4th Edition
May 20th - May 26th
Check Out Inside
Page 26
Interview with
Zack Thornton Miles Head, INF
WITH
SavingsMade Easy...
EVERYDAY LOW PRICES myfood4less.com • ranchosanmiguelmarkets.com
Weekly Promotions: 2 Buck Mondays:
Where tickets, hot dogs, and sodas are only $2 each. SCAN Silver Sluggers Wednesdays:
Silver Sluggers members receive free admittance and all fans get to play Baseball Bingo sponsored by Food 4 Less. Thirsty Thursdays:
Fans can enjoy beer or soda for just $2 every Thursday until 8 p.m. (Excludes Opening Night) MetroPCS Sundays:
Visit MetroPCS on College Square to pick up your home run hill $1 ticket voucher. Sunday games in the first half of the season will begin at 2:09 p.m.
Table Of Contents 4
Alumni Association
7
Ports in the Community
8
Inside the 6-Man Rotation
14
Ports Roster
15
Visiting Team Rosters
16
Score Cards
20
Ports Bios
26
Zack Thornton Interview
31
Stadium Map
Game Promotions: 5/20 - Silly Bandz Giveaway, Bark In The Ballpark 5/25 - Muno from Yo Gabba Gabba Appearance Delta Charter School powered by Advanced Academics Inc.
5/26 - Michael Choice Bobblehead Giveaway Van De Pol Enterprises
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Stockton Ports Alumni Association 1957 Stockton Ports
1957 > Class C > 1957 California League Overall: 61-79 Scored 591 runs, Allowed 773 runs.
Affiliation: none or n/a Manager: Roy Partee Represented: Stockton, CA Ballpark: Billy Hebert Field (II) (Stockton, CA)
Player Highlight – Bill & Bucky Kahler (1957) As told by Gina Lusby – Granddaughter of Bill Kahler
“Bill Kahler was drafted into the Boston Red Sox in 1950 right out of San Mateo High School. What I read in the newspapers from 1950 that I still have to this very day is that Bill was top talent and received offers from every single one of 16 major league baseball clubs and opted to go with the Red Sox. My grandpa played for seven seasons batting his way through the different leagues progressing within the Red Sox organization. At season seven when his second daughter had now arrived he had to make the tough decision to focus on family and retire his baseball career.” “One day he received a call from Roy Partee, manager of the Stockton Ports saying, ‘I need some help. We need you to come back’. And so he did! Bill Kahler came back to the Ports at 1st base, and was able to play with his brother Bucky Kahler.”
Photo from L to R: Angelo (Chris) Colombo, Manny Ortega, Ben Gonzales, and Bill Kahler.
“It was once said that Bill Kahler and only one other player known to date by the name of Jim Keating hit the ball ‘OVER THE CLUBHOUSE’ at Billy Herbert Field, even though we know this is not something kept on record.”
“Growing up I did not have the opportunity to know my father, it was just my mom and I along with her parents in which are the Kahlers. Bill Kahler has not only been the most amazing grandfather that I could have ever hoped for, but he has truly been like a father to me through out my life. I look back at everything he has accomplished in his lifetime thus far and I am amazed!” “In later years, Bill Kahler was a scout for the Chicago White Sox. Over a 40-year period he refereed 8,500 high school & college football games. Bill & Bucky Kahler both were inducted into the San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame. All I can say is Bill Kahler is my mentor, my inspiration, what makes me try harder and not give up. He gives me my determination and what means to me the most, my family!”
Photo of Billy Hebert Field – Oak Park (Stockton, CA)
1957 Stockton Ports Roster William Arellanes, Librado Cesena, Angelo Colombo, William Davidson, Charlie Drummond, Joe Duffy, Dick Egan, Don Farber, Robert Geels, Benjamin Gonzales, Wade Hammond, Deverold Horton, James Johnson, Lawrence (Bucky) Kahler, William (Bill) Kahler, Orville Kime, Edward Knezevich, Joseph Lee, James Lewis, Jim Loepp, Richard Lubinski, Don Moitoza, Vincent Moreci, Frank Mullany, Martin Norman, Manuel Ortega, Henry Overin, Roy Partee (manager), Armando Perez, Dee Phillips, Donald Reed, Eugene Rodrick, John Roth, Robert Schurr, Raymond Scott, Alvin Spearman, Ray Steele, Charles Williams
Are you personally in contact with a Ports Alum? If so, tell us about it!
