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2002 season

October 20, 2002

A pair of Peoria sluggers are fighting it out for the AFL homerun championship, while another hitter threatens to obliterate the league batting average record. Not to be outdone by the batters, three pitchers with 10 or more innings still have 0.00 ERAs. What a great season so far!

Slugging away: Taggart Bozied (Padres - 1B), a right-handed hitter with a lot of pop, went deep three times this week to briefly tie teammate Mark Teixeira (Rangers - 3B) for the league lead in homeruns with five. Teixeira regained sole possession of the lead as the switch-hitting third baseman smacked one out as one of his four hits in today's extra inning game against Mesa ...

Corey Hart

Despite a series of nagging injuries this year, Ken Harvey (Royals - 1B) continues to rake at an incredible pace, finishing the week with a .532 average, four homeruns and a league-leading 22 RBIs. Harvey had a two-homerun game this week ... The Milwaukee Brewers could use any kind of good news after their dismal 2002 season. Offensive help could be on the way soon in the person of Corey Hart (Brewers - 3B/1B), who has a nice combination of power and speed. The lanky right-handed hitter can pull the ball with power, but has the bat control to go with the pitch and stroke line drives to the opposite field. Hart is hitting .339 with seven doubles, three homeruns and four stolen bases ... Scouts at AFL games have been comparing Laynce Nix (Rangers - OF) to major league star Brian Giles. The left-handed hitter raised his average more than 100 points this week to .323 ... While the question still remains as to whether he will hit with enough power to play a corner infield position at the major league level, there's no doubt that Lance Niekro (Giants - 1B) is a good natural hitter with a good line drive stroke. The son of former major league pitcher Joe Niekro finished the week at .321.

Horacio Ramirez

Shutting down the hitters: It's getting redundant to keep mentioning the outstanding pitching performances of Bobby Jenks (Angels - P), but the 21-year-old right-hander is getting better each week. Named the AFL Pitcher of the Week for week two, Jenks hurled five shutout innings yesterday at Maryvale. His command has improved significantly, as the Angel prospect has walked only five batters in 15 innings while fanning 22. Now able to get batters out with more than just his plus fastball, Jenks is developing into a pitcher rather than just a hard thrower ... Horacio Ramirez (Braves - P) registered a pair of shutout performances this week. While he doesn't have dominating stuff, AFL batters are hitting only .240 off the southpaw ... 

Cleveland infield prospect Brandon Phillips shared with us his opinions on moving to the "lopsided" portion of the field, as he is now regarded as the Indians' second baseman of the future after playing shortstop his entire career ...

Other strong pitching performances this week came from Kyle Snyder (Royals - P), Brandon Webb (Diamondbacks - P), Mario Ramos (Rangers - P) and Dave Sanders (White Sox - P). The latter leads the league with four wins and has not given up a run in 12.1 IPs.

Great center fielders: It was a good week for many of the league's center fielders to show their defensive prowess. The league's oldest player at 33, So Taguchi (Cardinals - OF), demonstrated his good range by tracking down a hard hit ball over his head. He also gunned down a runner trying to advance with a strong throw. The Japanese import is hitting the ball well, with a .282 average and one impressive homerun ... 

Scottsdale shortstop Gookie Dawkins went down in today's game after being hit in the helmet by a pitch ... ... but minutes later Dawkins stole second base.

AFL fans are really starting to like Nathan Haynes (Angels - OF), who arguably is the best defensive outfielder the league has seen in many years. He's also swinging the bat well and has speed to burn ... Jamal Strong (Mariners - OF) made a nice catch of a sinking line drive earlier this week ... Prentice Redman (Mets - OF) turned in the catch of the week on Thursday night, a leaping grab against the fence at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Seen at the park: Kansas City skipper Tony Pena, who managed in the AFL two years ago, visited several parks this week, paying close attention to right-hander Kyle Snyder's strong performance Thursday evening ... Eric Hinske, a veteran of two AFL seasons and a strong candidate for American League Rookie of the Year after his fine season with Toronto, visited Scottsdale Stadium Tuesday evening to watch his fellow Blue Jays teammates ... Former major league catcher Lance Parrish was in the area to watch his son, David, a catcher in the Yankees farm system and currently with the Maryvale Saguaros team.