Do You Feel Lucky, Biloxi? Motters Revenge & Fallen Stars at Joe Davis Stadium

Biloxi likes to gamble, so how about ten grand a game?

Thats what the city will pay the team should the team have to miss home games due to an unfinished stadium. A pretty steep price, a situation team and league officials are probably keeping an eye on now that we are less than nine months from opening day 2015.

NO WORRIES

average Southern League owner

The owners in Biloxi don't sound worried, they probably are thrilled with the sweet deal of having a city funded ballpark being built and the chance to rake in ten grand a game if its not ready on time.

 WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
Architects estimate it will take until the middle of May next season to complete the park, but owners point to Pearl Miss where the stadium only took 11 months to complete.


uuuuh, okay, that doesn't make sense, but lets move on...

PRE-FAB PARK COMING TO BILOXI

It will look like this, maybe in May or June-ish.

"This one is pre-fab, 15 suites. The infrastructure and road work are good. Most of the site work is already done. So I feel pretty confident we'll be able to play ball in a reasonable amount of time." said Bennett, one of the teams part-owners.

it will look like this too

The Biloxi park is being prepped for construction and owners are taking contractor bids after firing the construction manager overseeing the project. They expect to choose the builder by the end of July.

THE BIG PAYOFF
The team will be charging the city ten thousand dollars for every missed home game, topping out at 70 thousand for the month of April. There may not be a cap for the month of May and beyond - however one of the build options is a 12 month building plan that would mean no baseball for Biloxi's new park until midseason. A very expensive option that would pay off bigtime for the team owners.

So if they miss a week of games, they might as well miss a months worth. But after the first months worth, then it REALLY gets expensive!

The Biloxi team will probably start the season on the road, but a ten game roadtrip won't help the city avoid hosting a baseball game until the 17th of May.

The city of Biloxi has plans in place to play games at other parks should the new one not be completed in time.


FALLEN STARS

On the flipside, look at how the Stars have fallen in Huntsville, even on the outside of the park!

2007 playoffs, Biscuits at Stars

2014 Joe Davis, the Stars logos gone

SOUTHERN LEAGUE LOSES PHONE
The Southern League twitter account has gone silent for months, since May  there has been not a single tweet from the "official" twitter of the SL. It sounds like someone lost the league phone and doesn't remember the twitter password.


MOTTERS REVENGE

On Monday the Biscuits unleashed the beast on the Braves, bashing home nine runs on a pile of hits to the delight of the home fans.

The only unhappy Biscuit was hitless Taylor Motter, who sat on the bench long after the game. He sat there after the players left the dugout. He sat there after the grounds crew rolled out the tarps. He sat there after the ushers had ushered.

His oh-fer hung heavy on a night that saw every one of his teammates getting hits. Motter sat on the bench as the music ended and lights were turned off, looking at the field where he would return on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Taylor Motter was who I told people to keep an eye on.

Amazing...

On Tuesday, Taylor Motter made me look like The Amazing Kreskin, as the Biscuit outfielder/shortstop put on a power display with two towering home runs - just missing a third on a ball hit so hard the ball was lopsided before it finally hit the railroad tracks.



DID YOU KNOW?
Between 1993 and 2003 Ozzie Timmons slugged over 170 home runs. The Biscuits current first base coach had over 300 career home runs combined between major league, minor league, independent and foreign leagues.

An outfielder by trade, Timmons played one game at first base with the Seattle Mariners in 1999, his only other 1b appearance was in one game in Japan.

Now he is at first for every game

GetAway Day Blog - July 8 2014

Ah getaway day, when a team knows it has a bus ride on the back end of a tuesday night game. Already players, coaches, managers, broadcasters and fans are looking around to see - who do we play next, when do we come back, where are we in the standings?

Questions, questions, questions spill from the mind of the fan today - questions that can only be answered in time. Until then we can only blog about it.


YA NEVER KNOW WHO
you will see at the park - this weekend we had the league prexie and the Braves GM at the games.

The league prez got away from me this time, I wasn't aware she was there until after the 8th inning and she was fully protected in a secure bunker suite where it was tough to lob pointed questions. But you wont get away so easy next time!

Frank Wren is there a little less on business, his son Kyle is on the double-A Braves squad. He was in the crowd on a good night, he got to see Kyle steal home, which has to make a dad proud at any level.

