2013 Final Game Notes
You can download the full PDF version of the notes here.
END OF DAYS: LOU finished 2013 with a 69-75 record. The season marked the third straight in which LOU did not make the playoffs after three straight IL West titles from 2008-2010. Since joining the International League, LOU's longest playoff drought was four years from 2004-2007. LOU finished with a losing record for back-to-back years for just the fifth time in franchise history (1988-89, 1996-97, 1999-2000, 2004-05, 2012-13).
GREGORY THE GREAT: RHP Greg Reynolds was named the 2013 Mary E. Barney Team MVP Award winner. He finished 2nd in the IL with his 2.42era, T-2nd with his 12 wins, 6th with his 156.1ip and 1st with his 1.06whip. His 12 wins and 2.42era were also tops among all Reds minor leaguers. Among IL starters, he allowed the fewest number of baserunners per 9.0ip (9.76) and allowed the third-fewest walks per 9.0ip (1.64). He became the first pitcher in LOU franchise history to start a season 10-0 in 2013 (RHP Ralph Citarella started 9-0 in 1984). His complete game shutout 6/22 vs. ROC was the first CG of the season for LOU and first CG SHO since LHP Jeff Francis on 6/3/12 vs. DUR (7h, 1bb, 4k). He won IL Pitcher of the Week for 6/3-6/9. Reynolds also became the first pitcher in LOU franchise history to record the win in a Triple-A All-Star Game 7/17 in Reno. He was awarded the win despite allowing 2er in his 1.0ip (3h, 0bb, 0k) to start the game for the IL as they defeated the PCL 4-3. He became just the 2nd LOU pitcher to start the Triple-A All-Star Game since its inception in 1988 (former Red RHP Justin Lehr, 2009 in Portland, OR).
BILLY GOES HAM: OF Billy Hamilton led the IL with 75sb, 32 more than COL's Ezequiel Carrera in second. His 75sb were the 2nd-most in a season in LOU franchise history (Vince Coleman, 101 in 1984) and the most in the IL since Otis Nixon set the modern IL record with 94sb with COL in 1983. He stole 2B 50 times, 3B 24 times and home once (10 CS at 2B and 5 at 3B). LOU went 33-24 (.579) in games in which Hamilton stole a base, 14-9 (.609) when he stole 3B and 5-9 (.357) when he was caught stealing. Hamilton notched a season-high 3sb three times (LOU 2-1). He stole a base in five consecutive games twice (4/17-4/21, 6/8-6/14g1). On 8/15 at PAW he became the 16th player in LOU franchise history to hit 2 3b in a game and the first since 2009. His 8 outfield assists were second on the team behind Felix Perez' 9. He played in both the 2013 Triple-A All-Star Game in Reno 7/17 & the 2013 Sirius XM All-Star Futures Game at Citi Field in NYC on 7/14. He was named a 2013 IL Postseason All-Star, the only LOU player receiving postseason honors. Hamilton was coming off seasons where he stole 103 bases (DAY, 2011) and 155 bases (BAK and PEN, 2012). The latter set a new professional baseball single-season record that had been held by Coleman, when he stole 145 bases with Macon in 1983. Baseball America rated Hamilton as the top Reds prospect entering 2013 after rating him 2nd in both 2011 and 2012.
UNTOUCHABLE: LHP Tony Cingrani went 3-0 with a 1.15era (31.1ip, 14h, 4er, 11bb, 49k, 1hr, 0.80whip, .133avg-against.) in 6 starts for LOU. He was named IL Pitcher of the Week for the season-opening week of 4/4/13-4/7/13. Cingrani made his Louisville debut 4/4 as the Opening Night starter for the Bats against TOL, tossing 6 hitless innings and allowing just 1bb while striking out 14 Mud Hens. Cingrani was perfect through 5.0ip, struck out the first seven batters he faced and struck out 13 of the first 15 batters he faced. He did not allow an earned run at the Triple-A level until his 22nd inning of work. The lefty was recalled by CIN twice, the second time coming on 6/11, and he did not return to LOU after that date.