Contact Margaret Sacchet at (209) 644-1900 or msacchet@stocktonports.com.
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casey printing ad
Stockton Ports in the Community “The Stockton Ports baseball club is an extremely community-driven organization. Our goal is to not only raise funds for the Anchor Fund, but to also better the Stockton community by developing exciting events for children and adults to enjoy and take part in year-round with the Ports.” – Margaret Sacchet, Community Relations Manager
Challenger Little League Game Thursday, May 24 – 5:05 p.m. The Ports will be hosting the second annual Challenger Division Little League game at Banner Island Ballpark on May 24. Last year, participants from the Special Children’s Sports League took to the diamond with the Ports players for what some might say the highlight of their little league careers. It was the orange Tigers vs. the maroon Bulldogs. Each batter received an official introduction each time they took to the plate. All children participating had a chance at bat with help from their buddies and the Stockton Ports team. When pitcher A.J. Huttenlocker (2011 – photo above) was told that a hug from him had made a little girl’s day, he in turn said, “No, she made mine.” On May 24, gates will open at 5:05 p.m. with the little league game beginning at 5:35 p.m. The Ports will play the Visalia Rawhide at 7:05 p.m. Show your support for the Challenger Division & buy your tickets today!
Root Beer Float Day – Sunday, June 3 Presented by Midtown Optometry The Stockton Ports annual Root Beer Float Day is always a big hit with Ports fans! For only $6, the first 500 people will receive a specialty Ports mug. All proceeds from the event benefit the Ports Anchor Fund. Gates will open at 1:05 and Ports players will be scooping “bottomless” floats! All food products are donated by Super Store Industries & Sunnyside Farms. In 2011, the Ports raised over $2,000 for charity with your help! For more information on any Community Event, please contact Margaret Sacchet at 644-1900 or msacchet@stocktonports.com
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Inside the 6-man rotation By Nicole Loscavio
Zack Bayrouty talks with A’s Pitching Coordinator Gil Patterson: Zack Bayrouty: I want to talk about the 6-man rotation, is this is something that you’re pioneering? You’ve kind of joked that maybe you’re pioneering it a little bit – you said the guy who came up with the 5-man rotation in the time was kind of looked upon in a negative way, but now it’s commonplace. Why the 6-man rotation, what are its advantages, what are its disadvantages? Gil Patterson: I think in our case, we’re lucky enough to have six awfully good pitchers. And like you said, who knows if it’ll ever take off higher than this. But I believe in Japan, they kinda go on 6 or 7 day rotation when they start. But basically, it’s really because we had 6 guys who are awfully good. To a certain extent, we are trying to wean them away from worrying about how many pitches they throw, to just go out and pitch, and to go as hard as you can, for as long as you can. So with that in mind, you still have to be conscious of the workload. So we figured now at 23 starts as opposed to 28 on the 5-man, they can still get enough appearances and enough innings to keep them healthy, and still experience the learning process of developing. So, you know, we really don’t know how long it’s gonna last, or if it is gonna last for the full season; but with the six arms we have, we felt very lucky, and instead of piggy-backing somewhat, we decided to go with the 6-man. Zack Bayrouty: You mentioned the other day in passing that you also hope this is gonna free up pitchers’ midsets, as far as how many bullets they have left in a given outing. Does this maybe increase the pitch count on any given occasion for any of these guys? Gil Patterson: In general yes it does; when Webby [Webster Garrison] and Lefty [Craig Lefferts] think you should come out of the game, whether you have 56, 86, or 116 pitches, they’ll come get you. Again, with that same thought, we’re not gonna be crazy and let them go 150 pitches, but what we really want is for them to get out of their head, “I only have a certain amount of pitches before I come out of the game.” Go pitch, go pitch your game. So, I’m hoping that it does kind of work out like that.
