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OmahaBaseball.com

Chasers 2019 Season in Review

September 18, 2019

The Omaha Storm Chasers' ninth season at Werner Park began with the historical Royals Exhibition Game presented by Cobalt Credit Union on March 25, which ended in a climactic 3-2 victory for the Storm Chasers. Early promotions, walk-off victories and grand slams were just some of the many highlights of

The Omaha Storm Chasers' ninth season at Werner Park began with the historical Royals Exhibition Game presented by Cobalt Credit Union on March 25, which ended in a climactic 3-2 victory for the Storm Chasers. Early promotions, walk-off victories and grand slams were just some of the many highlights of the 2019 campaign.
See below for a full rundown of the year with the Storm Chasers' 2019 Season in Review.

COME ONE, COME ALL
  • Omaha welcomed a total of 328,307 fans at Werner Park in 66 openings over the course of the 2019 season, averaging 4,974 fans per opening.
  • The Chasers franchise also surpassed a huge milestone on August 9, welcoming their 15 Millionth Fan in Franchise History dating back to the 1969 campaign.
  • In their 51 seasons of play between Rosenblatt Stadium & Werner Park, the franchise has welcomed a total of 15,068,174 fans, which includes 3,386,069 fans at Werner Park since 2011.
  • The Chasers also matched their Werner Park regular season single-game attendance record with a pair of sellouts during the 2019 campaign, including on July 4 & August 9.

ROYALS RUMBLE
  • The Storm Chasers faced off against their parent club, the Kansas City Royals, in the 2019 Royals Exhibition Game presented by Cobalt Credit Union on March 25.
  • The sell-out crowd of 9,351, the largest announced attendance in the history of Werner Park, witnessed Omaha defeat Kansas City in walk-off fashion thanks to OF D.J. Burt 's game-winning sacrifice fly in the 9th inning of a 3-2 victory.
  • That night's contest marked the 1st time the Royals played in the Omaha Metro in 19 years, dating back to an exhibition game in 2000 at Rosenblatt Stadium, in addition to the 1st time Kansas City has played at Werner Park.

LIFE OF BRIAN
  • After completing his 6th season with the Chasers in 2019, manager Brian Poldberg now owns a 408-439 record as Omaha skipper dating back through the 2015 campaign.
  • Poldberg earned his 400th career victory with the Storm Chasers in Omaha's 8-6 win on August 8 versus Salt Lake.
  • His 408 managerial victories are 2nd-most in franchise history behind only Mike Jirschele (994).
  • Overall, Poldberg owns a 1,283-1,353 record in his 20 seasons as a manager.

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
  • The Chasers finished the 2019 campaign with 150 steals, pacing all Triple-A clubs.
  • Round Rock completed the year ranked 2nd in that company with 143 thefts.
  • 16 different Omaha players swiped at least 1 base in 2019, which included 7 players with 10+ stolen bases.
  • Those 150 thefts were the franchise's highest single-season total since stealing 153 bases during the 2015 season.
  • 2019 also marked the 1st time Omaha led the Pacific Coast League in steals since 2014, when the squad tallied 147 stolen bases.

THE HEATH IS ON
  • OF Nick Heath 's combined 60 stolen bases between Omaha & Double-A NW Arkansas were the most among all MiLB players in 2019.
  • Heath swiped 50 bags with the Naturals before being promoted to the Chasers and stealing 10 bases in 14 attempts.
  • He finished 7 steals ahead of NW Arkansas OF Khalil Lee (53), giving the Royals minor league system the top 2 most prolific basestealers in the minor leagues this year.

(DON'T) WALK THIS WAY
  • LHP Jake Kalish finished 2nd among qualified PCL pitchers with a 1.90 walk per 9 innings ratio, behind only Nashville's Seth Maness (1.23).
  • Kalish also ended the year ranked T-3rd in that company in WHIP (1.31), trailing only New Orleans' Héctor Noesi (1.14) & Las Vegas' Paul Blackburn (1.26).
  • At 1 point during the 2019 season from August 15-30, Kalish did not relinquish a base on balls to 70 consecutive hitters over the course of 17.0 innings pitched.

OPERATION GRAND SLAM
  • INF Erick Mejia & OF Jorge Bonifacio each bashed a grand slam in the Chasers' 14-11 victory at Tacoma on July 31.
  • That marked the 1st time the Omaha franchise had blasted 2 grand slams in a single contest since since August 29, 2004 when Jarrod Patterson & Dee Brown each mashed grand slams in a 12-8 win over the Iowa Cubs at Rosenblatt Stadium.
  • Mejia's grand slam on July 31 was also his 1st bases-loaded home run of his pro careeer, while Bonifacio's was his 3rd.
  • The Chasers totaled 6 grand slams during the 2019 campaign, with Salt Lake's 10 grand slams pacing all Pacific Coast League squads.

THREE'S COMPANY
  • Omaha smacked a total of 43 triples during the 2019 season, which ranked 4th in the Pacific Coast League behind only Las Vegas (50), Albuquerque (47) & Reno (44).
  • Those 43 three-baggers are also the franchise's highest single-season total since recording 50 triples in 2011.
  • Chasers batters also smacked 3 triples in a single inning during their contest on August 27 versus Nashville, marking the 1st time that has happened in the Werner Park Era (since 2011).
  • OF Brett Phillips also finished the year with 13 triples, which ranked 2nd in the Pacific Coast League behind only Las Vegas' Jorge Mateo (14).

