Remembering 2015
CORPUS CHRISTI - I didn't write one of these last year. And, looking back, I didn't put together a retrospective for 2011, either.
I can't tell you why I missed those opportunities to frame a Hooks season. Perhaps it was a lack of energy or creativity.
Or urgency to move on to other projects.
2015 cannot and will not be ignored. The Hooks weren't the last Texas League team standing. But history will show that Corpus Christi won more games than any other club in Minor League Baseball during the regular season (89). When you win at a .636 rate, that's something special.
Let's not forget a 48-22 (.686) first half, as the Hooks finished 13 games ahead of second-place Midland in the TL South.
Arguably the best team in Corpus Christi history was led, early-on, by the best player. Before shortstop Carlos Correa was promoted to Triple-A Fresno on May 11, he hit .385 with 15 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 32 runs batted in, and 15 stolen bases in 29 contests. His slugging percentage was .726, on-base plus slugging 1.185.
Correa wows fans across the country with web gems on a nightly basis at the big-league level. In the spring, he was doing the same at Whataburger Field. Correamania took the Coastal Bend by storm, media interest in the charismatic, gracious Puerto Rican exceeding that of any player before him.
As Correa was the unquestioned leader of the Hooks out of the gate, his double-play partner, Tony Kemp, was the heartbeat. The former Vanderbilt Commodore went nationwide on April 20 with a diving catch in right-center field, No. 1 on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10. At the time, Kemp was playing center field. Like Correa, he exited the Texas League as the circuit's leading hitter (.358)… exactly one month later.
The ultimate Texas League batting champion was a Hook, too. All-Star Jon Kemmer began 2015 as a reserve outfielder. The left-hander from Shippenville, Pa., won the batting title at .327, 10 percentage points ahead of Player of the Year Chad Pinder (Midland). Kemmer topped league leader boards in slugging percentage (.574) and on-base plus slugging (.988), and was tied for second in home runs (18).
As the play of Correa and Kemp flavored the early season, and Kemmer was a long-haul success, former two-way Kentucky star and 2014 Golden Spikes Award winner A.J. Reed gave late-summer vacationers added incentive to check out Whataburger Field. All Reed did was lead all of Minor League Baseball in home runs and RBIs, collecting 23/81 in High-A Lancaster, then 11/46 as a Hook from July 12 on while maintaining a cumulative .340 batting average.
There were many others. Outfielder and Hooks alum Andrew Aplin (.343) dropped down from Fresno for 31 games (May 16-June 20) to lend a hand. Outfielder Brett Phillips (.321) arrived on June 24 from Lancaster and played 31 before going to Milwaukee in the Carlos Gomez deal. All-Star third baseman Colin Moran batted .306/9/67 in 96 games. Tyler White hit .284/7/40 over 59, won the Texas League All-Star Game Home Run Derby at Whataburger Field on June 30, and was promoted to Fresno the next day.
Middle infielders Chan-Jong Moon (.266/3/18) and Jack Mayfield (.260/7/22), the former Del Rio High standout who was MVP of the 2013 Kleberg Bank College Classic while an Oklahoma Sooner, were fan favorites down the stretch. Shortstop Jio Mier (.258/7/56), an extension of manager Rodney Linares, prominently figured into Corpus Christi's success during his third tour with the club. It was fitting that Mier drove in the final run of the year with a double at Midland.
Outfielders Leo Heras (.244/5/30) and Danry Vasquez (.245/0/19) came up big at times, too, the latter catching fire late in the season when he had an opportunity to play regularly.
First baseman Conrad Gregor and outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, named the team's top defender, combined for 27 home runs and 121 RBIs. Only Midland's Colin Walsh scored more runs than Hernandez (92). Backup catcher Alfredo Gonzalez showed promise with a .300 average over 100 at-bats and 32 contests. Starter Roberto Pena boasted a 49 percent efficiency rate before raking the RockHounds for a career-best five RBIs in the South Division Series opener.
It was in that September 9 game All-Star pitcher Chris Devenski reminded of his first-half dominance, when he sprinted to a 7-0 record by June 10. Three months would come and go before his next triumph, but "Devo" still finished among league leaders in ERA (2nd-3.01), strikeouts (6th-104) and WHIP (T4th-1.25). Kyle Westwood tied Arkansas' Albert Suarez for the league lead in victories (11). La Grulla's Ruben Alaniz, Astros 40-man member Michael Feliz, and Brian Holmes collected six wins each.
