2020 Missoula Xplorers Media Guide.

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Missoula Xplorers
Ballpark at Hells Gate
Missoula, Montana

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Left Line 325 6
Left Field 383 6
Left Center 410 6
Center Field 399 10
Right Center 375 10
Right Field 345 20
Right Line 320 20

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Owners - Big Sky Brewing Company
Chairman - Gil Cobb

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GM Hank McMullen
29th March 1962 Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Canada.

Director of Scouting Solly Lundgren
23rd April 1971 Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

Manager Pop Stearns
17th December 1961 Brooklyn, New York, USA

Bench Coach Tug Egan
9th July 1955 Redwood City, California, USA

Pitching Coach Kid Keenan
17th November 1983 Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Hitting Coach Chappy Doyle
5th October 1980 Denton, Texas, USA

First Base Coach Doc Fisher
8th July 1985 Portland, Oregon, USA

Third Base Coach - Topsy Scwartz
18th September 1987 Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Bullpen Coach - Lefty Dolan
7th March 1974 Dayton, Ohio, USA

Bullpen Catcher - Noodles Grant
7th January 1990 Oak Lawn, Illinois, USA

Clubhouse Manager - Chick McNally
10th November 1970 Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Equipment Manager - Tacks Donlin
30th November 1965 Loveland, Ohio, USA

Assistant Visiting Clubhouse Manager - Slats Schmit
13th February 1977 Chicago, Illinois, USA

TBA

SP Christian Mathieu
Born: October 31st 1989
Birthplace: Richmond, BC Canada
Bats: R Throws: R 6’3” 218lbs

Mathieu was taken with the first pick of the dispersal draft by the Xplorers, a knuckleball pitcher from Richmond, British Columbia. Already in his career within the NBL the Canadian as picked up two pitchers of the year awards and as played in the last four All Star games, Mathieu was drafted in 2013 by the Las Vegas Blackjacks but only lasted a year with them before being traded to the Mississauga Spartans the following season. Another player involved in that trade was Augusto Valdes who made the opposite journey from the Spartans to the Blackjacks, this year however they will be playing in the same uniform as Valdes was taken in the third round by Missoula.

SP Fred Swerdlove
Born: December 16th 1989
Birthplace: Port Hope, ON Canada
Bats: L Throws: R 6’3” 207lbs

Another pitcher of Canadian stock is Fred Swerdlove who was taken in the second round; Swerdlove is built in the same mould as Mathieu both in stature and personality. However as Mathieu relies on his knuckleball Swerdlove as a variety of pitches to rely on, his slider with a decent fastball and curveball to back his main pitch up. The Canadian native was a mainstay in the Boston Rebels team that reached two championship’s in 2017 and 2019 with the latter being a winning championship with Swerdlove chipping in three wins along the way.

SP Augusto Valdes
Born: October 6th 1995
Birthplace: Yaguajay, SAN Cuba
Bats: R Throws: R 6’6” 230lbs

The Cuban born Valdes may find the climes of Missoula a little cooler than Las Vegas where he has spent the first few years of his NBL career in, Valdes was the third starting pitcher in the first three picks chosen by Missoula and it’s hoped they’ll form a reliable front three in the vast ballpark in Missoula. The young Cuban as spent his NBL career so far pitching for the Las Vegas Blackjacks and although his era went up it’s thought the friendly confines of Hells Gate will help him get back to the 2.37 era he had in his first professional season.

SP Claudio Sanchez
Born: November 20th 1990
Birthplace: Comendador, ELI Dominican
Bats: L Throws: L 6’0” 222lbs

Although Sanchez was taken with the 529th overall pick its thought that he can pitch better than his lowly pick would state, Sanchez pitched in Montreal for four years before moving to Cleveland the past two years and although his era as fluctuated his lack of giving up home runs hasn’t and it’s this that Missoula are looking at to lower his era. In some circles though it’s thought his low work ethic could cost his new team although some point to the hard working Mathieu and Swerdlove that could make Sanchez change his ways, either that or he could find his way on the end of a few home truths from the likes of Mathieu and Swerdlove.

SP Gabriel Cruz
Born: May 31st 1997
Birthplace: Matanzas, MAT Cuba
Bats: R Throws: R 5’10” 250lbs

The shortest but the biggest starting pitcher that the Xplorers have on their Opening Day roster many think that this young Cuban could be the surprise of not only the Missoula team but the league, although he’s only pitched in seventeen games so far in his professional career and his era is above 5.00 he as only given up 3 home runs in the 89 plus innings he has pitched so it’s thought his era could drop with a little more experience.

TBA

TBA

TBA

TBA

Where Are they Now 2020

Of the 25 man roster of 2019 only one player remains, most are with other teams but some are still in search of a spot on a NBL roster.

SP Gabriel Galvan Death Valley Assassins
SP Gordon Chandler Maine Shipwrights
SP Ed Hill Undrafted
SP Pascal Martel Key West Pelicans
SP Paco Lopez Las Vegas Blackjacks

MR David Jenkins North Shore Honu
MR Will Weaver Undrafted
MR Kyle Nelson Undrafted
MR Chris Gibson Tacoma Titans
MR Jonathon Gray Undrafted
MR Eric Martin Undrafted

CL Gordon O'Teighe Undrafted

C Ivan Longoria Missoula Xplorers
1B Chris Carter Whitby Battalion
2B Trent Kirkpatrick Wisconsin Dells Dux
3B Hector Lopez Portland Rage
SS Domingo Rodriguez Mississauga Spartans
LF John Cardinal Asheville Smokies
CF Ralph Mathias Tacoma Titans
RF Jose Salazar Boston Rebels

C Masayoshi Ito Chicago Thunder
INF Troy Connel Undrafted
INF Jesus Torres New York Lebowskis
OF Bernard Lemercier Savannah Sand Gnats
OF Zuo-lin Bei Whitby Battalion

Did he ever leave? Well technically he did but Ivan Longoria states that he was a Missoula ballplayer at the end of last season and is a Missoula ballplayer at the start of this season so how could he have left, whatever the answer the popular catcher is where he wants to be and the fans are happy they still have their hard working catcher behind the plate for 2020.

Although Gabriel Galvan, Paco Lopez, David Jenkins, Trent Kirkpatrick, Hector Lopez, Ralph Mathias, Masayoshi Ito and Chris Gibson aren't in the same boat as Longoria and are no longer Missoula players they'll be familier faces when they return to Missoula with their new ball clubs in the up coming season. The players mentioned will all be plying their trade within the Western League of the NBL with Gibson and Mathias of the Titans and Lopez now with Portland even being in the same division as Missoula.

nice

Rich wrote:nice

Thank you. I'm going to expand this and the other years media guides, I'm also thinking either a gameday programme or a monthly magazine.