LOHMAN INJURED
Braves 1b Seth Lohman fouled a ball off his thumb, breaking it. He was wearing a splint Monday and said a DL trip was forthcoming. The Braves will deploy Barret Kleinkenecht at first base for the time being.

Lohman breaks thumb on Sunday

THE "ROUND ABOUT" WAY
As a questionable call was made by the umpires, Braves manager Aaron Holbert runs out to argue. On the skippers way there, the Braves shortstop waves him off, admitting there isnt a chance for the call to be overturned. Mgr. Holbert never stops jogging and veers around the pitchers mound and heads back to the dugout.

I told first base coach Ozzie Timmons thats whats called a circular argument!

MAKE IT OFFICIAL ALREADY!

With the league brass in town, I figured it was a good sign for our AllStar game next year. I asked and was told that an announcement could come after the 2015 Southern League schedule comes out. That should be in the next ten days or so, and it would likely coincide with the Biscuits announcement.

|RAMSEY DEALT
Matt Ramsey is traded to Miami for Dominican prospects, now we will face one of our own best relievers when the Jacksonville Suns come to town in a few weeks.

RP Stowell

So who do we get to fill that spot?
Your guess is as good as mine - could be another look at Kevin Brandt. He was here and pitched in a few games that went badly. Ryan Garton has good stats for promotion, Marcus Jensen has a great ERA but gives up alot of hits.

Demotion from Durham is also an option, guys struggling or having crappy numbers there could be sent to the GumpSkitz for an ego boost.

This list of Bull-Shits could include reliever Doug Mathis, starting pitchers Nate Karns or Enny Romero, all of whom are having bad seasons at triple-A.

Or perhaps the roster is being left with a hole open. ready to fill if/when the Rays make a deal. 

WHATS COMING UP
 One more home game left with the Braves then its off to Pensacola for a week.... where I hope we sweep their obnoxious fans into the bay. The Wahoos are a middle of the pack team, unfortunately the Biscuits are bottom feeders.




We are last in Batting Average, hits, RBI's, Runs Scored, and next to last in OPS. Simply put, we have trouble hitting the ball and scoring runs. Not sure we need deep Saber-metrics to make that analysis.

 NO SWEET RETURN
When the Biscuits return home they will face the Jackson Generals of the North Division. Loaded with prospects, Dj Peterson, Victor Sanchez, Tyler Pike, Ketel Marte, Julio Morban, Patrick Kivlehan, Neon Leon Landry, this team can be fun to watch. Not so fun to play against, but we should enjoy seeing the prospects.

STORMY WEATHERS
Did you know Casey Weathers, former big league pitcher, is on the roster at Port Charlotte? Me neither! The numbers aint great, but hes been pitching for the StoneCrabs since the middle of June. Just another Vandy alum in the Rays minor league chain!

July 9, 1906 
Southern Association/ At Montgomery, AL
Birmingham Barons 7, Montgomery Senators 0. 

Kaiser Wilhelm

Irving K. Wilhelm of the Barons pitched a perfect game, the first in Birmingham franchise history.

"Kaiser" Wilhem still holds the minor league record for consecutive scoreless innings - a staggering total of 72 innings without allowing a run.

In a freaky turn, Wilhelms streak was unknown until it was threatened in 2004 by a minor leaguer who pitched 54 straight scoreless. At that point it was thought Wilhelm had a streak of just 53, but a check of the records showed that three innings were missing and the record hadn't actually fallen.

Later it was realized that Wilhelm was promoted to the major leagues during the streak, when he returned to the minors he tossed another 13 innings before being scored on to total 72 innings without allowing a run.

I find it amazing that a guy who played his last game in 1921 can come back and retake his pitching record from a kid in the next century! Now THATS tough old school baseball!

JULY 9 1920 
Montgomery, AL
"Grey Sox Will Play Birmingham Stars -
The Montgomery Grey Sox and the Birmingham All Stars will clash this afternoon at 4 o'clock in the first game of a three game series.

Sam Streeter

The Grey Sox are in fine shape having had a two days rest after taking four straight games from the Atlanta team and they state that they are ready to hand the Birmingham aggregation the same dose.

The Grey Sox have in the last few weeks showed some great improvement and have showed several times their ability to come out of a tight place, and the team in general has been improving with the stick. Since the signing of Mason the team now has four strong pitchers in Myles, Mason, Streeter and Young.

