Classic Baseball Union

Sioux Falls Underdogs

October 31, 2007 – The third time is the charm for the Sioux Falls Underdogs. The Underdogs have struggled to perform when it counted in years past, but unlike the 2001 and 2005 teams, the Underdogs top the Galveston Bayhawks.

Jimmy Carr, 38, OF

Although like those 2001 and 2005 the staple of the franchise has been outfielder Jimmy Carr. Carr, 38, set off a flurry of achievements this year by hitting his 2,000th hit and 500th home runs earlier this season. While only participating in 109 games this season, Carr still lead the Underdogs with 28 home runs, while hitting .265 and playing stellar defense.

Right next to Carr, Santiago Silva also has been apart of the franchise since 1996 and patrolling the outfield. This year Silva hit .296 while getting on base 41% of the time. Silva added 10 homers and 17 stolen bases on the year. The final cornerstone for the Underdogs franchise has been battling injuries over the last two seasons. P Todd McCarty who has pitched over 2,000 innings for the Underdogs from 1997-2005, has only pitched 176 in the last two seasons. McCarty has been a two time Sandy Koufax Award winner, but used his leadership from the bench.

The Underdogs started their 2007 post-season campaign by sweeping their interstate rivals, the Rapid City Outlaws, in four games. The Underdogs then took the Canadian Dijon squad to seven games before closing out game 7 at home. Finally the Galveston Bayhawks returned to the CBU Championship for their second straight appearance, but again failed to compete with the dominating Landis League opponents.

The Landis League now leads the Giamatti League 9 championships to 5. Interestingly their has been 8 of the 10 Landis Leagues teams as representatives in the CBU Championships series, as well as 8 in the Giamatti League. Only four teams in the CBU have failed to have a chance at the Championship.