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- BRYAN HARRISON “When the Yankees told me they wanted me to coach, I thought they were crazy.” Now the RiverDogs hitting coach in his second season, Torre Tyson clearly  likes his work.When his minor league career was cut short by an injury while playing in AA Norwich, Ct., for a Yankee farm club, Torre first told them no. Shortly after, he realized that if he wanted to start a family, he needed some stability in his life. He called them back and accepted the offer. “I started thinking and realized this opportunity might not come again, so I decided to get my foot in the door.” They sent him to Staten Island and then to Gulf Coast where he coached many of the players now with the RiverDogs. As a player, his greatest asset was speed and although he now concentrates on hitting he still helps players with base running. “It’s mostly a matter of situations, when to go and when not to go,” he said. There is a batting cage beneath the ballpark and Torre spends at least two hours a day with individual hitters “isolating mechanics”. There is a chart in the club house which indicates which players get extra hitting practice. The players do batting practice on the field every day. “On the field, we take the thinking process away. I just let them hit,” When asked if he stressed fundamentals at this level, he said ”Fundamentals are preached at every level, especially here. Some of these players haven’t played very much. They’re just out of high school. “After three years we’re getting some really good athletes. They still have a long way to go, but with them there are some things you don’t have to teach,” he said. “My philosophy is to simplify things. A lot of big leaguers are doing ”showy” things at the plate. That complicates things.” His model for hitting is Cardinal outfielder Albert Pujols. “He keeps it simple. Less is more.” Torre doesn’t try to change a batter’s stance. “I don¹t clone hitters. There are stances I don¹t like, but I let them do what feels natural to them. If it’s successful I don’t try and change it. I like to work off what they can do. They didn’t like Derek Jeter¹s stance but he’s up there winning batting titles.” Torre is comfortable with the players he coached in the past. “We have a good rapport. I¹m here basically to remind them of things so they can coach themselves.” The players themselves give Torre a lot of credit and have nothing but good things to say about him, returning players and newcomers alike. The 30-year-old coach lives in Columbia, Mo. during the off-season, close to his home town, St. Louis. Most fans come to see the players, the home run hitters, the base stealers and the stike-out artists, but does anyone come to see the coaches? Torre has two great fans who come to almost every game. Wife Jennifer sits in the stands with their young and active toddler, Tagger. Next season there will be a new addition to the family. YANKEE JERSEYS HELP BLINDNESS The Charleston RiverDogs, the second-year Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees, will wear the parent club’s jerseys for one game only and will then hand over individual jerseys to the highest bidder as part of the RiverDogs’ 7th Annual “Kindness Beats Blindness RP Auction” at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. With all proceeds going to the Medical University of South Carolina’s (MUSC) Storm Eye Institute and their on-going fight to prevent the loss of sight, the RiverDogs¹ silent and live auction will be held Saturday night, June 10, from 6 p.m. until the end of the 6th inning of the regularly-scheduled Charleston-Savannah game that begins at 7:05 p.m. While the Yankees,jerseys of great players like Babe Ruth (No. 3), Lou Gehrig (No. 4), Joe DiMaggio (No. 5), Mickey Mantle (No. 7), Yogi Berra (No. 8) and others will go to the highest bidder, there will be an abundance of other gifts and services available. Owner’s seats in Yankee Stadium will be up for bid as will Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves tickets. There will also be various sports memorabilia, many of which are autographed, including items from current RiverDogs who comprise five of the Yankees’ top ten minor league prospects, as rated by Baseball America. A variety of golf and spa packages will be up for bids as will several vacation getaways to beach resorts, historic downtown Charleston and more. Every Saturday home RiverDogs game is a giveaway night, and June 10 is no exception. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive Bill Murray bobbleheads, courtesy of Comcast. All fans that enter the ball park are eligible to bid on the various goods and services. More than $150,000 has been donated to the Storm Eye Institute from the past six auctions to help fight retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that causes blindness and that has affected Rebecca Veeck, the daughter of RiverDogs president and co-owner Mike Veeck. “We put a lot of effort and emphasis into this annual auction because we firmly believe in the cause,” said RiverDogs General Manager Dave Echols. ”Blindness hit us close to home and we are trying to do our part to fight this disease. Hopefully, raising needed funds for research will help lead to a cure for this terrible disease.” For additional information on the “Kindness Beats Blindness” auction and to order tickets for the game, fans can call the RiverDogs at (843)577-DOGS (3647).
