December 21: Eggleston Starting To Get Hot In Colombian Heat

One of the newest members of the Goldeyes, centre fielder Aharon Eggleston is just starting to heat up, on the field and off.

“It is hot here,” Eggleston said via Skype from Sincelejo, Colombia, where his the Monteria Lions were playing Kevin West’s Sincelejo Toros in a huge series with first place on the line. “It’s just so hot, you hardly want to go out during the day, but I guess it’s better than minus 40.”

Indeed.

However, Eggleston, who was acquired by the Goldeyes from Kansas City on November 25 in exchange for pitcher Andrew Cruse, doesn’t seem to mind the Colombian heat quite as much as the condition of the playing fields.

“The fields here are brutal,” he said. “It’s like playing in the middle of an unpaved road. If you’re an infielder, you have to go down and block the ball like a catcher. I’ve been trying to get some extra DH assignments so I don’t have to run on some of these fields.”

The playing conditions in Colombia are just one of many reasons why Eggleston is excited to be on his way to Winnipeg for the 2010 Northern League season. The NL’s post-season all-star centre fielder, who hit .318 with the T-Bones in 2009 and became the first player in league history to lead the league in hits for two consecutive years, is all fired up about coming to Winnipeg to hit out of the No. 2 hole.

Now that lead-off man and starting shortstop Wes Long has re-signed, Goldeyes manager Rick Forney was hoping Eggleston would be comfortable hitting out of the second spot in the order. After all, the 28-year-old from Las Vegas was a solid lead-off man in KC last year.
Eggleston wanted Forney to know there was no cause for concern.

“I’m hitting out of the No. 2 hole here in Colombia,” Eggleston said. “I’m a very patient hitter and I have no problem taking pitches. I’ll give Wes plenty of opportunity to steal a base. And besides, on those days when I don’t feel that good at the plate, I’ll always be able to bunt Wes over.

“I’m kind of excited about our potential line-up and I think Rick will have lots of options. I mean, right now Rick can go Wes, me, Juan (Diaz) and then Vince (Harrison). Then we’ve got Cory Patton, Dee Brown and Josh Asanovich.

“But the best thing about Winnipeg are the fans. We had great fans in Kansas City. The T-Bones draw real well, too. But Winnipeg has a team that should get people excited. I thought the Goldeyes had the best team in the league last year, but I think this team could be really great.”