Monday, June 29, 2009

Joshua Prince update (Pioneer League record)

Oh, man, am I digging Josh Prince. In his second professional game he stole not one, not two, not three, not four, not five but SIX, SIX!!!!! bases. This tied the Pioneer League record for stolen bases in a game. The league has only been around for seventy years so it's not like it was that big a deal.....SIX!!!!

For the second game in a row he led off for Helena and reached base on a throwing error. Prince then stole second and third, scoring on a ground out. Prince doubled in the third but was stranded on second. In the fifth he walked and stole second. He led off the seventh with another walk and another steal of second, scoring on a double. Finally, in the eighth, he singled then stole and third again.

He has played in six games now and has reached base in all of them. His nine steals leads the league. His teammate, Derrick McPhearson, is second in the league with four. His nine steals is more than any of the other seven teams in the league has.

In addition, he has been flawless in the field. For those of you who just watch major league baseball, you may think "no big deal". Rookie league ball can be painful to watch from a fielding standpoint. Heck, you really don't start seeing smooth fielding until you hit AA. Back in 1993, I saw a large portion of the Greensboro Hornets games and watched a teenaged Derek Jeter bobble his way to 56 errors.

So far Prince has been exciting to follow.

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