Green Bay Bullfrogs
From BR Bullpen
- Location: Green Bay, WI
- League: Northwoods League
- Stadium: Joannes Stadium
- Inaugural Game: May 31, 2007 at Waterloo Bucks
Contents |
[edit] Team Bio
The Green Bay Bullfrogs were a 2007 expansion team to the Northwoods Summer Collegiate Baseball League. As with all summer collegiate teams, the Bullfrogs are dedicated and designed to providing minor league level competition for NCAA players that wish to continue on into professional baseball. The Green Bay Bullfrogs operate under the model of a Minor League team: playing nightly in stadiums which seat thousands of fans, using wood bats and minor league specification equipment, and experiencing road trips across the upper Midwest United States between games. Bullfrogs players are unpaid, which gives them the opportunity to experience the rigors of professional baseball without going pro so that they can maintain their NCAA eligibility. The Green Bay Bullfrogs live with host families in the same manner as Single A and Independent League players.
The Green Bay Bullfrogs will play their home games at the historic Joannes Stadium in Green Bay, WI, which was built in 1929 and has been home to several MLB affiliated and independent minor league teams thoughout the years. The Green Bay Bullfrogs hosted their first home game on June 4, 2007 against the Battle Creek Bombers
The 2007 inaugural Season for the Green Bay Bullfrogs ended on August 15th with a 6-3 loss to the Eau Claire Express in the South Division Playoffs. The Express halted the Frogs in their tracks in their quest for a NWL Title.
The Bullfrogs finished the season with a 43-25 regular season record, the best in the NWL in 2007. The Frogs captured the South Division title in the first half of the season, becoming the first expansion team in league history win a division title and make the post-season. They were also the first expansion team to ever host a playoff series.
Over 35,000 fans came out to Bullfrogs games in their inaugural season, with an average of over 1,030 fans per night.
One of major accomplishments for the Bullfrogs happened from June 9-June 24, when they ran off 15 consecutive wins, which at the time set a new league record. The previous record was held by St. Cloud at 14 consecutive wins, set back in 1998.
Early on in the season, Field Manager Elliott Strankman made it abundantly clear that the Green Bay Bullfrogs were going to be built strongly on pitching, and they held true to that. The ‘Frogs finished 4th in the Northwoods League for pitching with a team ERA of 3.09. Even though the starters were impressive, it was the bullpen in the late innings that was the story of the season. The ‘Frogs bullpen finished with a league leading 23 saves on the year, led by Kurt Yacko (Chapman University) who finished 2nd in the league with 17 of those 23 saves. Even more impressive than 17 saves in 17 chances for Yacko was that he did not allow a single run all season. Yacko appeared in 22 games, pitching 27 innings, holding opponents to a minute .126 batting average against, with an ERA of 0.00. Along with his 17 saves, Yacko also had 2 wins on the season, one of those being the first in team history, when the Bullfrogs defeated the Waterloo Bucks on June 1.
With the stellar bullpen performances, the ‘Frogs were perfect on the season when leading going into the 7th as they posted a perfect 33-0 record. They also finished the season a perfect 4-0 when extra innings were needed.
Tyler Cheney (Uof Washington) and Chris Krepline (Carthage) led the ‘Frogs with wins finishing with 6 wins apiece. Nick Sottung (Ithaca College) led the ‘Frogs in innings pitched with 68 in 12 games. Dave Roberts led all Bullfrogs starters with a 2.32 ERA to go along with his 5-2 record in 14 games.
Offensively the ‘Frogs were led by Daniel Robertson (Concordia, Irvine), who was named Co-MVP of the Northwoods League and also a mid-season and a post-season All-Star. Robertson led the team with a .328 batting average, and finished in the top 10 of just about every major category in the league. Robertson tied for the league led in stolen bases, setting a new Northwoods League record with 45. Another category that Robertson led the NWL in was his consecutive game on base streak at home which reached 33 games to top the league.
Another big part of the ‘Frogs offense was their designated hitter and first baseman Danny Meier (Portland). Also a NWL All-Star, he ended the season tied for the league lead in home runs with 9. He also led the league with extra base hits with 26 on the season.
Some other notables offensive performers were Dillon Bell (UC- Irvine) who had a 13-game hit streak in which he batted .370. Kurt Yacko (Chapman), known more for his time on the mound, added a 17 game home hitting streak during the season where he had a .406 average. One other impressive streak was that catcher Sean Dovel (Loyola Marymount) reached base safely in 21 consecutive games at home. Overall the Bullfrogs finished 6th in the league for team batting with a .256 batting average.
[edit] 2008 On-Field Staff
- Manager: Elliott Strankman - Occidental College
- Coach: Aaron Swick - Willamette University
[edit] Executive and Front Office Staff
- Majority Owner/President: Jeffrey Lee Royle
- Minority Owners: Jay Royle, Chad Bauer.
- General Manager: Mike Then
- Assistant General Managers: Casey Ausloos-Director of Ticketing. Jeremy Hinde-Director of Operations/Merchandise.
