Toronto Blue Jays take two catchers from the Golden Baseball League
August 22, 2006 - Golden Baseball League (GBL) News Release
(Pleasanton, CA. August 22, 2006) The Golden Baseball League announced today that the Toronto Blue Jays have purchased the contracts of catchers Craig Kuzmic of the Chico Outlaws and Mike DiRosa of the Long Beach Armada. Kuzmic will report to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Eastern League while DiRosa will report to the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League.
Kuzmic, 28, was originally drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 8th round of the 1998 amateur draft out of Texas A&M University. He spent the next eight seasons in the minor leagues, reaching the Triple A level with three organizations: Seattle, San Francisco, and Houston. The Astros released him after the 2005 season and he was immediately recruited and signed by Chico Outlaws Manager Mark Parent, who had managed him in High-A Lancaster in 2000. Splitting time between third base and catcher for the Outlaws this season, he is one of the leading hitters and top defensive players in the league. Currently hitting .319 with 12 home runs and 53 RBIs in just 72 games, he ranks near the top of the league in most offensive categories, was selected as the catcher for the GBL North All-Star team, and was named GBL Player of the Week last week.
"Craig Kuzmic is already one of the finest catchers at any level in the minor leagues," said Mark Parent, Chico Outlaws manager and 14-year major league catcher. "He's been tremendous to have on the team and deserves this opportunity. Congratulations to Toronto's player development organization on signing him, he'll be a great addition to their system."
DiRosa, 26, was originally drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 16th round of the 2001 amateur draft off of the University of Miami National Championship Team. He spent five years in the Diamondbacks farm systems playing in Double-A before being released earlier this year. He was quickly picked up by the Long Beach Armada and has been their starting catcher since late July and has been outstanding at handling a veteran pitching staff that leads the GBL in ERA by a wide margin.
"We knew we wouldn't have DiRosa long once we saw him behind the plate," said Darrell Evans Manager of the Long Beach Armada. "He's a first class catcher with a great arm and should move up the Blue Jays system rapidly."
"We continue to aggressively market our players to major league organizations throughout the season and in the off-season," said GBL Commissioner Kevin Outcalt. "Twenty-one GBL players have now been acquired since the start of this year, compared with 17 in 2005, as we've added out-bound player marketing campaigns and bonus incentives for our team managers."
About the Golden Baseball League
The Golden Baseball League, Presented by Safeway Inc./VONS, is a professional baseball league operating under a single-entity ownership model, with the League owning all the individual teams. Charter Golden Baseball League teams include the Chico Outlaws in Chico; CA, the Fullerton Flyers in Fullerton; CA, the Long Beach Armada in Long Beach; CA, the San Diego Surf Dawgs in San Diego; CA, the Yuma Scorpions in Yuma; AZ, and the Reno Silver Sox in Reno; NV. The season consists of 80 games per team, begins the first of June and ends in early September. Each team has a 23-player roster.
For general information, please visit our League web site at www.goldenbaseball.com.
Golden Baseball League Stories from August 22, 2006
- Toronto Blue Jays take two catchers from the Golden Baseball League - GBL
- Armada Comes Home on Good Note - Long Beach Armada
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