There will be games today, Saturday and Sunday and these games should prove very interesting for the fans. All three of these games will start at 4 o'clock."

Patriotic Skitz-O-Matic! Reinforcements, Paterson Derby, History

Patriotic Skitz-O-Matic!

On Friday the Biscuits return to Riverwalk, after a ten day road trip that saw them seeing Stars in Huntsville and wrestling the Smokies in Tennessee. Struggling to cling to a .500 winning percentage, Bradys Boys have slipped in the standings after taking a beating from the top teams in the North Division.

REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE

Not sure if they were marching in or on horseback, but we did get some help.

To start off, its addition by subtraction to send "Snapback" Moore and Angel "of Death" Sanchez to greener pastures.

As a bonus we get Kes Carter, first rounder who gets to show off what he can do in centerfield. We get to see catcher Jake DePew, who hit his first homer in Double-A on Tuesday. Both will offer welcome rest to regulars at worst and quality play at best. Nice!

IT BURNS US

Crazy World, ain't it?

Now we add pitcher Cory Burns to the mix. Burns has major league experience, 17 games with the Padres in 2011 and 10 appearances with the Rangers in 2012. With over 110 career saves in the minors, the Biscuits would appear to have a new closer, at least until Durham needs a long relief man.

I see this as a positive sign, that the parent club has listened to the manager and gotten a player we need. A rarity, but hopefully this is a step towards rebuilding the Biscuit bullpen.

MALMO OUT, SUAREZ IN

Malm

First Baseman Jeff Malm was sent to Hudson Valley, I guess the Renegades needed him. Malm was getting squeezed by Cameron Seitzer's hogging of playing time at first. Jeff will likely be back pretty soon.

Suarez

In Malm's place we get Albert Suarez. AJ retuns to Montgomery where he made two starts last season. Suarez has been stellar in his three starts for Charlotte this year, and was due to be promoted after spending three seasons in the Florida League.

Biscuit Rotation a Rotating Door
A constantly fluid situation, the starting pitchers for the starters for the next series are likely Floro, Garvin, Albert Suarez, Victor Mateo and Mike Colla.

Who knows if we can expect to see any more Jimmy Patterson starts, with over 130 career games JP has only been called on for 13 starting assignments. Jim has a 4.17 ERA this year, which matches his ERA for Montgomery last year.


LOGISTICS A PROBLEM FOR PATERSON ALLSTAR DERBY?

The home run derby at the AllStar in Chattanooga was held at historic Engle Stadium, the original home of the host Lookouts.

When I suggested to team officials that Montgomery would enjoy a similar opportunity at historic Paterson Field, I was told that "logistics" would be the biggest obstacle.

The team would need permission from the Southern League office, which they could probably get - I mean, Chattanooga got it right?

No, apparently the issue is the facilities.

WHATS THAT MEAN?

Not so much the clubhouse or the dugouts, though they are old school small. Not the ticket office, which could function easily with a couple laptops and printers. No concern about the rest rooms, frankly old Paterson has cleaner toilets than some others I have seen in newer parks in the league!

It seems the concern would be more about the food preparation areas, or so I was told.

SUSPICIOUS?
I think there is a chance that is not really the case, as we are talking about the Biscuits here. The team that is a front for selling ballpark food service catering carts -  having the game at Paterson would be an ideal chance to showcase the versatility of their product to a wider audience of potential customers than any other game.

Not to mention they are missing a chance to charge for the Derby as a separate event!

WHAT IS IT THEN?
Likely the killing blow to having the AllStar Home Run Derby at Paterson Field? No luxury suites with air conditioning for a June game. The bottom line would be hurt by not having the suites, so thats the deciding factor.

HISTORY TIME!

 The longest game in Biscuits history happened last night - 16 innings and 5:15 to play the Smokies. Not bad, plus we won, but not the longest in Montgomery history. It came up about eight minutes and three innings too short!
 The longest game....

A Tie? Dang, and I felt like we were just about to score!

JULY 4 1920
Montgomery, AL

"Grey Sox Win Opener From Atlanta Team -
Mason Lets Visitors Down With Three Widely Scattered Hits Sunday -

In a slow long drawn out game, the Montgomery Grey Sox yesterday captured the opening game of a series with the Atlanta Crackers, at Southette Park. Mason pitching for the Grey Sox was practically unhitable, holding the Atlanta team to three widely-scattered hits and shutting them out.
The two teams play a double header today.

