The first half of the Carolina League season was rich with anticipation as first year K-Tribe manager Aaron Holbert brought to Kinston one of the strongest starting pitching rotations in all of Minor League Baseball. Baseball America ranked the starting rotation as one of the top three in the Minor Leagues to start the season.
The excitement was led by Greenville, North Carolina native Alex White. White grew up just 25 miles from Historic Grainger Stadium and after an award laden career at DH Conley High School; he pitched collegiately at the University of North Carolina, leading them to three straight College World Series Appearances. White lived up to the hype, compiling a 2-3 record and a 2.86 ERA in eight starts before his May call up to Double A. White was in the Carolina League top ten in ERA at the time of his call up. Kelvin De La Cruz (2-2, 2.91) and Nick Hagadone (1-3, 2.39) also starred for the K-Tribe before there first half call-ups. Combined with a strong bullpen led by Bryce Stowell (1-0, 1.42), the K-Tribe pitching staff lived up to the billing and had one of the best ERA’s in all of baseball during the first half of the season.
On the swinging side of things, 2009 second round draft pick Jason Kipnis was an offensive bright spot, hitting around .300 for most of the first half. As a team, Kinston would turn things around in a big way in May. After losing five straight to begin the month to bring their record to 9-17, Kinston caught fire. The K-Tribe went on a roll, going 19-6 to finish the month. Between May 6th and June 2nd, the Indians won eight straight series and did not lose back-to-back games. The resurgence was led by solid defense, clutch hitting and continued pitching strength. Even though half of the K-Tribe’s pitching staff earned promotions to Double A, other K-Tribe hurlers continued to throw well. The starting dominance was carried on by T.J. McFarland, who led the Carolina League with an ERA under two for most of the half. Joe Gardner and Marty Popham also made the most of their call ups from Low A, both earning Carolina League Pitcher of the Week Honors. The K-Tribe finished third in the Southern Division in the first half, but their strong play at the end of the campaign pointed to a playoff push in the second half.
Wins and losses aside, the K-Tribe lost one of the most important members of their family when Evelyn “Momma” Kornegay passed away at the age of 81 on May 14th. Mama provided a loving home away from home for approximately 150 Kinston Indians players over the last 15 years. From future All-Stars like Victor Martinez, to those who never made it out of the Carolina League, Mama loved all of her "boys" as she adoringly called them.
"It is impossible to measure the impact Mama had on the Kinston and Cleveland Indians," said Kinston Indians general manager, Shari Massengill. "From players, to coaches to us in the front office, she never stopped giving. The Kinston Indians not only lost their biggest fan, but this community has lost one of its best people."
"This ballpark will not be the same without Mama," Indians assistant general manager, Janell Bullock, said. "Everyone who met her fell in love with her. She just had that effect on people. I will never hear the word 'babe' without thinking of Mama."
"She was the most loving, caring and giving person I have ever met," said Indians director of broadcasting, Chris Hemeyer. "Her positive outlook and love of life was with her even as she battled cancer. She lit up every room she ever walked into."
Kinston’s second half of the season was defined by the arrival of talented contributors from mid-season promotions and an incredible late-season run to the Carolina League playoffs that included a no-hitter and the club’s longest winning streak in six years.
Outfielder Bo Greenwell (.292 batting average), catcher Chun Chen (.320, six home runs, 30 RBI) and first baseman Jeremie Tice (.286, five home runs, 28 RBI) were all called up to Kinston from Low A Lake County shortly after the All-Star break and made an immediate impact on the K-Tribe lineup. Shortstop Juan Diaz, received in a mid-season trade that sent major leaguer Russell Branyan to Seattle, bolstered the team’s defense and hit .271 to help Kinston’s offensive improvement. Season-long Kinston players Karexon Sanchez (.257, 10 homers, 51 RBI), Kyle Bellows (.253, 10, 66) and Abner Abreu (.252, 4, 58) continued to provide a spark in the lineup.
Pitcher Austin Adams was also called up from Low A after the All-Star break, and brought another dominant arm to the K-Tribe starting rotation. The hard-throwing righty had a 6-1 record and a microscopic 1.53 ERA for Kinston during the second half. The rest of the Indians pitching staff continued their dominance of the Carolina League, leading the circuit in ERA (3.31), shutouts (13), hits allowed, runs allowed, batting average (.241) and tied for first in WHIP (1.29) and was second in strikeouts.
