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 Cats Tryout Camp April 17 and 18 The Cats will be holding their annual pre-season tryout camp on April 17th and 18th at LaGrave Field. Pre-registrations must be mailed NO LATER THAN APRIL 10TH to PO Box 4411, Fort Worth, TX 76164. You must include a $35 registration fee and the below information: NAME POSITION EXPERIENCE DATE OF BIRTH CONTACT INFORMATION Late registration for the camp will be on April 17th at 8:30am. The late registration fee is $40. For more information, call the Cats office at (817) 332-CATS. |
 Cats announce 2010 scheduleThe Cats' 10th season back in Fort Worth will begin on May 13th as they take on the Shreveport-Bossier Captains at LaGrave Field. It's the first of 96 games on the Cats' 2010 American Association schedule. The Cats will also once again play host to a July 4th game. The team set a modern LaGrave Field attendance record when over 13,000 fans watched the Independence Day game in 2009. The second home series of the season will feature the defending champion Lincoln Saltdogs in a three-game series May 21-23. Ticket information and a promotional schedule for the 2010 season are coming soon. Printable schedule. |
 Bobby Bragan 1917-2010 Bobby Bragan - a man whose love for baseball was overshadowed only by his love of God and his fellow man - died Jan. 21, 2010 at his Fort Worth home at the age of 92. More The Star-Telegram's David Thomas and a host of others remember Bragan.
Jim Reeves remembers Bragan Bragan was born and raised in Birmingham and began his professional baseball career in the Alabama-Florida League with Panama City in 1937. Bragan came up as a shortstop and played for the Phillies from 1940-1942. In 1942, the team was strapped for catching help because of injuries and military call-ups, and Bobby offered to learn the job. Dodger general manager Branch Rickey liked the youngster’s dedication and obtained Bragan in a trade for Tex Kraus. He was a backup catcher for the Dodgers during the next two seasons. After spending two years in the military as a 2nd Lieutenant, Infantry, Bragan returned in time for the 1947 season. The Dodgers would play the New York Yankees that year in the World Series and Bobby recorded a pinch-hit double as the Yankees beat the Dodgers 4-games-to-3. That would be his only at bat in World Series play. He joined a select list of players who had a 1.000 batting average in the fall classic.
Bragan is without a doubt one of the unique and colorful characters that ever had the pleasure of wearing a Cats’ uniform. He did so as the player/manager of the Cats from 1948-1952 and Fort Worth was never the same.
Bobby’s teams were always competitive and never finished below the .500 mark. The 1948 and 1949 teams won the regular season title in the Texas League. The ’48 club won the league playoffs as well, but lost in the Dixie Series.
Bragan would go on to manage in the majors for the Pirates, Indians and Braves. He was the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1956 and 1957. Bobby was he skipper of the Cleveland Indians for half a season in ’58. The always upbeat manager landed in Milwaukee in 1963 and led the Braves until they departed for Atlanta after the ’65 season. Bobby made the move to Atlanta and was the first manager of the Atlanta braves. He managed future Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn and Bob Lemon.
In 1992, his autobiography “You Can’t Hit the Ball with the Bat on Your Shoulder: The Life and Times of Bobby Bragan” was released. It chronicled many of the highlights of his baseball career. Many long-time baseball observers admit Bragan was in a class by himself. He built a reputation on intelligence and creative approaches to the game. That might be the understatement of the decade.
Bragan grabbed headlines in 2005 when he managed the Cats for one game, thus becoming the oldest individual to serve as manager in a professional game. Bragan was eight days older than Connie Mack, who managed his last game in 1950.
From 1992 until his death, Bragan served as the CEO/Chairman of the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation, which provides college scholarships to students from public schools across the Dallas/Fort Worth metorplex. Every year, 8th grade students are offered the opportunity to compete for these $2,500 scholarships, which are redeemed once the recipient has graduated from high school and enrolled in college.
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A Tribute to Bobby Bragan from Carl Bell |
 Cats Alumni Update The 2009 season saw two former Cats in the big leagues and two in the affiliated minors. Luke Hochevar (pictured above, right) spent nearly the entire season in the Kansas City Royals rotation, positn g a 7-13 record with a 6.55 ERA in 25 starts. He did have two complete games, including a shutout of the White Sox on Sept. 18. Max Scherzer (pictured above, left) struck out 174 batters in 170 innings of work en route to a 9-11 record with a 4.12 ERA in 2009. He won two straight games in late August and early September to push his record to 9-7, before dropping his final four decisions. Jon Hunton, who pitched for the Cats in 2008, started the season with Class-A Stockton in the Oakland organization and was 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 13 games before being promoted to Double-A Midland. With the Rockhounds, he was 4-4 with a 3.33 ERA and four saves in 40 appearances. The Rockhounds eventually won the Texas League title. And Shawn Williams, who was the first baseman for the 2006 Cats, played in 96 games for Class-A Charlotte in the Florida State League, batting .246 with three homers and 30 runs batted in for the Tampa Bay affiliate. |
 Crow signs with Royals Former Cats right-hander Aaron Crow, selected 12th overall in the 2009 Major League draft, has agreed to terms with the Kansas City Royals, it was announced Sept. 17. Update: He was introduced to the media on Sept 18 . After appearing in one regular season contest and two playoffs games for the Cats in 2008, Crow started the '09 campaign in Fort Worth and posted a 3-0 record with a 1.06 ERA in three appearances, the last of which came on May 29 at LaGrave Field. Crow will report to instructional league in Arizona. |
 Allen, Fryer named American Association post season all-stars
Cats' first baseman John Allen and center fielder Brian Fryer have both been named to the American Association's post-season all-star team, it was announced recently.
Allen finished the season batting .300 with 12 homers and a team-leading 72 runs batted in. He was named the league's Batter of the Week after hitting four home runs and driving in 11 runs July 13-19. Allen had five four-hit games this season.
Fryer this year is hitting .307 with 48 runs batted in and tied for the league lead in stolen bases with 38. He hit safely in more than 25 straight games twice this season -- hitting in 28 straight games from June 7 - July 8 and 26 straight from July 15 - Aug 14. He finished second in the league with 130 hits.
Both were also selected to the South Division squad at the 2009 American Association All-Star Game in July.
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| SOUTH | ||||
| W | L | PCT | GB | |
| FORT WORTH | 0 | 0 | .000 | -- |
| El Paso | 0 | 0 | .000 | -- |
| Grand Prairie | 0 | 0 | .000 | -- |
| Pensacola | 0 | 0 | .000 | -- |
| Shreveport-Bossier | 0 | 0 | .000 | -- |
| NORTH | ||||
| W | L | PCT | GB | |
| Lincoln | 0 | 0 | .000 | -- |
| Sioux City | 0 | 0 | .000 | -- |
| Sioux Falls | 0 | 0 | .000 | -- |
| St. Paul | 0 | 0 | .000 | -- |
| Wichita | 0 | 0 | .000 | -- |
They cannot be used in any way without written permission from the Cats or T.I.B.