BILLINGS MUSTANGS

The 'Billings Mustangs' are a minor league baseball team based in Billings, Montana. The Mustangs are the Pioneer League Rookie affiliate of the Major League Cincinnati Reds. The team has been a part of the Pioneer League since 1948, and have been affiliated with the Reds since 1974 (after an affiliation with the Kansas City Royals). The team was officially established on November 4, 1947.
The Mustangs play at Cobb Field, named in 1948 after Bob Cobb (not Ty Cobb, as many, most notably Peter Bouchoux, mistake its name for). Bob Cobb was responsible for bringing professional baseball to the city of Billings. In 2008, the team will move to a new ballpark.
The Mustangs have won three consecutive Pioneer League titles from 1992-1994, then another in 1997. In 2003, Billings beat the Provo Angels in the Championship Series 2 games to 0. Provo had tied the league record for wins that year with 54. Billings, the last team to qualify for the postseason, won game 1 at Provo 8-5 in 11 innings, then, Billings won 3-0 on a no-hitter by James Paduch to win the Championship in front of a sold-out Cobb Field in Billings. The game was a classic pitchers duel between two of the top pitchers in the league (Provo's being 2003 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year Abel Moreno). In 2006, Chris Valaika set a Pioneer League record with a 32-game hitting streak during the Mustangs 51-win campaign.
Many Major League stars have began their pro careers in Billings. These include George Brett, Reggie Sanders, Paul O'Neill, Keith Lockhart, Danny Tartabull, Ben Broussard, Scott Sullivan, Aaron Boone, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, and B.J. Ryan. The 1998 team card set is a sought after collectible, including the first ever cards of Dunn and Kearns and with only 1,000 sets printed, it commands high dollar among collectors.
After years of award-winning work in the front office, Assistant General Manager Gary Roller was promoted to General Manager for the 2005 season. Roller took over for long time GM and Mustangs Hall-of-Famer Bob Wilson. Matt Bender, who formerly handled the duties of Official Scorer, took over the vacated Assistant General Manager position.
Cobb Field is renowned in the Pioneer League for the "Beer Batter." Every game the Mustangs Beer Boosters designate one player as the "Beer Batter." If that player gets a hit, attendees can buy four beers for $8. Many eager buyers stand at the stairs anticipating a hit and the oncoming rush of people.
The Billings Mustangs changed their logo for the 2006 season. The 2007 season will be their last at Cobb Field, a new stadium will be built on the current site for the 2008 season.

Contents

Management

Coaching Staff

Current Roster

Notable Alumni

External links

Management

★ President - Bob Wilson

★ General Manager - Gary Roller

★ Secretary/Treasurer - Don Brocopp

★ Assistant General Manager - Matt Bender

★ Radio Broadcaster - Jerry Schemmel

★ P.A. Announcer(s) - Kyle Riley, Rob Kovatch, Tom Laroque

★ Grounds Crew - John Barta (Head Official), Willie Crtalic

★ Clubhouse Operations Director - Matt Koizim

★ Official Scorer/Statistician - Phil Sites

★ Scoreboard Operator - Seth Moir

★ Operations Intern - Chris Marshall

★ Ticket Booth - Teresa Sites

★ Programs - Kristen Glenn

★ Delta Force - Alex Taylor, Jeffery Glenn, Katie Desin, Matt Schoonover, Justin King

★ Beat Writer(s) - Mike Scherting and Greg Rachac (main beat writers from the ''Billings Gazette''), Ed West, John Letasky

Coaching Staff

★ Manager/3rd Base - Ronnie Ortegon

★ Hitting Coach - Aaron Holbert

★ Pitching Coach - Mack Jenkins

★ Bench Coach/1st Base - Rex De La Nuez

★ Trainer - Charles Leddon

★ Strength Coach - John Gallagher

★ Team Physician - Dr. James Elliott

★ Team Optometrist - Dr. Brian Linde

Current Roster

'Updated on September 4, 2007'

'Pitchers' ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

'Catchers' ★ ★ ★ 'Infielders' ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 'Outfielders' ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 'Disabled List' ★ (broken hand) ★ 'Inactive List' ★ ★ (school)

Notable Alumni

★ Jack Armstrong

★ Paul Bako

★ Skeeter Barnes

★ Aaron Boone

★ George Brett

★ Ben Broussard

★ Tom Browning

★ Jay Bruce

★ Rick Burleson (manager)

★ Chris Cannizzaro

★ Todd Coffey

★ Al Cowens

★ Bennie Daniels

★ Kal Daniels

★ Lance Davis

★ Gookie Dawkins

★ Rob Dibble

★ Adam Dunn

★ Nick Esasky

★ Tom Foley

★ Lenny Harris

★ Butch Henry (player and pitching coach)

★ Jim Hickman

★ Trevor Hoffman

★ Austin Kearns

★ Reggie Jefferson

★ Ruppert Jones

★ Ray King

★ Jason LaRue

★ Mark Littell

★ Keith Lockhart

★ Bob McClure

★ Corky Miller

★ Eddie Milner

★ Chad Mottola

★ Russ Nixon (manager)

★ Ron Oester

★ Joe Oliver

★ Eric Owens

★ Ted Power (pitching coach)

★ Jamie Quirk

★ Gary Redus

★ John Riedling

★ Larry Rothschild

★ B.J. Ryan

★ Chris Sabo (hitting coach)

★ Reggie Sanders

★ Donnie Scott (manager)

★ Rodney Scott

★ Chris Sexton

★ Harry Spilman

★ Jerry Spradlin

★ Kurt Stillwell

★ Dick Stuart

★ Scott Sullivan

★ Eddie Taubensee

★ Danny Tartabull

★ Gorman Thomas

★ Joey Votto

★ Scott Williamson

★ Jim Wohlford

External links

★ Billings Mustangs official site

★ Mustang Alley Blog

★ Minor League Baseball's Billings Mustangs site

★ CNNSI's Billings Mustangs site