September 5th - Canadians leave mark on 2008 season

Canadians Media

(Nat Bailey Stadium – Vancouver, BC) The Vancouver Canadians wrapped up the 2008 NWL season with a record of 34-42, good enough for 3rd in the NWL West Division. The C’s left fans with much to cheer about in the final week of the season winning five of their final six games including a sweep of Eugene that cost them a shot at the post-season.

Several players finished the season having challenged Vancouver Canadians Short-Season records. Here is a look at those players that took a shot at history in 2008.

#15 David Thomas – Hit 18 doubles putting him 3rd on the all-time list tying him with Corey Brown (2007). The Canadians Short-Season record is 21 set by Dan Hamblin back in 2007.

#35 Jeremy Barfield – Hit 17 doubles putting him 5th on the all-time list tying him with Greg Dowling (2006), Sean Farrell (2003) and Eddie Kim (2003). Barfield also tied finished for 5th all-time in RBI with 41 alongside Brent Colamarino (2002) and Dan Johnson (2001).

#6 Jason Christian – Hit 16 doubles putting him 8th on the all-time list tying him with Matt Allegra (2001), Haas Pratt (2005), Jeremy Schied (2000) and Alex Valdez (2006). Christian also stole 13 bases putting him 8th all-time. 2007 Vancouver Canadians Mike Richard holds the C’s record with 25.

#7 Dusty Napoleon – Lead the 2008 Canadians with 41 walks putting him 5th all-time along side Myron Nelson (2004). Two other Canadians cracked the top ten in walks; Jason Christian and JD Pruitt both drew 39 putting them into 9th all-time respectively.

#8 JD Pruitt – Was hit by opposing pitchers 11 times this 2008 season putting his name into this category for a second time. His 11 this season puts him 4th on the Short-Season list, but his mark in 2007 of 34 HBP will likely never, ever be surpassed. Pruitt also put himself 2nd on the all-time list for on-base percentage as his .486 is just .01 point behind the all-time leader Jeremy Brown (2002).

#24 Jareck West – West hit a triple on September 2nd, 2008 giving him four on the season. His fourth put him into a tie for the most triples ever hit by a Canadian in a Short-Season campaign alongside Corey Brown (2007), Javier Herrera (2004), Omar Quintanilla (2003) and Alex Valdez (2006).

#36 Ronny Morla – Ronny has the dubious honour of joining the losses all-time mark as his 6 defeats in 2008 put him 4th all-time along side Brad Hertzler (2007) and Edwin Minaya (2001). Morla was very good despite the lackluster wins to losses on the year. Morla tied for 1st in the NWL with 77 strikeouts alongside Canadians LHP Pedro Figueroa. Morla also gave up 87 hits on the season putting him 3rd all-time alongside Jared Trout (2003). Morla also cracked the top ten in innings pitched with 75.2 on the season. Morla also finished 5th all-time in walks issued with 34. Rich Harden (2001) is the leader with 38. Morla gave up 41 earned runs on the season putting him 2nd all-time along side Leonardo Martinez (2007).

#23 Ryne Tacker - finished with 5 losses on the season, and did so in just eight starts (0-5 10.03). Tacker also gave up a massive 39 earned runs in just 35 innings pitched.

#32 Pedro Figueroa – Figueroa walked 32 hitters this past 2008 season putting him 7th all-time. Figueroa also struck out 77 hitters tying him for 3rd on the Canadians all-time list alongside teammates Ronny Morla. Rich Harden is the leader in this category with 100.

#46 Jose Guzman – The Canadians closer right from day one, Jose Guzman broke the Canadians saves record with 15, surpassing Brad Kilby’s mark of 14 set back in 2005. Guzman also set the record for appearances with 30 surpassing Dan Fyvie’s old mark of 26 set back in 2003. Fabian Gomez tied for 2nd all-time in appearances along side Jeff Muessig (2002), while Edgar Tejeda moved into a tie for 8th with 22 appearances alongside JR Crider (2001) and Adiel Sanchez (2004).