BATS IN THE BIGS: A total of 18 players appeared for both the Bats and the Reds in 2013. Four players from the Bats' Opening Day roster were recalled by CIN (IF Henry Rodriguez, IF Neftali Soto, LHP Tony Cingrani, RHP Pedro Villarreal). RHP Curtis Partch started the season w/PEN before being transferred to LOU and subsequently recalled by CIN. CIN selected the contracts of six Bats players (OF Billy Hamilton, C Corky Miller [twice], RHP Nick Christiani, LHP Zach Duke, RHP Justin Freeman, RHP Greg Reynolds [twice]). Miller also appeared w/LOU on ML rehab. CIN sent five players from their Opening Day roster to LOU on ML rehab (C Ryan Hanigan, OF Chris Heisey, OF Ryan Ludwick, RHP Jonathan Broxton, LHP Sean Marshall). Two players from the Reds' Opening Day roster were optioned to LOU during the season (OF Derrick Robinson, RHP Logan Ondrusek). Five Bats made their ML debuts this year (Hamilton, Soto, Christiani, Freeman, Partch).
TO MIKE HESSMAN!: IF Mike Hessman led the Bats and all Reds minor leaguers with 25hr. He recorded four multi-HR games in 2013, tying him for the most in a single season in LOU franchise history (Brandon Cromer also had 4 in 1999). He hit his 400th professional HR on 6/23 vs. ROC and finished 2013 with 409hr in his career, 403 in affiliated baseball (he hit six in Japan). Eight of his team-leading 25hr came against his former team, TOL, and all eight were solo HR. Three of his four two-HR games came against TOL (4/4 vs. TOL, 4/5 vs. TOL, 7/8 at TOL). He became the first player in LOU history to hit multiple HR in the first two games of the season, doing so in his first two games as a Bat. Seventeen of Hessman's 25hr were solo and 35 of his 56rbi came via HRs (62.5%). His 25hr finished T-4th in the IL with former Bat Danny Dorn (TOL) and his 1hr/16.80ab ratio was 4th in the IL. He led the team with a career-high 32 2b, including 8 in his last 12g.
HERE FOR THE DURATION: Eleven players stayed on the LOU roster the entire season: C Nevin Ashley, IF Emmanuel Burriss, IF Jason Donald, IF Mike Hessman, IF Kristopher Negron, OF Felix Perez, OF Denis Phipps, RHP Jose Arredondo, RHP Daniel Corcino, RHP Chad Reineke and RHP Kevin Whelan. Hessman, Negron, Phipps, Corcino and Whelan were the only five players to stay on the active roster the entire season. Ashley, Burriss, Donald (added after initial roster, but before Game #1) and Reineke all saw time on the DL. Arredondo was suspended briefly for a violation of team rules and Perez finished the season on the temporarily inactive list.
LOUISVILLE LEGEND: C Corky Miller set a franchise record by appearing in a LOU uniform for his ninth season. He finished the season second in franchise history having played in 523 games, just 21 shy of tying Bill Lyons for most in franchise history. Miller's 96 doubles also place him second on the franchise list, just one behind Kevin Barker for the franchise mark. 2013 also saw the catcher move up the all-time franchise list in RBI (2nd), home runs (4th), at-bats (4th) and hits (5th). The veteran also took the mound again in 2013 and, like in 2012, was the only LOU position player to pitch. The knuckleballer made 3 app. on the season and tossed two scoreless outings (0.2ip 5/27 vs. COL, 2.0ip 6/6 vs. NOR). On the year, Miller finished with a 7.71era (4.2ip, 4h, 4er, 1bb, 1k, 1hr). Miller has now made 4 app. on the mound in his LOU career and 6 total in his career. He's amassed a career 6.75era (6.2ip, 7h, 5er, 1bb, 1k, 2hr).
SKUNKED: LOU played in a franchise-record 28 shutout games in 2013 (13-15), most in the IL. The 28 shutout games passed the 1991 Redbirds with their 26 shutout games (12-14). The Bats' 13 shutout wins tied for the league lead with PAW and the 15 shutout losses tied for the most in the IL with COL. LOU's 13 shutout wins are the most since they also won 13 shutouts in 2010. The 15 shutout losses were most since the 1996 Redbirds lost a franchise record 16 shutout games (5-16). The franchise record for most shutout wins is 15 (2009, 15-8).
SCORELESS DROUGHT: LOU sustained a season-high 24-inning scoreless streak from the 3rd inning 8/17 at ROC to the 1st inning 8/20 at ROC. It was the longest since a 30-inning scoreless stretch 8/21/05-8/24/05. LOU's longest scoreless streak in 2012 was 21 innings. The franchise record for consecutive scoreless innings is 31, set 7/1/95-7/3/95 as the Redbirds were shutout in three straight games (two vs. Nashville, one at Buffalo).
WILD, WILD WEST: LOU finished at an even 36-36 against their IL West division rivals. In 2012, they went 18-46 against divisional foes. LOU won the season series with the division-winning IND, 13-9. LOU went 11-10 against TOL, but was just 8-13 against COL.
FINISHED AT THE BOTTOM: LOU's offense finished last in the IL in runs, hits, RBI, total bases, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, batting average and OPS. LOU finished with 486rbi on the year and avoided setting a franchise low for RBI in a season by recording 5rbi in the last inning of the last game 9/2 vs. IND. The franchise low is 483rbi set in 1991. Their 523r scored was the second lowest in franchise history (514 in 1991). Their 1,156 hits were the lowest since recording 1,123 in 1991. Their .307obp was the second lowest in franchise history (.306 in 1988). Their .354slg was the lowest it has been since it was .353 in 1991.
CHUTES AND LADDERS: LOU suffered a franchise-high 12-game losing streak from 8/7 vs. IND to 8/19 at ROC before their win 8/20 at ROC. The previous franchise-worst losing streak was an 11-game skid between 8/3/00-8/13/00. The losing streak came on the tail end of a 5-game winning streak (8/2-8/6) that tied their season high (6/11-6/16). During the 5-game winning streak, LOU hit .282 (49-for-174), .340 (17-for-50) w/ RISP and outscored their opponents 31-15 as their pitchers posted a 2.74era (14er/46.0ip). During the 12-game losing streak, LOU hit .227 (91-for-401), .160 (15-for-94) w/ RISP and was outscored 73-24. LOU pitchers posted a 6.27era (69er/99.0ip) during the skid and starters suffered the loss in 10 of the 12 losses, including the first five and the last four. LOU followed the skid with a 4-game winning streak where they hit .270 (34-for-126), posted a 1.75era (7er/36.0ip) and outscored their opponents 17-8.
WALK IT OFF: LOU recorded eight walk-off wins in 2013, including walk-off HRs on Opening Day and the last game of the season. The walk-off solo HR by OF Felix Perez on Opening Night was the first Opening Night walk-off HR for LOU since OF Rob Stratton did it in the 10th inning on 4/7/05 vs. OTT. The walk-off grand slam by OF Denis Phipps in the last game of the season was LOU's first walk-off grand slam since C Dioner Navarro on 7/14/12 vs. GWN.
GRAND FINALE: On 9/2 vs. IND, the final game of the season, LOU scored 5r in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the Tribe 7-5. IND brought 1B Matt Hague in to pitch the 9th in a save situation with a 5-2 lead. The inning started with singles by C Matt Kennelly and OF Ryan LaMarre before IF Kristopher Negron and OF Josh Fellhauer each struck out swinging. After a walk to IF Mike Hessman to load the bases, IF Mike Costanzo drew a second straight walk to bring in a run on a full-count pitch. OF Denis Phipps then launched a 1-0 pitch from Hague over the seats in left field to give the Bats the win in the season finale. The slam was LOU's third of the year an
POTENT PINO: RHP Yohan Pino finished 6th in the IL with his 3.26era in 31g (16gs) w/LOU. His combined 2.99era w/LOU and PEN (4g, 1gs) was good for 3rd among Reds minor leaguers. He was transferred to LOU from PEN on 4/18. From 7/3-8/6, Pino went 2-0 with a 1.48era (7er/42.2ip), a 5.0k/bb ratio (40k/8bb) and a .190avg against (29h/153ab). On 7/25 at SYR, he allowed just 2h and went the distance in the 1-0 shutout win (0bb, 7k, 1wp). It was his 10th career CG and fifth career SHO (his first SHO since 6/30/07 in a 7-inn. game w/ Ft. Myers). The game was also LOU's first 1-0 win with a CG SHO from their starting pitcher since RHP Willis Roberts on 6/3/00 vs. SWB (4h, 0bb, 3k). Pino was also 6-for-7 in save opportunities and recorded a 2.60era as a reliever.
