Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - The 2004 Appalachian League season was the setting of Mitch Einertson's coming out party. Drafted in the 5th round of the 2004 draft, Einertson stepped on the scene in Greeneville and slammed 24 home runs (tied a league record) and plated 67 in just 63 games as he led the Astros to the 2004 League Championship. Greeneville came from behind to defeat the Danville Braves 2-1 in their best-of-three Championship series. Danville won game one by the score of 8-3 and had a 2-1 lead in game two entering the bottom of the ninth. Thats when Manager Tim Bogar sparked something in his Astros' squad as they came from behind to take game two and went on to win game three to capture the title. The Astros held off Elizabethton to take the West Division by three games while Danville fought off a resilient Pulaski club that only finished 1 1/2 games behind the Braves.
BLUEFIELD ORIOLES - The Orioles had a disappointing 2004 campaign as they finished with a 28-39 record, 13 1/2 games behind first place Danville in the East Division. They lost eight of their final ten games and went 11-22 at Bowen Field. First baseman Ryan Finan and pitcher Robert McCrory were named to the 2004 Appalachian League Post Season All Star Team. Skipper Gary Kendall watched his line-up only hit .244 and strike out 614 times. Juan Gutierrez led the team with eight home runs, 29 RBI and finished the year hitting .349. The Oriole Pitching Staff was led by Wilmer Mendez' 5 wins and watched the All Star McCrory compile a 1.92 ERA over his 51 2/3rd innings of work with 51 strike outs.
BRISTOL WHITE SOX - There wasn't much to write home about this season for the White Sox. They finished the season with a 27-38 record, 13 games behind the West Division Champion Greeneville. Catcher Francisco Hernandez was second in the Appalachian League with a .326 average, while Jose De Los Santos collected 64 hits, good enough for 10th overall in the league. Starter Jay Marshall compiled a 3.59 ERA over 57 2/3rd innings, which was good for 8th in the league, but did not receive any run support and only finished with a 1-6 record. Outfielder Evan Tartaglia put together a nice 2004 campaign as he finished second in the league in on-base percentage (.416) and third in stolen bases (19).
BURLINGTON INDIANS - With seven wins in their last ten games, the Burlington Indians portrayed their big league club with its never say die attitude. Even though they finished 10 games behind the East Division champion Danville Braves, the Indian fans still came out to the park as they drew the second most fans in the Appalachian League. Starter Reid Santos was named Co-Pitcher of the Year and finished second in the league with a 2.78 ERA, but thanks to a lack of run support he could only muster up a 3-5 record. Outfielder PJ Hiser finished fifth in the league in hitting (.322), second in slugging (.588), sixth in extra base hits (23) and tied for sixth in home runs (10). Outfield speedster Juan Valdez swiped 21 bases, which was good for second in the league.
DANVILLE BRAVES - The 2004 East Division Champions fell a game short of winning the Appalachian League Crown. After winning game one of their three game set with the Greeneville Astros, the Braves gave up two runs in the ninth inning of game two and lost 3-2. They then dropped game three in ten innings by the score of 2-1. Catcher Cole Armstrong, 2B JC Holt and OF Carl Loadenthal were all named to the 2004 Post Season All Star Team. Mark Jurich (27) and Van Pope (25) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in extra-base hits, while Brandon Jones was tied for second in triples with five. Starter Chris Vines compiled a 3.28 ERA in his 60 1/3rd innings of work, finished fourth in the league with six wins, and struck out 72 batters which was good for second overall. The Braves also led the league in hitting with a .276 average as a team.
ELIZABETHTON TWINS - The Twins tried to close the gap on the first place Greeneville Astros and won their final three games but fell short and finished three games behind the Astros. Outfielder Deacon Burns led the Twins at the plate with a .314 average, which was good for 10th in the Appalachian League. He was first in hits (80), first in doubles (20), fifth in slugging (.565), second in extra base hits (36), tied for third in runs (49), third in home runs (12) and third in RBI (49). Starter Steven Duguay was named Co-Pitcher of the Year after winning four games and compiling a 3.36 ERA, which was good for sixth in the league.
