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 Almost 20,000 players have played in the Majors over the years. It's a tiny fraction of those who hope to make it. Practice, and a lot of it, is what every one of them has in common. Hours on the diamond, running down fly balls in the outfield grass, picking short hops out of the dirt, and even more in the cage monotonously perfecting their swings. Thwack, thwack, thwack... Over the next few weeks, we'll be introducing the 2012 BlueSox. They are a great group of guys, who have us really excited about the summer. If it's great baseball you want, these guys will deliver. And in doing so, they will take another step towards the big leagues. Vranka To Continue Patrolling Pullman Outfield February 3, 2012 If theres one thing you cant defend, its speed. And Stephen Vranka has it. Vranka will return in 2012 for his second tour with the BlueSox and he looks to build on what he did last summer. His 11 stolen bases rank sixth all-time for the BlueSox, who are entering their fourth season in Butler. Vranka got off to a rough start for Butler in 2011, but after the first two weeks he hit .300 for the rest of the season. He finished the season with 17 hits in his last 16 games. "I believe that Steve is going to be a key guy for us for more reasons than one and I'm glad he is coming back to Butler this summer," said manager Anthony Rebyanski. "He's a very versatile player, possesses a lot of speed and has many tools that are going to help our club every single day. I am anxious to see what he can do at Pitt this spring after having a year of experience under his belt." Vranka scored 19 runs and knocked in 16 more on the summer, pounding out 39 hits including four doubles and a home run. Defensively, Vranka committed only one error during entire the summer for the BlueSox while playing all three outfield positions. The Pitt Panthers are ranked just outside the top 25 teams in the nation after a few losses at key positions, including former BlueSoxs players Zach Duggan and Kevan Smith. The Panthers season begins in just over two weeks in Florida on February 17. Two Former BlueSox Named Top Division II Prospects February 2, 2012 Ben Rawding and Shayne Houck, two former members of the Butler BlueSox were named Top 20 NCAA Division II Prospects by Perfect Game, the worlds largest amateur baseball scouting service, earlier this week. Left-handed pitcher Rawding was named the 15th overall prospect and the top prospect at Mercyhurst College, which Perfect Game ranked as the ninth best Division II team in the nation entering 2012. Read the rest of the article here. |
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