NEAR-PERFECT CONNECTION: RHP Armando Galarraga and IF Jason Donald were both on LOU's roster after Donald was outrighted to LOU prior to the Bats' opener on 4/4. Those two players will be forever connected as it was Donald's infield single that broke up Galarraga's near-perfect game against with two outs in the ninth inning on 6/2/10 in Detroit. At the time, Galarraga was a Tiger and Donald played for CLE. Donald was called safe on a close play at first as Galarraga covered the bag on the play, but replays show Donald was narrowly out. First base umpire Jim Joyce later saw the replay and acknowledged his mistake. The two played together in 2013 w/LOU until 7/15 when Galarraga was traded to Colorado.
PITCHING PROWESS: LOU pitchers posted a 3.75era as a staff in 2013, LOU's best mark since the 2009 team set a franchise record with a 3.46era. The 3.75era was fifth-best in LOU franchise history going back to 1982. In addition, LOU pitching allowed just 578 runs on the year, which is fourth-best in franchise history and the fewest since 2009 when LOU pitchers allowed a franchise-low 555 runs.
SINGLE FOREVER: LOU's 321 extra-base hits were the fewest in the IL (321), 19 fewer than COL. The 321xbh were the fourth-fewest in franchise history and fewest since the 1990 Redbirds recorded 303xbh. LOU's 94hr were the fewest since hitting 85 in 1991 and the seventh-lowest total in franchise history. Their 215 2b were the fewest since also hitting 215 in 1996. Their 12 3b were the lowest total in franchise history.
LEATHERVILLE: LOU finished ranked 2nd in the IL with a .982 fielding percentage and committed an error in just 18 of their last 57g, spanning 496.1 innings (25 errors in that span). The LOU defense had an 88-inning errorless streak starting in the 6th inning on 7/3 vs. IND and going through the 9th inning 7/12 vs. IND. The streak was the longest in franchise history going back through 1989. The streak spanned 10 whole games and LOU went 5-5 in those games. The errorless innings streak was the longest since a 65-inning stretch from the 9th inning of 6/29/09 through the 4th inning of 7/8/09.
ROAD WARRIORS: LOU finished the season 36-36 away from Louisville Slugger Field. It was just the eighth time in LOU franchise history since 1982 that the team finished with a road record at .500 or above. LOU hit .243 on the road (versus .245 at home), but got a 3.51era from its pitchers away from LSF (versus 3.98 at home).
JUMBO-LAYA: RHP Jose Diaz earned a team-leading 13 saves in 2013. He finished with a 1.66era and a 1.03whip in 44g (54.1ip) after joining LOU on 4/15. He converted 13 of 14 save opportunities (8-for-8 on the road) and opponents hit just .181 against him (righties just .161). He had a 2.86k/bb ratio (60k/21bb). From the start of June, he went 12-for-12 in save opportunities and allowed just 4er in 34.2ip with 36k to just 10bb (3.6k/bb). He allowed just 2er on the road this season in 22.2ip.
TRENDING TOPICS: LOU won 10 series in 2013 after winning only 5 in 2012… LOU went 39-24 (.619) when they hit a home run… 61 of LOU's 94hr were solo HR (64.9%)… LOU starters turned in 61 quality starts in 2013 and LOU went 38-23 (.623) in those games. In 2012, Bats starters had 55 quality starts and LOU went 28-27 (.509)… LOU was 50-10 (.833) when leading after five innings and 7-59 (.106) when trailing after five (12-6 when tied through five)… LOU scored more than 5r in a game just 12 times after the start of play on 6/14 (11-1 when scoring more than 5 runs during that stretch and 29-5 on the season) and went 38-39 over that stretch… LOU catchers caught just 24 of 142 would-be base stealers (.169), the worst percentage in the IL.
