{"id":7534,"date":"2010-08-20T10:58:22","date_gmt":"2010-08-20T17:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=7534"},"modified":"2010-08-20T10:58:22","modified_gmt":"2010-08-20T17:58:22","slug":"sandy-deleon-has-made-eight-stops-in-atlantic-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2010\/08\/20\/sandy-deleon-has-made-eight-stops-in-atlantic-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Sandy DeLeon Has Made Eight Stops in Atlantic League"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Call him the true baseball journeyman.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe even a nomad.\u00c2\u00a0 Just call him.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Sandy DeLeon <\/strong>is not the best baseball player in the Atlantic League<\/strong>, and he recognizes it.\u00c2\u00a0 But this happy man from New York City <\/strong>by way of the Dominican Republic<\/strong> is ready any time the telephone rings.\u00c2\u00a0 He brings a smile, and a catcher\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mitt.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/strong>DeLeon currently is the backup catcher at York<\/strong>, filling in on those infrequent days when John Pachot <\/strong>needs a day off from the rigors of squatting behind the plate night after hot summer night.\u00c2\u00a0 For the record, he is hitting .191 for 15 appearances.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It (baseball) calls me all the time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, the 30-year-old told me one recent day, explaining that it happens annually about the time \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the grass starts growing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 He may get a call in the spring, but sometimes, like this year, it does not happen until the season is half gone.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Did I tell you DeLeon has played for eight different Atlantic League teams, five of whom are still part of the eight-team circuit.\u00c2\u00a0 He has been at Bridgeport <\/strong>in four different seasons and at Somerset <\/strong>three times, and also has played in four other independent leagues, but never for a major league organization.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve played everywhere\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, he says, and that is not much of an exaggeration.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>With little urging or time to think about it, I asked DeLeon to give me one thing he remembered about his Atlantic League stops.\u00c2\u00a0 I tried to take them in order with the year of his initial appearance in parenthesis:<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Bridgeport <\/strong>(2001)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Barnum Museum <\/strong>and Seaside Park<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Somerset <\/strong>(2001)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Great hospitality\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Atlantic City <\/strong>(2001)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The lights of the casinos were amazing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Lehigh Valley<\/strong> (2001, a league travel team)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The countryside (going) from city to city\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Road Warriors <\/strong>(2002, another travel team)\u00e2\u20ac\u201dYour humble reporter forgot to ask.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Long Island <\/strong>(2002)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The packed house (stadium)\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a little mini grocery on Carlton Avenue\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Newark <\/strong>(2004)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The museum with its African-American history\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 York <\/strong>(2010)\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I love the farm land; I live not far away\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

* * * *WANT MORE INDEPENDENT BASEBALL COVERAGE?\u00c2\u00a0 Check out\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com<\/a> and www.IndyBaseballChatter.com<\/a> * * * *<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bridgeport Adds Key Arm With Esteban Yan<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 While he has not yet pitched for them this season, it would appear Bridgeport <\/strong>has picked up one more important piece for the late season and the playoffs.\u00c2\u00a0 Former major league right-hander Esteban Yan<\/strong> is returning after a 12-3 season with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 He was a standout for the Bluefish <\/strong>one year ago when he won 11 games and finished third in the Atlantic League <\/strong>with a 3.29 earned run average.<\/p>\n

Canceso Homers for First Time Since Bears and Chisox in \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc01<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Jose Canseco<\/strong> drew considerable attention to the independent United League <\/strong>this week <\/strong>when it took only three pitches in his initial at-bat for the onetime Hall of Fame <\/strong>candidate to hit what was described as a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153monster\u00e2\u20ac\u009d home run for Laredo, TX.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 It was a pinch-hit blast with a runner at second.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>It had been nine years\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand two controversial books\u00e2\u20ac\u201dsince the 46-year-old had hit a home run.\u00c2\u00a0 He clubbed seven while hitting .284 in 41 games and 134 at-bats for the Newark Bears <\/strong>in 2001, then was picked up by the Chicago White Sox <\/strong>for whom he hit 16 more.\u00c2\u00a0 That ran Canseco\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s major league career total to 462 round-trippers. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>(Subscriptions to the Atlantic League Notebook are available on a monthly or full season basis via\u00c2\u00a0 <\/em>www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>www.WirzandAssociates.com<\/em><\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Bob Wirz also writes a weekly subscription column, the Independent Baseball Insider, which can be found via his blog, www.IndyBaseballChatter.com. The author <\/strong>has 16 years of major league baseball PR experience with Kansas City and as chief spokesman for two Commissioners, and lives in Stratford, CT.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Call him the true baseball journeyman.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe even a nomad.\u00c2\u00a0 Just call him. \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Sandy DeLeon is not the best baseball player in the Atlantic League, and he recognizes it.\u00c2\u00a0 But this happy man from New York City by way of the Dominican Republic is ready any time the telephone rings.\u00c2\u00a0 He brings a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6254,9],"tags":[6193,10093,378,10091,2389,10103,10100,10094,10095,7116,10096,495,6292,10104,10102,10101,7905,10097,10098,10099],"class_list":["post-7534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atlantic-league-notebook","category-general","tag-backup-catcher","tag-barnum-museum","tag-baseball-player","tag-deleon","tag-different-seasons","tag-exaggeration","tag-happy-man","tag-hot-summer-night","tag-humble-reporter","tag-independent-leagues","tag-initial-appearance","tag-league-organization","tag-lehigh-valley","tag-nomad","tag-parenthesis","tag-rigors","tag-road-warriors","tag-seaside-park","tag-telephone-rings","tag-travel-team"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7534\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}