Three Crawdads Make 2008 All-Star Team
Spain and De Los Santos will start at third base and shortstop, respectively, for the South Atlantic League's Northern Division All-Stars, while Durham was selected as utility infielder.
At the time the teams were announced, Spain owned a .318 batting average and had just completed a 21-game winning streak. His average ranked him 10th in the league and his 21-game roll is the second-longest in the league this season.
De Los Santos, meanwhile, owned a .294 batting average at the time the rosters were revealed, including a .368 on-base percentage, team-high 12 stolen bases and 58 hits in 47 games.
Rounding out the Crawdads trio is Durham, selected as a utility infielder. Durham's .320 average, 9 home runs and 42 RBI all lead Hickory and ranked sixth, seventh and fourth in the league, respectively, at the time of roster selection.
Please continue reading for the South Atlantic League's press release, including the entire rosters for both the Northern and Southern Division teams.
SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE ANNOUNCES ROSTERS FOR 49TH ANNUAL SAL ALL-STAR GAME
ST. PETERSBURG, FL-Eric Krupa, president of the South Atlantic League, has announced the rosters for the 49th Annual SAL All-Star Game, scheduled to be played on June 17, 2008, at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, NC.
For the Northern Division, the Lake County Captains had a team-high five representatives, including the starting pitcher, Ryan Miller. Lakewood and West Virginia have four representatives each, with both teams providing two starters. Lakewood's Michael Taylor is in left field and Michael Durant is the designated hitter while West Virginia's Jonathan Lucroy starts at catcher and Lee Haydel is in center field.
Hickory and Hagerstown have three representatives each, and both teams also provide two starters. Hickory provides the left side of the starting infield with Jose De Los Santos (SS) and Bobby Spain (3B). Hagerstown starters include Bill Rhinehart (1B) and Michael Burgess (RF). Lexington has two representatives, including starting second baseman Matthew Cusick. The host club, Greensboro, has three representatives, all of them pitchers.
Lake County manager Aaron Holbert will skipper the Northern Division All-Stars. Holbert is in his first season as a manager after being the hitting coach in Billings, Montana last year. Holbert will be assisted by Greensboro manager Edwin Rodriguez, Delmarva manager Ramon Sambo, Lake County pitching coach Ruben Niebla, and Lake County hitting coach Jim Rickon. Greensboro's Julio Hernandez will serve as the team's trainer.
For the Southern Division, the Asheville Tourists had a league-high seven players selected to the all-star team, including five starters. Pitcher Jhoulys Chacin will be joined by Everth Cabrera (2B), Darin Holcomb (3B), Brian Rike (LF) and Michael Mitchell (CF). Greenville has four players on the roster, including starters Yamaico Navarro (SS) and Michael Jones (1B). Charleston also has four players on the squad, with Jesus Montero starting at catcher. Rome and Savannah have two players apiece, with Rome's Jason Heyward starting in right field and Savannah's Jordan Abruzzo named the designated hitter. Augusta and Columbus both have three players on the Southern team.
Asheville skipper Joe Mikulik will manage the Southern Division for the fourth time in his career. Currently in his ninth season at the Tourists' dugout helm, Mikulik also managed in the SAL All-Star Game in 2000, 2001 and 2007 and played in the game as a member of the Houston Astros' organization in 1985. Joining Mikiluk on the Southern Division coaching staff will be Charleston manager Torre Tyson, Augusta manager Andy Skeels, Greenville manager Kevin Boles, and Asheville pitching coach Doug Linton. Handling the trainer's duties will be Kannapolis's Chris McKenna.
Both all-star teams will be represented by 26 players, selected by the votes of the team's managers and coaching staffs, local media and front office executives. Greensboro will be hosting the SAL All-Star Game for the fourth time. Greensboro also hosted the game in 1980, 1982, and 1990. The annual SAL All-Star Game dates to 1960, when the All-Stars defeated the Salisbury club, 6-2, in Newton, N.C.