DEDICATED
TO WINNING
DOGS EXPLODE
4.10.06
Charleston RiverDogs Manager Bill Mosiello believes in winning.
In Class A baseball, the edict always comes from on high. Player development. Player development. Player development. But Mosiello, in keeping with pin stripe tradition, believes that players who play to win develop better New York Yankees hopefuls. "Playing to win is an equal priority," he told gathered reporters two days before the official season opener. He pointed out that Yankee farm clubs in Staten Island and Gulf Coast won their league championships last year and the RiverDogs made the South Atlantic League playoffs. The five players returning from last year's team are used to winning as are the players promoted from Staten Island.  This year¹s
roster shows real promise. Three highly touted players,outfielders Jose Tabata and Austin Jackson, and shortstop C.J. Henry are bright prospects in the Yankee organization. Returning from last year are outfielders Estee Harris and Jon Poterson, second baseman Mario Holmann and pitcher Phil Coke. Despite Mosiello's approach, the Dogs went out that night only to lose the one and only exhibition game they play, the annual Coastal Clash with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. They disappointed 7,032 fans in the season opener with a loss to the Augusta GreenJackets and again before another large crowd Friday. Errors, bad fielding, weak pitching and only a little spark from the batters characterized the beginning of the 2006 season. Charleston fans who before 2005 had suffered a long drought when it came to winning seasons were sighing: "Oh no, not again!" But the weather was warm Sunday afternoon and a less numerous crowd was treated to a run-scoring explosion in the first game of a double-header and superb pitching in the second. After a shaky first inning in the opener, again plagued with errors and bad fielding, the Dogs came alive in the fifth, scoring nine runs (three were scored without being driven in with a base hit) and eight in the lineup crossing the plate. Jackson went 3-for-4 with two RBI and Tabata was 3-for-3 with a pair of  runs
driven in. Chris Malec drove home three runs and hit a solo home
run, the RiverDogs' first of the season.,Brian Villalona, who pitched the final three innings in relief of starter Edgar Soto, picked up his first win of the season as he permitted two runs on four hits. In the process, Villalona fanned three and walked one. Last season, left-hander Phil Coke struggled and he had some bad luck, pitching well only to watch relievers get credit for the win. The same thing happened again Sunday. He pitched four no-hit innings and struck out five and retired the last ten batters he faced. Able Gomez went the final three innings and allowed one hit while also striking out five and gaining the victory. Tabata led the RiverDogs with three runs batted in on two hits. Jackson, catcher Jose Gil and Malec, who homered in the first game, also had a pair of hits in the second. The RiverDogs go on an eight game road trip, first to Columbus and then to Augusta to face the GreenJackets again.
RiverDogs Announce 2006 Promotions
The 2006 season
marks the 10th season of baseball at Joseph P. Riley, Jr.
