Independent Baseball Insider (Vol. 8, No. 24, July 16, 2010) By Bob Wirz
By Bob Wirz
Daniel Carte (Pictured) has smashed the Can-Am League record by hitting safely in 30 consecutive games between June 8 and July 10 for the new Pittsfield (MA) Colonials, and that may not be the greatest feat for the 26-year-old West Virginian. The rightfielder has hit safely in 38 of his 40 games this season with two or more safeties 20 times.
Carte, a second-round draft choice by Colorado in 2005 who got into one major league spring training game with the Rockies this season, is within reach of the Triple Crown. He shares the league batting lead with another right fielder, Quebec’s Sebastien Boucher, at .395 (64-for-162), is third in RBI with 39 and is tied for third with eight home runs.
-Cochran Misses Star Game, But Wins Fourth in a Row
Tom Cochran, the Can-Am League’s top left-hander in 2008 (Worcester, MA) before moving to Lancaster, PA in the Atlantic League and eventually signing with Cincinnati, may have been the most fortunate of affiliated All-Stars and he did not even get into the Southern League contest earlier this week.
Cochran, 27, won his fourth consecutive decision for Carolina (Zebulon, NC) two days before the Class AA star classic so he was not used in the game. Cochran, who now has gone eight starts in a row without giving up more than two runs, ran his record to 7-3 with a 2.33 earned run average. The 27-year-old also has pitched Independent Baseball in the Frontier League (Washington, PA and Ohio Valley).
The best performances among former Indy players in upper classification contests this week came from John Lindsey (New Jersey Jackals, Can-Am) with a 1-for-2 showing and Nate Bump (Camden, NJ, Atlantic) with a scoreless inning, both in the Triple-A showdown Wednesday, and Tanner Scheppers (St. Paul, MN, American Association) with two-thirds of an inning in the major league Futures Game.
(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes on Independent Baseball. Fans may subscribe at www.WirzandAssociates.com, enjoy his blogs, www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com and www.IndyBaseballChatter.com, or comment to RWirz@aol.com. The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)