Deck McGuire is one of the many New Hampshire pitchers I got the opportunity to watch this summer; read further to find out how you can win one of his signed balls!

The 2011 season was like no other year of baseball I have ever experienced. I had found an escape in the summer of 2008 where by chance I was invited to a minor league baseball game in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Slowly, but surely, I found myself going to more and more games over the remainder of that summer and the following two years. In 2011, following the Fisher Cats became more than an event to me; it became a way of life. 

Of the 72 games that were hosted at Delta Dental stadium, I was able to make 66 of them. I arrived early to catch batting practice and I left late after all the players had gone home for the night.

Because of this, I was able to become friends with many players, employees, vendors, and even the local beat writer of the team. There is not a game that went by where I did not make a new acquaintance or had an interesting experience.     

I have become such a fixture at the stadium that most people know me by name, some even refer to me as the “Ball Hawk,” as I was lucky enough to chase down a majority of the homerun balls that were hit over the service road and consider these heirlooms which I hope to pass down one day to my children.

Towards the middle of the year I began to write about the team and I look forward to covering the Fisher Cats for JaysProspects.com for the upcoming season. 

Over the next two weeks, I will be writing a two-part series about the 2011 Fisher Cats and all the obscure details you should know about our future Blue Jays. Part I will be the pitchers and part II will cover the position players.

And if you think just gaining inside information was great… wait until you hear this!

For those of you on Twitter, you can win a Deck McGuire signed ball and a ticket stub from a game in which he was on the roster just from reading this post. How you ask? Find a creative way of including my twitter account, @Fisher_Cats, the website’s twitter handle, @JaysProspects and the #JaysProspects hashtag and be automatically entered to win. We will choose a winner one week from today! So be sure to be following along with our Twitter handles. 

However, with no further adieu here is the information you have been waiting for:

Part 1: The Pitchers 

Alan Farina: I met Alan his first week after his promotion from Dunedin. I have a #24 Fisher Cats Jersey and at the time that was his number so I asked him to sign it for me. We chatted for a few minutes and instantly became friends. Over time it became a ritual to shoot the breeze and we became more and more personal with each interaction.  I was beyond impressed on opening day 2011, when he asked how my girlfriend was doing. He even remembered her name! I owe a huge part of my interest to the team to him as he really made it more than just rooting for your team, but rooting for a person. For a pitcher without a leg kick, Alan routinely touches the 92-93 MPH mark, and is a realtors dream; Location, Location, Location!

 

Many people know that Jenkins has a great fastball, but do they know his license plate reads, "Jenks?"

Chad Jenkins: Chad is an amazing character that I was lucky enough to get to know this past season. He is the stereotypical Georgia gentleman, whose Escalades plates read “Jenks.” He also is one of the friendliest ball players I have ever met. He has a knack of having it rain on his day to start; and because of this, it became a running joke all season on twitter. Chad loves to fish and would spend his off days in the local hot spots in and around New Hampshire. He was a favorite of the grounds crew as they would talk about fishing on regular basis. Chad is also one of his toughest critics and cares dearly about his pitching. His character on his off days is being cool as a cucumber, but on game days he is all business. 

Bobby Korecky: Bobby was a player I got to know very well during the 2011 season. I remember a game that was delayed for over two hours because of rain, but a few good friends and I sat through the wait. When they resumed the game we were literally the only fans in the stadium and basically had a private game to watch. It was awesome, to say the least. After the game, Bobby recognized us and the rest is history. We became buddies, and my Deniro-esque Bob-bie call could be heard almost every time I had a chance. When asked if he hears me, he simply grins and says, “I appreciate the support.” Bobby is Michigan alum who had some time in the show with Minnesota and Arizona, but is still extremely humble. He was joking around about shattering a bat in the cage one afternoon. I asked if he was a hitter and replied with a simple “Yea, I can hit a little.” A Google search a week later showed me he set the Michigan High School baseball record for most hits in a season with eighty. In fact, he was originally thought to be a position player due to his bat! When asked about this he simply smiled and said, “I never said I couldn’t hit!”

Drew Hutchison: While Hutchison was only called up to Hew Hampshire for a few weeks at the end of the season, it should be noted that he fit in great with the team, assumingly picking up where he left off with the pitching crew from Dunedin. He works fast on the mound, and even harder in workouts. If there was someone who constantly tried to over achieve it was Drew. Pete Walker would spend quite a bit of time with Drew and the movement on his pitches would indicate that their work was successful. His emotions are displayed through his hard work and he is far less prolific personality wise as his team mates. 