To follow this up, we sat down with all six starting pitchers to find out how they feel about the 6-man rotation What were your initial thoughts at the beginning of the season when they told you guys they’d be using a 6-man rotation?
Ian Krol: Well a 6-man rotation is good for a bunch of reasons. The first one would be it gives you more time in between starts to work on things like your mechanics. Another reason would be more time off, more time for your arm to heal. I felt fine about it, the guys felt good about it too. We have a great staff and there’s really no problem with it at all.
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Josh Bowman: We were all ecstatic about it, just really excited to start using it. We’ve got a bunch of good guys so we couldn’t wait to try it out.
Blake Hassebrock: From a physical standpoint, it seemed like a good thing, to get extra rest. In the minor league, the most important thing is to stay healthy, so the extra day of rest seemed really beneficial to all of us. At the same time, it’s about 3 or 4 less games pitched, so that’s a tradeoff we have to deal with. There are ups and downs to it, but it’s not worth it to look at it negatively, so we’re all looking at it positively.
A.J. Cole: All the guys were pretty excited about it. The coaches probably thought it was best because we have a lot of talent between the six of us. So we were just ready to get into it.
T.J. Walz: I don’t know anything better, or anything other than what I’ve done here. In college we threw once every seven days, so it’s not too different than what I’m used to.
Blake Treinen: I was actually kinda excited for it, because all the guys that are in the rotation are good friends of mine. All of us were guessing at who’d be in the 5-man rotation, and then when they came up with the 6-man rotation, it put us all kind of at ease.
We’re over a month in to the season, and you guys have each gotten a handful of starts in, so how are you feeling about it now? How would you say it’s working out? Ian Krol: It’s working out good, we’re getting in the swing of things, it’s kind of different. But we throw our bullpens at same time we would for a 5-man rotation, so that’s good. We get more time to recover in between starts. I feel like everyone’s doing their part as a starter to feel as good as possible with the 6-man rotation, so we’re doing pretty good handling it.
Josh Bowman: I’d say it’s working out well so far. We’re all benefiting from it, from the extra day’s rest. I think it’s really helping out the new guys adjust, but the extra rest is good for the rest of us as well. I think it’s going good.
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Blake Hassebrock: Pretty good, we’ve had 2 rainouts and 2 injuries, so twice we’ve been pushed back to 7 days and twice we’ve been pushed up to 5 days. So we haven’t really gotten to get into a groove with it yet. I think no matter if it’s 5 days, 4 days, 20 days, as long as there’s a routine to what we’re doing, it’ll allow us to settle in and get into a groove, so hopefully here it’ll get consistent.
A.J. Cole: For me, I’m still trying to get used to it – I had the 5-day routine down all last year, but it gives you an extra day to rest. Some days I’ll feel like I’m ready to throw, but there’s still one more day until my start, so just having more rest doesn’t hurt at all.
T.J. Walz: Yeah, it’s nice getting in to the routine of it. But like I said, I don’t know anything different.
Blake Treinen: Honestly, I haven’t ever experienced a 5-man rotation, because it was about once a week in college. So it’s fine for me, since I’m used to pitching once a week; it’s just a day shorter now, so I’m okay with it. For some of the other guys, who were on a 5-man rotation, it’s been a little more work for them to get used to it.
Does it actually feel like you have an extra day off? Ian Krol: Not for me, it might for other guys, but I was hurt all year last year, so it’s been a while since I’ve been in the starting rotation. For me it feels normal since I was out so long. Blake Hassebrock and I were talking about how we have to wait a whole week to pitch and he was like, ‘man this week has gone by so slow!’ and I said, ‘really, it seems like it’s gone by fast.’ So yeah it doesn’t feel that different to me.
