The Empire State Greys signed Infielder Manny Garcia and he has been a huge part of the recent success of the Greys.

Since joining the team, in just 7 games, Garcia has 5 home runs and has already surpassed as the leader in homers in the Greys team.

Manny is a 6’0 195 pound Louisiana Tech University product born and raised in Caguas, Puerto Rico. He was previously signed to the Windy City Thunderbolts where he batted .180 with 3 home runs but spent a short amount of time on the team.

Since joining the team, Manny is batting .310 with 5 home runs and 10 Runs batted in. Garcia will look to continue his hot streak and a strong finish to the season.

Article by Greys Media

Picture by: William J BuggeIn

CRESTWOOD, IL – The Empire State Greys have won their first series of the season by defeating the Windy City Thunderbolts in the first two games of the Series.

Manny Garcia returned to his former team with something to prove. In Game one he went 3 for 5 with a double, a home run, 2 runs and 4 runs batted in. John Benevolent joined the party with 4 hits of his own with one being a triple and a home run with 4 runs batted in. Johsson Arias earned another victory tossing 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits while striking out 7 Thunderbolts batters. The Greys won the game by a score of 10-4.

Game two of the series was a tight one as the Greys would pull off a 3-2 late inning win! Willie Estrada and Camden Williamson both with 3 hits a piece in this one leading the offensive attack. Andres Rodriguez was spectacular as he tossed his second victory of the season going 6 innings pitched giving up just 2 runs on 8 hits striking out 2 batters.

The Greys nearly pulled off the sweep as the Thunderbolts walked-off on game 3.

The Greys will head back to the east coast to face the Sussex County Miners with game one at 7:00pm ET.

Article by Greys Media

WASHINGTON, PA – Empire State Greys Starting Pitcher Johsson Arias has officially been selected to his first Frontier League All Star Game.

Arias, a 6’1 190 pound right hander out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic who can reach up to 96 miles per hour on his fastball, has been the most dominant and consistent throughout the Greys season and is the team leader in wins and innings pitched with a 2.1 earned run average.

He will be amongst the relievers in the Frontier League All Star Game that will be taking place in Washington, PA on July 19th.

This will be a spectacular event at Wildthings park where the best players of the Frontier League will meet for a matchup that includes a home run derby competition!

Tickets can be purchased online by visiting WashingtonWildthings.com or at the Gate on the date of the event. This event will sell out so it is recommended that you purchase yours today!

Article by Greys Media

Empire State starting pitcher Johsson Arias held Tri-City to only one hit over five shutout innings as the Greys rebounded from a walk-off lose on Friday nightwith a 9-3 victory over the ValleyCats at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium on Saturday. 

56 of Arias’ 89 pitches were fastballs, with a top velocity of 95.5 mph and average of 92.5. 

Empire State jumped out early.  A first inning, two-out single by Jordan Holloman-Scott was immediately followed by an RBI double to right center by Trey Woosley.  The Greys recorded two more hits in the second and two in the third, starting with a leadoff single by Robbie Carling.  Holloman-Scott singled Carling to second, who then advanced to third when Woosley hit into a fielder’s choice.  With two outs, Carling came home after Woosley was caught in a rundown. 

After Tri-City plated a run in the bottom of the 6^th, Empire State responded with a seven-run 7^th inning. Jose Mercado led off the inning with a single to left and then stole second base along him to score on double to left field by Liam McArthur.  Carling then singled in McArthur for the second run in the inning.  Will Decker later drove in two runs with a single, giving the Greys six runs before their first out.  13 batters came to the plate for Empire State, with Carling both scoring and driving in a run. 

Jason Pineda tossed a perfect 8^th inning before Luis Pacheco finished the game for Empire State. 

The Greys look for the series win on Sunday afternoon, a 5:05 PM Eastern start.  

Evansville, IN – The Empire State Greys dropped their second straight series. This time losing 3 to the Evansville Otters at Historic Bosse Field.

