Brett Wallace knew he’d be in tough when Goldeyes manager Rick Forney signed Luis Alen.
But the 27-year-old catcher from West Grove, Pennsylvania is looking forward to the challenge.
Wallace, who hit .285 in 58 games with the Gary SouthShore RailCats last season, has developed into a pretty solid Northern League catcher. He hit .210 in 28 games with Gary in 2007, .274 in 65 games in 2008 and then had a very good year last year. Until Forney signed Alen, Wallace was a lock to be the Goldeyes No. 1 backstop, but now there will be a battle for that job in training camp.
“I remember Luis Alen in Winnipeg three years ago and I know he hit .330,” said Wallace. “But I feel that if I play up to par, I can win the No. 1 job.
“I talked to Rick when I signed and told him I wanted to play 80 games out of 100 this year. Rick said that with the travel and the schedule we have, it was unlikely any of us would catch more than 60 or 65 games, but I’m going up there expecting to battle it hard and play a lot of baseball.
“I’ve been working hard in the off-season and I’m excited about playing in Winnipeg.”
Wallace has spent the off-season instructing at Maplezone Sports and Fitness Center in Boothwyn, outside Philadelphia.
“It’s been great working at Maplezone,” said Wallace. “I’ve even had an opportunity to catch for Cole Hamels of the Phillies. We get there at noon everyday, do our work, get some hitting in and work out and then work with the kids when they’re finished school. It’s been a really good off-season and I’ll be ready to go for spring training.”
Like most of his Goldeyes teammates, Wallace looks at the line-up this season and figures it’s going to be very difficult to get this team out.
“This is a great line-up, there isn’t a hole in it,” Wallace said. “You look at the people coming back and the people who have been added to the team and one-through-nine, that’s a solid order. Every guy is a tough out. I think we have reason to be excited about this team.”
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
February 12: Taylor’s 2010 Ticket Tour
It’s an idea that isn’t particularly new. In fact, it’s exactly what my great-uncle did when he sold encyclopedias door-to-door.
It’s referred to as “burning shoe-leather” and really is a defining principle of “old school.”
Granted, in this age of texting, Facebook, Twitter, iPad, e-mail and yes, even the occasional telephone call, the thought of actually knocking on doors to sell a product seems rather archaic. But when you stop and really think about it, it’s the only real way to meet people you’ve never met. And for me, here in the dead of winter, there is an urgent need to meet more people.
So starting, officially, on Tuesday, February 16, on behalf of the Winnipeg Goldeyes Baseball Club, we will commence with “Taylor’s 2010 Ticket Tour.”
The goal is to meet the people who work every day to make Manitoba’s businesses successful. We’ll start on the 16th and keep at it until the end of March. The goal is to talk to 300 businesses in and around Winnipeg and invite them, personally, to purchase Goldeyes tickets for the 2010 season. In fact, we’ve already set the 17th as the date we visit Carman, home of the old senior and junior Carman Goldeyes.
Now, I’ve been around our Goldeyes in some manner (or in some incarnation) since a time when the club was a mere twinkle in Sam Katz’s eye and I can tell you, I’ve never been more excited about a team’s chances to win than I am this year.
With shortstop Wes Long, third baseman Vince Harrison, designated hitter Juan Diaz, left fielder Dee Brown, right fielder Cory Patton and second baseman Josh Asanovich back in the fold and with the addition of centre fielder Aharon Eggleston and catchers Luis Alen and Brett Wallace, this is a team that will score plenty of runs. If manager Rick Forney adds the power-hitting first baseman he’s after, the Goldeyes could be an offensive powerhouse like no other.
This is a team that, barring injury, should take a legitimate run at a Northern League championship.
Meanwhile, the Northern League itself is better and more competitive than it’s been in a couple of years thanks to the addition of two new teams, including Kevin Costner’s Lake County Fielders. The 2010 NL season promises to be one of the best ever.
And that’s why I want everyone in Winnipeg to join me at the ballpark this summer. I’m so excited about this season, I’m going to go door-to-door to personally invite as many people as possible to buy Goldeyes tickets.
And then, every day during this year’s Ticket Tour, we’re going to blog about our travels right here at goldeyes.com. We want to get to know as many business people in Winnipeg as we can and we’re even going to have a prize or two at the end of the Tour. And in the process, we’re going to tell everyone about our travels.
