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