The World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals will have a very familiar feel for Batavia Muckdogs fans when it gets under way tonight in Boston.
Nine Cardinals players, including three starters, and one member of the Red Sox passed through Batavia at some point in their young careers.
Matt Carpenter, who played nine games in Batavia in 2009 and hit .469 in 32 at bats, will see the first pitch of the 2013 series as the Cardinals' lead-off hitter.
Somewhere in the middle of the line up, perhaps hitting clean up, will be Matt Adams, who really put himself on the map in the Cardinals organization in Batavia.
Adams was the 699th player taken over all in the 2009 draft and wasn't on anybody's list of elite prospects coming out of Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. He distinguished himself as a Muckdog, hitting .346 while drawing 11 walks and slugging four monster home runs in 31 games.
Lance Lynn, on the other hand, was signed with nearly a $1 million bonus in 2008 before starting his pro career in Batavia, where he quickly demonstrated to fans why he was so highly regarded by the Cardinal scouts. In six games with the Muckdogs, he posted a 0.96 ERA, striking out 22 in 18 2/3 innings before being promoted to Quad Cities.
Also on the Cardinals' roster for the series are Daniel Descalso (2007), Pete Kozma (2007), Tony Cruz (2007), Joe Kelly (2009), Kevin Siegrist (2009, 2010) and Seth Maness (2011).
Quintin Berry (2006), plays for the Red Sox.
Interestingly, only one of the series-bound former Muckdogs (Lancy Lynn) spent any time on the 2008 team, which won the NYPL championship.
The Muckdogs have long promoted that one reason to come to games is to see the major league stars of tomorrow. With 10 former Muckdogs carrying two teams to the World Series, that pretty much proves the point.
GO SOX!!!!!!
GO SOX!!!!!!