Park and RiverDogs' second as an affiliate of the New York Yankees so, naturally, there will be a 10th anniversary in addition to a New York theme to many of the promotions for the RiverDogs this year. "We're excited about our plans for 2006," said General Manager Dave Echols. "Not only is it the 10th anniversary of The Joe, but it is also the Chinese Year of the Dog and we're gearing our promotions toward those two items." Again this year, there will be the popular Saturday giveaways. Unique giveaways include Bible Belt giveaway, Bobble Bridge (replicas of the new Ravenel Bridge) sponsored by Great American Tours & Excursions, Charlie T. RiverDog Bank giveaway, Black Yankees cap giveaway, harmonica giveaway and 10th Anniversary Tin giveaway. The harmonica giveaway will attempt to set a world record for the most people simultaneously playing a harmonica, with the intention of submitting the record for inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records. Yet the RiverDogs, in their unique way, take things a step further, especially on June 10 with the annual "Kindness Beats Blindness Night Sponsored by MUSC and the Storm Eye Institute." On that Saturday, the RiverDogs will be wearing the Yankees' gray road uniforms with ³New York² emblazoned on the front, and the players will be handing over their jerseys on the field to the highest bidder immediately after the game. Proceeds will go to help fight Retinitis Pigmentosa. June 10 will also be "Bill Murray Bobblehead Night" sponsored by Comcast, spoofing one of the most popular actors in America and one of the RiverDogs' more colorful co-owners. Friday night's games will conclude with spectacular fireworks displays courtesy of GEICO in addition to fortune cookie giveaways to all fans with specially created messages to coincide with the Chinese Year of the Dog. Tuesdays are Harris Teeter¹s "Two for Tuesdays," with two tickets on sale for the price of one. In recognition of the Chinese Year of the Dog, Wednesdays will feature $1 hot dog specials. Thursdays are "Wild Wing Cafe Thirsty Thursdays," with dollar beers and other drink specials, and Mondays are "Dogs With A Cause," as the RiverDogs aid local non-profits with their special nights. Every Sunday is "Charleston County Parks & Recreation and the Charleston Imax Theater Family Sundays" featuring a carnival atmosphere. Also on Sundays, kids are permitted to play catch on the field prior to the game and run the bases afterwards as RiverDogs players sign autographs. Special theme nights include Aren't You Glad We're Not in Boston Night?, Karaoke Night, Bingo Night, Back Seat Drivers Night, Irish Night, I Need More (Eddie) Money Night, Jamaican Independence Day Celebration, Let Them Eat Cookies -- The Unorganized Cookie Monster Protest, I'll Give My Two Front Teeth To Play Hockey Night, and What I Like About Insurance Salesmen Night. "Look, My Hot Dog Is Green" is another of the RiverDogs' promotions that returns this year as the hot dogs that are sold at the concession stands will be double-wrapped with anywhere from $2 to $100. Fans will be permitted to keep the money, along with the hot dog. Also returning is the reigning ³Clown Prince of Baseball² and the world's most famous nerd, Myron Noodleman, along with a local favorite, midget wrestling. The RiverDogs will also salute the Cardboard Box, recognizing its induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2005, a salute to Superman and Rickey Henderson -- the Men of Steal, and a salute to Pirates of the Caribbean. The King and His Court, the nationally-recognized four-man softball team, will make an appearance at Riley Park and will play the US Military All-Star Team as part of Military Appreciation Night on May 18. The fun starts on April 4 when the RiverDogs host the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the annual Coastal Clash sponsored by Great American Tours and Excursions. The 2006 regular season begins two nights later, on April 6 and sponsored by Nucor Steel, when the Augusta GreenJackets, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, invade Riley Park. Season tickets and a variety of mini-plans are available now by contacting the RiverDogs Box Office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647).
RiverDogs' Job Fair The 2006 Charleston RiverDogs Job Fair, the opportunity to apply for paid working positions with the New York Yankees' Class A affiliate, will be held on Saturday, March 4, from 9 am 12 noon at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. Applications for various positions with the RiverDogs' home game management team will be accepted at that time. Positions include concessions workers, ticket takers, souvenir stand workers, ushers, field crew, stadium clean-up crew, Kids Zone staff, program sellers, box office workers, on-field promotion assistants, box-seat and skybox servers, and more. The RiverDogs, where their slogan "Fun is Good" spreads to its employees, feature a $1,000 cash bonus to the highest-rated individual in the customer service area at the seasons' end. Positions for playing baseball, however, are handled through the New York Yankees. Those interested in working with the home game management team are encouraged to bring resumes and references with titles and telephone numbers.