Deck McGuire: Deck was another one of my favorites on the 2011 team. His strained oblique definitely kept us from seeing him pitch at home this season. He did, however, pitch two huge games for us in Richmond, and from the call on WGIR he definitely made a good impression. He has an Ace persona, and anyone who knows him will agree he is a student of the game. McGuire is a huge booster of his alumni at Georgia Tech, and speaks very highly of the baseball program there. If you have a unique item that you wanted signed, Deck would give you an autograph with a smile. A friend of mine brought a bunch of photos that were taken while he pitched at his Alma Matter and Deck’s reaction to these pictures was, “Right On!” He was equally excited with the folder of pictures that was given to him, almost as if he was the one who got an autograph. You would never think this prospect was a high 1st round pick, as he is incredibly humble and considerate. I spoke with him the day his injury was reported and he immediately downplayed the severity of it. He wanted to pitch through it and was visibly disappointed to miss some time.

Nestor Molina: While I know this is known, I need to emphasize it – - this kid has talent, along with some swagger and is likely to have a lengthy and successful career in baseball. Working his way through the system, Nestor pitched some classics on the bump for the Fisher Cats. He was very quiet and soft spoken his first few weeks in town, but as the year unfolded he began to show a resilient personality to go along with his nasty cutter. His autograph is very unique and you will never get the same sign twice. Nestor will be an impact MLB pitcher, and the secret to his success is his dedication. 

Evan Crawford: Easy Evan continued to impress, this time as a Fisher Cat.  This once little league teammate of Colby Rasmus was lights out time and time again. Enjoying the support of his family, Evan made the best of his time in New Hampshire, striking out over a quarter of the batters he faced. This big lefty had the support of his family, as I saw his dad proudly cheering his son on more than one occasion. Evan’s persona is happy go lucky, and even after a bad outing, he is still sporting a smile. He has the blood of a relief pitcher and was recently promoted to the 40-man roster. It seemed as if Evan and Wes Etheridge became good friends, as they would seem to always be leaving together and constantly talking ball in the bullpen.

Wes Etheridge: Wes broke back into the minors after a successful campaign with Maui in the Independent league. Wes came to New Hampshire, highly touted as a closer, fresh off being an automatic-save artist with Dunedin. His physical appearance was more of a skateboarder than a baseball player, but that is until you see him hurl a baseball. 

Ronald Uviedo: Ron split the year between NH and Las Vegas, and had some huge stops down the stretch for the Fisher Cats. Ron was a very social and vocal member of the club house and his infectious laughter could be heard many times echoing around Delta Dental. Ron has one of the longest long tosses I have ever witnessed as I saw him toss a baseball clear across the outfield and about 50 feet over the fence into the woods. It was clear that he and Rei were the veteran presence in the bullpen and commanded the younger pitchers respect.

Reidier Gonzalez:  After an amazing start to the year, Rei was promoted to the 51s. Rei was in line to be the starting pitcher for the All Star game as he led the EL in ERA and wins at the time of his promotion. After a shaky stint in the PCL, Rei was sent back to NH just in time for the playoff run. Being a veteran of MILB, you could defiantly see that Rei was one of the leaders of the pitching staff. He also went above and beyond the call of duty at the end of the season, by getting a ton of baseball equipment to be sent to the Dominican Republic. 

Chad Beck: Chad is a prototypical Texas fire-baller and he enjoyed success in 2011 in three levels of professional baseball. The key to this success was quite simple and can be said in 1 word – - velocity! Over the off season, Chad’s hard work added a few miles to his fastball as he averaged approximately 95MPH over the course of the season. Texans like things big,  and Chad drives a big truck, but flashes around an even bigger smile. 

Overall, the 2012 campaign will likely host an entirely new set of faces and prospects in New Hampshire. With more talent than we can really even begin talking about, I look forward to getting to know a new class of players. I also look forward to rooting for the aforementioned players as they continue on the road to the show.

As a reminder, do not forget that you can win a Deck McGuire signed ball and a ticket stub  – - just find a way of tweeting my twitter account, @Fisher_Cats, the website’s twitter handle, @JaysProspects and the #JaysProspects hashtag and be automatically entered to win. 

Good luck and thanks for reading.

Look forPart II: The Position Players soon!