Besides the pitching of Mason, the other features of the game were the timely hitting of Shortstop Cunningham and Catcher Williams of the Grey Sox and the fielding of the First Baseman Cunningham of the same team.

The Grey Sox team is composed of the best negro base ball players in the South, and put up a splendid article of base ball. An overflowing crowd witnessed the game."


JULY 6 1904
Southern league umpire Dan Pfenninger mobbed at a game in Bham.

A veteran umpire on southern diamonds, Dan Pfenninger is known as an ump who will call a forfeit if a team or its fans become unruly.

Known as the Dean of Southern league umpires, Vinegar Dan was recognized as having a quick wit - once when a hitter griped to about a called third strike saying "You missed that one, Dan" Pfenninger replied "Well I just saw you miss two, so I guess I'm having a better day than you are"



JULY 5 & 6 1906
Montgomery Senators pitcher Will Breitenstein shuts out Nashville on two hits. His victory is short lived, as Barons starter Irving Wilhelm pitches a perfect game on the next day, against Montgomery!


Vinegar Bill Breitenstein is a Southern circuit hurler who along with his more successful older brother Ted, spent a combined 16 summers toeing the rubber in the south after the turn of the century. Ted threw a No-Hitter in 1898 for Cincinnati on the same day that Jim Hughes tossed a NoNo for Baltimore - the first time two no hitters were thrown on the same day in MLB.

Bill Breitenstein wins 11 and loses 11 for Montgomery and Shreveport during the 1906 season.

JULY 6 1920 
Montgomery, AL
"Montgomery Wins Fourth Straight - 
Atlanta Proves Easy for Local Colored Team; Birmingham Comes Next - 

The Montgomery Grey Sox of the Southern Colored League won their fourth straight victory over Atlanta yesterday, 6 to 5.

The features of the game was the hitting and the pitching of Myles for the locals. The visitors scored on him in the second, but after this inning he held them in check until the ninth when the visitors staged a rally and scored three runs, but the locals scored in their half of the ninth and won the game.

 The Grey Sox are still tied with the Knoxville Giants for first place in the league standing and if Knoxville lost yesterday the locals will take first position. The Knoxville team is rated as the fastest team in the league but they are having a hard time in keeping the lead.

The Giants went down to defeat before the Birmingham Black Barons Saturday, but won a double header from them yesterday. The Grey Sox will have two days off and then they will meet the Birmingham Black Barons for games Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all of these games to start at 4 o'clock.

The Birmingham aggregation is composed of Cubans, eleven of whom do not speak the English language, and the general report is that they are a fast, hard hitting bunch of players."


JULY 7 1906
Leroy "Satchel" Paige is born in Mobile, Alabama.

Rickwood Classic & Kes Carter replaces Jeremy Moore

I took in the Rickwood Classic, it was my first trip to the old yard and I have to admit it was a fabulous experience.

Not being the type to do things half way, I donned my throwback flannels and represented my House of David barnstormers all the way down to long sleeved undershirt and stirrups. I posed for upwards of twenty photos, everyone must have liked the classic attire!


We found the Rickwood with little problems and parked easily nearby for five bucks, ten more got a ticket into what I found to be Disney+Christmas=Baseball heaven. After getting our tickets at the main window we passed into the the green painted concrete entrance. Our tickets were torn and I purchased a program. I wouldn't be scoring the game today but you can't NOT buy one.


DR.K
We had a chance to meet the guest of honor, Dwight Gooden. It was a short fifteen minutes or so wait before we found ourselves in an air conditioned room where the former Pitcher was meeting the peeps. Not sure what was cooler, the air conditioning or the New York star hurler himself.

Doctor K was all smiles and very friendly and outgoing, it was a joy to meet him, even in that situation. It can be awkward in a meet and greet scene sometimes but Doc was at ease and smooth to talk to. He even took a moment to pose for a quick photo, very cool!

GET A SEAT!

Our group grabbed a frozen lemonade and headed down the right field line to grab a seat. The first five or six rows were fenced off and reserved seats, we took general admission like everyone else and had a fine view of the classic outfield ads.

