Tagged: Ryan Sontag
Boise Hawks Yearbook Madness
To commemorate the soon-to-be-over 2009 season I am resorting back to my high school days and sharing a little Boise Hawks Yearbook Madness with you. I asked the guys to nominate each other for the Boise Hawks Who’s Who and also vote on the Boise Hawks Top 5 Faves. Check it out below.
And don’t forget to check out our Boise Hawks Yearbook Madness photo album here!
With his sharp duds and outgoing personality it is hard not to picture Hernandez in front of a camera. He even gave the front office a taste of his future reality show when he taught us a few a few salsa moves last homestand.
Most likely to break out in song…#7 SS Hak-Ju Lee and #8 OF Jae-Hoon Ha
Known for their stellar rendition of Ruben Studdard’s “Superstar,” Lee and Ha are the karaoke favorites of this year’s squad. Both guys are big fans of American music and often use their Ipods to learn the lyrics to their favorite songs–and more English. I think the word “angelic” has even been used to describe their voices.
Most likely to pull off the biggest clubhouse prank…#21 RHP Josh Lansford
Maybe it’s the fact that he is a “vet” so to speak or maybe it’s that Cubs hoodie he always wears (I mean you could hide a lot of prankster stuff in there), but there is no surprise that Lansford would be responsible for pulling off the biggest clubhouse prank. He’s so stealthy…I haven’t even heard what his “big prank” is.
Most likely to read on the bus…#19 RHP Danny Keefe and #14 2B Logan Watkins
When you walk into the clubhouse, these guys’ lockers look more like library shelves than lockers. Keefe and Watkins can often be caught reading on the bus or in the clubhouse before the game. Their favorite books? Happens to be the same thing–the Harry Potter series.
Most likely to start their own charity…#9 C Matt Williams
Williams has always been drawn to helping those less fortunate and has displayed that sort of attitude several times this year while participating in the Kids Club Baseball Camp and other community events. If he wasn’t a professional baseball player, Williams has said that he would like to be a youth pastor.
Most likely to offer a pep talk…#24 IF George Matheus
Also coming in second in the “Most likely to talk your ear off” category, it seems that all of Matheus’ chatter is encouraging. On the field, he combines the right amount of light-heartedness and focus to uplift his teammates. And as one of the bilingual players on the team, no one misses out on Matheus’ pep talks.
Most likely to learn the steps from a music video…#28 OF DJ Fitzgerald and Pitching Coach David Rosario
Fitzgerald isn’t really a surprise for this title; he constantly has his headphones in before and after games and carries a certain swag that could be busted into some full on dance moves at any minute. But Coach Rosario? Most wouldn’t suspect him as a dancer–but–I hear he’s a pretty mean salsa dancer.
Most likely to be caught taking a nap…#27 RHP Dionis Nunez
If there was an award for quietest Hawk, I’m pretty sure Nunez would win that one also…and probably because he would be napping. Pitchers typically have a lot of time on their hands and the grind of minor league ball can be tough. I don’t blame the guy for catching Z’s while he can.
Most likely to be lost in la-la land…#8 OF Jae-Hoon Ha
Maybe Ha should consider switching from right field as most of his teammates would describe him as “out in left field.” The high-energy outfielder often causes quizzical expressions, either from his bunny hops in the batter’s box or his unconventional paths to a fly ball.
Most likely to stare at themselves in the mirror…#43 RHP Jon Nagel and #27 RHP Dionis Nunez
Once again, pitchers have A LOT of time on their hands, and it just so happens that Nagel and Nunez (when he’s not sleeping) spend that time in front of the mirror. It’s healthy to be conscious of one’s appearance, but, guys, please don’t become Narcissus. You know how the myth goes…
Most likely to talk your ear off…#6 RHP Tarlandus Mitchell
This title is particularly funny to me because Mitchell was one of the first players I took on an appearance…and it was like pulling teeth to get him to answer my questions. However, I remember him telling me, “Once I’m out of my shell, I talk a lot.” Apparently, he’s a man of his word because he still nabbed this award without even being in Boise.