HAMMERIN' HENRY: IF Henry Rodriguez hit .388 (47-for-121) in his final 35g w/LOU before being recalled on 9/1. The span came on the heels of a 2-for-31 stretch at the plate 7/12-7/23. He had 4 2b, 4rbi, 14r scored and 4sb in those 35g. He hit .452 (14-for-31) during an eight-game hitting streak from 8/9-8/17. Also included over the 35g stretch is a separate 7-game hitting streak (7/31g2-8/6), a 5-for-5 game (8/2 vs. SYR), 15 multi-hit games, three games with 3 or more hits and two game-winning run-scoring hits (1b 7/22 at SYR and PH 2b 8/6 vs. IND). He hit .396 (38-for-96) for the month of August, best in the IL. His .274avg on the season was good for 7th among Reds minor leaguers.
AT HITS END: LOU recorded three or fewer hits in a game 14 times in 2013 (9.7% of games played) and recorded two or fewer hits eight times this season (5.5% of games played). Two hits was the season low for LOU in a nine-inning game, done four time (the Bats were one-hit 6/14g2 at NOR and won the game). In 2012, LOU had three or fewer hits in a game nine times and was held to two or fewer just twice.
HANGING CHAD: In a LOU uniform for the fourth straight season, RHP Chad Reineke became the franchise's all-time leader in innings pitched (539.2ip) after passing LHP Matt Maloney (519.1ip) on 7/18 at SWB and games started (89gs) after passing Maloney (86gs) 8/2 vs. SYR. He is fourth on the franchise's all-time list with 31 wins. He is third all-time in strikeouts (351). Reineke also holds the unfortunate franchise marks for losses (37) and most hits allowed (595).
CLOSING TIME: A total of ten pitchers recorded saves for LOU, led by RHP Jose Diaz' 13. Diaz was followed by RHP Kevin Whelan (6), RHP Yohan Pino (6), RHP Nick Christiani (3), RHP Pedro Villarreal (2), RHP Jose Arredondo (2), LHP Zach Duke (2), RHP Curtis Partch (2), RHP Justin Freeman (1) and RHP Logan Ondrusek (1). In 2012, just six pitchers recorded saves for LOU. The 13 saves by Diaz ties RHP J.J. Hoover (2012) and RHP Jordan Smith (2012) for the most since RHP Jon Adkins saved 30 games in 2008.
STREAKING SOTO: IF Neftali Soto recorded LOU's longest hitting streak of 2013, spanning 10 games from 6/9-6/24. It matched the longest LOU hitting streak from 2012 set by OF Joey Gathright from 5/24/12-6/4/12. After leading LOU in total bases (186), and ranking 2nd in hits (114) and home runs (14) in 2012, Soto started the 2013 season on the DL with a right quad strain. On 4/11 at TOL, he made his 2013 debut and went 2-for-4 with 2 2b and 2rbi in his return as the Bats beat TOL 4-1. He followed that performance by going 1-for-4 with a 2b and 1rbi on 4/12 as LOU lost at TOL 2-1. Soto's return helped the LOU offense as he led the 2013 Bats in avg. (.271) while ranking second in total bases (191), RBI (61) and home runs (15).
SUPER SOUTHPAW: LHP Zach Duke was 2-0 with 2 saves, a 1.30era and a 0.87whip in 26g for the Bats after being released by Washington and signed by the Reds on 6/13. He had 34k to just 5bb in 27.2ip and opponents hit just .196 against him. Duke didn't allow a run until his 15th app. with LOU. The Reds selected his contract on 8/30 and he made his CIN debut on the same day at Colorado.
ATTENDANCE: LOU finished 5th in the IL in attendance, averaging 8,185 and drawing 581,114 fans total. The Bats have averaged 8,979 fans since Louisville Slugger Field's opening in 2000 and have totaled over 8.8 million attendees through 14 seasons.