Who has worn a RiverDog uniform longer than anyone else ? Hint: He¹s been a RiverDog five
years, has survived four managers and He¹s Brad Nettles (no kin to the Yankee great) and has been the team¹s bat boy longer than anyone else. Sporting the number 2 on his uniform, Nettles is looking forward to the day when he, too, can play pro ball. Right now, he¹s content to pitch and play first base for West Ashley High School. Although he plays two positions, he says he likes to pitch. When he started handling bats and balls for the RiverDogs, he was 12 years old and five feet, five inches tall. Now, at 17, he stands at six feet. He¹s taller and not much younger than some of the players in the South Atlantic League. "It¹s a lot of fun," he says. "I come out early and sometimes the players work with me. I like the minor league atmosphere." He got the job as honorary bat boy when RiverDogs General Manager Dave Echols was an assistant GM. Nettle¹s mother, who works in an insurance office, met Echols and asked if her son could try out. His parents are season ticket holders and come out to watch their son as well as the games. He has one sister. Before pro baseball comes college and, right now, Nettles is looking at three different ones. Meanwhile, he is liking his responsibility as a bat boy. He oversees the bat kids and younger bat boys, but has to answer to the team manager, the clubhouse manager and, while the game is in play, the umpires. "I like the fans and I have liked all the players who have been here," he said. - Bryan Harrison
When seven-year-old Justin Mims arrived with his mom
at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park Sunday he had no idea of the surprise
waiting for him. Take Me Out To The Ballgame - BRYAN HARRISON 4.7.05 It’s that time again: Warm days and chilly nights, The Star Spangled banner and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” rawhide and wood, the squeeze play and the double steal, hot dogs and beer. Tonight I’m going to the ball game at “The Joe.” That’s Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park, home of the Charleston RiverDogs. Those of you who are familiar with the “Dogs” know its time for hijinks and shenanigans, Charlie and Chelsea, giveaways and splash days, dog (literally) days and Thirsty Thursdays, Friday fireworks and fun games, Ken Carrington and Ken, the beer man. It’s opening night and the new young players will be making their introduction to Charleston’s fans. These players have come from Spring training in Tampa where they’ve been going through the drills in New York Yankee jerseys and caps. My love for Minor League Baseball began in 1946 when the Asheville (NC) Tourists became a team in the Class B Tri-State League. The players were literally “bush leaguers” because there was no fence in the outfield. The outfielders used to hide balls in the bushes and tried to beat the runner heading home. Now there’s a mile-high fence in right field, making it hard on left-handed sluggers. Later, I did player profiles for a weekly newspaper in Asheville and that’s basically what I still do with the RiverDogs. I used to cover politics for Mount Pleasant News & Comment. At the time I told people I wrote about minor league baseball and minor league politics. Since I don’t cover the games on a day to day basis, I prefer to sit with the fans instead of our colleagues in the press box. Those guys are really working. In the grandstand I become part of the crowd. That’s the appeal of the minor leagues. The players can actually recognize your voice, the umpire can hear your heckling, you can retrieve foul balls. Tuesday I went to media day, but left the work to the TV people and the deadline journalists. I introduced myself to the manager and some of the players and checked out the hot dogs. They are better this year than they were last season. Like most fans, I’m treated like a king at the ball park. Everybody from the general manager to the bat boy have always afforded me the utmost courtesy. After a couple of seasons, one also makes friends with the fans. There are those fans who will stay until the last man’s out, even it’s 2 a. m. and tied in the 17th inning. Then there are the casual fans who I see often but not always. Finally there are fans who come, bring their kids and enjoy the zaniness that goes on between innings. On the last day of the 2003 season, the RiverDogs only lacked a few paying customers to break an attendance record. There came a downpour and