Josh Bowman: Going through a full season in Burlington with only a 5-man, it almost seems like you’re pitching once a week, which I know it’s about that anyway, but it really feels like a long time. You really do feel like you have one more day, and it’s good because you get to work on mechanics and if there’s any flaws going on, you get to iron those out before your next start. With the extra day, I’ll stretch out a little bit. Go lighter one day than I typically would; now we can really take our time to feel things out. Blake Hassebrock: Yeah, it definitely does. With pitching obviously you can’t go pitch every day. So with the days you do have off, you’re pretty limited to what you can do, and there’s a lot of energy pent-up with that extra day; it feels like you’re locked in the cabin all weekend. We play ping-pong and shag during BP, and we get yelled out for throwing too much out there, because all we want to do is throw, and we have that whole extra day.
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A.J. Cole: To me, not really, maybe for some of the other guys. When the day comes for me to throw, I’m ready for it.
T.J. Walz: No, that doesn’t apply to me. It’s just normal to me so far.
Blake Treinen: I feel like it’s just normal for me, since I haven’t been in a 5-man rotation.
How well are the six of you getting along? What is your relationship like? Ian Krol: We are a tight bunch, that’s for sure. We kinda got a little rivalry going with the bullpen, because they’re out in the outfield all the time and we don’t really see them much. So there’s a big war between the starters and the bullpen pitchers just for fun. But there’s a lot of character in the 6-man rotation for sure.
Josh Bowman: We’re all buds, all of us just get along great. We’re just a bunch of goons. When we’re at the field, we’re either crushing each other in ping pong or some other dumb game.
Blake Hassebrock: We have an awesome starting staff, all the guys click and vibe off each other as far as our outings. It’s friendly competition, and we definitely push each other.
A.J. Cole: We all get along real well. The guys are all great, and we’re all on the same page; we have a lot of fun together.
T.J. Walz: We’re all good friends, and we all keep each other free and easy. There’s nobody that’s super serious or anything like that, we have a good time.
Blake Treinen: It’s pretty easygoing – the starters all kind of stick together, the bullpen guys all stick together. I mean obviously we’re a team and we all wanna compete together to get wins, and it’s kind of a little inside joke between us – but yeah we all get along real well.
Does anyone have a distinct personality? Who would you say is the funny one? Inspirational? Serious (all-work/no-play)? Ian Krol: I would say we all have great personalities, everybody’s different, but Hassebrock has probably got one of the best personalities being a jokester. T.J. always comes up with the stats – he’s the stat-rat. Treinen is always on the positive side – no matter what you have to say, he’s always positive about it. We have a lot of characters combined into one, and that’s what makes us so tight. I wouldn’t say anyone’s all-work/no-play; the whole team loves mess around and we love to have fun – that’s what baseball’s all about. We have a 142 game season, you have to find some way to let go.
Josh Bowman: I would say Hassebrock is the funny one – we call it “Hasseworld”, and he’s always living in it; it’s hard to get him out of it, and he seems to really just be comfortable in that world of his. I feel like Walz is the one who always gets us up and gets us energized, because he just this werewolf-looking kind of guy, and just really gets you energized. I would say Krol is all-work/no-play – he’s all business.
Blake Hassebrock: I think there’s no way to point out one, we’re all so different. Bowman’s probably the wise one out of us. The way he lives his life is pretty impressive, he’s engaged, he lives his life the right way, so he’s a good guy to look to. Walz is really funny, he does voices and that beard is hilarious. The serious one… I’m pretty serious. I would say they say I’m grouchy, more than anyone else, and Cole’s pretty laid back, all-work – doesn’t joke around much. But we’re just like the six stooges.
AJ Cole: I don’t know, everybody has a great personality; I think we’re all pretty funny. But Walz is hilarious, and Hassebrock is really funny too. I wouldn’t say anyone’s specifically inspirational. And in a way we can all be kinda serious when we have to be. Treinen can be on his start days, and that’s when you gotta get serious, you know.