"Under the leadership of John Moss, this event has grown into an exciting event each year," said Krupa, who is in his first season as president of the league after taking over for President Emeritus John Moss, who served for 50 years and retired at the end of 2007. "The amount of talent that is showcased each year is tremendous, and this year continues that tradition. General Manager Donald Moore and his staff in Greensboro have been working for more than a year in order to live up to that tradition and host one of the great events on the baseball calendar."
A variety of events will be scheduled in Greensboro along with the SAL All-Star Game, including a Shindig and a luncheon in which the 2008 SAL Hall of Fame members will be inducted. The South Atlantic League will announce the 2008 Hall of Fame class on Friday, June 6.
*****2008 SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE ALL-STAR ROSTERS*****
NORTHERN DIVISION
MANAGER: Aaron Holbert (Lake County)
COACH: Edwin Rodriguez (Greensboro)
COACH: Ruben Niebla (Lake County)
COACH: Ramon Sambo (Delmarva)
COACH: Jim Rickon (Lake County)
PITCHERS: Ryan Miller (Lake County), Kelvin De La Cruz (Lake County), Ryan Morris (Lake County), Sean Gleason (Delmarva), Amaury Rivas (West Virginia), Sergio Severino (Lexington), Drew Naylor (Lakewood), Andrew Battisto (Greensboro), Corey Madden (Greensboro), Vinnie Pestano (Lake County), Garrett Parcell (Greensboro)
CATCHERS: Jon Lucroy (West Virginia), Joel Naughton (Lakewood), Sean Rooney (Hagerstown)
FIRST BASEMAN: Bill Rhinehart (Hagerstown)
SECOND BASEMAN: Matthew Cusick (Lexington)
THIRD BASEMAN: Bobby Spain (Hickory)
SHORTSTOP: Jose De Los Santos (Hickory)
UTILITY INFIELDER: Miles Durham (Hickory)
UTILITY INFIELDER: Zelous Wheeler (West Virginia)
RIGHT FIELD: Michael Burgess (Hagerstown)
CENTER FIELD: Lee Haydel (West Virginia)
LEFT FIELD: Michael Taylor (Lakewood)
UTILITY OUTFIELDER: Roman Pena (Lake County)
UTILITY OUTFIELDER: Joseph Nowicki (Delmarva)
DESIGNATED HITTER: Michael Durant (Lakewood)
TRAINER: Julio Hernandez (Greensboro)
SOUTHERN DIVISION
MANAGER: Joe Mikulik (Asheville)
COACH: Torre Tyson (Charleston)
COACH: Andy Skeels (Augusta)
COACH: Kevin Boles (Greenville)
COACH: Doug Linton (Asheville)
PITCHERS: Jhoulys Chacin (Asheville), Joey Williamson (Asheville), Randall Taylor (Asheville), Daniel Otero (Augusta), Daryl Maday (Augusta), Madison Bumgarner (Augusta), Jason Stephens (Charleston), Jonathan Ortiz (Charleston), Alexander Cobb (Columbus), Felix Doubront (Greenville), Henry Mabee (Kannapolis) CATCHERS: Jesus Montero (Charleston), Luis Exposito (Greenville), Francisco Pena (Savannah)
FIRST BASEMAN: Michael Jones (Greenville)
SECOND BASEMAN: Everth Cabrera (Asheville)
THIRD BASEMAN: Darin Holcomb (Asheville)
SHORTSTOP: Yamaico Navarro (Greenville)
UTILITY INFIELDER: Justin Snyder (Charleston)
UTILITY INFIELDER: Frederick Freeman (Rome)
RIGHT FIELD: Jason Heyward (Rome)
CENTER FIELD: Michael Mitchell (Asheville)
LEFT FIELD: Brian Rike (Asheville)
UTILITY OUTFIELDER: Maiko Loyola (Columbus)
UTILITY OUTFIELDER: Emeel Salem (Columbus)
DESIGNATED HITTER: Jordan Abruzzo (Savannah)
TRAINER: Chris McKenna (Kannapolis)