DANS DABO DELIVERS

David (Dabo) Worthington (Dans 08'), a sophomore at Danville Area Community College, has been named 1st Team All-American by the NJCAA. In addition to that honor, he has been awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove, following in the footsteps of DACC's Ben Wolgomot (Dans 06'& 07'). The Dans home opener is scheduled for June 6.

NAPPIE CONTINUES HOT HAND

Jason Nappi, 2007 Danville Dan, continues to hit at a blistering pace for his Mississippi State Bulldogs, sporting a .519 batting average through seven games. One of Nappi's 3 home runs includes a grand slam, to give his team the lead and eventual win, against UAB (University of Alabama Birmingham). Jason's current stats include 11 runs, 14 hits, 3 doubles and 9 RBI's.

GRIFFIN ADDS TO HONORS

After being named a Louisville Slugger All American, A.J.Griffin (Dans 2007-San Diego) added to his honors by being named an All-American by Rivals.com. "It isn't often that a freshman steps in and becomes a premier closer in his first season. However, Griffin was an exception last season. The talented right-hander had a season to remember." While with the Dans, A.J. was one of the most feared pitchers in the league, holding opposition batters to a .147 batting average and striking out 1.39 batters per inning.

8th DAN HEADING TO MLB CAMP

Danville Dan, Wes Roemer (2005 – Cal State Fullerton) has been invited to Spring Training with the Arizona Diamondbacks, bringing the number of Dans invited to major league camps to eight.

As a sophomore at Cal State Fullerton, the first man to draw a walk off Roemer was the 253rd man he faced – that walk came on April Fool’s day. While with the Dans, Roemer’s 1.59 ERA was 2nd in the league behind Ryan Byrd (Dans – LSU). Byrd finished the year with a 1.91 era, on a team that finished in 1st place at 34-10 under Head Coach Jamie Sailors.

Wes was drafted by Arizona in the first round of the 2007 draft.

TWINS PROMOTE TOLBERT TO 40-MAN ROSTER

The Minnesota Twins added Matt Tolbert (Dans 2001 - Ole' Miss) to their 40-man roster on Tuesday. Tolbert, 25, batted .293 with 24 doubles and seven triples in 121games for Rochester last season. The infielder was also selected as the Twin's representative for the 2007 MBL Futures game and also participated in the Triple-A-All Star Game. Drafted in the 16th round of the 2004 First Year Player Draft, Matt has a career .280 average in four Minor League seasons. Seven players from the 34-16-0 Dans team have, or are, playing professional baseball. Those include David Coffey (Georgia), Tim Hutting (Long Beach), Nick Conte (St. Mary's), Edgar Varella (Long Beach), Dustin Scheffel (Sac City), Jon Papelbon (Mississippi State - Boston Red Sox) and Eric Stultz (Bethel College - Los Angeles Dodgers. The 2001 Dans were coached by Bill Ferrari.

COACHES CORNER…..

Over twenty coaches, who have come through the Dans’ system as players or coaches, have found careers in the coaching ranks.

MIKE HUTCHEON was the 1st head coach of the Danville Dans (1989-1993). He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under college baseball coaching legend Ron Polk at Mississippi State. “Hutch” is currently head baseball coach of the U.S. Air Force Academy Falcon baseball team. A native of Gunnison, Co., Mike is married to Laura, his wife of 18 years. The couple are parents of four children; two daughters, Manie (17), and Mary Garland (Gigi – 9), and two sons, Dane (13) and Hal (7).

XAN BARKSDALE (Dans 2002) is beginning his 2nd season as a Louisville Cardinal assistant coach, having helped guide the club to an NCAA World Series run last season. His primary responsibilities are hitters and catchers. Barksdale joined the Cardinal staff after spending 3 seasons in the Atlanta Braves system. He received his bachelor’s degree in marketing, with a minor in math, while playing baseball at Ole' Miss under current Cardinal Head Coach, Dan McDonnell, a Rebel assistant at the time. Xan’s hometown is Madison, Mississippi.

