Princeton Rays News & Notes as of March 29, 2012

*Jamie Nelson, who managed the Princeton Rays to 141 victories and four Mercer Cup titles from 2003-2007, reported early to spring training this year with the big league team and was working in an instructional capacity with the Tampa Bay Rays' major league catchers early in the preseason. Nelson, who also spent the 2000 season in Princeton as the P-Rays' hitting coach, is expected to visit here several times this summer in his current role as Tampa Bay's minor league catching coordinator.

*There's an upcoming marriage on the horizon in the P-Rays family. Announcing their engagement on March 3 were Eric Meadows, the proprietor of the P-Rays' concessions operation, "Roscoe's Grille," and long-time P-Rays' fan Christie Cook, who is a schoolteacher at nearby Glenwood School. The tentative wedding date being planned is for sometime in August.

*We are still receiving reservations from fans wanting to be on the bus for the Princeton Rays 8th annual bus trip to Pittsburgh on May 5 to see the Pirates battle the Reds in a 7:05 p.m. game. Keep those calls coming (the deadline is April 5), we are now working on filling a second bus! For complete details about the trip, please see the story in the "Headlines" section on the opening page of our website at www.princetonrays.net. This has always been a fan favorite, don't miss out on your chance to see Major League Baseball for a very economical price!

*Three former Princeton Rays were released by the Tampa Bay Rays on March 21: catcher Junior Rodriguez (2011 P-Rays), pitcher Lucas Irvine (2011), and pitcher Matt Stabelfeld (2009) while 2009 P-Rays' third baseman Julio Cedeno was released on March 28.

*Zach Serwe, who was a front office marketing intern with the P-Rays in 2011, will be joining the front office staff of the Bowling Green (KY) Hot Rods on May 12. The Hot Rods are the Midwest League Class-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Zach is just another in a long line of college students that have completed the P-Rays' intern program and used the experience to launch their career in sports.

*The results from the latest fans' poll question on our website at www.princetonrays.net are in. To review, the question was: "Which former player do you think was the most deserving to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012 (but was not)?" Our fans were presented with five options and here is what our fans think: Edgar Martinez 46%, Jeff Bagwell 23%, Jack Morris 20%, Alan Trammell 6%, and Tim Raines 3%. A new fan poll question is now on the opening page of our website at www.princetonrays.net and we encourage you to take a moment and make your voice heard!

*Congratulations to former 2004 P-Rays' (and current Tampa Bay) shortstop Reid Brignac, who became a father on March 10. His new son has been named Reid Michael.

*Princeton Rays General Manager Jim Holland was the guest speaker on March 10 at the monthly men's breakfast for First Christian Church of Princeton, WV. If your group or gathering ever needs a guest speaker at your event, please feel free to contact Jim either by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at (304) 487-2000. He will be happy to catch you up on all the latest happenings with the P-Rays.

To get more immediate and breaking information year-round on Princeton Rays Professional Baseball as it occurs, do not forget that the P-Rays are now on Facebook. Be sure to check out and "like" our Facebook section on our website at www.princetonrays.net. Don't miss your opportunity to sign up for this free service! ANOTHER FREE OPPORTUNITY for you to keep up with your P-Rays is to follow the team on "Twitter" at @princetonrays or by accessing www.twitter.com/princetonrays.