Thirty years ago, Wally Backman was the starting second baseman for the legendary 1986 New York Mets squad. They were a very high-profiled team, and to this day still very much are. Lenny Dyskstra just saw the release of his book, and ESPN aired the 30 For 30 on Doc and Darryl this week.
Backman is still in the limelight as well. Since 2013, he has been at the helm for the Mets Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s. If you watched baseball last season, you are aware that the Mets had an exciting turnaround in 2015, led to the World Series by many of the young players Backman has coached since taking over as manager.
Ben Gamel has certainly had an exciting season. The New York Yankees’ outfield prospect got his first taste of the Bronx earlier this season. Wednesday, he got his first start in a Triple-A All Star Game.
This past Wednesday was one of the best experiences of my young journalistic career in covering Minor League Baseball. I was on hand in Charlotte, North Carolina at BB & T Ballpark — home of the Charlotte Knights — for the Triple A All Star Game.
The stars of tomorrow of the International and Pacific Coast League battled in what would be a 4-2 victory for the IL. I was surrounded by a dozen guys that will be in the big leagues by September and a handful that have already been there. Oh, and a PCL head coach that was the starting second baseman of one of the greatest World Series champion teams of my lifetime, a member of the 600 Home Run Club and a World Series champion manager.
It was a good night. Here are some videos and pictures from my evening.
So the Open Championship snuck up on me this year. It’s a week earlier due to the Olympics which seems to be the dominant headline in golf lately. Unfortunately, it’s not for who is playing but for who is not playing in Brazil… but more on that another time.
This was going to be a big season for Seattle Mariner outfield prospect Tyler O’Neill. Just 21 years old and coming off a big 2015 season that put him on the prospect map, all eyes were on the right-handed slugger’s Double-A debut. So far, the Mariners must be happy with what they are seeing.
Jake Bauers has been somewhat of an enigma to start his career. Here’s a kid that has one of the prettiest swings in Double-A, yet thus far, he has profiled much more as a James Loney than a Will Clark. This season, however, Bauers seems to be finding some of that power.
The Futures Game is just one day away. We’ve spent the past three days trying to figure out who has the edge in each of the offensive departments, breaking down the infield, outfield and catchers on both the World and US roster.
The US had a clear advantage in the outfield, while the catchers were an overwhelming advantage to the World team. The infielders were pretty even, but with Yoan Moncada being the best prospect in the game, the World team got the ever-so slight edge.
Everyone knows that pitching is the key to ball games. Today we look at the righties that each team loaded up on their roster.
The catching position in today’s game is an afterthought for the most part. The catcher very rarely decides the outcome of games these days, and even the defensive wizards like Yadier Molina have become increasingly slimmer in number. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to the future at the position.
This Sunday from San Diego, the best prospects worldwide will partake in one of baseball’s most fun traditions, the Futures Game. A who’s who of prospects from all levels will go head to head in a battle of the World prospects versus the U.S. prospects.
Yesterday, we took a look at the outfielders on both sides for Sunday’s matchup. Behind age and experience, the U.S. outfield prospects had a clear advantage over the younger World outfielders. What about the infield?
![Wally Backman still plays a big role in New York Mets success [Interview]](https://waynecavadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/img_3176.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![The New York Yankees Ben Gamel talks about his big 2016 [Interview]](https://waynecavadi.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/screen-shot-2016-07-15-at-3-00-27-pm1.png?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
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