#ProFalcons: Minor League Season Ends, Reimold In Playoff Race With O's

#ProFalcons Hub

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Four former members of the Bowling Green State University baseball team are currently professional baseball players. Three former Falcons recently wrapped up their minor league seasons, while Nolan Reimold, who homered in last night's game against Boston, is battling for a playoff berth with the Baltimore Orioles. Below are updates on each former Falcon.

Nolan Reimold | OF | Baltimore Orioles | MLB
Drafted: Round 2 (2005, BAL)
MLB Debut: May 14, 2009
Years At BGSU: 2003-05
Stats At BGSU: 139 G / .366 AVG / .472 OBP / .654 SLG / 122 R / 179 H / 27 2B / 6 3B / 34 HR / 136 RBI / 13 SB
Sept. 14, 2016: Reimold has spent his entire 2016 season with the Baltimore Orioles, having played in 97 ballgames to date. Reimold is the midst of a tight playoff race. His Orioles are two games behind Boston in the American League East, but two games ahead of Detroit in the second Wild Card position. He has hit six home runs this season with 15 RBI, one triple and nine doubles. Reimold is currently hitting .230, and has appeared in six games across the first two weeks of September.

Jon Berti | 2B | New Hampshire Fisher Cats | Double-A | Eastern League | Toronto Blue Jays
Drafted: Round 18 (2011, TOR)
Years At BGSU: 2009-2011
Stats At BGSU: 146 G / .386 AVG / .464 OBP / .556 SLG / 134 R / 207 H / 24 2B / 17 3B / 11 HR / 93 RBI / 56 SB
Sept. 14, 2016: After being invited to big league spring training, Berti spent the majority of 2016 season at the Double-A level with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He also played seven games at Triple-A Buffalo. The former Falcon played 40 games with Buffalo last season, and continues to knock on the door of his first MLB call up. Berti played 73 games for the Fisher Cats this season, and hit .254 with 37 runs and 29 steals. Berti also registered 10 doubles, seven triples, two home runs and 26 RBI. The Troy, Michigan native was placed on the seven-day disabled list on June 4, but quickly worked his way back to New Hampshire after a brief six-game rehab assignment in the Gulf Coast League, where he hit .400.

Brian Bien | 2B | Wilmington Blue Rocks | Class-A Advanced | Carolina League | Kansas City Royals
Drafted: Round 31 (2015, KC)
Years At BGSU: 2012-15
Stats At BGSU: 198 G / .320 AVG / .366 OBP / .367 SLG / 117 R / 227 H / 27 2B / 3 3B / 0 HR / 72 RBI / 36 SB
Sept. 14, 2016: One of the better shortstops in the history of the program, Bien has already achieved more in his young career than the majority of players drafted beyond the 30^th round. Bien has already climbed three levels. After being promoted late in 2015 from rookie ball to Class-A, he played the entire 2016 season with the Wilmington Blue Rocks at the Class-A Advanced level. In 62 games this year, Bien hit .246, scored 13 runs, registered 13 RBI, and stole 10 bases. He also drew 10 walks, and hit a pair of doubles.

Trey Keegan | C | Danville Braves | Rookie Ball | Appalachian League | Atlanta Braves
Drafted: Round 14 (2015, ATL)
Years At BGSU: 2009-2011
Stats At BGSU: 94 G / .271 AVG / .374 OBP / .403 SLG / 59 R / 80 H / 17 2B / 2 3B / 6 HR / 50 RBI / 8 SB
Sept. 14, 2016: After predominately sitting behind legendary catcher T.J. Losby for the first two years of his BGSU career, Keegan burst on the scene and had a monster 2015 season in the Orange and Brown. He became the highest Falcon draft pick since Nolan Reimold was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the second round in 2005. So far, Keegan has played in 46 games – all at the rookie ball level for the Danville Braves. Across his career. Keegan is hitting .241 with 11 RBI and six doubles. In 2016, an injury-plagued year limited him to just 23 games and a .200 batting average. Keegan knocked two doubles, drove in five runs and stole two bases.

Other #ProFalcons

Roger McDowell | Pitching Coach | Atlanta Braves
McDowell, who played at BGSU from 1980-82, went on to play 12 seasons in the big leagues. He finished his career with a 70-70 record with a 3.30 ERA and 524 strikeouts in 1050.0 innings. He spent time with the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. McDowell was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the 1986 World Series with the Mets. McDowell has been the pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves since 2007. McDowell was inducted into the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.

Andy Tracy | Minor League Hitting Coordinator | Philadelphia Phillies
Tracy played 149 Major League games across five seasons, and was a part of the Philadelphia Phillies' 2008 World Series team. Tracy left BGSU in 1986, and also played 1,590 games in the minors in addition to his five seasons in the big leagues. Tracy is currently a minor league hitting coordinator in the Phillies' system.

Jeff Jones | Pitching Coach | 2017 Team USA World Baseball Classic
Jones was named an All-MAC Honorable Mention selection in 1977, before being drafted by the Oakland Athletics. Jones won nine games for the A's, but is more famous for his time as a pitching coach. Jones began his coaching career in 1989, and his career culminated with a legendary stint as the Detroit Tigers' pitching coach from 2011-2015. Jones was the pitching coach for the 2012 team that reached the World Series. He was Justin Verlander's pitching coach when the hard-throwing right-hander won the MVP and Cy Young Award in 2011. Max Scherzer went on to win the Cy Young under Jones' watch in 2013, and Anibal Sanchez won the ERA title that same year. In June of 2016, Jones was named to Team USA's coaching staff for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Jim Joyce | Major League Umpire
Joyce has been umpiring since 1987, and has served as a Major League umpire for over 3,000 games. Joyce made his umpiring debut on May 23, 1987, and was stationed at second base for a Baltimore at Oakland matchup. Joyce has served as an umpire in three World Series (1999, 2001 and 2013), and three All-Star Games (1994, 2001 and 2012). Joyce was a member of the BGSU baseball team and graduated in 1977.

Orel Hershiser | Los Angeles Dodgers Television Analyst
Hershiser, who won 204 Major League games as a pitcher, played in the show from 1983-2000. He's a three-time All-Star that won the Cy Young in 1988, and was also the MVP of the World Series when the Dodgers captured the title that same season. Hershiser is now a television analyst for SportsNet LA, and helps call Dodger road games.

#ProFalcons That Spent Parts Of 2016 In Professional Baseball

Burke Badenhop | RHP
2016: After spending the last eight years in the big leagues, Badenhop did not appear in a Major League game in 2016. Over the previous seven seasons, Badenhop logged more than 62.0 innings, and posted an ERA below 4.00 in every year except 2011, when he threw 63.2 innings and registered a 4.10 ERA. Texas and Washington signed Badenhop to minor league contracts this year after his team option was not exercised with Cincinnati, but he was released by both clubs shortly thereafter.

Brennan Smith | RHP
2016: After playing parts of seven years in the minors (2010-16), Smith was released from the Erie SeaWolves – the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers – on June 18. Smith pitched in four games for Erie in 2016, but has not been signed by another club. Across his time in the Tigers' system, Smith appeared in 157 games, threw 518.1 innings, notched a 3.79 ERA, and struck out 410 batters.

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