Mid-season All-Star pitcher T.J. McFarland (11-5, 3.13) continued his strong season, finishing second in the league in wins and fourth in ERA. Starter T.J. House (6-10, 3.91) was eighth in the circuit in ERA. Relievers Matt Langwell (4-2, 2.41), Chris Jones (4-3, 2.39) and Travis Turek (4-3, 3.73) were strong out of the bullpen.
Kinston’s improvements still left them in a battle in the standings with Salem and Myrtle Beach for the Southern Division Wild Card playoff spot. The K-Tribe’s streaky nature from the first half of the season continued, as they finished the campaign with eight win streaks of three or more games and nine losing streaks of three or more games.
However, their biggest streak of the season came at the most critical time. Going into a doubleheader against Frederick on August 23rd, the Indians were four games under .500 for the half and were a game and a half out in the Wild Card chase. Kinston swept the doubleheader, starting a nine-game winning streak that carried the K-Tribe to their first playoff appearance since 2007. The streak was the K-Tribe’s longest since 2004, when they started the season 10-0 on their way to winning a Mills Cup Championship.
The end of the streak did not mean the end of Kinston’s historic performances. On September 5, two days after the streak ended, K-Tribe pitchers Marty Popham, Chris Jones and Cory Burns threw a combined ten inning no-hitter in a 1-0 win at Potomac. Popham carried a perfect game into the seventh inning, and despite two walks finished seven no-hit frames. Jones pitched two hitless innings in relief and Doug Pickens hit an RBI single in the top of the tenth inning to give Kinston the lead. Cory Burns pitched a perfect bottom of the tenth to finish off the no-no, one day from the six-year anniversary of Keith Ramsey’s perfect game on September 6, 2004, which was also the Indians last no-hitter. It was just the third extra inning no-hitter in Carolina League history, and the first to result in a win for the team that threw the no-no.
Joe Gardner and Cory Burns swept the starting and relief pitching spots respectively on the Carolina League year-end All-Star team. It was the first time since 2002 that one team had swept the pitching positions on the year-end All-Star team, and the first K-Tribe duo to sweep it since Bartolo Colon and Danny Graves in 1995. Gardner (12-6, 2.65 ERA) led the league in wins and opponent batting average (.199) and was second in ERA. Burns (1-2, 1.83 ERA) had 30 saves in 33 chances to lead the circuit, and his 42 combined saves between Kinston and Lake County were the second-most in all of Minor League Baseball.
In the playoffs, The K-Tribe met the Winston-Salem Dash in the best-of-five Southern Division Championship Series. The Dash had an 81-58 regular season record and won the title for both halves in the Southern Division.
In game one in Winston, the Indians scored a run in the first but allowed two unearned runs in the bottom of the inning. Donnie Webb’s RBI single in the sixth tied the game, but Jason Bour hit an RBI single in the bottom of the frame and the Dash held on for a 3-2 win. Game two featured a pitcher’s duel between Kinston’s Austin Adams and Winston-Salem’s Dylan Axelrod. Adams held the Dash to just two runs on two hits, but Axelrod shutout the K-Tribe on two hits in seven innings for the win, retiring 19 batters in a row at one point. The series moved to Historic Grainger Stadium for an unforgettable game three. Trailing 4-1 and down to their final five outs of the season, the K-Tribe rallied for four runs in the eighth inning, taking a 5-4 lead on Chun Chen’s triple to center. With two outs in the ninth, the Dash tied the game on Jon Gilmore’s RBI single to push the game into extra innings. In the 12th inning, Winston’s Jose Martinez hit a dramatic three-run home run off the foul pole in left to break the tie and send the Dash to a 10-5 win and series sweep.
Despite the playoff sweep, it was a successful season for the K-Tribe who finished 73-67 in the regular season, the third-best overall record in the league. Kinston also had a great season at Grainger Stadium, finishing 42-27 on their home turf. Even with four rainouts, the Indians welcomed over 118,741 fans to Grainger Stadium in 2010, the third-highest total since 2001.
Season in Review
Record:
1st Half: 36 wins and 34 losses
2nd Half: 37 wins and 33 losses
Overall: 73 wins and 67 losses
Carolina League Wins Leader:
Joe Gardner (12)
Carolina League Saves Leader:
Cory Burns (30)
Carolina League Holds Leader:
Matt Langwell (15)
Mid-Season All-Star:
T.J. McFarland – Starting Pitcher
End of the Year All-Stars:
Joe Gardner – Starting Pitcher
Cory Burns – Relief Pitcher
courtesy of the Kinston Indians
Everything on this site is free, but for those interested in making any monetary contributions to help support the stability and growth of this site please click on the "Donate" button below.
0 comments:
Post a Comment