six seasons in the minor leagues.

Edmundo Sosa (State College Spikes, 2014). Born in 1996. He is in his second season with St. Louis Cardinals.

Photo Credit: Trading Card Database

Source: Baseball Reference

NY-Penn League News and History is not affiliated in any way with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League or any of its teams

What's on deck at NY-Penn League News and History

Author's photo, Spring Training 2019

Twitter has made me a lazy blogger. It is so much easier to find something interesting to post with 280 characters or less. My goal moving forward is to blog more and tweet less. My plan is to post here and link to it with my Twitter account. I will also post everything from this site to my blog at WordPress (sorry about the advertising at that site, but it comes with the free blog account).

Now that my wife and I are back from our trip to Spring Training in Florida, I have several articles that are in the planning stages. They include:

a.) Spring Training in Florida (5 games in 5 days, unfortunately, there was one rainout);
b.) Recommended reading list if you are interested in learning more about Cuban baseball history;
c.) Several posts about the history of the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York (PONY) or New York-Penn League (NYPL) since 1957;
d.) A book review about a book claiming to be baseball "history" but is more appropriately "historical fiction".
e.) A look at former New York-Penn League prospects who are listed in the 2019 Baseball America Prospect Handbook.

Author's photo

 Check back soon and follow me at Twitter @NYPennNews

NY-Penn League News and History is not affiliated in any way with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League or any of its teams

In the Beginning....March 7, 1939

A new minor baseball league was formed at a meeting in Buffalo, New York on March 7, 1939. Originally known as the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York or PONY League with six teams located in Batavia, Jamestown, Niagara Falls, Olean (all located in New York), Bradford, Pennsylvania, and Hamilton, Ontario (Canada).

Credits: Dunkirk Evening Observer (March 8, 1939) via Newspaper.com

The PONY League changed its name to the New York-Penn League (NYPL) prior to the 1957 season and is now a 14 team league with teams located in eight states.

Designated as a Short Season Class A minor league, the NYPL will begin its 81st year of continuous operation on June 14, 2019. The 76 game schedule concludes on September 2 and is followed by four team playoff to determine the league champion. Ticket information is available for all 14 teams at the NYPL website. Link to it here.

See you at the ballpark.

NY-Penn League News and History is not affiliated in any way with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League or any of its teams

Smokey Burgess

Credits: The Topps Company via The Trading Card Database

Former Lockport Cubs prospect Smoky Burgess was born on this date in 1927 (died: September 15, 1991).

He batted .325 for Lockport in 54 games as a 17 year old PONY (NYPL since 1957) League rookie in 1944.

He played 18 years in the majors (1951-67) with the Chicago Cubs, Philadephia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox.

NY-Penn League News and History is not affiliated in any way with Minor League Baseball or the New York-Penn League or any of its teams