StevieLarson

#5: Starting a game at 5 a.m. The Saints game on May 8, 2005 set a record for the earliest start time for a professional game, with the first pitch thrown at 5:35 a.m. The promotion was centered around Mother’s Day, and drew a crowd of 2,253 to Midway Stadium. One of the giveaways was free cereal. The game ended in a 6-6 tie with the Sioux Falls Canaries, who left their hotel at 4 a.m. #4: The game that had no umpires Everyone who has played or coached baseball has had their share of run-ins with umpires who they didn’t like. On May 11, 2013, the Saints took care of the problem when they played the Gary Southshore Railcats with no umpires present. Balls and strikes were called by the catchers, with fielders making calls on the bases. If a play was close, a jury of Little Leaguers had the final decision. Despite the antics, the Saints pulled out a 4-3 win on a walk-off error. #3: 2008 US Senate Recount Minnesota’s 2008 US Senate election was one of, if not the closest, in the state’s history. It took until June to decide a winner. Incumbent Norm Coleman ® led after the initial Election Day counting, but his margin of victory was well under the 0.5% that triggered an automatic recount. When the recount was finally finished, Democrat Al Franken overtook Coleman and won the seat. The Saints decided to poke fun at the recount on May 23 when they gave out 2,500 bobbleheads that had the face of Franken on one side and Coleman on the other. During the game fans were asked to turn their bobblehead to either Coleman or Franken, and had attorneys present to count the votes. #2: Tweeting Weiner Boxer Shorts One of the political stories of 2011 was that US Congressman Anthony Weiner had used Twitter to send indecent photos of himself. The Saints poked fun at this on July 23 when the first 1,501 fans 18 or older received a pair of underwear that featured a hot dog posing for a photo that’s being taken by a blue bird who bears a remarkable similarity to the Twitter logo. The promotion continued even after the Congressman resigned from office. #1: St. Paul Raccoons It was a story of the little raccoon who could, and it captivated not only the area, but viewers all around the world. After the furry critter was rescued from the UBS building in St. Paul, it was honored on June 26 when the Saints changed their name to the Raccoons, and wore special jerseys for the night. They also gave out raccoon masks to the first 1,500 fans in attendance. The Saints could have used the raccoon, as they lost the game 5-2 to the Sioux City Explorers. The Saints will add to this list this week when they host a six-game homestand that will feature among other things a tribute night to the Fighting Saints. Tickets for all games can be found at saintsbaseball.com

Four of the teams are the original founders of the league who are still playing today. The league got its start when the St. Paul Saints, Lincoln Saltdogs, Sioux City Explorers and Sioux Falls Canaries all left the Northern League. They were joined by teams from the Central Baseball League, which was folding at that time. The St. Joe Blacksnakes were the 10th team in the league, which initially played a 96 game schedule, though that has since increased to 100 games. Business Model The league operates as a independent entity from affiliated teams, meaning that there is no parent club to pay for each team’s expenses. The league has set a salary cap for each team of $125,000. Rookies are paid a minimum of $1,200 per month. Roster Rules The league remains competitive due to a few reasons, but one of the most influential is the roster rules that each team must follow. Each team is limited to 23 active players at any given time. Each player is categorized by their years of service. A year of service for American Association players is 75 official at-bats or more in a National Association (i.e affiliated minor league) or independent league or leagues, or 30 innings or more pitched. For independent and short season/rookie league service, the first two years of service equals one National Association year. For foreign players, the classification and salary level will be determined by the league office. They are then slotted into categories from rookie (less than one year of service), LS-1 (less than two years, LS-2 (less than 3 years), LS-3 (etc.), LS-4, LS-5 and finally veterans, who have more than six years of service. In addition, if a player has six or more years of service but has not reached the age of 26 by September 1 of that season, he will be considered an LS-4. If he has not reached the age of 24 by September 1 of that season, he will be considered an LS-3. These are important because there are limits on how many of each category a team can have at one time. For example, each team must have a minimum of five rookies and a maximum of five veterans. The remaining players can be any combination of service times, with the rule that only six may be designated as LS-4. Right now, the Saints have five veterans on their roster, including former MLB pitcher Tom Wilhelmsen and first baseman Brady Shoemaker, who has spent time in the past with the Saints. Transaction Rules While the league is independent, it does employ similar transaction rules as affiliated teams use. The main rule is a player who is released must wait 10 days before being re-signed by the team that released him. Trades are quite common in the league, and while you do see typical player-for-player or player-for-cash swaps, fans also commonly see players traded to another team for a player to be named later. There are plenty of occurrences where the player to be named later has been the same player who was traded in the first place. Teams are able to place a maximum of two players on the disabled list, where they must remain for seven days before being eligible to be activated. Players can be placed on the DL retroactive to their injury, which can’t be longer then the last time they appeared in a game. Current Teams The league currently sits at 12 teams, with a 13th team scheduled to begin play in Milwaukee in 2019. The North division is made up of the Chicago Dogs, the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks, the Gary Southshore Railcats, the St. Paul Saints, the Sioux Falls Canaries and the most recent league champions the Winnipeg Goldeyes. The South Division consists of the Cleburne Railroaders, the Kansas City T-Bones, the Lincoln Saltdogs, the Sioux City Explorers, the Texas Airhogs and the Wichita Wingnuts. Most Successful Teams The Winnipeg Goldeyes have won three league championships, including each of the last two. The Wichita Wingnuts hold the league record for runner-up finishes with four. The Wingnuts have one league title, which came in 2014 after they swept the Lincoln Saltdogs 3-0 in the championship series. Other current teams to have won championships include the Gary Southshore Railcats (2013), the Saltdogs (2009) and the Sioux Falls Canaries (2008). The Texas Airhogs won the 2011 championship when they were known as the Grand Prairie Airhogs. Notable Alumni One of the most notable alumni is Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, who spent the 2006 season with the Fort Worth Cats. Twins fans will recognize some of the names of past players including Caleb Thielbar and Brandon Kintzler. Former Twins outfielder Jason Repko played for the Sioux Falls Canaries during the 2015 season. Kevin Millar, who was on the Boston Red Sox team that won the World Series in 2004 played for the Saints at the start of his career in 1993. Twins Finally, TV analyst and Hall-of-Fame inductee Jack Morris spent a short stint with the Saints in 1996. The Saints have yet to win a championship in the American Association, but have had many great seasons and are at the top of the North Division this year. They return to CHS Field this weekend for a six-game homestand with the Sioux Falls Canaries and Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks. The homestand will feature promotions such as Star Wars Night (June 8) and Toni Stone bobblehead giveaway (June 11.) Grab tickets at saintsbaseball.com.