DANS GIVE NOD TO COACHING STAFF

In his 2nd season managing the Danville Dans, Pete Paciorek will be joined in 2008 by Mack Paciorek and Joe Verplancke.

After playing professional baseball in the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers’ organizations for 9 years, Pete began his coaching career at Whittier College before moving to Cal State-Los Angeles, where he helped lead the team to the best overall record in school history. A San Gabriel, CA native, Pete earned his B.A. in Communications from Cal State LA as well as his Master’s in Organizational Communication and Leadership. He is currently the Head Coach at Principia College. Pete and his wife Sarah reside in Elsah, Il.

Mack, brother of manager Pete Paciorek, was drafted by the Detroit Tigers as an infielder and played professional ball for four years. He is currently Head Coach at San Marino High School in Southern California. He also works with various colleges providing professional infield instruction. Paciorek and his wife Keri have one son (Luke) and reside in Pomona, Ca.

Joe Verplancke attended Cal State LA where he was a two sport athlete (soccer and baseball) and was drafted as a pitcher after his junior year by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 8th round. He was a member of the 1997 High Desert Mavericks (California League) Championship Team. Joe and his wife Erin reside in Corona, CA where Joe is a teacher and Head Baseball Coach at Diamond Ranch High School.

The Dans coaching staff brings a combined 18 years of professional baseball knowledge to the Dans.

SLIDERS JOIN CICL FOR 2008 SEASON

The Danville Dans will be adding the Springfield Sliders to their schedule this summer as a new team joins the CICL. Co-owner, Jesse Boulder, made the announcement this week during the leagues annual meeting held in Philadelphia. The Sliders will play at Lanphier Park and will be coached by Dylan Putnam.

DANS CONTINUE TO GARNER HONORS

Aaron Weatherford (Dans 2006/Mississippi State) has been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-America Team (2nd Team) adding to his Wallace List selection.

Kiel Rolling (Dans 2006/Arizona State) has added to his list of honors earning 1st Team All-Pac-10 honors and 1st Team All-American honors from the ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association, to go along with his 2nd Team All-America NCBWA award (see November blog).

The All-America squads consist of 39 players from 19 different conferences. A complete list can be seen at http://www.sportswriters.net/ncbwa/

CICL TO HOLD ANNUAL MEETING

The CICL (Central IL Collegiate League) will hold their annual meeting in Philadelphia on January 3-6 at the American Baseball Coaches Convention (ABCA). In addition to the league meeting, the CICL will meet with Major League Baseball and the NASCB (National Association of Summer Collegiate Baseball). The league agenda will include the 2008 schedule, expected to be confirmed and released immediately following the convention. Danville Dans management will meet with a variety of coaches, key to Dans recruiting efforts. In addition to league meetings and a trade show, the conference will include workshops with presentations by some of the nation’s top coaches and professional players.

DANS HONORED FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

This fall, the Mississippi State Baseball team lead all other men’s teams with a composite grade point average of 3.23. Three Danville Dans, Jet Butler (2007), Nick Hardy (2005-2006), and Andy Wilson (2004), were among the 7 players attaining a perfect 4.0. They were joined by Jason Nappi (2007), named to the President’s Scholar list, and Ricky Bowen (2007), earning Dean’s Scholar honors. Great job Dans!

PAPELBON UPDATE

Baseball America should be required reading for the serious baseball fan (www.baseballamerica.com), a great Christmas present if you need to do some last minute shopping! A little humor regarding Jon Papelbon (Dans 2001) from this month’s Peter Gammons' column. “Boston has the luxury of an elite closer in Jonathan Papelbon, whose stuff and makeup are off the charts. He is fearless, and he is Fingers-esque, as in Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, who saved 341 games, won the 1981 AL MVP and Cy Young awards, and closed for three World Series Winners. In the bottom of the 9th in Game Two of the AL Division Series against the Angels, as David Ortiz was being walked intentionally to bring up Manny Ramirez, Papelbon asked Francona (Red Sox Manager), whether or not he would pitch the 10th inning if they scored. “If we score Pap, it’s over,” laughed a teammate. And Ramierz drilled a three-run homer.” Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to players, friends and fans!

