APPALACHIAN LEAGUE NOTEBOOK: Leyva Goes From Kingsport To Big Leagues

BY TIM HAYES
Bristol Herald Courier
On Wednesday night, Nick Leyva was in the third base coaches’ box at Hunter Wright Stadium. The Kingsport Mets manager watched as Wilmer Flores pounded out three hits and his team collected a 6-4 victory over the Greeneville Astros.

On Friday night, Leyva was again in the third base coaches’ box. Except this time it was at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park and he was wearing a Toronto Blue Jays uniform.

In one of the most bizarre turn of events in the young Appalachian League season and more proof that professional baseball is unpredictable, Leyva went from the Appy League to the major leagues in the span of 48 hours.

The occurrence happened after John Gibbons was let go and Cito Gaston was hired as Toronto’s manager. Leyva served on Gaston’s coaching staff from 1993-97 and was the third base coach during Toronto’s World Series title run in ’93. In fact, Leyva earned his place in history as he can be seen on highlight reels giving Joe Carter a high five as he rounded third after Carter’s series-clinching home run in Game 6 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Now, he’s experiencing his second tour of duty in Toronto and working for Gaston once again.

A baseball lifer who has managed and coached at every pro level, Leyva served as manager of the Bristol White Sox in 2002 and 2006. He led the BriSox to the Appy League title in the summer of 2002.

No. 1 Pick in Princeton
Tim Beckham, the No. 1 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in the MLB Amateur Draft earlier this month, will make his debut in the Appalachian League.
The 18-year-old Beckham is expected to report to the Princeton (W.Va.) Devil Rays today. The shortstop hit .482 with six home runs, 13 doubles and 41 RBIs as a senior at Griffin High School in Georgia.

People at Pulaski
The stands were packed on Friday night at Calfee Park as the Pulaski Mariners made their home debut with a 4-1 loss to the Elizabethton Twins.
An estimated crowd of 2,001 was on hand. Pulaski has previously served as affiliate of the Braves, Rangers and Blue Jays, but was without an Appalachian League team in 2007. However, the Mariners organization moved in and the town has apparently embraced the team.
“We’ve got people coming that have never been to baseball games,” Pulaski’s director of baseball operations Mary Gordon told Minor League Baseball’s Web site. “They’re coming in from a hundred-mile radius. And my feeling is, the way things have been the last couple days, every night’s going to be this way. Especially if we’re winning.”

Greene Good for Sox
Justin Greene has been the top hitter for the Bristol White Sox through the first four games of the season.
The Goose Creek, S.C. native was hitting .500 (5-for-10) with four runs scored, a home run and RBI entering Saturday night’s game at Burlington. Greene has also walked three times and stolen a base.

This Week in Appy League history
The following events occurred this week in Appalachian League history:
June 23, 1969 — Bud Hether crushed a three-run home run, left-handed pitcher Dick Foulk tossed five strong innings for the win and the Bristol Tigers opened the season with a 16-3 victory over the Marion Mets. Larry Fritz had two hits for Marion.
June 22, 1978 — Gary Leslie had three hits for the Bristol Tigers in their 4-1 win over the Kingsport Braves.
June 23, 1982 — Dwight Gooden dominated at DeVault Stadium en route to leading the Kingsport Mets to a 5-4 win over the Bristol Tigers.
Gooden went seven innings, allowing one earned run on two hits. He walked four and struck out six. Lou Sottile and Paul Sokolowski had Bristol’s only two hits against the Mets’ first-round draft pick.
“I felt like I had pretty decent control,” Gooden told the Bristol Herald Courier’s George Stone following the game. “I was keeping them off stride and I was successful in keeping the ball down. I was using my curve and change and I was able to keep the fastball in on their hands.”
June 22, 1990 — Former Dobyns-Bennett High School star Jimmy Alder hit a grand slam in the seventh inning and delivered the go-ahead RBI double in the ninth inning as the Bristol Tigers collected an 8-7 win over the Kingsport Mets … Castlewood native and former Clinch Valley College pitcher Bill Higgins made his professional debut for the Martinsville Phillies in their 5-4 loss to the Burlington Indians. Higgins gave up four hits in two innings of work.
thayes@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2570