the radio broadcasters kept urging people to come on out, anyway. They did and broke the record. Rain doesn’t phase these fans. When it rains, the public address announcer keeps everybody going and the kids get to splash around in the swampy grass. The Major League teams I used to watch were the Senators, the Orioles, the Mets, the Yankees, and finally, the Padres and the modern-day Dodgers. When I was a youngster, Babe Ruth was the undisputed home run king and a lovable (to fans, at least) guy to boot. The Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers seemed always to end up playing each other in the World Series. Later, I saw the Big Red Machine stop any ball hit in the infield, Willie Mays make his famous basket catches, Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan mow down batters and Carl Yamstremski hit balls out of the park. Has the game changed? You bet. We read where chewing tobacco has been outlawed in the minors. When I was a kid, a pitcher couldn’t take the mound without half ‘a plug of Apple or Brown Mule in his mouth. We also read where one fan just sold his World Series ticket stub for $463, the value being based on the only perfect game ever pitched in a World Series. The original price? $2.10, less than a hot dog and coke at The Joe. I stuck with the game when many people lost their engrossment during the players strikes, others when ticket prices got out of bounds. My feeling for the game hasn’t changed. I still love to watch the intellectual duel between pitcher and batter, the ballet of the double play, the daring of stealing home and the cat and mouse game between the battery and infield and base runner . Yet, I have a problem with those who run the game and those who cheat at it. It’s a disappointment to say the least. Yes, we’re talking about the steroids scandal. Say it ain’t so, Joe? Mark McGuire wouldn’t say it ain’t so. Barry Bonds, as usual, made an ass out of himself, blaming everyone else for his problems. Baseball owners and the players union have finally agreed on something. They want to give cheaters a slap on the wrist and leave the record books unblemished. Baseball put an asterik by Roger Maris’ name when he hit 61 home runs and wouldn’t allow Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame for gambling. Yet Jose Canseco, who admits to using steroids, can continue to brag about his statistics. The major league owners seem perfectly willing to pay millions to players who can make long singles count as home runs. It’s amazing that fans are not turned off by the scandal, but the New York Times reports that 2005 advance ticket sales have increased over six per cent from last year and new corporate sponsors are waiting in line to support the leagues. The plague has also reached the minor leagues. This year 38 minor leaguers have been caught using steroids in Spring training. During the season as I watch these new young Riverdogs, who aspire to wear the pinstripes and play in “The House that Ruth Built,” I will cheer their great moments, become saddened by their errors and mental lapses, take pride in their promotions to higher levels and feel like crying if they can’t make it even in Class A ball. Over the years, I’ve “adopted” slews of young players and, yep, some of them made it to the “bigs.” I want to think that these kids are pure and innocent, that the worst thing they do is play their rock and roll too loud. I can only hope if anyone hits a ball over that right-field fence in McCormick Field that he is doing so by ingesting only the food his mama fed him.
|
| Who Are
Those People? - Bryan Harrison - 2002 season It has been called by some the "most fun ball park in America." True or not, it is always fun to go to "The Joe" and almost 
everybody in the Charleston area has, at one time or another, been drawn
to the park and left there smiling.So who are those people who make baseball games fun? The fun may begin in the parking lot  with
Ray, who will give you a free ride to the gate in a golf cart and who
keeps a baseball record book with autographs beside the names of some
pretty impressive major leaguers.You will probably have your ticket taken by William Deptula or Audrey Kirkland and a program handed to 
you by Melanie
Wardlow and one of the first people you will see is Danielle Swigart,
the season ticket concierge. Danielle does more than that. During the
regular season and the
off-season she serves as Community Relations and Customer Service Co-ordiantor.