T.J. Walz: Oh I don’t know, everyone has their moments, and everyone has their own personalities that kinda feed off each other. They all just have different demeanors when they’re on the mound, and they’re all fun to watch pitch, because everyone has their own style. And it’s fun after someone goes out and dominates to follow up their performance with your own.
Blake Treinen: The funny ones are probably Walz and Hassebrock; I mean everyone has their own funny streaks but those two are the funniest. Inspirational, I don’t know, maybe Josh Bowman. I don’t know if anybody’s all work-no play, I mean everybody works, and some people play a little more than others, but I wouldn’t say anybody’s so concerned that you can’t get any fun out of it.
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Ports
(Roster as of 5/10)
# Yrs PITCHERS (14) B/T HT WT DOB HOMETOWN 11 2 Bowman, Josh R/R 6-2 210 9/9/88 St. Petersburg, FL 39 2 Brown, Jake R/L 6-2 215 12/28/86 Baltimore, MD 17 4 Capra, Anthony L/L 6-1 215 4/3/87 Arvada, CO 18 2 Cole, A.J. R/R 6-4 181 1/1/92 Winter Springs, FL 27 4 Doolittle, Ryan R/R 6-2 195 3/25/88 Tabernacle, NJ 46 7 Guzman, Jose R/R 5-11 225 11/5/87 San Cristobal, D.R. 14 2 Hassebrock, Blake R/R 6-6 217 7/15/89 High Point, NC 16 3 Hoehn, Connor R/R 6-1 212 7/5/89 Ocean View, DE 9 3 Krol, Ian L/L 6-1 200 5/9/91 Naperville, IL 12 6 Leon, Arnold R/R 6-1 206 9/6/88 Culiacan, Mexico 34 3 Long, Nate R/R 6-2 215 2/9/86 Bedford, TX 30 2 Thornton, Zack R/R 6-4 215 5/19/88 Oak Park, CA 36 1 Treinen, Blake R/R 6-4 215 6/30/88 Osage City, KS 7 1 Walz, T.J. R/R 6-1 180 11/11/88 Omaha, NE # Yrs CATCHERS (2) B/T HT WT DOB HOMETOWN 10 3 Stassi, Max R/R 5-10 206 3/15/91 Yuba City, CA 13 1 Taylor, Beau L/R 6-0 205 2/13/90 Rockledge, FL # Yrs INFIELDERS (6) B/T HT WT DOB HOMETOWN 3 3 Gilmartin, Michael L/R 6-0 190 7/14/87 Mooropark, CA 26 3 Head, Miles R/R 6-0 215 5/2/91 Brooks, GA 44 2 Kirby-Jones, A.J. R/R 5-10 215 10/2/88 Knoxville, TN 19 4 Leyja, Nino R/R 5-11 180 10/2/90 Houston, TX 2 2 Pineda, Ryan R/R 6-0 185 4/17/89 Las Vegas, NV 28 2 Thompson, Tony R/R 6-5 240 12/19/88 Reno, NV # Yrs OUTFIELDERS (4) B/T HT WT DOB HOMETOWN 23 4 Dixon, Rashun R/R 6-2 230 8/27/90 Madison, MS 37 1 Oberacker, Chad L/L 5-11 190 1/1/89 Erie, PA 5 3 Richard, Myrio R/R 6-2 195 8/27/88 Lake Charles, LA 22 2 Whitaker, Josh R/R 6-3 235 2/8/89 Augusta, GA # 50 31 24
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POS MGR P-C H-C A-T CLB
COACHING STAFF Webster Garrison Craig Lefferts Brian McArn Nate Brooks Vic Zapien
HOMETOWN Marrero, LA Anthem, AZ Elk Grove, CA Pinckneyville, IL Stockton, CA
PREVIOUS TEAM (YEAR) Stockton (High-A-2011) Stockton (High-A-2011) Stockton (High-A-2011) Stockton (High-A-2011) Stockton (High-A-2011)
Visitor’s Roster
San Jose Giants
Visalia Rawhide
(Roster as of 5/10)
(Roster as of 5/10)
# 22 28 45 23 19 48 34 32 37 40 21 12 25 51 47 38
PITCHERS Drew Bowlin Ryan Bradley Edward Concepcion Hector Correa Stephen Harrold Phil McCormick Josh Osich Taylor Rogers Luis Rojas Seth Rosin Danny Sandbrink Shawn Sanford Justin Schumer Jack Snodgrass Jose Valdez Chris Wilson
B/T R/R S/L R/R R/R R/R L/L L/L R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R R/R L/L R/R R/R
# 20 32 35 39 11
25 14 23 18
PITCHERS B/T Michael Belfiore R/L Michael Bolsinger R/R Alexander Carreras L/L Andrew Chafin R/L Blake Cooper R/R Jeremy Erben R/R Bradin Hagens R/R Raymond Hernandez R/R David Holmberg R/L Anthony Meo R/R Diogenes Rosario R/R Takashi Saito L/R Bo Schultz R/R Patrick Schuster R/L Eric Smith R/R Kyle Winkler R/R
# 55 9
CATCHERS B/T Dan Burkhart L/R Andrew Susac R/R
