The Northwest League All-Star team was announced today, and two Tri-City Dust Devils were named to the team.
Now All-Star snubs are a part of baseball, but pardon me for saying: Its about time.
Maybe its payback for leaving Darin Holcomb off the team last season.
This season, however, there was no denying at least one Dust Devils all-star.
Centerfielder Charie Blackmon and left-handed starter Kenneth Durst were named to the 13-player team in a vote by Northwest League coaches. It was the first time Tri-City has had multiple players named since 2004, when closer Jim Miller, second-baseman Erik Dean and third baseman Matt Macri were chosen.
Blackmon was a no-brainer. A second-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech, he sits among the NWL top five in batting average (.331), hits (86), doubles (17), triples (5) and total bases (121). Blackmon has already snapped the Dust Devils record for hits in a single season and is approaching the Rockies short-season record of 93 held by Juan Pierre.
Durst, however, was a pleasant surprise, but a well-earned one.
Durst, named to the team as top left-handed starter, has quietly churned out one of the most consistent efforts by a Tri-City player this season. A 15th-round pick out of West Virginia in 2007, Durst is sixth in the league in ERA (3.34) and seventh in strikeouts (60) in 14 appearances including 11 starts.
Since the franchise began in Tri-Cities in 2001, the NWL left Dust Devils players off the All-Star squad three times in 2001, 2003 and 2007.
In 2002, two players were named: shortstop Oscar Materano and reliever Isaac Pavlik.
Tri-City put one player on the team in 2005 (outfielder Travis Becktel) and 2006 (second baseman Daniel Mayora).
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On paper, Dust Devils have NWL title wrapped up
On paper, Dust Devils have NWL title wrapped up
PASCO -- If you look at the Northwest League website, you'll see that the Tri-City Dust Devils have vastly superior numbers to the Vancouver Canadians.
The Dust Devils swept the first half and second half East Division titles, and then went on to sweep Boise in the best-of-3 NWL divisional playoffs.
The Canadians didn't win either half in the West and backed into the playoffs after losing five of their last six regular season games.
Plenty to cheer after Dust Devils' fine year
Plenty to cheer after Dust Devils' fine year
The Tri-City Dust Devils will feel the sting for a while.
To come within one game of a Northwest League title only to fall short on the final day of the season, it leaves a hole.
"It's quiet (in the locker room), but there's nothing we can do. It's over with," Dust Devils pitcher Tyler Gagnon said after he took the loss in Game 3 of the NWL championship series Sunday in Vancouver. "We have to learn from it and move on."
LIVE BLOG: Dust Devils vs. Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Game 2
LIVE BLOG: Dust Devils vs. Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Game 2
Congratulations to Dust Devils manager Freddie Ocasio for earning his second Northwest League manager of the year honor!!
Tri-City got two other nods on the NWL all-star team. One was Christian Bergman – a no-brainer — and the other was left-handed reliever Kenneth Roberts. I knew it was going to be a tough choice in the end, but some awfully good pitchers were going to get left off the team.
I thought Nelson Gonzalez had an excellent shot at being named, and Tyler Gagnon certainly deserved some consideration after winning NWL pitcher of the week twice this season.
Dust Devils drop Game 1 of NWL finals
Dust Devils drop Game 1 of NWL finals
PASCO -- The Tri-City Dust Devils hopped on a bus for Vancouver, British Columbia, late Friday night after their 6-3 Game 1 loss to the Vancouver Canadians in the Northwest League Championship Series at Gesa Stadium.
Along with their bats, gloves and spikes, the Dust Devils hoped to carry a win across the border. Instead, they might need to pack a miracle or two, as they need to win both games at Nat Bailey Stadium to earn their first NWL championship.
"We've got to go up there and win two," said Tri-City manager Fred Ocasio. "They came in and beat us at home, but we're capable of doing the same thing."
Dust Devils fall in title bid
Dust Devils fall in title bid
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- This was not the way the Tri-City Dust Devils wanted to go out.
Tri-City players could only watch as the Vancouver Canadians celebrated their first-ever Northwest League title Sunday afternoon at Nat Bailey Stadium after a gut-punch of a 9-2 loss in Game 3 of the NWL championship series.
The Dust Devils locker room was dead silent after the loss. They built some momentum after a 5-3 win yesterday to keep their title hopes alive.
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