YES, YOU MAY: LOU finished May with a 15-14 record, their first full month with a winning percentage over .500 since April 2011 when they were 16-7, breaking a franchise-record string of 10 straight full months. May was also LOU's only winning full month in 2013 (did go 2-0 in September). LOU has not had consecutive full months with a record above .500 since they were 22-6 and 18-11 in July and August of 2010, respectively.
QUICK SIX: On 5/29 vs. COL, LOU scored in the first six innings of a game for the first time since 5/7/10 vs. ROC, a 16-3 win at Louisville Slugger Field. LOU hit 4hr in the span 5/29, including back-to-back HR by DH Nevin Ashley and C Konrad Schmidt (the first back-to-back HR of the year for LOU). LOU led COL 10-6 after six innings and went on to win 10-7. On 5/7/10, LOU led ROC 16-2 after six full innings and collected 15 hits in the game. IF Zack Cozart and DH Wladimir Balentien hit the Bats' two homers in the game and C Corky Miller was 2-for-4 with 2 2b and 4rbi. In all, seven Bats (including the aforementioned three) had multi-hit games (two hits each) and eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit.
NO BATTER OF THE WEEK: While LOU did have two IL Pitchers of the Week (Tony Cingrani, 4/4-4/7 and Greg Reynolds, 6/3-6/9), the Bats did not have any IL Batters of the Week for the first time since 2008. LOU's last IL Batter of the Week was IF Cody Puckett for the week of 6/18/12-6/24/12. LOU had two hitters win the award in 2012, one in 2011, three in 2010 and four in 2009.
PRIOR EXPERIENCE: RHP Mark Prior, former No. 2 overall draft pick by the Cubs in 2001, signed a minor-league deal with CIN during the offseason and started the 2013 season with LOU. A 2003 NL All-Star, Prior has suffered several injuries during his career and has not appeared in a ML game since 8/10/2006. He pitched in 7 games for the Bats, compiling a 4.66era over 9.2 innings (9h, 5er, 4bb, 9k). Prior went on the DL on 4/25 with a right shoulder strain before being released by CIN on 6/28 and did not pitch again in 2013 after going on the DL.
RIGGLEMAN'S RETURN: Former ML manager Jim Riggleman managed the Bats in 2013. Riggleman was the third Bats manager in as many years following Rick Sweet (2005-2011) and David Bell (2012). It was his third stint in Louisville. He served as a coach with the Louisville Redbirds in 1982 and also spent time in Louisville during the 1988 season as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals' player development staff. Ted Power returned for his eighth straight season as LOU's pitching coach and Tony Jaramillo made the move with Riggleman from Pensacola to become the third Bats hitting coach in as many years following Smokey Garrett (2003-2011) and Ryan Jackson (2012). Riggleman went 69-75 in his first season at the helm in LOU and now owns a 134-145 (.480) record over two seasons in the CIN minor league system (68-70 w/PEN in 2012). In 12 yrs. as a ML manager w/SD, CHC, SEA and WSH, Riggleman was 662-824 (.445).
FOLLOW THE LEADER: Eight players who played under Bats manager Jim Riggleman in Pensacola last year were on the Bats' Opening Night roster this year: Tony Cingrani (16 games), Daniel Corcino (26g), Wilkin De La Rosa (46g), Josh Fellhauer (117g), Justin Freeman (57g), Billy Hamilton (50g), Henry Rodriguez (33g) and Pedro Villarreal (6g). In total, 14 players who suited up for Riggleman w/PEN in 2012 did so for him at LOU in 2013. In addition to the above players, Mike Costanzo, Tim Crabbe, Ryan LaMarre, Curtis Partch, Josh Ravin and Chad Rogers all played for the skipper in 2012 and 2013.
TRANSACTIONS: LOU had 123 roster moves in 2013: April (26), May (16), June (24), July (17), August (32), September (8). In all, a total of 51 players (22 position players, 29 pitchers) appeared for the Bats in 2013. The total is one fewer than the 52 players used last year and is tied for the fewest since the 2000 RiverBats also used 51. LOU went without any transactions being made between 5/25 and 6/4, an 11-day span. That was the longest span since 2005 when LOU had no transactions for 12 straight days from 4/19/05-4/30/05.