2014 PGCBL All-Star Game Rosters
CEDAR
RAPIDS, Iowa – On Tuesday, July 15 the fourth annual PGCBL All-Star
Game will take place at Elmira’s Dunn Field, home of the Pioneers.
The game will feature 50 of the PGCBL’s top players, including 26
from the five team West Division and 24 from the four team East
Division, PGCBL President Jeff Kunion said.
Kunion
added this will be the second time Elmira will play host to the
All-Star Game since hosting the very first one in 2011. And between
each of the stadiums, a competition brews about who can add to the
fireworks.
“Each
team seems to be outdoing and wanting to do a better job than the
guys before them, it’s a real competition,” he said.
Kunion
expects a large crowd to be present at the All-Star game, as Dunn
Field holds 4,000 spectators and this is the PGCBL’s feature game
during the regular season.
Aside
from the actual game itself, a home run derby competition will take
place at 5:00 p.m. Each team will be represented by one slugger, and
going by the stats provided by the PGCBL website, Mohawk Valley’s
Zach Collett is the leader in home runs thus far in the season with
six.
But
this game carries much more impact than just signifying the halfway
point of the PGCBL season; after all, these are college players
looking to develop their game to continue their careers
professionally.
“I
think it gives the league an opportunity to showcase its best players
for major league scouts, part of the reasons that so many of our
former players have been drafted,” Kunion said. “We get fans from
all over the geographic footprint of the league who come to watch the
game because they know it’s a fantastic time for the fans.
“You’re
talking about getting to watch the kids go through their scout day
activities, you get to watch the home run derby and you get to watch
the best players in the league play ball.”
The
scout day activities start at 4 p.m. that will feature the players
doing various drills in front of MLB scouts and fans. Some of the
notable alumni who have played in the PGCBL are Hunter Pence of the
San Francisco Giants, Caleb Thielbar of the Minnesota Twins and Shae
Simmons of the Atlanta Braves.
The
two coaches for the East and West teams are Keith Griffin, the East
coach of the Amsterdam Mohawks, and Matt Burch of Elmira, the West
coach. Kunion said that the coaches were picked because the PGCBL
chooses the coach of the team who won the PGCBL championship the year
before and the coach of the team who is hosting the event.
For
Coach Griffin, he enjoys the opportunity to coach these players and
watch what they can do. This is also his second year coaching in the
All-Star game as his Amsterdam Mohawks have won the past two PGCBL
championships.
“We
let them showcase their talents and abilities,” Griffin said. “We
just try to have fun. For this one day, everybody is on the same
team. We’re all trying to beat each other and be competitive, but
on this particular day our side plays the other side and that’s
what we try to do.”
And
because this an event where it’s meant to be fun for everyone and
showcasing the talents of the players, Griffin said there is no
strategy involved besides making sure every player gets an
opportunity to pitch and get an at-bat.
For
Griffin, he gets the opportunity to coach 10 of his Amsterdam
players, but looks forward to seeing the abilities of the other
players in the league.
“Well
we have 10 of our players [Amsterdam] that made the team,” Griffin
said. “I’m looking forward to going over there and seeing how
they play. And then the other three teams put guys on and it’s a
chance to watch them a little closer than when you play them.”
Opposite
of Griffin, Coach Burch looks forward to being a coach in the
mid-season classic and the coach of the host Elmira Pioneers.
“Our
players are excited to represent the city of Elmira at Dunn Field
during the All-Star Game. Having nine Pioneers selected to the game
is a credit to their abilities and these skills will be on display
July 15th,” Burch said in a press release.
For
the younger baseball fans in attendance, bounce houses will be
present for entertainment and a firework extravaganza will cap the
eventful day.
Fireworks
will surely be in abundance as the league’s best will showcase why
they were named All-Stars.