# 6 22
CATCHERS B/T Raywilly Gomez S/R Jae Yun Kim R/R
# 35 43 39 18 16 33 29 37
INFIELDERS B/T Luke Anders L/L Alex Burg R/R Adam Duvall R/R Bobby Haney L/R Carter Jurica R/R Ricky Oropesa L/R Joe Panik L/R Ydwin Villegas R/R
# 3 1 33 12 2
INFIELDERS B/T Carter Bell R/R Michael Freeman L/R Jonathan Griffin R/R Eric Groff R/R Chris Owings R/R Garrett Weber R/R
# 10 1 17 7
OUTFIELDERS B/T Devin Harris R/R Chris Lofton L/R Ryan Lollis L/L Jarrett Parker L/L
# 8 9 13 34
OUTFIELDERS B/T Bobby Borchering S/R Keon Broxton R/R Ryan LaPensee R/R Chris Valencia L/R
# 15 2 54
FIELD STAFF Andy Skeels Gary Davenport Steve Kline
# 19
FIELD STAFF Jason Hardtke Jacob Cruz Doug Drabek
POSITION Manager Batting Coach Pitching Coach
16 29 26 40
4
POSITION Manager Hitting Coach Pitching Coach
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Scorecards
16
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Ports Bios
Bowman, Josh, RHP
Had one of his best outings on the season 4/16 vs LE Storm 6IP 6H 1ER 2BB 6K’s As of 5/10 has a 3.00 ERA at Banner Island Ballpark
Capra, Anthony, LHP
Joined the Ports 5/1 from Extended Spring Training Right-handers are limited to a .250 clip against Capra as of 5/10
Dixon, Rashun, OF
Went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI’s on 5/5 vs LAN As of 5/10 is hitting .400 when leading off an inning
Brown, Jake, LHP
As of 5/10 has allowed just 1 earned run on the road all season (14.0IP) In the month of April, Brown posted a 1.76 ERA over 15.1IP, 2BB & 10K’s
Cole, A.J., RHP
Struck out a season high 7 in his 4/19 outing vs MOD Was acquired this off-season from the Washington Nationals as Part of the Gio Gonzalez trade
Doolittle, Ryan, RHP
Joined the Ports 5/3 from Low-A Burlington Bees (IA) His 2011 campaign with the Ports was cut short due to injury 2011: 3-0, 2.21ERA, 20.1IP, 24K, 3BB
Gilmartin, Michael, INF
Went 2-for 4 with 2 doubles on 4/6 vs LE Hit his first HR of the season 4/7 vs LE Was a Mid-Season All-Star for the Ports in 2011
Hassebrock, Blake, RHP
In his first outing as a Stockton Port, he recorded his first W pitching 6.1IP allowing just 1ER with 0BB Was placed on the DL on 5/3
Hoehn, Connor, RHP
Posted a 2.70ERA in the month of April with 14K’s over10IP Has allowed just 6H all season as of 5/10
Guzman, Jose, RHP
As of 5/10 has a sparkling 2.16 ERA over his 12 appearances Posted a 2.31 ERA in April with 12K’s over 11.2IP with 5BB
Head, Miles, INF
Had a 19-game hitting streak that stretched 4/5-4/24 Hitting .360AVG at Banner Island Ballpark as of 5/10
Kirby-Jones, A.J., INF
Was named California League Player of the Week for 4/16-4/22 Hit 3HR at Banner Island Ballpark on 4/18 vs LE
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Ports Bios
Krol, Ian, LHP
Had his best outing of the season 4/17 vs LE allowing just 1H 1ER over 6IP with 6K’s As of 5/10 has limited left-handers to a .143 batting average
Leyja, Nino, INF
Hit his first HR as a Stockton Port on 4/13 vs MOD Went 2-for-4 vs LAN on 5/5 with a double and 3 RBI
Oberacker,Chad, OF
Joined the Ports from Burlington Bees (IA) 5/1 Cranked his first hit as a Port on 5/3 vs SJ Giants (single)
Leon, Arnold, RHP
As of 5/10, has allowed just 3ER at home this season Has struck out more batters than innings pitched this season
Long, Nate, RHP
As of 5/10 has not allowed an ER on the road all season Posted a 1.29ERA in the month of April with 14K’s over14IP with 4BB
Pineda, Ryan, INF
Hit a walk-off 3-run HR on 4/15 vs MOD As of 5/10 had back-to-back multi-hit games on 4/21 &4/22 vs MOD
Richard, Myrio, OF
