The Wandering Disciple

Thanks to a horrible decision by Major League Baseball to destroy the culture of Minor League Baseball, small towns across the country saw professional baseball in their communities disappear almost overnight.  At the direction of MLB, over forty teams were eliminated from the minors.  This restructure hit home as the Charlotte Stone Crabs were one of the teams effected by the restructuring.  A Tampa Bay Rays affiliate since 2009, the four time division champion and 2015 league champion will no longer be affiliated with Tampa Bay as the Rays moved their Advanced-A affiliate to Charleston for the 2021 season.  (Photo: September 9, 2015)

Minor League Baseball has a slogan of "Where the stars of tomorrow, play today." While this holds true most of the time, but it some instances it is where the stars of the game play too. Typically when a major league player goes on the disabled list for an extended period of time, they find themselves playing a few games in the minor leagues to prepare for their return to the big league club. Like this throwback to 2017 when Tampa Bay Rays reliever Brad Boxberger made an appearance with the Advanced-A Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League prior to being activated from the disabled list. (Photo: June 27, 2017)

Debuting with a new team after being promoted is always a big deal. But its made even better when you have a big day at the plate and help lift your club to victory. That’s exactly what Niko Hulsizer did during his Stone Crabs debut, going 3 for 4 in his first Florida State League game. (Photo: August 18, 2019)

Fifty years ago, a farm field in New York was turned into festival of peace and music for the Bethel Rock Festival, more famously known as Woodstock. While the world celebrated the anniversary of this historic event, the Charlotte Stone Crabs are paying tribute by becoming the Charlotte Harbor Hippies for the weekend for baseball, tie-dye and classic music. The Hippies will go into the record books undefeated as they went 3-0 on the weekend. (Photo: August 18, 2019)

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs opened the week with a three game set against the Clearwater Threshers. The Stone Crabs fueled by a strong pitching effort and a powerful offensive attack blanked the visiting little Phillies 7-0 on Tuesday night at Charlotte Sports Complex. The Stone Crabs broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning. Taylor Walls singled followed by walk issued to Rays rehabbing catcher Mike Zunino. A double by Thomas Milone scored Walls for the first run of the game. Then a two run single by Moises Gomez scored Zunino and Milone to give the Stone Crabs a 3-0 lead. The Stone Crabs added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Zunino and Ronaldo Hernandez singled followed by Jim Haley reaching after being hit by a pitch to load the bases. Carl Chester then drove home a run the hard way, getting struck by a pitch to score Zunino to increase the lead to 4-0.  Charlotte added a pair more in the sixth. Walls doubl...

Who says pitchers can't get air. Stone Crabs reliever Simon Rosenblum-Larson leaps for a ball during warm-ups between innings. (Photo: May 26, 2019)

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs watched their late lead dissolve in the top of the ninth as they fell to the Palm Beach Cardinals 7-4 on Sunday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park. The Stone Crabs jumped out to an early lead by scoring in the first inning. Moises Gomez doubled to center, scoring Ronaldo Hernandez and giving the Stone Crabs a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals tied the game an inning on a solo home run by Luken Baker, his fourth of the season. Palm Beach grabbed he lead an inning later on a bases loaded free pass to Julio Rodriguez to score Justin Toerner and give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.  The Stone Crabs tied the game in the fifth. Thomas Milone delivered a soft single to left, scoring Jake Palomaki to tie the game. They then took the lead back in the seventh by pushing across a pair of runs in the frame. First came on an RBI single by Jim Haley and then a sac fly by Milone put the Stone Crabs out in front 4-2. But the Cardinals bounced bac...

Watch it fly and say good-bye.  Garret Whitley touches them all after crushing a home run in Tuesday's game against Fort Myers.  Whitley is a Top-30 prospect for the Tampa Bay Rays and First Round Draft Pick from 2015.  (Photo: May 7, 2019)

Charlotte Stone Crabs outfielder Moises Gomez tracks a fly ball under a sunny Floridian sky.  The Stone Crabs are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Florida State League.  Advanced-A is roughly the midway point in the path to the majors which begins at rookie ball and leads all the way through Triple-A and then the pros.  (Photo: April 14, 2019)

Charlotte Stone Crabs Carl Chester slides safely into third. Chester went from first to third on a pick-off attempt that sailed into the outfield, providing some excitement during a tie ball game. While he would be stranded just 90 feet from home, the Stone Crabs still managed to win the game in extra innings. (Photo: April 7, 2019)

Charlotte Sports Park: The first place Charlotte Stone Crabs returned to the field at Charlotte Sports Park to host the St Lucie Mets for game two of a four game series on Tuesday night. It wasn’t the night for the Stone Crabs as they struggled to counter the mound domination by Mets starter Joe Cavallaro is his FSL debut as they fell 5-1. The Mets broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third. Andres Gimenez single to center, scoring Ian Strom to put the Mets ahead 1-0. The Mets added to their lead in the sixth inning. Jeremy Vasquez doubled to center which drove home Michael Paez to increase the lead to 2-0. The Stone Crabs avoided the shut-out by scoring their lone run in the bottom of the seventh. Jermaine Palacious delivered an RBI single that scored Rene Pinto to make it 2-1. The Mets distanced themselves in the final two frames, pushing two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth. TJ Rivera had an RBI single followed by an RBI single by Gene Cone in the eig...

