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Goldeyes players ready to celebrate
The Winnipeg Goldeyes pose with their trophy after winning the American Association Championship against Wichita, Kansas Friday night. (FERNANDO SALAZAR / WICHITA EAGLE)
It could have been any Sunday afternoon of the 2012 baseball season as members of the Winnipeg Goldeyes were sitting around in the team's clubhouse.
Except for one massive difference -- there's a championship to celebrate.
Members of the 2012 American Association champion Winnipeg Goldeyes players gathered for one last time this season to share it with their fans at a special Championship Celebration evening beginning at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5:30 p.m.) at Shaw Park.
Highlights from the Game 3 championship-clinching 8-3 victory last Friday over the Wichita Wingnuts in Lawrence-Dumont Stadium will be shown on the video board, the trophy and banner displayed and a meet-and-greet with the players to follow.
Position players who will be in attendance include third baseman Amos Ramon, first baseman Josh Mazzola, left-fielder Kyle Day, right-fielder Mike Coles, centre fielder Chris Roberson and catcher Luis Alen along with pitchers Matt Rusch, Ace Walker, Brian Beuning and Zach Baldwin, among others.
The Goldeyes, who earned the wild card into the league playoffs after Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks won the North division, went on a six-game winning streak in the playoffs. The Goldeyes swept Fargo 3-0 in the semifinal series, including wins in the first two games in Fargo, and then swept the Wichita Wingnuts 3-0, winning the last game on the road.
The event at Shaw Park is meant to share the victory and the excitement with the team's fans. The Goldeyes led the league with an average of 5,705 fans per game and were tops in total attendance at 285,263.
Most of the team, despite fact that many live across the USA and elsewhere, are expected to be at the event. Not in attendance are second baseman Yurendell de Caster, shortstop Price Kendall, infielder Jose Duran, designated hitter Barbaro Canizares and pitcher Todd Privett who all returned to their respective homes straight from Wichita.
"It's been a little surreal. I think it finally kicked in when I got back home and saw my wife. It's been fun. It's been crazy. These past six games, it went by so fast. I didn't think it was going to happen like that but I'm glad it did," said Ramon, who has made his home here for the past two years as his wife is from Winnipeg.
Ramon played for Winnipeg in 2006, went to the Frontier League where he won two championships and has been a member of the Goldeyes for the past two seasons.
"The guys knew. The guys could feel it in the playoffs with how loud the stadium was, I've never heard Shaw Park like that. The last time I heard something like that was the Bruins playing the Jets when I was there for that and that was pretty loud. It's great for the city. They deserve it just as much as we do. It's great. I can't believe we did it."
Ramon said the team got in at 5 a.m. on Friday and there were two fans in the parking lot of Shaw Park to greet them.
"That was the only bad thing, was that we couldn't win it here," Ramon said. "I just can't wait (for) tonight, all those fans that didn't get to see it, and have the cup here and let them see what we accomplished and what we accomplished as a city."
Rusch has also moved to Winnipeg, as his girlfriend was transferred here earlier this year. He said he plans to spend the winter in Winnipeg and can't wait to share the championship with Goldeyes fans. About 30 fans made the 15-hour drive to Wichita to watch the team win the title last Friday night.
"People always say when they come to Winnipeg, it's a great situation. I wasn't a part of that until this year. To actually see it come to fruition, to see all the fans and how much support they give you, it really means a lot ," said Rusch, the winning pitcher in the third game against Wichita, the third game against Fargo and the wild-card clinching win on Sept. 1. "Tonight is going to be a nice night. We've done our celebrating but this is for the city of Winnipeg, to thank all our fans for coming out to support us all summer."
Ramon missed all of the 2011 season after injuring his knee in the first game and then missed 27 games this season in June and early July with a shoulder injury.
"I was able to bounce back. This game is so funny, you can go from one extreme to the next," Ramon said. "Me and my wife talked about it. I went from being injured to not playing a single game last year to complete turnaround to win the whole thing."
Twitter: @WFPAshleyPrest
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