Had three multi-hit games during the home series vs BAK 4/23-4/26 As of 5/10 is hitting .302 at Banner Island Ballpark
Taylor, Beau, C
Hit his first career HR on 4/23 vs BAK at Banner Island Ballpark Went 3-for-6 on 4/21 vs MOD with 2 RS
Stassi, Max, C
Was activated from DL on 5/1 (ankle injury) Hit his first HR of the season on 4/9 vs BAK 5/10 has a hit in all but 2 games that he has played in this season
Thompson, Tony, INF
As of 5/10 leads the team with 12 doubles Has a 7-game hitting streak from 4/17-4/26
Treinen, Blake, RHP Thornton, Zack, RHP
As of 5/10 has multiple strikeouts in 7 of his 10 outings this season Has allowed just 2BB all season as of 5/10
Posted a 3.86ERA in the month of April with 25K, 6BB over25.2IP Pitched his best outing of the season 4/18 vs LE: W 7IP, 2H,7K 3BB
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Walz, T.J., RHP
Posted a 2.70ERA in the month of April with 27K’s, 6BB over 36.1IP with 6BB Has allowed less than 2ER in all but one of his starts this season as of 5/10
Whitaker, Josh, OF
As of 5/10 is a perfect 5-for-5 in SB attempts As of 5/10 is hitting .346 leading off an inning
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Zack Thornton By Matt Wilson Closer. Noun. A relief pitcher that specializes in finishing games. The dictionary definition certainly tells us what a closer is, but isn’t there more to the position than that? Closers are often considered the biggest characters in baseball, with exaggerated, larger than life personalities. The San Francisco Giants have Brian Wilson, whose over-the-top personality and thick, black beard has attracted many fans. The New York Yankees have Mariano Rivera – the MLB’s leader in saves and games finished – who has been described as having the cool efficiency of an assassin. But what makes a closer tick? How do they develop these personalities? What makes a closer more than the dictionary definition? Perhaps Zack Thornton, closer for the Stockton Ports, could help us answer these questions. Thornton joined the Ports after playing for the Burlington Bees and Midland Rock Hounds last season. He has played in ten games this season as of May 8, pitching 11 innings and achieving 17 strike outs and two saves. We recently sat down with Zack in an attempt to understand the closer mentality. Stockton Ports: You just recently moved to the Ports. How is the California League? How are you adjusting? Zack Thornton: It’s different. It’s known that it’s a hitter’s league, so you just have to keep throwing quality strikes down the zone, get people to roll over, and hit it out on the ground and leave it up in the air. PORTS: How does the offensive environment differ from Burlington and Texas? THORNTON: It’s different, and you try not to think about it. Like I said, you’re just trying to make quality pitches to get outs and keep the ball on the ground, especially for me – I’m a sinker baller, trying to keep the ball at the bottom of the zone to induce a ground ball. It’s known that this league is a hitter’s league, and you just have to deal with it. PORTS: My next question actually has to do with that. You keep saying that this is a hitter’s league. Is there anything else you have to do to prepare for or deal with that? THORNTON: No. I think it’s just about getting ahead of hitters, keeping the ball down, and mixing speeds. Whether you’re in the big leagues or rookie ball, it’s all the same thing. You just have to execute pitches and hit guys out. PORTS: Were you trained to be a closer? How did you become a closer? THORNTON: It wasn’t my choice, it came from up top, but in college I was a
