Tagged: Tarlandus Mitchell
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
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!
Droppings from the Nest, July 7th
Hawks secured another win last night, and, just hours from now, look to make their first 3-game winning streak of the season. Tarlandus Mitchell will be on the mound for the Hawks–he will go head to head against Eugene’s Matt Jackson.
But before we look forward, we must look at the “droppings” collected today.
- Even though the Hawks pulled a second-straight win last night, Chris Langrill of the Idaho Statesman decided to take the focus off the players for a day and instead looked at one of the Hawks’ “superfan,” Carl Krueger.
- The Idaho Press-Tribune looks at Brett Jackson’s two-out, two-run triple that drove the Hawks over the Emeralds in last night’s comeback.
- Zach Wolken of KTVB Channel 7 recaps last night’s win, 5th overall win for the Hawks.
- Check out J. Bates highlights from last night’s 5-4 win over Eugene.
DON’T FORGET: Check out www.BoiseHawks.com for exclusive articles by the HAM Insiders…three fresh ones posted this afternoon.
- Social Networking Links One Hawks Family Millions of Miles Apart
- Baseball Is Spoken Here
- Back at Square One for Converted Pitcher Joe Simokaitis
ONE MORE THING: Get the players’ perspective and check out Hawks 3B Jordan Petraitis’ blog, Living the Dream, Not the Life
Autographs and Wiffle Ball: Player Appearance with Pitcher Tarlandus Mitchell
Believe it or not, the morning of Opening Night we had six player appearances! SIX! Luckily, our guys are 1) extremely nice and 2) maybe a little naive because it was super easy to find six willing guys to head out to several subdivisions Saturday morning.
MetLife, Journal Broadcast and the Boise Hawks teamed up to bring Boise the HOME RUN, an event that urged the community to take advantage of the low property pricing and historic interest rates. The HOME RUN featured special home pricing, reduced-rate financing and of course, the best part, the Boise Hawks!! Six players participated in the event–Ryan Sontag, Sean Hoorelbeke, Logan Watkins, Josh Whitlock, Jon Nagel and Tarlandus Mitchell–along with members of the front office and Gang Green, our mobile marketing team. The players paired off with the front office and Gang Green staff so we could cover all of the bases, so to speak.
I was paired with Tarlandus Mitchell, a RHP out of Alto, TX. The Cubs drafted Mitchell in the 22nd round of the 2008 Draft. According to Mitchell, his best pitch is probably his curveball but his 96 mph fast ball is by far his favorite pitch to throw. 
Mitchell was a big hit with both the parents and the kids. The adults grilled him on his fastball, what it was like to be drafted out of college and just the ins-and-outs of professional baseball.
All the kids were concerned with were autographs and some wiffle ball. In the picture to the right, Mitchell signs a young boy’s back, not his shirt, his back. Parents, simple paper autographs don’t count anymore, now kids practically want tattoos of their favorite athlete’s signature.
After grabbing some grub, the children of Brownstone put Mitchell’s skills to the
test when everyone got together for a friendly little game of wiffle
ball.
Click on the link below to get some of the awesome highlights of the day!
A Bird's Eye View 