Hot Stove Action Continues...

Last year at this time, the Rafters were hardly a thought in the minds and hearts of the citizens of Wisconsin Rapids and the surrounding communities. Just one year later, the team has already announced that three key contributors from the inaugural season roster are under contract for 2011.

With plenty more signings expected before the snow melts and the blades of grass turn green again, let's take a closer look at a few 2010 highlights from the returning players announced thus far.

Make sure to stay tuned to raftersbaseball.com throughout the offseason for the enveiling of the entire 2011 squad!

Returning Players Announced:

Brad Douthit-LHP (USC)
2010 with Rafters: Appeared in 23 games and posted a team best 2.44 ERA in relief...Limited opponents to a .244 batting average while striking out 31 batters spanning 48 innings of work...Finished 9 of the Rafters games last season while recording 2 saves.





Tommy Organ-LHP (North Florida)
2010 with Rafters: Appeared in 16 games while making 8 starts...Posted a 1-3 record to go along with a 4.39 ERA and struck out a team-high 54 batters in 53.1 innings of work...On July 23rd vs. Wisconsin he struck out a season-high 11 batters in 6.1 innings.





Justin Jirschele-2B (UW-Stevens Point)
2010 with Rafters: Appeared in 28 games for the Rafters last summer...batted .203 with 5 RBI before a shoulder injury forced him to be shut down for the remainder of the summer...Was part of some early Fourth of July fireworks last year by scoring the game-winning run in a thrilling 4-3 walk-off win over the La Crosse Loggers on Sunday, July 4th.

Make sure to follow these returning Rafters and all of the future Rafters during their spring seasons at their respective colleges.

Happy Holidays!

-John

If You Work Hard, You'll Reap the Benefits

My parents always instilled in me that if you 'put in the time and work hard at something, it will eventually pay off in the long run'.  They couldn't have been more accurate with that statement.  Liz Kern, general manager for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, manifests again that this advice was valid.

If you have worked in sports, you know that the days can be demanding, you always have a new challenge to overcome, and your typical day of work consists of around 14 hours of chaos.  The reason why anyone would choose to continue to work in such an environment is puzzling to some.  We do it for the love of athletics, our competitive nature, and the desire to enhance the lives of others by promoting something that we are passionate about. 

Liz Kern has demonstrated her passion for her craft and has recently been acknowledged for her efforts by multiple observers.  Kern was named Northwoods League Executive of the Year, after guiding the inaugural season efforts of the expansion Wisconsin Rapids Rafters this past summer.  Today, she was again recognized nationally after being named a recipient of the Ballpark Digest Executive of the Year award. Both honors were well deserved. She engineered a team which drew 1,368 fans per game, ranking the Rafters 7th out of 16 teams in the Northwoods League, while exisiting in the third smallest market.  Not bad for a team that was near the bottom in the league standings for a good portion of the year.

I have been fortunate to have seen Liz's work ethic on a daily basis, and am privileged to be able to learn from one of the best in the business.  I have worked with many people that I consider top-notch executives in the world of sports, and Liz is right at the top of the list.  Her persistence, passion, and drive to always improve, both personally and professionally, highlight the reasons her hard work has now lead her to reap the benefits. I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to work beside this genuine executive, mentor, and friend.
Below are links to the articles for her recent awards:
http://ballparkdigest.com/201010193188/awards/news/executives-of-the-year-dannemiller-kern-venuto
http://www.raftersbaseball.com/rafters-gm-liz-kern-named-northwoods-league-executive-of-the-year.html

-John