Kinston Indians 2007
Behind Carolina League Manager of the Year Mike Sarbaugh, the 2007 Kinston Indians slugged their way to an 87-52 record and a sweep of the first and second half titles in the Carolina League Southern Division. The sweep was the first for Kinston since 2001 and the seventh in franchise history. Kinston advanced to the Carolina League Playoffs for a record seventh straight year. The 87-52 record was the best in the Carolina League and the third most wins of any team in Minor League Baseball for the 2007 season.
The 2007 edition of the K-Tribe will also be remembered as one of the best hitting teams in the history of Kinston baseball. The K-Tribe scored 782 runs in the 139 game season, the most in franchise history. Kinston finished second in franchise history in batting average (.271), home runs (152), doubles (264), hits (1,262), total bases (2,032), RBI (713), sacrifice flies (47) and hit batters (90). The Indians also racked up the third most walks in franchise history.
The bomb squad flexed their muscle many times during the season, but none were more impressive then at the end of the first half of the season. Kinston hit their way to a first half title, winning 16 of their last 19 games. During that amazing three week stretch, Kinston hit .318 as a team with 24 home runs; averaging 11 hits and seven runs a game. Kinston ended up going 19-6 in June, hitting .308 as a team with 33 home runs. Kinston also flexed their muscle again in August when they hit an amazing 42 home runs, including 16 in one week. Individual long ball feats were numerous as both Chris Gimenez and Armando Camacaro tied a Carolina League record with three home runs in a game. Gimenez also hit a long ball in three consecutive games, an impressive feat only eclipsed by Josh Rodriguez who hit a homer in four consecutive games in August. J-Rod finished the season with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases, joining hitting coach Jon Nunnally (who did it in 1994 as K-Triber) as the only member of the 20/20 club in the 21 years Kinston has been a Cleveland affiliate. Rodriguez finished the year with 84 runs, the most in the Carolina League, and nine triples. The nine triples tied a franchise record during the 21 years of Cleveland affiliation. K-Tribe first baseman Matt Whitney had an unbelievable comeback season in 2007. After spending the first half of the season at Low A Lake County, Whitney continued his hot hitting in Kinston ending the year with a combined 32 home runs and 113 RBI. The RBI total was the third most in all of Minor League Baseball, the home run total the fourth most.
Not to be outdone, the Kinston pitching staff put up some impressive numbers of their own. Jim Deters (12-4), Frank Herrmann (11-5), Ryan Edell (11-6) and Kevin Dixon (10-4) each joined the exclusive ten win club. It was the first time Kinston had four, ten game winners on a team since 1988. Deters not only ended up with the most wins on the team, but also the lowest ERA in the Carolina League (2.24 – the third lowest mark in franchise history). Kinston reliever Scott Roehl also took the gold with the most saves (24) in the Carolina League. K-Tribe pitcher Kevin Dixon also had an unbelievable stretch of the season from June 13th to July 25th. Dixon won eight consecutive starts during the stretch, a franchise record and something that had not been done in the Carolina League in over five years.
After winning the final six games of the regular season, Kinston was upended by Salem in the Southern Division Championship Series. After dropping game one 10-3, the K-Tribe used a Josh Rodriguez home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to break a scoreless tie and force a deciding game three. A 3-3 tie was snapped with two Salem runs in the top of the eighth inning and the Avalanche held on to beat Kinston 5-3.
Although the Mills Cup did not come back to the K-Tribe in 2007, many other awards did. Mike Sarbaugh was voted Carolina League Manager of the year. Shari Massengill was honored with the Calvin Falwell Award as the Carolina League’s Executive of the Year. Later in the fall, Massengill received the Rawlings Women Executive of the Year Award. The annual award is given to the top Women Executive in all of Professional Baseball.
