SPORTS SECTION E
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016
Tahnaj Thomas joins the Cleveland Indians SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD GRAND BAHAMIAN SIGNS PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL CONTRACT
By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net ahnaj Thomas, a Grand Bahamian native who moved to New Providence at the age of 13 to further enhance his skills, is the latest Bahamian to sign a professional baseball contract. Yesterday, Thomas signed his name on the dotted line with the Cleveland Indians. Koby Perez, the director of Latin American Scouting for the Indians, conducted the historic occasion in front of Thomas’ family and executives and players from the Max D Baseball Academy. “It’s a long time coming. I just want to embrace the moment and enjoy it. It’s a pretty good feeling,” said the 17-year-old Thomas with tears in his eyes. It’s great to be called an Indian.” Thomas, who began his early education at Hugh Campbell Primary and Sister Mary Patricia High in Grand Bahama before he transferred to Leadership Academy and Max D in New Providence,
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TAHNAJ THOMAS (left) shares a special moment with his father Sidney Thomas, who holds up a pin in memory of his late wife Michelle Thomas. said when he first got the call that he was going to sign the deal, he couldn’t believe it. Even now that he’s done it, he said he still doesn’t believe that it is a reality. “All of my dreams of becoming a professional baseball player have finally come through,” he said. “It didn’t matter which team that selected me. I just wanted to get into
the system.” Although he’s a shortstop, the six-foot, 4-inch Thomas was recruited as a pitcher. But he said it doesn’t matter because he’s getting the opportunity to help the Indians win a World Series after they fell short to his favourite team - the Chicago Cubs - this year. “It wasn’t shortstop, but they
signed me at the two positions,” Thomas said. “I think moving on, they are looking for me to be developed as a pitcher so I’m really excited about that.” Thomas thanked God for the opportunity that he has received from the Indians.
TIGER WOODS
The Return, Pg 5
JACOBI, SIERRA WALK AWAY WITH LIL MO TITLES JACOBI Bain yesterday clinched the boys’ 13 singles title at the 2016 Lil Mo Big International Junior Tournament at the PGA Resort & Spa in Palm BAIN Beach Gardens, Florida. Bain, playing as the No.3 seed, upset the top seed Gabreilius Guzauskas from Lithuania in identical scores of 6-2, 6-2. It was the second trophy won by the Bahamas at the tournament. On Monday, Sierra Rodgers reached the final of the girls’ 10 singles where she lost to Tatiana George Loglo of the USA 6-1, 6-2. On his way to the final, Bain defeated Nicholas Adamec of the USA, 6-2. 6-1; won 6-0, 6-0 over Niki Stoiber from Moedling, Austria and 6-0, 6-7, 10-5 over Rene Busch from Estonia. Rodgers only had to play in the semi-final, winning 6-1, 6-3 over Sabrina Jaramillo from USA. • SEE MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 3
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For Cartwright, long baseball ‘journey won’t stop’ By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net FOR the past decade, Albert Cartwright has been on the pro baseball circuit and, although he has not been able to break into the major league, he admitted that he felt he had a good run at it. Cartwright, who last played in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league, is now playing in the Canadian-American Association where he has spent the past two seasons with the Ottawa Champions. Home for the holidays, Cartwright said Tuesday was all about Tahnaj Thomas, the latest Bahamian to sign a professional baseball contract. “It’s been a long journey. It’s been four years of ups and downs, not knowing if he would sign having converted from an infielder to a pitcher,” Cartwright said. “That’s how the game goes. So I’m just happy to be able to help another guy fulfil his dream. Today is very special. I know when I got drafted my mother couldn’t hold it together. She was more excited than me. This is his day, another
day for the Bahamas to be proud.” At age 29, Cartwright said he feels he’s getting closer to the end of the line but he wants to continue to assist wherever he can with the younger players coming up the ladder. “I remember when I was hitting, but now I’m doing more throwing trying to help the other guys make the transition,” Cartwright said. Drafted in round 36 in 2007 by the Houston Oilers out of Polk State Junior College in Florida, Cartwright has been a journeyman in the minor league before he moved to Canada. He’s expected to return there in January, although he’s not sure how much longer he will continue to play. “It’s been a long journey. But the journey won’t stop. I will continue to be involved in baseball,” he insisted. “I want to try to continue helping people out and try to represent the Bahamas and make this thing global. “We have a lot of guys trying to turn things around. I know when I was growing up it was basically just Antoan Richardson
CARTWRIGHT and me. We laugh everyday. Now we have so many other guys following us.” During his second sting with Ottawa, Cartwright played in 91 games where he went 110-for-377 with a batting average of .292. He posted 23 doubles, two triples and three home runs with 34 runs batted in. He also had 26 stolen bases and 32 walks (base on balls) after getting struck out 68 times. Playing second base in 81 games, Cartwright recorded 169 put outs in 441 chances, making 253 assists, 19 errors and 47 double plays for a fielding aver-
age of .957. While he has enjoyed his tenure so far in both the Minor League and the Canadian-American Association, Cartwright said he would have liked to had an opportunity to crack the major league, but he’s not disappointed at all that he didn’t. “There’s a lot of things that take place to get to the big league,” he said. “In baseball, there are a lot of politics on the side because you have at least 300 players trying to do the same thing that you are doing. “So it’s definitely a gift to get up there and it’s a luxury to stay there. I am disappointed, but I understand how the game goes. Those things you try not to think about. I just try to go out there and play baseball everyday.” In September, Cartwright and Richardson played for Great Britain at the World Baseball Classic in New York, but this time they had an additional seven other Bahamians on the team. Like many, Cartwright said he’s longing for the day when the Bahamas will be able to field its own team to play in the tournament.
“It was just a pleasure to come out there with seven Bahamians in the line-up,” he said. “That could have been a Bahamian team. But it was a pleasure and every day we cherished it. “Every morning me and Antoan got the guys up for breakfast so we could keep it tight knot. In the clubhouse, it was so nice to see all of us connecting. We had Chavez Young playing some Bahamian music and dancing to the Ronnie Butler songs in the clubhouse.” Cartwright called it the highlight of his year and he enjoyed every moment of it with the camaraderie displayed by the younger Bahamian players. With the Bahamas Government rebuilding the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium, Cartwright said he’s looking forward to some big teams coming to the Bahamas to play or at least practice here. “We have the talent and we have the guys,” he said. “We just have to bring the teams down so that we can take the game to another level.” To the younger players in the pipeline here in the
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PIERRE
‘A FLYING START’ FOR SPRINTER PROLEINE PROLEINE Pierre is off to a flying start in her debut for Highland Community College. The 2016 CV Bethel Secondary High graduate and member of the Silver Lightning Track Club, coached by female Kim Hanna, established herself as the early-season standard bearer in the NJCAA short sprints, jumping out to national leads both at 60 and 200 metres at the Kansas Bob Timmons Challenge. Competing in her first collegiate meet, the freshman won her section of the 60 metres in 7.98 seconds and claimed her section of the 200 in 26.42.