‘Oh Boy’, What an Experience Former Can-Am Boss Daubach Is Having as He Helps Nats’ Touted Harper and Strasburg
August 26, 2011 by Bob Wirz · Leave a Comment
Brian Daubach admits “I still check the Can-Am (League) box scores nearly every day.”
That might not seem so strange except that the onetime major league first baseman-outfielder is no longer managing in the Northeast-based league. He is finishing his first season back in affiliated baseball, leading the Washington Nationals farm club in Hagerstown, MD where his attention has been on the development of future major leaguers, including the prized pitcher Stephen Strasburg and equally-regarded outfielder Bryce Harper.
Daubach could be forgiven if Independent Baseball was in his rear-view mirror, but it seemed far from it as we chatted over the telephone. The 39-year-old manager, who drove in all but 24 of his 333 major league runs for the Boston Red Sox, still talks to Jamie Keefe, who replaced him in Pittsfield, MA this season, and other Can-Am and American Association managers with some regularity.
“I had a special group in Nashua (NH in ’08-09) and especially in Pittsfield”, Daubach said, fondly referring to the “team mentality” and overcoming certain “obstacles” with the franchise not overly endowed with strong financial support. He took the Colonials to the championship series, where they lost in four games to Quebec.
I had to ask how it had been to manage Harper, who played 72 games for Hagerstown before moving on to Class AA, and Strasburg, who has made three starts for the team in his season-long injury rehab.
“Oh boy,” Daubach sighed. “It has been an experience I’ll never forget. Both are very, very special. Stephen is a little more prepared.” The manager pointed to the hurler’s experience as a collegian at San Diego State under Hall of Fame outfielder Tony Gwynn. “Bryce needs to get used to the everyday grind. They’re both great kids.”
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FOR ADDITIONAL INDEPENDENT BASEBALL COVERAGE?
www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com ADDED TO www.IndyBaseballChatter.com
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Lantigua Emerges as Indy Home Run King
It turns out the digging had only gotten started when we reported a couple of weeks back on the Indy game having a new career home run leader.
The top two long-ball artists were overlooked with retiree Glenn Murray in the No. 1 spot (163) when this year started and venerable Eddie Lantigua, who ended a one-year retirement by going to work for the Can-Am League’s traveling New York Federals this season, now in charge. Lantigua, 37, has a dozen home runs for the Feds for a career mark of 174 with six different Independent teams.
The top ten (1993-2011), as best we can tell, with kudos to broadcasters Dave Collins of Lancaster, PA (Atlantic League) and Scott Beatty of Sioux Falls, SD (American Association) for doing much of the digging:
|
Rk. |
Name |
2011 |
Career |
Teams, Leagues (Current Team in Bold) |
|
1. |
Lantigua, Eddie |
12 |
174 |
Sioux Falls, Nor; Fargo, Nor; Waterbury, NEL; Quebec, NEL/C-A; Duluth, Nor; New York, C-A |
|
2. |
Murray, Glenn |
— |
163 |
Nashua, Atl/C-A; Bridgeport, Atl |
|
3. |
Hoorelbeke, Jesse |
15 |
149 |
Fargo, Nor/AA; Bridgeport, Atl |
|
T4. |
Alvarez, Jorge |
— |
145 |
Laredo, T-L; Amarillo, T-L; Somerset, Atl; Alexandria, Cent; Shreveport, Cent/AA; San Angelo, Cent; El Paso, AA. Manages El Paso. |
|
T4. |
Nettles, Jeff |
15 |
145 |
Somerset, Atl |
|
6. |
Maness, Dwight |
— |
120 |
Somerset, Atl; Camden, Atl |
|
7. |
Lisk, Charlie |
22 |
116 |
Windy City, Fron; Edmonton, Nor; Bridgeport, Atl; York, Atl, Gateway, Fron |
|
8. |
Navarrete, Ray |
21 |
112 |
Somerset, Atl; Long Island, Atl |
|
9. |
Berrios, Harry |
— |
106 |
Sioux Falls, Nor; Thunder Bay, Nor; Schaumburg, Nor; Winnipeg, Nor; Fargo, Nor |
|
10. |
Pennyfeather, Will |
— |
105 |
Atlantic City, Atl; Somerset, Atl; Bridgeport, Atl; Newark, Atl; Sioux Falls, Nor |
American Association Attendance Tops 2,000,000
Congratulations go out to the American Association for topping the two million mark at the gate (2,022,941) for the first time with six days remaining in the regular season.
(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes year round on Independent Baseball. Fans may subscribe at www.WirzandAssociates.com, enjoy his blogs, www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com and www.IndyBaseballChatter.com, or comment to RWirz@aol.com. The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)
