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MLB

10th Anniversary Team Vote: First Base

By
December 5, 2016

With the 10-Year Anniversary season around the corner, the IronPigs are enlisting its fans in assembling a 10-Year Anniversary Team. This All-IronPigs squad will be featured in team publications and on select promotional items during the 2017 season.

Each week, the IronPigs will host an "election" for a different position via Twitter. The player with the most votes will be named to the team. There will be four candidates for each position. Each candidate has been selected in advance and must meet certain requirements - first, and foremost, that each played their listed position as their primary position for at least one season with Lehigh Valley. Some players will appear at multiple positions throughout the voting process.

A summary making a case for each candidate will appear in a position feature on www.ironpigsbaseball.com. It is encouraged that votes be cast for each player's performance as an IronPig as opposed to prospect status or later success in Major League Baseball.

 

Dec. 5-Dec. 11: First Base

Click Here to Vote!

 

FIRST BASEMAN (L to R in photo above):

Andy Tracy, Russ Canzler, Cody Overbeck, Darin Ruf

 

Andy Tracy (2008-10)

Career Stats: .272-69-261 in 378 G, 207 BB

Bacon Bits: Andy Tracy, one of the most recognizable faces in IronPigs history, is the franchise career record-holder in HR (69), RBI (261) and BB (207) as compiled in 378 G during the first three seasons of IronPigs baseball. In fact, he has 30 HR and 99 RBI more than the second-place player on those lists (Cody Overbeck). The 2009 and 2010 IL midseason All-Star is one of just two IronPigs all-time to appear in multiple "midsummer's classics" (Mike Cervenak) and is the only one to appear in a Home Run Derby (2009, 2010). Appropriately, the Bowling Green, Ohio, native recorded the first homer and first RBI in LHV history on April 4, 2008. Tracy is also the only Pigs position player to win an IL Player of the Month award (June 2010) and holds the most IL Player of the Week awards at three.   

 

Russ Canzler* (2014-15)

Career Stats: .278-21-81 in 169 G

Bacon Bits: The "local boy" joined the IronPigs midway through the 2014 season and immediately became arguably the biggest offensive force in the lineup. A product of Hazelton High School, Canzler joined the Pigs on June 26 - and from that point on, he posted the eighth-highest OPS in the IL in 2014. During the span, he batted. 281-11-34 in 61 G while also appearing some at 3B and in both LF and RF. On July 22, he tied the franchise single-game record with three doubles against Buffalo. The IL veteran was also one of the most consistent performers in 2015 - despite missing three weeks late in the season with an oblique strain - and ranks eighth all-time in career HR (21). *Canzler will also appear in the voting for the Utility spot on the 10th Anniversary Team.

 

Cody Overbeck (2011-13)

Career Stats: .257-39-162 in 323 G

Bacon Bits: A solid performer for parts of three seasons in Lehigh Valley, Overbeck is second only to Andy Tracy in IronPigs career HR (39) and RBI (162) while ranking third all-time in hits (289) and games (323), tied for third in doubles (67) and fifth in both runs (125) and BB (79). The Atoka, Tenn., native is also tied with Mike Cervenak for the longest in-season hitting streak in Pigs history (18) and tied for the second-longest all time behind Domonic Brown (21, over parts of 2010-11). He also is the single-season record holder for G with 133 (2012) and twice in 2013 posted three-game HR streaks. 

 

Darin Ruf* (2013-16)

Career Stats: .280-28-127 in 208 G, 47 2B

Bacon Bits: Though his Triple-A career started much slower than his historical Double-A assault in 2012, Ruf put forth as good a stretch offensively as any IronPigs player in history during the 2016 season. At the time he was promoted to Philadelphia on Sept. 1, the Omaha native had just ended an impressive, career-high, 16-game hitting streak - during which time he batted.397-5-15 (25-63, 4 2B, 2 HBP, 12 R). Despite playing in only 95 G last season, Ruf led the IL in SLG (.529) while finishing tied for fifth in HR (20), tied for 10th in RBI (65) and 11th in AVG (.294). In single-season lists, his 20 HR sit fifth and his .294 AVG is seventh. In all-time career IronPigs ranks, the slugger places fourth in HR (28), fifth in RBI (127) and 10th in AVG (.280). *Ruf will also appear in the voting for the left fielder on the 10th Anniversary Team.

 

10TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM (AS OF 12/5/16):

Catcher:               Erik Kratz (68%)

                                Other Nominees: Andrew Knapp (28%), Jason Jaramillo (5%), John Suomi (3%)