3rd DAN JOINS TOP PROSPECT LIST

Wes Roemer (Dans 2005) joins Dans alumni Van Pope and Chris Coghlin (see November 17 posting) in being recognized by Baseball America as a Top 10 Prospect for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Drafted in 2007 (1st round supplemental) Wes spent the 2007 minor league season with the Arizona Diamondbacks Yakima club with limited work, after pitching 144 innings during the spring season with Cal State Fullerton. Roemer is expected to begin the 2008 in Visalia (CA).

DAN WINS ALL-AMERICAN HONORS

2007 Danville Dan alumni, Kiel Roling, has been named, by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), 2nd Team All-American after a dominating season in Tempe where he hit 15 homers, drove in 63 runs, and finished the season batting .356. He also earned 1st Team All-American honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). Kiel’s season with the Dans was cut short due to an injury. He is completely mended and looking forward to the 2008 season with Arizona State. Arizona State opens their season Feb. 22nd at home with Miami (Ohio).

WALLACE WATCH LIST

Danville Dans Aaron Weatherford (2006 - Mississippi State)and A.J. Griffin (2007 - Univ. of San Diego) have been named to the preseason watch list for the 2008 Brooks Wallace Award. The Wallace Award is presented to the nation's top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the College Baseball Hall of Fame annual induction to be held July 3, 2008 on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

Weatherford completed the 2007 campaign at Mississippi State as one of the SEC's top relief pitchers with five saves and a 1.82 ERA in 14 relief stints. He earned a pair of saves and did not allow a run in four clutch NCAA regional/super regional relief appearance. While with the Dans, Aaron sported a .083 ERA.

A first-team All-West Coast Conference selection, Griffin finished his freshman year at USD recording 11 saves to place second at the school in that category, trailing only Tony Perez's (13 saves in 2003). Griffin posted an overal record of 6-2 with a team-leading 2.70 ERA. While with the Dans, A.J. posted a 2.61 ERA with 43 strikeouts in a closing role and held the opponents to a .147 Batting Average.

The Wallace Award is dedicated to former Texas Tech player and assistant coach, Brooks Wallace (1977-1980, who succumbed to cancer at the young age of 27.

Other Dans alumni previously named to the watch list are Chris Choglan (Dans 2004 - Ole Miss) and Paul Coleman (Dans 2004 - Pepperdine.

ALUMNI NEWS

Four Dans are currently playing in the Arizona Fall League which began in early October and ends in mid-November. Danville's Jason Anderson (Dans 1998, 1999, Univ. of IL), J.C. Holt (Dans 2002. Ole' Miss), Chris Coghlin (Dans 2004, Ole' Miss), and Steve Hammond (Dans 2004, Long Beach) were chosen in August in a Major League Baseball (MLB) position draft. Players selected were Double-A and Triple-A Minor Leaguers. Each club opted to send one player considered a Single-A player. The teams are not exclusive affiliates of any one MLB team, instead, each team provides 6 players to fill the 30 man roster of each fall league team. Over 60% of the players who have played in the Arizona Fall league have made the majors. Some notables are: Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Tony Pena, and Alfonso Soriano. You can follow these Dans alumni by going to www.mlb.com. J.C. plays for the Peoria Javelinas, Steve for the Mesa Solar Sox, and Jason and Chris for the Peoria Saguaros. Of special interest, look for Steve Hammond’s Player Journal.

Dans news!

The Danville Dans would like to say thanks to our sponsors, host families, and fans for a great 2007! Watch this blog for who the new team/s in the league will be, the 2008 Preseason roster, and other news about the Dans and Danville Stadium.

Congratulations to Danville Dan, Jon Papelbon (Dans 2001, Mississippi State). He finished a World Series Championship run (Red Sox) with 3 saves and a zero ERA. Jon is from Baton Rouge, attended Mississippi State, and played here under Coach Bill Ferrari. The Moederndorfer's were his host family.