JOHNSON CITY CARDINALS
The Cardinals finished a disappointing 2004 campaign 8 1/2 games behind Greeneville in the West Division of the Appalachian League. Shortstop Juan Lucena and third baseman Tony Granadillo were named to the 2004 Post Season All Star Team and made up the left side of the best infield in the league along with first baseman Billy Becher and second baseman Jose Delgado. Lucena led the league with a .332 average, while fellow teammate, catcher Brandon Yarborough, finished third (.326). Granadillo hit .315 which was good for eighth overall. Delgado led the league with a .431 on-base percentage and also smacked five triples, which was good for second in the league. Their pitching staff compiled the second-worst ERA (4.88) and also allowed the second most home runs (63).
KINGSPORT METS - Former Met hero Mookie Wilson struggled through an average 2004 year, and could not get his Kingsport Mets in contention, as they finished 9 1/2 games behind Greeneville in the West Division. DH Seth Pietsch was named to the 2004 Post Season All Star Team thanks to his 11 home runs and 45 RBI over 56 games of service. Outfielder Jesus Gamero put together a solid season, hitting .323 with 32 RBI and 31 runs scored in 44 games. Starter Orlando Rengel finished fourth in the league in ERA (3.26) and combined with Jeff Brewer and Troy Fry to win five games apiece. The threesome accounted for almost half of the teams wins between them.
GREENEVILLE ASTROS - Manager of the Year Tim Bogar and Player of the Year Mitch Einertson led the Greeneville Astros to the 2004 Appalachian League Championship. With Danville leading the three game series 1-0 and game two by the score of 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Greeneville's Justin Towles homered to left field and revived the Astros' season. Greeneville would go on to add one more in the ninth and tied the series at 1-1. The following night, the Astros would need extra innings, but put the Braves away and staked their claim on the 2004 title. Einertson came right out of high school in Oceanside , CA and finished his historic season with 24 home runs (tied a league record), 67 RBI, and a .308 batting average. Starters Juan Gutierrez and Levi Romero led the league with eight wins apiece, while closer Enylebert Soto was tied for the lead in saves with 13 and was named to the 2004 Appalachian League Post Season All Star team. Speed demon Waladimir Sutil swiped a league-leading 24 bases and Jordan Parraz smacked five triples which was good for second in the league.
PRINCETON DEVIL RAYS - The end of the 2004 season could not come fast enough for the worst team in the Appalachian League this season. The Devil Rays finished the year 23-44 and 18 1/2 games behind Danville in the East Division. 3B/OF Jake Ritchie led the team in home runs (6) and was second in RBI (28), while Josh Touchstone collected 50 hits, which was tops for the team. Princeton's pitching staff gave up a league-worst 65 home runs, 345 walks, and compiled the worst team ERA (5.72).
PULASKI BLUE JAYS - The Blue Jays were locked up in a tight race for the East Division crown, but fell 1 1/2 games short of the Danville Braves. Outfield stud Yuber Rodriguez put the team on his back, but could not carry them to the finish line. Rodriguez finished second in the league in hits (77), tied for fifth in doubles (15), was first in triples (6), eighth in on base percentage (.396), third in extra base hits (28), tenth in slugging (.502), and tied for third in runs (49) and second in RBI (53). Luke Hetherington provided the offense some spark with his 40 RBI and 40 runs scored while Nick Thomas collected 43 RBI in his 55 games played for the Blue Jays. Starter Jordan Timm finished the season with the lowest ERA in the league (2.67) and compiled a 3-1 record. Fellow teammate Chi Hung Cheng went 4-1 with a 2.82 ERA, which was good for third overall in the league, and struck out a league-leading 74 batters.