Minor Rumblings Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reported on Sunday morning that Glen Perkins is scheduled to pitch on a rehab assignment for the Chattanooga Lookouts next Thursday, Sunday and Monday, with the goal of returning to the Twins shortly after. Prior to their game, the Chattanooga Lookouts placed CF LaMonte Wade on the seven-day disabled list with a right thumb sprain. Wade is batting .277 this season with six home runs in 95 games played. The 23-year old was a ninth-round draft pick for the Twins in 2015. Saturday night, GM Thad Levine told Aaron Gleeman of Baseball Prospectus that he is very impressed with Rochester OF Mitch Garver. Garver is batting .278 this season for the Red Wings with 16 home runs and 43 runs batted in. The 26-year old was a ninth-round selection of the Twins in 2013. Just after their games concluded, it was announced that LHP Stephen Gonsalves and RHP Luke Bard were transferred from Chattanooga to Rochester. Gonsalves is the Twins No. 3 prospect, and was 6-0 with a 2.36 ERA in his last nine starts. Twins Daily has learned that Edgar Corcino is heading back to the Lookouts. Another corresponding move will be needed on Monday. Red Wings Report Rochester 8, Syracuse 4 Box Score The Red Wings defeated the Syracuse Chiefs 8-4 on Sunday afternoon thanks to a four-run eighth inning that was capped off with an RBI double from J.B. Schuck. The Red Wings hit two home runs, as Zack Granite hit his fourth of the season in the first inning, and Kennys Vargas hit his eighth of the season in the third inning. On the mound, Aaron Slegers got the start and went five innings, giving up four runs and seven hits while recording six strikeouts. He ended up getting a no-decision, as Alex Wimmers threw two innings to pick up his third win of the season. Chattanooga Chatter Chattanooga 17, Jackson 5 Box Score The Lookouts absolutely thrashed the Jackson Generals on Sunday afternoon, as they put up eight runs in the first inning and four in the second inning to essentially end the game before it even got started. Despite putting up such high numbers, it was not a game filled with home runs, as the first came in the fourth inning off the bat of Andy Wilkins, and the second and final homer came in the fifth off the bat of Brian Navarreto. Navarreto was also the top hitter, going 3-5 with five runs batted in. On the mound, Zack Littell got the start, and went 5.2 innings, giving up eight hits and five runs while recording five strikeouts. The next two pitchers for the Lookouts combined to give up just one hit while locking down the huge win for the Lookouts. Miracle Matters Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 4 (10 innings) Box Score After jumping out to a 4-1 lead after the first inning thanks to home runs from Tanner English (his seventh) and Zander Wiel (his ninth), the Miracle ended up going to extra innings against the Jupiter Hammerheads. In the bottom of the 10th, the Miracle walked-off after a single from Wiel that scored English. Sean Poppen got the start for the Miracle, and only lasted three innings, giving up three runs on six hits with three strikeouts. The win was credited to Andrew Vasquez, who pitched the 10th and gave up one hit but struck out two. It is his first win of the season for the Miracle. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 0 Box Score The Kernels didn't have a big inning, but they used a run here and a run there to down the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday afternoon. The Kernels were led by Shane Carrier, who went 3-4 with two runs scored and two home runs. On the mound, Charlie Barnes got the start, and picked up the win, his first of the season for Cedar Rapids, having just recently been promoted from Elizabethton. He went five innings, giving up just two hits and no runs while recording seven strikeouts. Logan Lombana and Ryan Mason each followed with two innings of shutout ball to end the game for the Kernels. E-Twins E-Notes Elizabethton 3, Bluefield 8 Box Score The lone loss for Twins affiliates came in the final game of the night when the Bluefield Blue Jays defeated the Elizabethton Twins 8-3. The Twins put up two runs in the top of the first, but the Blue Jays responded with two of their own in the bottom of the inning, and capped it off with a five-run fourth inning to sink the Twins. GCL Twins Takes Did not play. Twins Daily Players of the Day Pitcher - Charlie Barnes (CR) (5.1 IP, 7 strikeouts) Hitter - Shane Carrier (CR) (3-4, 2 home runs) Monday's probable starters Rochester - Tim Melville Chattanooga - TBD Fort Myers - Eduardo Del Rosario Cedar Rapids - Tyler Beardsley Elizabethton - TBD GCL Twins - TBD