The first game brought signs of life to the Greys as they took an early 2-0 lead. Starter Conor Maguire pitched a solid 4 innings allowing just 4 hits while striking out 3 in his season debut. However the offense continued to struggle to put up runs. The bullpen would go on to do its job in holding the Otters until the bottom of the 8th inning when a walk was issued and would score on a base hit to give the Otters a 3-2 lead and game one. Greys finished the game with 4 costly defensive errors.

The second game of the series was one to never remember as the Greys were beat by a large margin. The team continued to struggle overall finishing the game with just 1 run and 5 hits and allowing 18 hits to the Otters. After a solid first 2 innings, De La Cruz struggled to find the strike zone walking 7 batters and barely getting through 3 innings.

The series finale sent the Greys to Washington, Pennsylvania with another loss. Overall a well played game but struggled once again to get anything going offensively. Greys Ace gave the team 5 solid innings striking out 6 batters. Locke Bernhardt and Jesus Rosario would follow his outing with 3 combined shutout innings. Rosario would top out at 98mph in that game and continues to impress out of the bullpen.

The Greys will travel overnight to Washington, Pennsylvania where they will take on the Washington Wildthings on a 3 game series that will feature starters Ernesto Huizar, Thomas Derer and Gerald De La Cruz.

Article by Empire Media

Sauget, IL – The Empire State Greys (0-3) dropped the first series of the season to the Gateway Grizzlies (3-0) over the weekend. The newest franchise of the Frontier League struggled offensively on opening day but bounced back in the final 2 games to put up 11 total runs.

On Opening day, the Grizzlies went off scoring 13 runs on 13 hits with 4 of those hits being long balls. Greys starter Luis Pacheco tossed only 3 innings after giving up 5 total runs. He did however strike out 5 Grizzlies batters. Hanley Acevedo was the only Greys hitter to reach base as he singled and also walked. Luis Pacheco was credited with his first loss of the season.

Game two of the series brought rookie right hander Ernesto Huizar. But Huizar would only go 1.1 innings of work in what was a high scoring game. Holden Bernhardt came in relief and tossed 2 shutout innings allowing just 1 single and striking out 4 batters. The Greys struck out 13 total Grizzlies hitters in the game. The Greys were down big in the 4th inning and although the team rallied back to make it a 4 run deficit after being down 10 runs, the Grizzlies added to their lead and out of reach for the Greys. Hanley Acevedo and Jordan Holloman Scott led the way offensively both reaching base twice with Holloman Scott hitting the first ever Greys homer and driving in a total of 3 runs. The Greys finished with a total of 10 hits and 9 runs with 6 of those hits being extra base hits.

The series finale ended with at 12-2 loss in what was an ugly rainy day. Rookie pitcher Thomas Derer started for the Greys and pitched well for 4 innings allowing just 3 earned runs while striking out 3 batters. Locke Bernhardt and Jason Pineda tossed a combined 2.1 innings now allowing a single run while striking out 2 batters. Catcher Tyler Hill led the way offensively for the Greys with a single, a double and 2 runs batted in.

The Greys struggled to get anything going against the Grizzlies but look to get things going as the team now travels to Evansville, Indiana to take on the Evansville Otters on May 17th.

For more information on tickets, visit Frontierleague.com.

Article by Greys Media

The Empire State Greys have announced the hiring of manager Gil Rondon.

Gilberto Rondón is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 2 inches tall and 200 pounds.

Rondón was first drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 14th round of the 1972 amateur draft, but did not sign. He was then drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 3rd round of the 1973 amateur draft. He spent the 1973 season with the rookie league Bluefield Orioles, and part of the 1974 season with the Single-A Miami Orioles before being released by the Orioles on June 12, 1974. He signed with the California Angels before the 1975 season, and spent the season with the Single-A Salinas Packers and the Double-A El Paso Diablos.

Following the 1975 season Rondón was drafted by the Houston Astros in the Rule 5 Draft. He spent the entire 1976 season with the Astros, appearing in 19 games and starting in 7. He spent 1977 in the minor leagues, spending part of the season with the Double-A Columbus Astros and part with the Triple-A Charleston Charlies. His tenure with the Astros organization ended after the 1977 season, when he was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1977 minor league draft.