Mark Appel and Mike Hauschild left Corpus Christi in June for Triple-A after posting identical 5-1 marks. Like Feliz, Vincent Velasquez (4-0/1.91) and Lance McCullers (3-1/0.56) were shuttled back to Corpus Christi from the Astros to manage their workload and spend time with pitching guru Doug Brocail.
All-Star Jandel Gustave, second among TL closers with 20 saves, also won five games. Aaron West and "The Sheriff," Chris Cotton, booked five saves apiece and sub-3.06 earned run averages. Travis Ballew, Edison Frias, and Joe Musgrove joined Velasquez as four-game winners. Josh Hader was 3-3 with a 3.17 ERA in 17 appearances before he was packaged with Phillips and two others in the Gomez trade. Juan Minaya, Fresno-bound on August 22, recorded a 3.25 ERA in 29 appearances as the fourth most-used reliever behind behind Ballew (47), Gustave (46), Cotton (33), and West (30).
And, at the center of it all, though seldom the center of attention, was first-year skipper Rodney Linares. The soft-spoken 38-year-old earned Texas League Manager of the Year honors by deftly handling the Hooks and all the attention brought by Correa and the winningest club in professional baseball over 140 games. From the manager's seat, an abundance of talent can't be an embarrassment of riches. Linares had won with many of his 2015 charges at Lancaster over the previous three seasons; his resulting credibility and creation of the right clubhouse culture put the 2015 Hooks on a solid foundation.
The entire Astros player development system is similarly undergirded, so 2016 holds great promise.
But here's to '15… not a championship season, but a dream season nonetheless.
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Off the Field…
Former Caller-Times sports editor and current Houston Chronicle staffer Matt Young with his rendition of Rich O'Toole's "I'm Hooked" in the Whataburger Field pressbox… The inability to shake off Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off"… The 79th Texas League All-Star Game planning and strategy, directed by Hooks sales and marketing director Andy Steavens… Another successful Astros-Hooks exhibition, with owner Jim Crane and Reid Ryan… Jose de Jesus Ortiz introducing me to Lance McCullers… New Veterans Memorial coach Lee Yeager returning as an official scorer… The June 4 tribute to Coles High School's 1965 state champions… Driving back from Minute Maid Park late at night with Jeremy Sturgeon, the Coles guys, and their families after an Astros-Rays game… Nick (Rozdilski) & (Andrew) Batts and the grounds crew and an inordinately wet spring and summer… Our theme nights: College Football Saturday featuring the entire Texas A&M-Kingsville team, Hawaii Night, Nickelodeon '90s Night, Off to the Races, Comic-Christi, PGA… The Amandas (Pruett and Hall) and their heart for others… #IMHOOKED, not just our social media hashtag, but our very own monthly TV show on ROOT SPORTS featuring Chris Blake, Michael Coffin, JD Davis, and Amy Johnson, our spirited resident Longhorn… Late-night calls to Danielle "Pebbles" O'Toole for attendance figures… Scoreboard operator John Patino and his homemade hot sauce… A mad dash to get pitch clocks installed and operational in all Double- and Triple-A parks… Kim Harris and Jessica Fearn of our Finance Department and their reminders to keep us on track… Gil Perez and internal PA tests… Chris Thomasson and his son, Landon, at Landon's first Hooks game… Rodney Linares: "Come on in, Ian," to Chris's assistant, Ian Steele… Alan Harwell and Michelle Margaux establishing live shots at 112-113… Talking "cool" colors with Michelle… Sunday evenings with new Caller-Times sports editor Len Hayward… Veteran Caller-Times staffer George Vondracek handling the Hooks/high school football/Texas A&M-Kingsville overlap with great aplomb, indeed… Talking 30-5A baseball with often quiet, always thoughtful Jose Rodriguez of the Caller-Times, for whom college football couldn't get here quickly enough… Splitting a coconut-cream Whataburger Field funnel cake during the last homestand… Midland radio man Bob Hards and his affinity for Whataburger coffee and grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans - not to mention hot rolls and cinnamon butter from Texas Roadhouse…
What do you remember?