starter and last year I was actually a long guy/ short inning guy. The mentality is a little different, there’s probably a little more adrenaline, but you just have to make pitches – just like you were a starter. PORTS: Have you had any difficulty adjusting to it? THORNTON: In the beginning, the first couple times, my adrenaline was a little too high and I had to take it down a notch. I’m working on it, slowly getting to where that median is so I can focus on just executing pitches. PORTS: Is there any major league closer that you would compare yourself to, like Brian Wilson or Mariano Rivera? THORNTON: I would say…Well, you don’t see a lot of guys that throw like I do – a low, threequarter slinger that’s a sinker baller. I’ve also noticed that I’m one of the few that pitch out of a windup as a closer. It’s where I feel most comfortable. For the most part I can’t really say that I throw like any big league closer. PORTS: So you’re not trying to pattern yourself after anyone else. THORNTON: Just trying to make my own name for myself. PORTS: Closers have kind of developed a reputation as larger-than-life characters. Are you working on any specific ‘style’ for yourself? THORNTON: No. the guys around the clubhouse call me Bozo the clown because I have big feet and an open, goofy personality. Besides that, no, I’m just trying to be myself out there, just be loose. That’s the kind of guy I am. I’m loose and like to have fun. PORTS: What’s your entrance music and why? THORNTON: I chose ‘Here comes the Boom’ by Nelly. It’s a song that I heard from Friday Night Lights, and it just gets me juiced – especially for the end of the game. It’s different from what closers usually use, it’s not hard rock, but I wanted to incorporate myself with the music. I think it feels perfect. PORTS: Pitchers are generally on rotation and they can rest between games. As a closer, you can potentially be called in for every single game. How do you deal with that? THORNTON: You have to keep yourself and your body maintained, get your sleep, do your stuff in the weight room and keeping your body ready. Like you said, you can throw every day, but there are also times where you don’t throw for three or four days because you’re behind. You just have to keep plugging away in practice. If you don’t throw every day, just go light. Just be ready to throw by the ninth inning.
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PORTS: Is there anything in particular the pitching staff is working with you on? THORNTON: They just tell me to go out and do what I do. There are certain keys I’ve been working on in the past that I have to keep noticing and make sure I’m doing them correctly, but for the most part is just going out there, getting saves, and getting people out. PORTS: What’s your best pitch? THORNTON: I’d have to say my fastball. It’s a heavy sinker. Some days when it’s not hot, I’ll go to my slider, which is my secondary…but for the most part, I attack with my fastball. If they’re on that, I’ll go to my slider, but my fastball is my best pitch. PORTS: Is there anything in particular that you think about when you pitch? What do you take into consideration? What goes through your mind? THORNTON: Truthfully, when I’m out there, I don’t think about anything. I just go out there and pitch. Distractions…I discard them. There’s just me and the mound and the glove in front of me. Pretend there’s no surroundings out there, just me and the glove, pounding strike one and getting after it. There’s really nothing else that I focus on.
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