The hand-operated scoreboard was a treat to see, as are the vintage style lighting standards.

The bleachers were angled aluminum with a back to lean against. They were very comfortable for metal bleachers, many a ballpark bleacher has numbed my butt with its waffle or linear imprints, but Rickwoods bleachers were rather comfy and provided plenty of space for the 8600+ attendees!


Fans were also rewarded with a swift breeze and friendly clouds, making the upper 80s temps much more bearable. The concrete and steel structure seemed to cool the air as it wound its way up the ramps to the grandstand and the field beyond, offering a respite to overheated fans and players alike. The ramps are worn like the steps of a Roman road, nearly a hundred years of faithful feet seeking summer distraction and hoping for a breeze to carry the cheers of a home team rally.

The pastoral scene would have been nearly unbearable without that breeze to cool the air and carry the chatter of the interested bystanders. The game itself was quiet, overwhelmed by the excitement of the crowd in the midst of the experience. Until the first long fly ball cleared the centerfield fence and brought the fans attention back to between the lines.

THERE WAS A GAME GOING ON

The game saw the Barons fall to the Braves, 5-2.

Mississippi's Lohman hit the home run, doubled and drove in three runs. Australian-born backstop Matt Kennelly tripled and the Braves added three other extra base hits to boot.

Starter Greg Ross pitched very well, reliever John Cornely got seven big outs on three strikeouts. Chasen Shreve struck out the side in the ninth for the save.

Sp Greg Ross delivers a pitch, 1b Seth Lohman covers the bag as Barons Medina leads off

For the Barons, only catcher Martin Medina posted multiple hits. He had two knocks and threw out a runner attempting to swipe second base. Leadoff hitter Jared Mitchell had a hit but was picked off first base.

Mitchell strays too far from first base

B'ham starter Chris McCully pitched better than the fate he received, five innings with just two earned but took the loss.

McCully warms as lineups are announced

NEGRO LEAGUERS REUNION
Also I got to meet the Negro League Reunion players. Those guys are just cool, no two ways about it. Its fun to just stand there and hear them talk baseball, their games, their kids, their cars or whatever is on their mind! I didn't take any photos here, I spent all my time with my ears open...

player one "...I had three hits every day for a week and never once had to stop at first base, they was all doubles, triples and home runs"

player two "Man you never had three hits in a week! You didn't stop at first cause you always made the last out and was scared to go back to the dugout!"

player one "Aw, you don't know, you were playin for pesos the year I should have won the league Mvp, I had four home runs in that one week alone"

player two "You must have been playing alone for three weeks to hit four home runs"

player three "hey now, I played in Texas, those pesos spend too"


I liked them and they seemed to like me - it was wonderful to see smiles from the faces of these guys, several of whom proudly announced that they played against the House of David. The guys pointed and talked to each other about my old flannel uni, sparking a new conversation on hot uniforms.

player one "I'm from Oklahoma and I am here to tell you, this is hot enough for me today"
player two "Hot?! Man you ain't know'd hot, today is nice weather!"

and so began a new round of good natured ribbing!


MEETING A LEGEND
Tho Not a Living One

Walking around Rickwood I came upon a familiar face, one that looks like it could hit 714 home runs or win 20 games on the mound.

It was a great reunion for me, as I hadn't seen The Bambino since we put a fake beard on him for that old photo op at a House of David vs Babes Bashers barnstorming game sometime around 1929. Ah, the good old days!

INVITED
I got a very cool invite to the March conference in Bham, I'm told there is a group that studies the Southern league and has a spring meeting annually. The next one will be centered on the pre-1900 era SL history, so I will have to study up on my early Gump-teams!

WELL MET
I met so many folks at the park its impossible to list all of them, but it was wonderful to put faces to some names, names to some faces and meet brand new friends all in one day! I simply don't have the space to go over all that happened or was discussed, it was a great day of baseball in so many ways.

BISCUIT NEWS AND MOVES
Roberto Gomez hits the DL, Bryce Stowell returns.
Jeremy Moore heads to Durham and to replace him we get Centerfielder Kes Carter.

Hey man, someone screwed up.... Kes Carter is a first rounder! I was thinkin we would get the usual third catcher or another starting pitcher with a 25 pitch count limit. Instead we get pleasantly surprised with the arrival of Carter, who will offer us the chance to rest an oufielder without locking in an oh-fer in the fifth spot of the batting order.


CARTER

Biscuits CF Kes Carter

A first round pick in 2011, Carter has worked his way up quickly. Batting .230 in 61 games for the StoneCrabs, Kes has two homers and five steals. He struck out 100 times last year in 400 at bats...
wait, why are we getting this guy?
He must have glove! Defense, right?
Not so much. He's got a .968 fielding percentage this year, similar to his low average afield in 2o12. He does have an arm, posting five double plays and 16 assists in his 217 career games.

Maybe he is more than the sum of his parts, maybe he is the defensive diamond in the rough. Maybe they want Ozzie to fix his swing or teach him the strike zone. Maybe he is the missing ingredient in this batch of Biscuits.

Maybe.

Series vs Mobile Wrapped, On the Road Vs Stars

The Biscuits took the series vs Mobile by the skin of their teeth and a little help from mother nature. Scoring just before the rains came on getaway day Monday helped Bradys Boys save face and escape with a series win just before the dugout flooded.

This was an odd series for many reasons - the BayBears won the first half and should have easily walked over Montgomery. Perhaps they were tired from celebrating and mailed it in, but there was little fight in the Bears during the first game.

Game two saw a friday nite loss as the Biscuits stranded seven runners. They did manage one run in the ninth inning but fell short 5-3. Starter Grayson Garvin was allowed almost 50 pitches before being pulled from the game. Mike Colla allowed two unearned runs and big Matt Lollis gave up three earned in the 8th inning.


MATEO MASTERFUL BUT GAME MARRED BY INCIDENT
Saturdays victor mateo victory was marred by a horrific injury to a fan hit by a line drive in the ninth inning. With Tom Belza leading off the inning with a three ball, two strike count, Matt Ramsey delivered a low and away fastball that Belza fouled off.

It was a low liner that just barely cleared the padded barrier between the first row of seats just beyond the home dugout and the field. There was no time to react, no way to defend against that kind of line drive. It struck a male patron squarely in the jaw.

Tom Belza reacts to fan in stands hit by foul ball

 Immediately screams for help went up and the man, who looked to be in his 60s or 70s, went down and stayed down until paramedics arrived to take him away on a stretcher.

Tom Belza, teammates and fans watch as medics attend an injured fan

It was just the second time in Riverwalk history that an ambulance had to be brought onto the field. There was nearly 30 minutes delay while the injured spectator was attended to and eventually driven to hospital.

Ushers, stadium workers, players from both teams and fans in attendance called it the most horrible foul ball incident in Biscuits history.

UPDATE:
The hardy fan survived and was released from the hospital, though teeth were still being found the next day in the GRASS ON THE FIELD.

Distance between grass and first row? About 12 feet!

 BACK TO BASEBALL
Sunday's game was a drubbing as the Skitz fell 12-6, though the score implies the game was closer than it really was.

Angel Sanchez got the start for the Skitz and was quickly dubbed "Angel of Death" by fans for his every-other inning earned runs allowed game plan.

Monday the rubber match was a tight contest until the 8th inning when the home team pushed a few runs across as the bottom fell out of the summer clouds and sent fans scurrying. It seemed the Baybears were trying to slow down the game in hopes the rain would come, if they had one more pitching change it might have worked!



 SEEING STARS
Last night the Stars and Biscuits played ten innings but the 5-4 final score doesn't do justice to the valiant efforts by both teams to lose this game.

Its the old story, we scored on their closer in the ninth inning and then they scored on ours.

In the tenth inning we got a pair of runners on and were just about to strand them in scoring position when we were gifted a run on a wild pitch. The play, and the inning, ended when cameron seitzer attempted to score from second on a wild pitch. Fortunately Motter was on third and had already touched the dish. Not sure why Brady would send Cam Seitzer on that kind of play, but hey, at that point maybe he was just to empty the gun and throw it at them.

Lefty Jimmy Patterson got the final three outs and picked up the save.

True to form, all five Montgomery runs were scored after the 6th inning.


MOVING ON

Departing the team is Jeremy Moore, headed to Durham where his skills are sure to be more appreciated. In 38 games JM had 120 at bats and hit a robust .183 with six homers and 16 rbi. His roster spot on the team was not immediately filled, out of respect.