Thursday, January 17, 2013

Stefan Welch on Australia's World Baseball Classic roster

photo by Paul Videla
Stefan Welch, who spent half of last season with the Bradenton Marauders, is on Australia's roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
Welch is listed as a shortstop.
The 24-year-old is a native of Adelaide, South Australia. He hit .265 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 61 games with Bradenton before he was promoted to Double-A Altoona.
Australia is in Pool B of the WBC and begins play Saturday, March 2 against Chinese Taipei.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Remembering Quincy Latimore

Quincy Latimore's pursuit to become a Pittsburgh Pirate ended Wednesday evening when the outfielder was dealt to the Cleveland Indians for pitcher Jeanmar Gomez.
Latimore, however, will go down as a memorable Bradenton Marauder who made the best of his one full season in the Friendly City.
Latimore was 21 in 2010, when the Marauders made their debut at McKechnie Field. He hit the first home run in team history during that season's opener against the Fort Myers Miracle and rode that power throughout the summer.
He spent all year with high Single-A Bradenton and drove in 100 runs, winning the Florida State League's RBI title, hit 19 home runs and slugged .444.
The affable Latimore was a hit with fans and  a key reason the Marauders won the South Division's second half and made the FSL playoffs.
Latimore spent the last two seasons in Double-A Altoona, where his 71 RBIs were eighth-best in the Eastern League, but never cracked the franchise's Triple-A roster in Indianapolis.
Now he's off to another team to chase another dream, and it may benefit Latimore that the Indians are in a bit of rebuilding mode following last year's disastrous second-half slide.
We'll see if Latimore finds a major-league home with the Indians.
But few will ever forget his one special summer at McKechnie Field.