$64,000 September Payday Must Look Very Appealing To Former Independent Players in Majors

For anyone curious about the pay earned by a former Independent player—or any other player—who suddenly finds himself in the major leagues as a September 1 call-up, the answer rests somewhere around $64,000 in salary.  The $414,500 annual salary for a rookie is prorated for the 182 days of the season at $2,277 per day.

This means outfielder Justin Christian, who started his pro career at River City (O’Fallon, MO) of the Frontier League and played a short time in the Atlantic League (Southern Maryland), will get about $52,371 for his 23 days with the San Francisco Giants.  He is hoping to make a sufficient impression to return to the 2010 World Champions fulltime next year, and his 5-for-9 output with three runs batted in the last two games for the frequently run-starved Giants who are trying to stay in the playoff chase do not hurt.

Christian, 31, who has survived six surgeries in his career, also showed a sense of humor when he told The San Jose (CA) Mercury News recently “I’m thankful for all the people who told me I couldn’t do it (make the major leagues).  It was motivating for me.”  The speedy Christian is hitting .258 in 12 games (8-for-31) with three stolen bases.

Southpaw reliever Raul Valdes, who played in the Can-Am League (New Jersey Jackals and Nashua, NH), and base-stealing threat Joey Gathright (Yuma, AZ, North American League; Shreveport, LA, American Association; Long Island, NY, Atlantic) are among the former Independent players getting all of September in the majors.  Valdes has hurled 2.2 scoreless innings (five strikeouts) for his $64,000 from the New York Yankees while Gathright, with Boston, has a walk, run and stolen base to show for his five appearances and does not have any official at-bats.

Batting Champ Hits Ninth

 It would no doubt take some digging to find out the last time a league batting champion hit ninth in the playoffs, but that was where Atlantic League hit king Kraig Binick was for Long Island’s opening win.  The Long Island native (Hicksville, NY), who should be making Can-Am League brass smile with his production, had a 2-for-4 game with a run and a run batted in, to follow up on his .343 regular-season average plus league-leading totals in stolen bases (42), stolen base percentage (.894) and on-base percentage (.429).

“He stands close to the plate, and stays within himself,” said rival Manager Willie Upshaw of Bridgeport, CT, whose Bluefish were beaten out of a spot in the playoffs on a play-in game against Southern Maryland.  Binick is an unusual combination of a right-handed batter who hits primarily to the opposite field and a left-handed throwing outfielder.

 Playing in what generally is considered a more junior league in 2010, the 26-year-old Binick hit .289 with 45 steals for the Sussex Skyhawks (Augusta, NJ) of the Can-Am League.  He was not among the leaders in the batting race.

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Gold Medals Could Await a Trio of Former Indy Players

A trio of former Independent Baseball pitchers, all with major league experience, are part of the 24-man team the United States will send to Panama and Mexico next month with gold medals on their mind in the IBAF World Cup and Pan American Games, respectively.

Right-hander Scott Patterson, who pitched in the Atlantic League (Lancaster, PA) and Frontier League (Gateway, Sauget, IL), is on the team along with southpaws Andy Van Hekken (Somerset, NJ, Atlantic) and Randy Williams (Edinburg, TX, Central League).  Williams spent some time with the parent Boston Red Sox this season while Patterson is in the Seattle organization and Van Hekken is in the Houston chain.

(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.)