Rondón spent the entire 1978 season in the Yankees organization, playing for the Single-A Fort Lauderdale Yankees and later the Double-A West Haven Yankees. Following the season he was purchased from the Yankees by the Leones de Yucatan of the Mexican League, where he spent the 1979 season. On August 1, 1979, the Chicago White Sox purchased him from the Leones, and he played for the Iowa Oaks, the White Sox Triple-A affiliate. He was called up to the major leagues again that September, and appeared in 4 games in relief for the White Sox. Following the season he was purchased back by the Leones. He then signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and appeared in a few games for the Triple-A Albuquerque Dukes, but he never appeared in a major league game again.

His MLB career pitching line included a won-lost mark of 2–2 and no saves in 23 games pitched, with seven games started; in 63¹⁄₃ career innings pitched, he allowed 38 earned runs on 81 hits and 45 bases on balls for an earned run average of 5.40, with 24 strikeouts. As a hitter in the National League, be batted .286 in 14.

Rondón was a coach for Puerto Rico during the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Rondón was announced as the pitching coach for the Bravos de Leon of the Mexican Baseball League for the 2018 season.

He will now be getting on the bus to lead steer the Empire State Greys for the 2022 season.

Article By Greys Media

Festivities to Include Three Rivers Celebrity Softball Game, IWC Wrestling Show, Eli Young Band Concert, All-Star Game

The Frontier League and the Washington Wild Things announced today that Washington, Pennsylvania has been awarded the Frontier League’s 2022 All-Star Game. The All-Star celebration and festivities begin in Washington Saturday, July 16 and run through Wednesday, July 20, with the contesting of the All-Star Game.

“The Washington Wild Things are planning a truly unprecedented minor-league baseball All-Star Game and related set of festivities for the Washington, Pennsylvania, region” said Frontier League Chief Executive Officer Jon Danos. “We view the events as a special community celebration of the long history of the Wild Things, their fans, sponsors and supporters, as well as an opportunity for the team and the Frontier League to express gratitude and excitement for our players and our future.”

The Frontier League is the country’s largest operating independent baseball league and includes 16 teams from multiple states including New York, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quebec and Ottawa. It is an official partner league of Major League Baseball.

“We are honored that the league selected Washington as the site for the 2022 Frontier League All-Star Game,” said Wild Things’ team owner Francine Williams. “This will be the first All-Star Game since the merger of the Can-Am League and the Frontier League, and we are planning a full five days of activity!”

The All-Star festivities begin with the Three Rivers Celebrity Softball Game presented by The Coury Firm Saturday, July 16 at Wild Things Park. The event benefits The Heyward House: the Cameron Heyward Foundation and is hosted by former Pitt All-American Dorin Dickerson. It’ll be Team Pittsburgh, presented by 84 Lumber, versus Team World.

The celebration continues Sunday, July 17, when IWC Wrestling brings Wrestling at the Ballpark to Wild Things Park. Tuesday, July 19, the Eli Young Band and Lakeview will be in concert, presented by Drusky Entertainment. Tickets for that concert are available now here.

Wednesday, July 20, the biggest stars of the Frontier League will compete in the 2022 Frontier League All-Star Game. The stars of the East Division, which is made up by the Evansville Otters, Florence Y’alls, Gateway Grizzlies, Joliet Slammers, Lake Erie Crushers, Schaumburg Boomers, Windy City ThunderBolts and the Wild Things, will battle the stars of the West Division, made up by the Empire State Greys, New Jersey Jackals, New York Boulders, Ottawa Titans, Québec Capitales, Sussex County Miners, Tri-City ValleyCats and the Trois-Rivières Aigles. Gates will open at 6 p.m. with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

“The Coury Firm is excited to support such a great week of events for the Frontier League. Building off the success of last year’s charity softball game, we believe this year’s lineup of events creates enthusiasm and brings the local community together,” said The Coury Firm CEO Gregg Coury. “More importantly, this creates an ability to bring awareness and support to local charities that make a profound impact on our local communities.”

