At the risk of jinxing him (if I say it that way, it can't happen, right?), Kalamazoo's Fran Riordan is about to tie another career mark. As a player, he still holds the all-time record for games played and runs batted in. Now he is at the threshold of having the most wins a
s a manager in the Frontier League. At the moment, he has 411 victories in his eight plus seasons, just one behind Greg Tagert, who posted 412 in nine seasons. Tagert, who managed five teams in the FL, is now the skipper of the Northern League's Gary, Indiana team, where he has continued his great success. The Kings have a couple of games left in their current series with the Midwest Sliders, who are playing strong baseball, so Fran has his work cut out for him this weekend. A tip of the cap to you, Fran, for another milestone in your FL career.What a year it's been for FL players moving on to MLB organizations. Earlier this week, Midwest ace James Albury was signed by the White Sox and Traverse City closer Jeff Williams went to the Yankees. That makes eight Frontier Leaguers that have moved on to the affiliated ranks after the start of the season. I know that I am fixated on the League's mission, but there is no doubt that the FL remains as the premier place for MLB scouts to find young talent to fill out their rosters. Looking at the stats leaders on the Frontier League web site, it wouldn't surprise me to see more action before the end of, and directly after, this 2009 campaign.
See you at a game soon.
