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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2021)
PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 19, 2021 Mavericks League announces new managers The Mavericks Independent Baseball League announced that Alan Embree, Daniel Rob- ertson, Tony Torcato and Dave Wong will be the managers for the 2021 season. Embree will manage the Portland Mavericks, Robertson will guide the Cam- pesinos de Salem-Keizer, Torca- to will become 13th manager of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and Wong will take over the Salem Senators. ALAN EMBREE: Embree was a three-sport letterman at Prairie High School in Brush Prairie, Wash. where he won all-conference honors and a state champi- onship in baseball. On June 5, 1989, Embree was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fi fth round of the 1989 amateur draft. The left-handed pitcher relied primarily on two pitch- es – a 90-95 mph four-seam fastball and a devastating slider. Embree made his Major League debut with the Indians on Sep- tember 15, 1992. He pitched in the big leagues for 16 years. In 882 games, he pitched 774 in- nings with 691 strikeouts. Embree pitched for the In- dians (1992, 1995-1996), Atlan- ta Braves (1997-1998), Arizo- na Diamondbacks (1998), San Francisco Giants (1999-2001), Chicago White Sox (2001), San Diego Padres (2002), Boston Red Sox (2002-2005), New York Yankees (2005), San Diego Padres (2006), Oakland Athlet- ics (2007-2008) and Colorado Rockies (2009). In 2004, Embree recorded the fi nal out against the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS, and the Red Sox went on to win the World Series. On July 7, 2000, Em- bree became the second major league pitcher to win a game without throwing a pitch — he was able to pick Austin Kearns of the Washington Nationals off at fi rst base. DANIEL ROBERTSON: Robertson, was born and raised in Fontana, Calif. and played baseball for Oregon State University. The Beaver outfi eld- er was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2008, and on April 23, 2014, he was traded to the Texas Rangers, and called up to the major leagues on the same day, making his major league debut on April 29, 2014. Robertson ended up spending 11 years in professional baseball with the San Diego Padres, Texas Rang- ers, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indi- ans. He played four seasons at the major league level which included 148 games. He hit 18 doubles, two triples and a home run, accumulating 36 RBIs, and six stolen bases, and fi nished with a major league career bat- ting average of .262. His last major league appearance was on June 25, 2017, with the Indians. He then signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Dia- mondbacks. Including his major and minor-league play, Daniel played in nearly 1,200 games, hitting 230 doubles, 44 triples, 44 home runs and 479 RBIs. While playing for the San Padres organization, Robertson spent the 2008 season with the Eugene Emeralds and was hon- ored at the end of the season by being selected as the 2008 Northwest League Most Valu- able Player. Robertson is not a stranger to Independent League Base- ball, having played for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Base- ball in 2018, the Kansas City T-Bones of the American As- sociation League of Indepen- dent Baseball in 2019 and the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association in 2019. Robertson also coached at Or- egon State. TONY TORCATO: Torcato was born in Wood- land, Calif. and was drafted in the fi rst round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Francisco Giants. The left-handed hitting outfi elder was assigned to the Salem-Keiz- er Volcanoes for the 1998 sea- son, appearing in 59 games, batting .291 with three homers, two triples and 15 doubles. In 1999, he was promoted to Bakersfi eld of the High-A Cal- ifornia League where he batted .291 with four homers and 25 doubles. Torcato played at San Jose of the California League batting .324 with seven home runs and 37 doubles before be- ing promoted to AA Shreveport of the Texas League in 2000. In 2001, Torcato was promoted to AAA Fresno of the Pacifi c Coast League where he batted .320. In 2002, after 130 games in Fresno where he batted .290 with 13 homers and 23 doubles, Torcato made his major-league debut on July 26th with the Giants as a starting right fi elder against the Los Angeles Dodgers and hit a single in his very fi rst at-bat off Hideo Nomo. Torca- to played four seasons with the Giants and had a career batting average of .298. His last Ma- jor League game was April 21, 