She can be seen throughout the stands during the games talking with fans
and helping them with various needs. Another face you will see in the
stands is Will Cobb, with camera in hand getting a picture of the fan of
the week for the RiverDogs web site.If you sit in a reserved seat, you may be helped by Gail Mitchum and Jim Linder. Gail is a elementary school teacher in Goose Creek and also w  orks
at the Charleston Coliseum and Jim is a retired law enforcement
officer (Naval Investigations Service) and teacher. Fans kid the
pair because they just seem to "stand around" during the
games. Truth is, in addition to seating people, they help the
handicapped, keep order and try to keep the kids from running so as hurt
themselves.Once seated you might get cold beer from Ken Holtzman who owns two snack shops and caddies for golfers. Or you might order up that beer, hot dogs and other goodies from the concession stand from Janice Gamble, who recently received her M. A. in education. She teaches music at Berkely Middle School and  reportedly has a marvelous singing voice.Before the game starts, you may 
watch Scott Swinson supervise his crew of three to 12 people getting the
grounds in shape for the game. "This is my home," says Scott,"
looking out over his field. It requires year-round work and Swinson, who
got his start with the Minnesota Twins in Fort Meyer.Hard Job? You bet. "The Joe" is built on a marsh and the field has sunk eight inches in six years. Scott says the city plans to redo the field, but money is tight in the city budget, All through the games, RiverDog employees keep the fans entertained with a staff that provides various stunts and promotions between innings. One such staffer is Nathan Crow who each  night, among
other things, appears as a tough looking "G-man" in a trench coat,
does a dance on the dugout and throws candy to the fans.During the game, you will hear various sound effects including voices, "boinks", playful jibes at the umpires and songs to introduce each player. The sound board and scoreboard are operated by Simon Whitlock. But the real entertainer at the ball park is public address announcer Atom Taler. Atom Taler? Yep, that is spelled right, but if you don¹t believe that is his real name, he offers you two other names, Ozzie Schrengost or Ralf Ingverson, one of them he claims is his own. Taler, a former Sport TV and radio personality, keep the fans going with an continual barrage of fun messages, often going into the stands with his promotions.  Baseball is his favorite sport and he wants to the fans to
enjoy the game itself, but he wants them to enjoy more than the game.
"If the fans can take something away from the ball park, something
to remember, then I've done my job," he says. Taler also writes
columns for the RiverDogs web site, maintained by Cobb.Perhaps the most remarkable employee is Don Wordlow, the blind radio broadcaster. He and Jim Lucas have been broadcasting baseball games for 12 years, teaming up in their college days. RiverDogs owner Mick Veeck gave them a shot in Pompano Beach, Florida and they have worked in Fort Meyer, New Brittain, Conn., Saint Paul, Minn. and are in their third year here. They were recently the subject of a short Sports Illustrated article commenting that they were being considered for the big leagues as  broadcasters for the Detroit Tigers.RiverDogs General Manager Derek Sharrer oversees the 20-person full time staff, including six interns, and the 40-person game staff. When asked what it was like to work for Veeck, Sharerr laughed. "We laugh because Mike hires GMs to do what he doesn¹t want to do. He doesn¹t like details. He thinks on the grand scheme." "It¹s a wonderful experience," he said of the 'most fun' ball park. "Our efforts bring a lot of heart to the games." |
Harris
had been part of a team that had won the first half and had played
Talking to reporter
(mostly TV crews) at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park, he got
Thursday¹
game against the Rome Braves.
Their special
enthusiasm was renewed when Marcos Vechionacci appeared and
,
to watch him during pre-game warm-ups, one would think he was ready to
take the field with the rest of the team.
Instead he
received a season pass for the remainder of RiverDog games this season,
two million chocolate chips in cookies and he got to throw out the first
pitch.
with
the Philadelphia 
opened. She traveled to the baseball winter meetings in
Dallas in 2000 where she interviewed 15 different teams.
Although Wade stays busy, very few plays in the game get past him.
Sometimes his customers miss a play and ask him what happened.
eavyweight champion of the world. “To me, they are
heavy weight champions.”