During the game, the Frontier League all-stars will don the jerseys of Negro League teams from their team’s regions as part of a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Josh Gibson’s induction into the baseball Hall of Fame. The jerseys will be auctioned off during the game on the Wild Things’ auction partner M@C’s platform so that fans from all over the league can bid on and try to win their piece of history with proceeds benefitting the Josh Gibson Foundation.

“The Josh Gibson family and the Josh Gibson Foundation is proud to have Josh’s memory honored at this year’s Frontier League All-Star Game on each player’s jersey,” said Josh Gibson Foundation executive director Sean Gibson. “It will be amazing to see the Frontier League players donning replica Negro League jerseys from the historic clubs of their region. We are grateful for the proceeds raised from this initiative being donated to the Foundation! Thank you, Washington Wild Things!”

Tickets for the All-Star Game are available now at bit.ly/FLASG22TIX. It will cost $10 to sit in the lower seating bowl of Wild Things Park and $5 for tickets in the bleacher sections (the 200 level) of the stadium. More information is available at washingtonwildthings.com as well as
frontierleague.com.

ABOUT THE FRONTIER LEAGUE
The Frontier League of Professional Baseball is an official Partner League of Major League Baseball and the largest of its kind in professional baseball. The Frontier League has moved over 1,000 players to MLB teams in its 29-year history. The 2022 Frontier League season opens on Thursday, May 12. Please visit www.frontierleague.com.

ABOUT THE WASHINGTON WILD THINGS
The Washington Wild Things are a professional baseball team that plays in the MLB-partnered Frontier League. In 2022, the Wild Things are celebrating their 20th season of baseball in the longest-running independent baseball league in history with all kinds of celebrations, fun and great baseball at Wild Things Park. The team has won seven division championships and has been to four Frontier League Championship Series within their numerous playoff appearances. Fans and media can stay aware of all the happenings within the Wild Things’ organization, both on and off the field, by following the team’s social media platforms and website: washingtonwildthings.com. For other inquiries, call the front office at 724-250-9555.

The Wild Things’ organization and Wild Things Park has been selected as the host of the 2022 Frontier League All-Star Game. The festivities will begin Saturday, July 16 with the Three Rivers Celebrity Softball Game presented by The Coury Firm and continue Sunday with IWC Wrestling at the Ballpark. Tuesday, Eli Young Band and Lakeview will be in concert, presented by Drusky Entertainment and Wednesday, the Frontier League stars align with the league’s All-Star Game, presented by The Coury Firm.

Tickets are available at bit.ly/FLASG22TIX. More information can be found at washingtonwildthings.com as well.

The Frontier League of Professional Baseball, the largest of Major League Baseball’s Partner Leagues, and leading sports streaming service FloSports, today announced a multi-year partnership that will make the Frontier League the only professional baseball league featured on the OTT platform.

The partnership will deliver high quality and creative productions of the league’s brand of exciting minor league baseball games and original content to Frontier League fans throughout its footprint in the US and Canada, and beyond. FloSports programming also includes top NCAA conferences including Power 5 baseball tournaments, NASCAR Roots racing, Tour de France, and the Professional Bowlers Association.

“The Frontier League is fully committed to offering our fans exceptional experiences in our ballparks, in their homes, and on their devices”, said Jon Danos, CEO and commissioner of the Frontier League. With FloSports as a partner, our League content is even more accessible, and we take additional steps toward offering a go-to league preferred by players whose talents can be further enjoyed on a big stage along their journey to the big leagues”.  Last year alone, seventeen MLB teams purchased the contracts of 47 Frontier League players.

“The addition of the Frontier League games to FloSports represents our continued commitment to delivering the highest quality baseball competition to our subscribers,” said Chris Keldorf, Senior Director, Global Rights Acquisition, FloSports. “We’re excited to bring this programming to our platform to showcase the level of athletic talent that is part of the Frontier League.”