Record:
1st Half: 45 wins and 24 losses
2nd Half: 42 wins and 28 losses
Overall: 87 wins and 52 losses
Manager of The Year – Mike Sarbaugh
Executive of The Year – Shari Massengill
Mid-Season All-Stars:
Jim Deters– Pitcher
Frank Herrmann-Pitcher
David Huff- Pitcher
Chris Gimenez- Utility Infielder (Won Home Run Derby)
Max Ramirez - Catcher
End of the Year All-Stars:
Josh Rodriguez – Shortstop
Wes Hodges – Third Base
Max Ramirez – Catcher
Scott Roehl – Relief Pitcher
Carolina League Weekly Awards:
David Huff – Pitcher of the Week (April 23rd – 29th)
Chris Gimenez – Player of the Week (May 14th – 20th)
Josh Rodriguez – Player of the Week (August 6th – 12th)
Matt Whitney – Player of the Week (August 13th – 19th)
Frank Herrmann – Pitcher of the Week (August 13th – 19th)
Carolina League Leaders:
Jim Deters – ERA (2.24)
Josh Rodriguez – Runs Scored (84)
Scott Roehl – Saves (24)
Team Leaders:
Josh Rodriguez – games (133), runs (84), hits (129), triples (9), home runs (20), rbi (82), walks (68)
Chris Gimenez – home runs (20), slugging (.565)
Jose Constanza – stolen bases (39), sacrifice hits (10)
John Drennen – at bats (496)
Stephen Head – doubles (29), sacrifice flies (6)
Wes Hodges – batting average (.288)
Jim Deters – wins (12), era (2.24)
Ryan Edell – strike outs (109)
Frank Herrmann – games started (26), complete games (3), innings pitched (146)
Scott Roehl – games (44), saves (24)
Sung-Wei Tseng – games started (26)
Team Awards:
Matt Whitney – Overcoming Adversity Award
Sung-Wei Tseng – Gaydek Sportsmanship Award
Jim Deters – Steve Olin Pitcher of the Year Award
Wes Hodges - Pat Crawford MVP Award
Month by Month Recaps:
April Recap:
The Kinston Indians finished up the first month of the season with a Carolina League best 13-8 record. The K-Tribe took over first place in the Carolina League Southern Division late in April and enjoys a 1.5 game lead over second place Winston-Salem. Kinston pitching was lights out in April, with a team ERA of 2.83, the second best mark in the Carolina League.
Last year’s first round draft pick for the Cleveland Indians David Huff was awarded Carolina League Pitcher of the Week Honors for the last week of the month. Huff went 2-0 during the week, pitching 13 innings, giving up seven hits and three earned runs. Huff is 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA this season, the fifth best ERA in the Carolina League. K-Tribe starter Frank Herrmann kept the pas with a 1-0 record and a 2.21 ERA, the seventh best mark in the league.
Kinston reliever Jeff Stevens leads the league with a 0.45 ERA. Stevens did not give up an earned run in his first 17 innings of work this season. Stevens is also third in the league with 24 strike outs. Kinston’s bullpen as a whole ended the month with an ERA under 1.75.
Offensively Kinston was paced by Wes Hodges and Max Ramirez. Max has a 17 game consecutive on base streak going, while Wes is among the league leaders in slugging percentage and triples.
End of First Half:
The K-Tribe ended the first half of the season with a bang, winning 16 of their last 19 games and assuring a playoff birth for the seventh straight season. Kinston wrapped up their first half Southern Division title with six games remaining. This means that no matter what happens in the second half of the season, the K-Tribe will be in the Carolina League Playoffs come September to defend their Mills Cup Championship. It is the fourth year in a row Kinston has nabbed a playoff birth by winning the first half title. Overall, their seven straight playoff appearances is a Carolina League Record. The Indians broke the record set by the Burlington Bees from 1945-50. In Kinston’s 21 years as a Cleveland Indians affiliate, the K-Tribe has made the playoffs an astounding 16 times. During this run, Kinston has never missed the playoffs in back to back years.
The K-Tribe’s run to a first half title was helped by some hot hitting. Kinston hit 37 home runs in the month of May, the most hit in any month by any team in the Carolina League this season. The K-Tribe continued the barrage as the temperature rose, hitting .318 in first half of June with 24 home runs. As Kinston finished up the first half by winning 16 of 19, they averaged 11 hits and seven runs a game. At the end of the first half the K-Tribe led the Carolina League in home runs (80), runs scored (381) and walks (297). The Tribe was also second in the league in team batting average with a .273 mark. Individually, it seemed that every K-Tribe hitter got hot in the month of June. K-Tribe third baseman Wes Hodges ended the half with a 17 game hitting streak, the second longest in the Carolina League this season. Wes is currently second in the league with a .325 batting average. K-Tribe slugger Chris Gimenez is second in the league with 15 home runs and a .606 slugging percentage. Gimenez leads the league with a .425 on-base percentage. K-Tribe first baseman Stephen Head started to heat up as well and is now second in the league with 30 extra base hits, including 19 doubles. Kinston’s Chris De La Cruz and Max Ramirez continued to produce, with both hitters in the Carolina League’s top ten in batting average. Gimenez and Nathan Panther were also honored with Carolina League Player of the Week honors during the first half of the season.