So whether it’s a nine-game mini-pack in the Grand Slam Section ($45) or a 21-seat SkySuite for the entire 50-game home schedule ($25,000), we want you to be part of the Goldeyes family.
In fact, we started a preliminary mini-tour on Thursday evening and visited with Brent Sayles, the general sales manager at Winnipeg Hyundai, Darrell Boughton, the regional manager of First Canadian Insurance Corp., and Al Franklin, one of the three partners in Superstars Sports at 1885 Portage. I told Al that when I deliver his tickets, I’ll bring Goldie along for the celebration.
The same goes for everyone else we visit in the days ahead. All you have to do is give me a call at 982-2273 and I’ll do all the work. And on the day we deliver your tickets, we’ll bring Goldie with us just for laughs (he doesn’t know it yet, but I’m sure we can convince him).
So it’s here: Taylor’s 2010 Ticket Tour is now underway. I hope we see you before the end of March.
It’s referred to as “burning shoe-leather” and really is a defining principle of “old school.”
Granted, in this age of texting, Facebook, Twitter, iPad, e-mail and yes, even the occasional telephone call, the thought of actually knocking on doors to sell a product seems rather archaic. But when you stop and really think about it, it’s the only real way to meet people you’ve never met. And for me, here in the dead of winter, there is an urgent need to meet more people.
So starting, officially, on Tuesday, February 16, on behalf of the Winnipeg Goldeyes Baseball Club, we will commence with “Taylor’s 2010 Ticket Tour.”
The goal is to meet the people who work every day to make Manitoba’s businesses successful. We’ll start on the 16th and keep at it until the end of March. The goal is to talk to 300 businesses in and around Winnipeg and invite them, personally, to purchase Goldeyes tickets for the 2010 season. In fact, we’ve already set the 17th as the date we visit Carman, home of the old senior and junior Carman Goldeyes.
Now, I’ve been around our Goldeyes in some manner (or in some incarnation) since a time when the club was a mere twinkle in Sam Katz’s eye and I can tell you, I’ve never been more excited about a team’s chances to win than I am this year.
With shortstop Wes Long, third baseman Vince Harrison, designated hitter Juan Diaz, left fielder Dee Brown, right fielder Cory Patton and second baseman Josh Asanovich back in the fold and with the addition of centre fielder Aharon Eggleston and catchers Luis Alen and Brett Wallace, this is a team that will score plenty of runs. If manager Rick Forney adds the power-hitting first baseman he’s after, the Goldeyes could be an offensive powerhouse like no other.
This is a team that, barring injury, should take a legitimate run at a Northern League championship.
Meanwhile, the Northern League itself is better and more competitive than it’s been in a couple of years thanks to the addition of two new teams, including Kevin Costner’s Lake County Fielders. The 2010 NL season promises to be one of the best ever.
And that’s why I want everyone in Winnipeg to join me at the ballpark this summer. I’m so excited about this season, I’m going to go door-to-door to personally invite as many people as possible to buy Goldeyes tickets.
And then, every day during this year’s Ticket Tour, we’re going to blog about our travels right here at goldeyes.com. We want to get to know as many business people in Winnipeg as we can and we’re even going to have a prize or two at the end of the Tour. And in the process, we’re going to tell everyone about our travels.
So whether it’s a nine-game mini-pack in the Grand Slam Section ($45) or a 21-seat SkySuite for the entire 50-game home schedule ($25,000), we want you to be part of the Goldeyes family.
In fact, we started a preliminary mini-tour on Thursday evening and visited with Brent Sayles, the general sales manager at Winnipeg Hyundai, Darrell Boughton, the regional manager of First Canadian Insurance Corp., and Al Franklin, one of the three partners in Superstars Sports at 1885 Portage. I told Al that when I deliver his tickets, I’ll bring Goldie along for the celebration.
The same goes for everyone else we visit in the days ahead. All you have to do is give me a call at 982-2273 and I’ll do all the work. And on the day we deliver your tickets, we’ll bring Goldie with us just for laughs (he doesn’t know it yet, but I’m sure we can convince him).
So it’s here: Taylor’s 2010 Ticket Tour is now underway. I hope we see you before the end of March.
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