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By Bob Wirz Minor league affiliates of the 30 major league teams only started playing for keeps Thursday so it will take some time before any trends turn up, but a pair of recent Sioux City Explorers standouts already are enjoying some good fortune which could help them position themselves well in their National League...Read More

By Bob Wirz It does not take a rocket scientist to understand why talented young baseball players will do most anything to achieve that all-America goal of playing major league baseball.  The excitement of the bright lights of the best stadiums and the rich salaries–the major league minimum is $550,000–tells it all. So few succeed,...Read More

By Bob Wirz Chris Martin does not have the big name of fellow American Association grads Max Scherzer and James Paxton, still he seems to have a degree of security in the major leagues as long as he stays healthy despite a shaky spring training.  At 32, the 6-foot-8 right-hander is one of the veterans...Read More

FARGO, N.D. – The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks have named Jim Bennett as the team’s third manager in franchise history. The announcement was made a press conference Wednesday morning at Newman Outdoor Field. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Mariners in 1988, the California native pitched in affiliated-baseball for three years. He was 2-1...Read More

Calling all American Association managers and personnel directors! If one needs ammunition to persuade a player the league is right for helping them reach the major leagues the promotional brochure is right in front of you.  In bold type.  And in bright colors screaming for attention. Does this sound inflated?  No, it is based on...Read More

(Photo via Ry Tupper Photography) MOORHEAD, MINN. — The Sioux Falls Canaries have sold the contract of RHP Ryan Fritze to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the American Association announced. Fritze is the 15th American Association player to have his contract purchased by a Major League organization in 2019, and the 35th since the beginning of the 2018 regular...Read More

By Bob Wirz It was anything but easy, but Chaz Roe is now one of the American Association graduates who seems firmly established in the major leagues. The 6-foot-5 right-hander already had seven professional seasons under his belt before he needed to get a fresh start with the Laredo Lemurs in 2012.  He made the...Read More

MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Board of Directors of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball has appointed Joshua E. Schaub as the league’s Commissioner. Schaub will assume the role immediately and succeed league founder Miles Wolff, who retired at the end of 2018 after 13 seasons as Commissioner. Schaub will serve as the chief executive...Read More

MOORHEAD, MINN. – The Sioux City Explorers have sold the contract of RHP Justin Vernia to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the American Association announced. Vernia is the 14th American Association player to have his contract purchased by a Major League organization in 2019, and the 34th since the beginning of the 2018 regular season. Vernia had...Read More

By Bob Wirz The Kansas City T-Bones had a remarkable 2018 highlighted by winning the American Association championship and challenging the best season any team could imagine in selling players to major league organizations.  The new year is starting off just fine, thank you, with another of the team’s former pitchers getting a belated fulltime...Read More