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
  • In addition to ranking 2nd in the league in triples, OF Brett Phillips also finished 2019 ranked T-2nd in walks (72) & T-9th in steals (22).
  • Over his final 59 games with the Chasers from May 31-August 13, Phillips hit .278 (54-194) with 44 runs, 5 doubles, 10 triples, 13 homers & 38 RBI, in addition to 40 walks while recording a .403 OBP, .608 SLG & 1.011 OPS.
  • Through his 1st 46 matchups from April 4-May 30, Phillips hit .187 (26-139) with 31 runs, 3 doubles, 3 triples, 5 homers & 16 RBI, aong with 32 walks while posting a .343 OBP, .360 SLG & .703 OPS.
  • After totaling 18 longballs, Phillips ended the year 2 big flies shy of becoming just the 3rd player in Omaha franchise history to record 20 steals & 20 home runs in a single season.

IN GOOD COMPANY
  • After fanning 35 batters with Omaha in 2019, LHP Jonathan Dziedzic finished the 2019 campaign ranked 8th in franchise history with 280 punchouts, 2 strikeouts behind Steve Busby (282) for 7th.
  • In 86 career appearances (64 starts) with the Chasers from 2015-19, Dziedzic has recorded a 19-26 mark & 4.42 ERA (190 ER/386.2 IP) with 155 walks in addition to a 1.42 WHIP & .265 batting average against.
  • Longtime Omaha hurler Jerry Cram currently holds the franchise record with 586 career strikeouts.

CONTRIBUTING CALL-UPS
  • Over the course of the 2019 season, 23 different Chasers players were promoted to Kansas City from Omaha.
  • Of that group, 11 were promoted & made their Major League debuts with the Royals, including INF Frank Schwindel (3/28), RHP Kyle Zimmer (3/31), LHP Richard Lovelady (4/9), INF Kelvin Gutierrez (4/27), INF Nicky Lopez (5/14), INF Humberto Arteaga (6/20), OF Bubba Starling (7/12), RHP Josh Staumont (7/25), C Nick Dini (8/7), INF Erick Mejia (9/5) & LHP Gabe Speier (9/5).
  • As of September 10, 38 of the 50 players to appear in at least 1 game with the Royals this season have worn an Omaha uniform in their pro careers.

I'M KIND OF A BIG DEAL
  • 4 different Kansas City Royals players joined Omaha on Major League Rehab Assignments over the course of the 2019 campaign, including LHP Eric Skoglund , LHP Brian Flynn , INF Lucas Duda and INF Adalberto Mondesi .
  • Mondesi in his 9 games with the Chasers recorded a .242 mark (8-33) with 5 runs, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 homer & 3 RBI, along with 2 steals.
  • Duda in 12 contests with Omaha hit .286 (12-42), adding 6 runs, 3 doubles, 1 homer & 4 RBI, along with 4 walks.
  • Flynn compiled a 2-2 clip & 3.57 ERA (9 ER/22.2 IP) in his 6 outings (2 starts) with Omaha, adding 11 walks & 18 strikeouts.
  • Skoglund in his lone start for the Chasers during his rehab assignment yielded 5 earned runs on 6 hits in 5.0 innings of work, adding 3 walks & 4 strikeouts on June 22 versus San Antonio.

CHEERS, FOSTER
  • Near the close of the 2019 campaign, LHP Foster Griffin was voted to the All-PCL Team as the squad's Left-Handed Starting Pitcher.
  • The southpaw became the 1st Chasers player to be named to the All-PCL Team since C Francisco Peña (2014), in addition to the 1st Omaha pitcher since LHP Ryan Verdugo (2012).
  • Griffin finished the year ranked 5th among qualified PCL pitchers in batting average against (.259), in addition to 8th in win percentage (.570), 9th in strikeouts (111) & 10th in ERA (5.23).

HEY NOW, YOU'RE AN ALL-STAR
  • OF Bubba Starling was tabbed a Pacific Coast League All-Star & represented Omaha at the 2019 Triple-A All-Star Game in El Paso, Texas.
  • It was Starling's 1st Mid-Season All-Star nod in his professional career.
  • At the time of the announcement, Starling owned a .314 average (69-220), adding 30 runs, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers & 28 RBI, adding 9 steals in 12 attempts.
  • Starling also ranked T-3rd in the league in outfield assists.
  • He was promoted to Kansas City following the Triple-A All-Star Game after posting a .310 mark (81-261) with 34 runs, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers & 38 RBI in 72 contests with Omaha.

YEARLY HONORS
  • C Nick Dini earned Omaha Media Hitter of the Year honors after posting a .296 average (55-186) with 34 runs, 11 doubles, 13 homers & 36 RBI in 58 games with Omaha.
  • In addition to receiving All-PCL honors, LHP Foster Griffin was tabbed Omaha Media Pitcher of the Year, tallying an 8-6 mark & 5.23 ERA (76 ER/130.2 IP) in 25 starts, adding 111 strikeouts.
  • OF Bubba Starling was voted as the Steve Pivovar Prospect of the Year after compiling a .310 clip (81-261) with 34 runs, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 7 homers & 38 RBI in 72 contests.
  • LHP Jonathan Dziedzic earned the Johnny Rosenblatt Community Service Award for his work throughout the season in the Omaha Metro community.
  • OF Brett Phillips was voted as the Chasers Fan Favorite Award recipient by Storm Chasers fans, ultimately accumulating a .240 average (80-333) along with 75 runs, 8 doubles, 13 triples, 18 homers & 22 stolen bases in 105 matchups.