| | | Several members of the Oneonta Tigers take their belongings from the bus that took them to Damaschke Field on Sunday. The O-Tigers will practice today before starting their 76-game New York-Penn League schedule Tuesday at Tri-City. |
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ONEONTA — Knocking the smile off the face of Oneonta Tigers left-hander Chris Cody seemed nearly impossible Sunday afternoon.
Cody, the eighth-round draft pick (232nd overall) of the Detroit Tigers in this year’s First-Year Player Draft out of Manhattan College, joined 17 other Detroit minor-leaguers Sunday at Damaschke Field.
Nine other players, including three of four returning players, were scheduled to arrive in Oneonta on Sunday night. Second-year ma[an error occurred while processing this directive]nager Tom Brookens was slated to arrive this morning.
The Tigers will practice at 4 p.m. today at Damaschke Field before opening the 2006 New York-Penn League season Tuesday at Tri-City. The home opener is 7 p.m. Wednesday, also against the ValleyCats.
"I think we’re going to have a great season," O-Tigers owner Sam Nader said. "From what I’ve seen so far, I think we did very well with the assignments (Detroit) made here. ... The Tigers are on the move. They are building up their minor league organization. A lot of their players are going through the organization and that’s the key."
Oneonta players will have one practice at Damaschke before starting the 76-game season.
The surroundings, however, aren’t so new for Cody.
Cody’s parents are former Davenport residents and he’s the cousin of Davenport athlete Chelsea Haight, who plays varsity soccer, basketball and track, and former Delhi standout Seth Haight (football, basketball and track). Cody still has relatives in the area and said as a child, he remembers going to Oneonta Yankees games at Damaschke Field.
"Ever since I can remember, I’ve been coming up here several times a year visiting family," Brewster resident Cody said. "I have aunts, uncles, cousins — as many relatives as you can think of — within 15 miles of Oneonta."
Still, Cody said when he was drafted he didn’t want to get his hopes of starting his playing career near family too high.
"They sent me to Florida to do a mini-camp and until we were done, nobody was sure they were headed," Cody said. "Wherever I was going this summer, I was going to be happy. But when I found out I was coming to Oneonta, it put a little extra smirk on my face."
Four players return from last year’s team, which went 48-29 and won the Stedler Division before being swept in the first-round of the playoffs by the Auburn Doubledays.
Pitchers Matt O’Brien (6-3, 3.34 ERA), Tim Robertson (1-1, 2.65) and Jose Fragoso (6-2, 2.25), and outfielder Brandon Timm (.260 in 50 games) are back.
Of the 23 newcomers, 17 were college players, five played professional ball in the Gulf Coast League or Dominican Summer League and one, pitcher Randon Bierd, split time between Single-A Lakeland and Double-A Erie last year.
"We have a lot of guys with a lot of experience," said Ronnie Bourquin, a third baseman drafted in the second round (50th overall) out of Ohio State. "A lot of guys are from a bigger schools where they’ve played at a high competition. Having a team with a lot of experience and a lot of innings under their belt is obviously a big help."
Bourquin, the Big Ten Player of the Year, hit a league-best .416 for the Buckeyes. He had 15 doubles, eight homers, two triples and 66 RBIs.
Though home runs are sometimes hard to come by at Damaschke, Bourquin said he thought the O-Tigers would have a good hitting team this year.
"It looks like it’s a very old stadium, but the park is big and we’ll have opportunities to hit a lot of doubles and triples," he said. "I think our team will be able to bring a little power, too. We have some individuals that will be able to hopefully produce a lot of runs and a lot of hits."
Tom Thornton, a 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher drafted by Detroit in the 21st round (622nd overall), said he thought the intimate setting of Damaschke and Oneonta was a good way to start his professional career.
"I’m real excited about everything and I’m thrilled to be here," Thornton said. "This is a beautiful place and a nice town. It feels comfortable being here and it’s beautiful out here. I think it’s nice to come to a relaxed town to get going."
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P.J. Harmer can be reached at mailto:pharmer@thedailystar.com">pharmer@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 229.