The K-Tribe pitching staff continued to cook, as they finished the first half with a league best 3.18 ERA. Kinston also walked a league low 185 batters in 69 games. Kinston boasted three starting pitchers in the top eight for low ERA’s in the league. David Huff was third (2.72), Frank Herrmann sixth (3.13) and Ryan Edell eighth (3.29). Edell finished the first half with seven wins, the fourth most in the league. Fellow starter Sung-Wei Tseng finished up with 57 strike outs, the fifth most in the league. Kinston finished the first half with a 45-24 record, the best in the Carolina League and one of the top records in all of Minor League Baseball.
July Recap:
The K-Tribe continued to click in July holding on to first place and holding off Myrtle Beach in the Carolina League Southern Division. Kinston is trying to win both the first and second half of the season in the Southern Division for the first time since 2001. A season sweep would give Kinston all three opening round playoff games at home. Currently the first half champ gets games two and three, with the second half champ in the Southern Division getting game one at home. The playoffs start on Wednesday, September 5th.
Also in the K-Tribe’s sights is the franchise win record which stands at 89 victories. Kinston’s Stephen Head has a chance to break a few franchise records of his own. The season franchise records for doubles, runs scored and the painful hit by pitch stat is all in his sights as the season winds down. K-Tribe starter Kevin Dixon is on an incredible streak, having won eight starts in a row. It is the first time that the feat has been done in the Carolina League in more than five years. Dixon is now the first K-Triber this season to reach ten wins with a 10-3 record and a 3.88 ERA. Kinston starter Ryan Edell continues to roll along, he is 9-4 on the season with the fifth lowest ERA in the league this season at 3.27. Edell is now in the K-Tribe bullpen as the organization is concerned about his inning count. Edell threw just 18 innings last season. K-Tribe pitching leads the Carolina League with a 3.35 team ERA this season.
On the offensive side, Kinston has gotten some big contributions from a couple of players snapping out of season long slumps. K-Tribe shortstop Josh Rodriguez in hitting .373 in the month of July. Leadoff man Jose Constanza is coming around, hitting .327 in the month. Meanwhile it is the same old thing from Wes Hodges (.306) and Max Ramirez (.303) both in the top six in batting average in the Carolina League this season. Max is also third in the CL in RBI, second in on-base percentage and fifth in slugging. Stephen Head leads the league in runs scored, is third in extra-base hits and fifth in home runs. As a team, Kinston is second in the Carolina League with a .271 batting average. Kinston hitting coach Jon Nunnally has been recognized for his work and will be on the coaching staff of the Surprise Rafters in the Arizona Fall League this October. The Arizona Fall League is a finishing school of sorts for highly regarded player prospects in the Minor Leagues.
August Recap:
The K-Tribe continues their push to a second half Southern Division title as the regular season winds up. A second half title would give Kinston a Southern Division first and second half sweep for the first time since 2001. In August the K-Tribe continues to hit well, racking up 38 home runs and a team batting average of .283 for the month. The K-Tribe has whacked a Carolina League Leading 145 home runs this season, the second most homers in franchise history. Kinston also has a shot at the franchise record for team batting average, hitting .272 as a team this season. K-Tribe players have been racking up Carolina League Weekly awards in August. Josh Rodriguez, leading the team with 19 home runs and 77 RBI, took the CL Player of the Week honors for the 6th through the 12th. Rodriguez pounded out five home runs, four of them in four straight games at Myrtle Beach. The next week (13th – 19th) Kinston swept the CL weekly awards with Frank Herrmann taking Pitcher of the Week Honors and Matt Whitney keeping the Player of the Week Award in Kinston. Whitney’s award caps off an unbelievable come back year for the former first round draft pick. After spending the first half of the year in Low A Lake County, Whitney now has a combined 31 home runs and 110 RBI. The totals are the most in all of A ball this season and rank in the top ten in all of Minor League Baseball. On the pitching side Frank Herrmann notched his 10th win of the season, joining K-Tribe teammates Ryan Edell (11), Jim Deters (11) and Kevin Dixon (10) in the ten win club this year. It is the first time Kinston has had four, ten game winners since 1988.