Fish catchers have size EEEE spikes to fill

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This article was published 16/08/2016 (3540 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rick Forney admits taking a major gamble the day he signed an unproven, rather light-hitting catcher named Luis Alen with the hope he might be able to solidify one of the most important positions in baseball.

“We took a shot on him. We rolled the dice. He didn’t really have any kind of offensive numbers,” Forney recalls of the 2007 move.

It paid off in a major way. Alen would play seven memorable seasons in Winnipeg, becoming the Goldeyes’ all-time leader in hits, doubles, RBIs and walks.

Forney decided to take another leap of faith again this past off-season — shipping his all-star catcher out of town in one of the biggest trades in club history.

“By far that was the toughest decision I ever had to make here because Luis Alen is my favourite Goldeye of all time,” Forney told the Free Press.

Alen’s exit opened the door for a pair of younger, more athletic catchers to try and make their mark in Winnipeg. It wasn’t an easy situation for Carlton Tanabe and Tanner Murphy to step into. But the newcomers have embraced the opportunity with open arms.

“There was a lot of hype about ‘Oh, you’re replacing Luis Alen.’ You know, I’m just here to play, do my best. Give what I have to offer to the team, hope it’s enough to help the team win,” said Tanabe.

The 24-year-old from Honolulu spent last year playing single-A ball in the Seattle Mariners organization. When his rights weren’t retained, he had to begin scouring the independent circuit for work.

“I thought it would be bad baseball. You hear stories about independent baseball. But I come here and it’s like ‘Wow, these guys are here to play,’” said Tanabe. “You’ve got veterans, big league guys, guys throwing 96 and 97 (m.p.h.). I thought nobody would hit 90 here. These guys are bringing gas, hitting bombs.”

Tanabe has started 45 games at catcher this season. He’s batting .238 with three home runs and 30 RBIs. Although he admits there’s room for improvement in his personal stats, Tanabe takes pride in one category.

“Wins,” he said. “As long as we have more runs than they do, you’re probably doing the job the right way.”

The Goldeyes are 46-32 on the season and in a wild-card playoff spot heading into the final stretch of the season.

“I want to get my starting pitcher at least through six. If I can get him through seven, eight, nine innings, obviously that’s a plus,” said Tanner Murphy, who is Tanabe’s partner-in-crime behind the plate this season.

Murphy, 24, played single-A ball in the Baltimore Orioles system last season before being cut loose. He said they’ve now got a good thing going with the Goldeyes.

“Tanabe and I get along well, handle the pitching staff well. It shows in the record,” said Murphy.

“We’ve got a lot of younger players. It’s a good culture in here. A lot of us are still fresh out of affiliated ball. The group of guys we have right now, there’s not a better vibe in the locker room.”

Murphy has started 33 games at catcher, batting .216 with one home run and 15 RBIs.

“We’ve got two young kids. There’s been some growing pains with it, and it’s still ongoing. But I think for the most part they’ve done a pretty good job,” Forney said.

“I would say our catching situation is probably as good as anybody in the league, if not better. When you look at the total package — offence, defence, receiving, game calling, throwing — seven days a week what you put behind the plate, ours is as good as anybody.”

Alen, meanwhile, is continuing his American Association success with the Lincoln Saltdogs this season. He’s batting .300 through 75 games, with six home runs and 42 RBIs. Lincoln is 41-38 on the year and 5½ games back of the Goldeyes in the wild-card chase.

“Luis is a good person. He was great in the clubhouse. He was a warrior. He was tough. He was given a chance to blossom,” Forney said.

“He can still hit now. But it kind of got to a point where we had to make a decision. We had to get a little bit younger, a little bit more athletic.”

In return for Alen, the Goldeyes picked up pitchers Kevin McGovern and Conor Spink. McGovern has made 16 starts this season, going 5-3 with a 4.34 ERA. Spink began the year in the bullpen but struggled mightily, eventually being released by the team last month.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca