NYCBL NEWS AND NOTES

NYCBL NEWS AND NOTES
February 9, 2006

FORMER MOHAWK FEATURED ON MLB RADIO: Former Amsterdam Mohawk Hunter Pence was recently featured on MLB Radio. Pence, a prospect in the Houston Astros organization, was interviewed by Jonathan Mayo on MLB Radio’s Around the Minors on January 24th. The Houston Astros voted Pence their Minor League Player of the Year for 2005. The UT-Arlington product hit .331 with 31 homeruns and 90 RBI between Lexington (South Atlantic League) and Salem (Carolina League). Hunter played for the Mohawks in 2002, batting .316 in 30 games. The interview can be found under January 24th at the following link:
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/radio/mlb_radio_archive.jsp?month=01&year=2006 <http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/radio/mlb_radio_archive.jsp?month=01&year=2006>

NAME THE TEAM IN LITTLE FALLS: The New York Collegiate Baseball League returns to Little Falls for the 2006 season. The Little Falls Diamonds won NYCBL Championships in 1990, 1992, and 1993. But, the Diamonds would later cease operations. At a press conference on January 31, club owner Roger Ames announced a contest to name the new Little Falls team and the mascot. According to the Herkimer Evening Telegram, the contest will take place in local newspapers, on local radio stations and via e-mail. The contest runs through February 21st. The winners will be honored at Veterans Memorial Park on opening night. Little Falls and Herkimer area residents can send name suggestions to the team at tswpress@verizon.net.

RE-ALIGNMENT IN 2006: 2006 will be a year of change for the NYCBL. The league welcomes three new members in Elmira, Little Falls, and Rochester. With the departure of Mohawk Valley, Plattsburgh, and Wayne County, the league remains at 12 active teams. But, for the first time, the NYCBL will switch to a three-division alignment. The East Division will contain Amsterdam, Glens Falls, Little Falls and Saratoga. The West Division features Allegany County, Bolivar, Elmira, and 2005 League Champion Hornell. The newly created Central Division boasts Genesee Valley, Geneva, Rochester and Watertown. Forty-four games will be played during the regular season, and an expanded playoff format adds another round of post season play.

NYCBL KEEPS BASEBALL IN ELMIRA: In early January, it appeared baseball would not return to the city of Elmira. The Elmira Pioneers of the independent Can-Am League ceased operations, ending Elmira’s 100+ year run of professional baseball. An effort led by Pioneers General Manager Tom Sullivan has brought the NYCBL to Elmira. In January, the NYCBL Board of Directors voted unanimously to accept Elmira into the league. The Elmira team will keep the nickname Pioneers, and play at historic Dunn Field.