For the second straight season the Minnoka Grays have won the West Division in the Federal League. The Back to Back Champs locked up the belt after an extra innings 3-2 win over Crystal Sunday morning. The Grays finished the season 19-1 and locked a number one seed in the AAA Playoffs and an invite to the 35+ State Tournament which will be hosted in Anoka at Castle Field.
The playoffs start this Friday in Burnsville as the Grays face the 8th seed - Metro Loons. After the playoffs we will go more in depth and review the entire season before the Grays head to Arizona. But we can’t skip over the fact that “rookie” Dan Skog was a huge force this season in the field – who can forget his Jeter’esque play verses Crystal to save the game – and his play at the plate on the bases was record breaking. Joey Olson had another MVP like season but mysteriously losing the batting title on the last day? Hmmmm. With a full summer of Alex Gonzalez all he did was win seven games (new record) and lead the league in strikeouts and also hit over .500 and hit a bomb. The staff of Gonzalez, Jack Neslon, Billy Diaz, Fritz Coyro, Mark Von Ruden and others proved to be the best in the league, leading the West in Wins, ERA and Strikeouts. Jon Widerski announced his retirement (story on this later) and we all hope he goes out a winner this August. But before we go down the roster congratulating everyone on their successful season, Minnoka still has three weeks of baseball left. Hopefully they can bring home an AAA title and State Championship. The journey begins Friday…