About the Frontier League
The Frontier League of Professional Baseball is an official Partner League of Major League Baseball and the largest of its kind in professional baseball. The Frontier League has moved over 1,000 players to MLB teams in its 29-year history. The 2022 Frontier League season opens on Thursday, May 12. Please visit www.frontierleague.com.

About FloSports
Founded in 2006, FloSports is a subscription video streaming service dedicated to sports, offering live and on-demand access to hundreds of thousands of competition events across 25+ vertical sport categories in the US and abroad. FloSports’ vision is to give underserved sports the love they deserve. With a growing library of more than 300,000 hours of premium content including news, expert commentary, films, documentaries and more, FloSports has established itself as an innovator and leader in sports streaming. Finally, your sport has a home. For more information, please visit: flosports.tv.

FRONTIER LEAGUE & FLOSPORTS PARTNERSHIP TALKING POINTS

What is the partnership between FloSports and the Frontier League?
The Frontier League has entered into a partnership with FloSports to exclusively broadcast all regular season league games, the Frontier League All-Star game, and league Playoffs on a digital only, OTT streaming service.

Why is this important?
The Frontier League now has a place to call home. Frontier League games can be viewed on ONE platform making it easier for fans to experience the best of Frontier League baseball anywhere, anytime and on any device.

The Frontier League and its teams believe live streaming sports on OTT platforms is the new way of media consumption, which is how the Frontier League’s fans and younger demographics are already consuming media. So we wanted to distribute our events to align with their viewing habits and the current viewership trends. In addition, FloSports can guarantee international distribution.

Why are we making this change and is it better than what we had before?
The Frontier League strives to give fans the best overall viewing experience and the FloSports platform takes us to the next level. In addition to game broadcasts FloSports will be the place where fans will have access to news and curated content around the Frontier League.

Fans can just log-in to FloSports and they’ll be able to watch a game live or on-demand anytime, anywhere. They can watch on their phones, TVs, desktops or through the app. This partnership allows us to reach fans where they are.

That’s great, but how much does this cost our fans?
FloSports offers both MONTHLY and ANNUAL subscriptions.

The monthly rate is $29.99 a month, billed monthly.

The annual subscription is a better value and saves you money in the long term. That subscription is billed once and at $149.88 annually. The annual subscription equates to almost a 60% savings from the monthly subscription.

It’s important to stress the value of the offering. Both the monthly and the annual subscription gives you access to the ENTIRE FloSports network. All their available collegiate and summer league baseball programming as well as football, motorsports, cycling, softball, wrestling, grappling, volleyball, cheerleading and other sports competitions, new and original films and documentaries, breaking news, exclusive interviews, training tips and more.

How do fans sign up?
Fans can sign up by visiting https://flosports.link/3vaEUVT

Have more questions?
Visit https://support.flosports.tv/s/

The Empire State Greys announced that they have invited 5 players to Spring Training out of the California Winter League today.

Kolton Kendrick, 25, is a big left handed first handed was drafted in the 8th round of the 2015 with the Minnesota Twins. Kendrick spent last season in the Poineer League. He will come in looking to earn a spot at spring training.

Max Peterson, a rookie, is a 6’0″ 175lbs right handed pitcher from Patterson, NY. The righty looked solid out of the California Winter League. Peterson will come in looking to earn a spot at spring training.

Austin Pollack, 26, is an outfielder from Harrison, NY. The 6’1 201lbs right hander spent a season with the Empire League and was signed to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs during 2021. Pollack will come in looking to earn a spot at spring training.

Eric Tellaroja is a Right handed rookie pitcher that impressed during the CWL. Eric will come in looking to earn a spot at spring training.

Robbie Carling, 23, is a 6’1″ infielder from Felton, California. Carling attended San Francisco State. Carling will come in looking to earn a spot at spring training.

The team will have its spring training where it will finalize its roster for the Regular Season prior to the season start. The Greys will open up on May 13, 2022 against the Gateway Grizzlies.

Article by Empire Greys Media