Port Charlotte, Florida: With temperatures heating up in the Sunshine State to start July, the action on the field is getting just as hot as the boys of summer head into the Independence Day week with a Sunday afternoon game at Charlotte Sports Park. After splitting the first two games of the series the Charlotte Stone Crabs hosted the Tampa Tarpons in the rubber match of the three game set. The Tarpons jumped out to an early lead by scoring in the second inning.   They loaded the bases following a walk to Brandon Wagner, a single by Dom Thompson-Williams and a walk to Steven Sensley.   A bases loaded passed ball allowed Wagner to score and give Tampa a 1-0 lead. Tampa added to their lead in the fifth.   Angel Aguilar tripled to right and later scored on a RBI single by Kyle Holder to make it 2-0 Tarpons. The Stone Crabs wasted no time to tie the game, pushing across a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Following a lead off single by David Olemedo-Barr...

Stone Crabs manager Brady Williams argues his point with a Florida State League umpire during a minor league baseball game in 2013.  Williams was the skipper for the Rays Advanced-A affiliate that season and is now currently coaching the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits.  (Photo: July 27, 2013)

Port Charlotte, Florida: The Charlotte Stone Crabs kept their postseason chances alive by delivering a thrilling walk-off win in the series opener against the Clearwater Threshers on Friday night at Charlotte Sports Park. The Stone Crabs left an early lead disappear in the late inning but thanks to ninth inning heroics by the home team, the Stone Crabs sent fans home with a 3-2 victory. Things got scary for Rays fans in the top of the first inning. Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Andriese got the start for the Stone Crabs on an MLB rehab assignment. However the rehab didn’t last long as he took a line drive to the leg on the second pitch of the night prompting his removal from the game and further testing. The Stone Crabs broke the scoreless tie by scoring a pair of runs in the second frame. They put runners on first and second following back to back singles by Riley Unroe and Thomas Milone. Unroe then scored on a single by Jonah Heim and Milone later scored on a single by Luci...

Port Charlotte, Florida: After being closed for a few days due to a damaged backstop net, Charlotte Sports Park returned to action on Tuesday nights as the Charlotte Stone Crabs welcomed the Daytona Tortugas to town. The game started out with both team throwing a pair of runs on the scoreboard, but afterwards the Tortugas took control, handing the home team a 7-2 loss. Despite Charlotte having Rays reliever Tommy Hunter on the mound, Daytona struck first in the opening frame. They led off the inning with back to back singles by Alfredo Rodriguez and Shed Long. Rodriguez scored on a ground out by Nick Senzel. Long later scored on a wild pitch to give Daytona a 2-0 lead. The Stone Crabs bounced back to tie the game in the second inning. Brett Sullivan led off the inning with a double to center. Sullivan then scored following a throwing error on a Ryan Boldt bunt single. Boldt later scored on an RBI single by Jake Fraley to tie the game. Daytona regained the lead in the thi...

Port Charlotte, Florida: In the game of baseball, one unluckly hop can make or break a game and that was the storyline Tuesday night as the Charlotte Stone Crabs fell to the Dunedin Blue Jays 10-3 at Charlotte Sports Park. That one unlucky hop came on a two out ground ball that extended the inning for the Blue Jays, allowing them to push across six runs to take a commanding lead. The Blue Jays broke the scoreless tie by taking advantage of that critical Stone Crab error in the second inning. The Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out. Charlotte starter Michael Velasquez quickly recorded a strikeout for the second out of the inning. Then it look like he was about to get out of the inning with no harm, a ground ball to third took a bad hop resulting in the third baseman Kevin Padlo overthrowing first which allowed Juan Kelly and Lane Thomas to score. Cavan Biggio drew a walk to reload the bases before a grand slam by Max Pentecost would clear the bases and give the Blue Jays ...

Port Charlotte, Florida: After starting the season with seven straight losses, the Charlotte Stone Crabs have won 2 of three against the Lakeland Flying Tigers and hoped to finish the series with a win on Sunday to give them their first series win of 2017. But Lakeland had other plans as they rode the back of a great performance by starting pitcher Beau Burrows to a 4-2 win. Both starters, Burrows of Lakeland and Genesis Cabrera for Charlotte were great from the start. They exchanged zeros on the scoreboard until Lakeland reached for a run in the top of the fourth. That’s when Ross Kivett reached on an error to put a runner on the bases. He moved all the way to third on a wild pitch and a passed ball. Kivett then scored on a sac fly by Will Allen to break the scoreless tie and give the Flying Tigers a 1-0 lead. Lakeland pushed across a pair of runs in the seventh inning. Allen led off the inning with a double to left followed by a single to right by Joey Pankake. Allen the...

Stone Crabs catcher Mark Thomas takes a trip to the mound to talk things over with pitcher Frank De Los Santos during a minor league game in 2011.  (Photo: April 17, 2011)

Stone Crabs first base coach Joe Szekely welcomes lead-off hitter Brett Nommenson at first after drawing a walk during a minor league baseball game in 2011.  (Photo: April 9, 2011)

Baseball's Iron Man, Cal Ripken, throws out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day for the Charlotte Stone Crabs in 2011.  The Hall of Fame infielder from the Baltimore Orioles was the owner of the Stone Crabs for the first few seasons of their existence.  (Photo: April 7, 2011)