Most likely to get married first…#28 LHP Ryan Sontag
By a unanimous vote, the only married player on the team gets this title. (Somehow I think they misunderstood my question). However, Sontag not only holds “Most likely to get married” but should also covet the “Most likely to start a family” title after welcoming his new baby girl Emily in July.
Most likely to laugh at a joke/crack a joke…#30 1B Justin Bour
Whenever you walk into the clubhouse it is easy to spot Bour’s hearty laugh…probably because he is either laughing or making other people laugh all the time. The good-natured first baseman easily breaks any tension with a little bit of humor…and his cool helmet-spinning trick!
Favorite Supermodel…Heidi Klum and Beyonce (I’ll count her even though she’s not really a “supermodel”)
Favorite MLB Team…The Chicago Cubs
Favorite Sport to Watch…baseball (from little league world series to major league)
Favorite Movie Shown on the Bus…Talento de barrio and Bad Boys 2
Droppings from the Nest, August 1st-4th
The reason I’ve been putting off this set of droppings is that I also wanted to incorporate a post about the Albertsons 70th Birthday Bash celebration we had at the park on Saturday…but I’m waiting to get my hands on a couple of pictures. Therefore, I am just going to move on with the droppings and come back to the celebration later today. (Trust me the pictures are worth the wait).
Now to the droppings:
- The Idaho Press-Tribune recaps the Friday, Sunday and Monday losses, but also looks at Saturday’s shut-out victory over the Canadians.
- The Idaho Statesman also recaps Friday’s, Saturday’s, Sunday’s and Monday’s games, but Chris Langrill also takes a look at Ryan Sontag’s “switcharoo” and the speed Hak-Ju Lee and Jose Valdez provide in the Hawks lineup.
- KBCI Channel 2 looks at how the Hawks dropped their finale with Vancouver on Sunday and then just couldn’t get things started in Everett last night.
In other news, the Hawks made a couple of additions to their roster after Sunday’s game. RHP Trey McNutt (right) and C Jose Guevara both joined the team last night in Everett.
McNutt was this year’s 32nd Round Pick out of Shelton State CC. In Mesa he recorded a 0-1 record with a 0.00 ERA in 7.1 IP. He allowed five hits, five runs, walked three and struck out seven. Guevara also joins the team from Mesa where he was hitting .088 with one double and four RBI. Guevara was signed as non-drafted free agent in 2005 out of Anaco, Venezuela.
Boise Hawks Baseball Camp: Bringing It Back to the Kids
This week, the Boise Hawks hosted their annual baseball camp directed towards children ages 7-14. The camp is two half-day sessions jam-packed with drills. The kids had the chance to learn from Hawks players and Manager Casey Kopitzke (who is actually the first manager to take part in the yearly camp) while rotating from station to station, covering everything from base running to pitching.
Check out the montage of clips from the first day of camp here.
Besides the manager getting involved, there was also something new to the way the camp was run–on the baseball side. Manager Casey Kopitzke did not assign guys to the camp but instead hung up a sign-up sheet so the guys could volunteer on their own.
“I think it’s best if the guys decide they want to do something like this on their own,” said Kopitzke. “I want to make sure everyone has a good time…I don’t want to give a kid a bad experience because maybe the player didn’t want to be there.”
However, there was no shortage of interested players testing out their coaching skills. On the first day of camp pitcher Corey Martin manned the station on throwing basics, pitcher Yohan Gonzalez and catcher Richard Jones worked with the kids in the batting cages, first baseman Justin Bour taught the kids some ground ball skills, pitcher Danny Keefe worked on fly balls and Kopitzke took over base running. On the second day, outfielders Jose Valdez and Runey Davis worked in the cage, pitcher Ryan Sontag took over fly balls, infielder Logan Watkins and Tarlandus Mitchell taught the kids double plays, Kopitzke taught a little bit of catching, and pitchers Jon Nagel and Yohan Gonzalez taught the kids a little bit of pitching.
After the sessions, the kids were able to eat lunch with the guys and get a few autographs.
By far, it has been one of my favorite events this season–it is so cool to see these guys work with the youngsters, and you know these kids are just in awe because they were able to play with professional baseball players. So awesome!
A Bird's Eye View 