2005. After becoming a free agent after the 2005 season, Torcato started the 2006 season in the Italian Baseball League, then signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox, and was assigned to the AAA Char- lotte Knights. In 2007, he signed with the Seattle Mariners, and after being released, played for the Independent League’s Long Beach Armada and Chico Out- laws. DAVE WONG: Wong was an all-confer- ence college pitcher and was an NAIA All-American defensive end at Willamette University. The Kansas City Royals draft- ed him in the 19th round of the 1980 amateur draft. He was 2-2 with 5 saves and a 1.90 ERA in 24 games for the 1980 GCL Royals Blue, allowing only 30 hits in 52 innings pitched. He was third in the Gulf Coast League in games pitched, ninth in ERA and tied for third in saves. In 1981, the right-hander was 9-6 with eight saves and a 2.52 ERA in 52 games for the Charleston Royals. He tied for second in the South Atlantic League in pitching appearanc- es, and tied for seventh in saves. The next year, Wong went 4-8 with 15 saves and had a 1.79 ERA for the Fort Myers Royals. He tied for third in the Flori- da State League with 49 games pitched and was third in saves. Wong led Royals minor leaguers in saves while placing fourth in games pitched. Wong was 5-3 with seven saves and a 3.38 ERA in 50 games for the 1983 Jacksonville Suns. He ended his career by going 2-0 with two saves and a 3.52 ERA for Fort Myers in 1984. Wong’s cumulative minor league record was 22-19 with 37 saves and a 2.53 ERA in 190 games. He allowed 250 hits and 154 walks in 327.1 innings while fanning 244. Wong was an assistant coach at his alma mater in 1985-1986 and at the University of Port- land in 1987-1988. He wasalso the MVP of the 1988 National Baseball Congress World Series as a member of the Everett Mer- chants. From 1991-2003, he was back at Willamette University as head coach, going 287-221-3 and setting the school win re- cord. From 2006-2008, he was pitching coach of Oregon State University; his son Joey was an infi elder there in 2007-2009 — Oregon State won back-to- back College World Series titles in 2006 and 2007. The Mavericks League sea- son will begin May 13th when the Portland Mavericks play the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes at Volcanoes Stadium. For further information on the Mavericks League go to www.maverick- sindependentleague.com or call the Stadium at 503-390-2225. Ticket packages are currently on sale for all Mavericks League teams. of the Week presented by Body, Mind & Soul QUOTABLE “My connection to the Food Bank began in 2000 when John Knox Presbyterian Church functioned as the Food Bank for Keizer. I was a member and also was the church Treasurer. I was immersed in the mission message and did the accounting for the Food Bank. When the Food Bank became too large for John Knox, a coalition of fi ve Keizer churches was created. They are John Knox, Faith Lutheran, Keizer Christian, Clear Lake Methodist, and St. Edward. They became Keizer Community Food Bank. When I retired in 2017, I wanted to be active in the Keizer community. Since I was aware of the hunger support of Keizer Food Bank, I started volunteering. I learned of the many people with food needs. It far exceeded my knowledge and expectations. I met many of the clients and began to understand their various circumstances that created their need for food support. I succeeded Rev. Curt McCormick as chairman; now three years later, I happily serve our clients and manage the fi ve churches. The need has doubled over Our residents enjoy an active, engaging lifestyle that promotes wellness and independence. It is our goal to keep our residents linked to resources and opportunities that will fulfi ll their needs and interests in the Keizer area. Residents have many opportunities to participate in a variety of life enriching activities and events designed to stimulate the mind, body and soul. From cocktail-hour gatherings where you can learn about the nuances of a good Pinot Noir, to a discussion of the latest best seller in our Life-Long Learning series, to exploring new ways to stay healthy in a fi tness class. Come See the Finest in Senior Living CALL (503) 390 -1300 2019 needs due to Covid-19 and the many layoffs resulting. — JAMES JOHNSON To volunteer at the Food Bank, call Jim at (503) 931-7612 or just come by anytime we are open. We’ll fi nd something you can do. Monetary donations are always welcome. Not all foods come through the Oregon Food Bank. We purchase what is not supplied in order to provide a full basket for each client. 1165 McGee Ct NE • Keizer, OR • VillageAtKeizerRidge.com
