Franchise Four: The Top Vermont Mountaineers

For the recent All-Star Game, Major League Baseball asked its fans to vote on each team’s “Franchise Four”, the best quartet of players in each franchise’s history. It was such a great idea, The Times Argus is stealing it.

We’ve come up with the four greatest Vermont Mountaineers in team history, based on their accomplishments while playing at Recreation Field; not what they did afterwards.

It was a difficult process to pick from the hundreds of players who have suited up for Vermont over the past 12 years. There are several notable omissions, which are discussed after the picks. For batters, the opening “slash line” includes batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Here are the Vermont Mountaineers’ Franchise Four, in no particular order:

Robbie Minor (2004-06), Evansville, SS - .251/.328/.309, 110 G, 94 H, 57 R, 36 SB

One of just a few three-year players in Vermont’s history, Minor wrote his way into the record books and was a key reason why the Mountaineers went from a .500-team in 2004 to become a championship squad in 2007. A First Team All-NECBL selection, as well as the Sportsmanship Award winner in 2006, Minor enjoyed a successful career in Montpelier.

Having played three years for the Mountaineers, the only batter to do so, Minor ranks first in Vermont’s regular-season record books in a variety of categories: games played (110), runs scored (57) and stolen bases (36).

“It has been the time of my life,” Minor said during a Times Argus interview in 2006. “It has been a summer to remember for the rest of my life. When I get older, I want my kids to do the same thing.”

On the last day of the season in 2006, with the regular season divisional title locked up, Vermont manager John Russo allowed Minor to play all nine positions, switching every inning. The box score is impossible to keep track of as he moved from shortstop to third, second and first before completing a circuit of the outfield.

He even caught an inning for fellow infielder Troy Krider before coming on to pitch for a batter. Minor surrendered a single and was pulled to allow Mark Murray to record his 16th save of the summer.

“By the sixth or seventh inning, I was dying from running around all over the place,” Minor said after his nine-inning marathon. “But it was a lot of fun. Toughest (to play) was catcher because it felt like a 100 degrees with all of the gear on. Most fun was centerfield because I got to see the whole field from there, and I’m not used to that when playing shortstop.”

It was just one of many great memories Vermont fans have of the All-Star shortstop who was a member of the 2006 team that secured the franchise’s’ first NECBL title.

Curt Smith (2006-07), Maine, 3B - .318/.392/.467, 80 G, 96 H, 18 2B, 27 SB

Smith, quite literally, could do it all. Scouts grade baseball players on five essential tools, and borrowing a line from Moneyball, it’s very rare you come across someone with all five. Curt Smith could run, he could throw, he could field, he could hit, and he could hit for power.

He piled up accolades in his two summers, winning a pair of NECBL titles while starting in both All-Star games. Smith also was also named to the NECBL First Team twice and earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2006, after committing just two errors in 40 games at the hot corner.

Smith hit .318 over 80 games with the Mountaineers, and holds the regular-season career records for the most doubles (18) and hits (96) as well as the single-season records for hits (50 in 2006) and triples (four in 2007).

In the 2006 finals, Smith hit a two-run triple in the title-clinching win over the Torrington Twisters, then homered and powered the Mountaineers offense to a second-straight championship over the Newport Gulls. He delivered time and time again, from a walk-off home run into the fog in the semifinals against the Holyoke Blue Sox in 2007, to scoring the game-winning run in the semifinals in 2006 as well.

He was the stuff of legends. Nobody could see the ball leave the park as the fog had settled in 2007, but the players and the fans knew it was gone the moment he swung the bat. Even Russo admitted he knew Smith was going to do something magical.

“Curt is the best player this team has seen in the five years here,” Russo said afterward. “He is also one of the best kids attitude-wise and the way he plays. To say we expected him to hit a home run would be hard - it’s hard to expect anyone to do that - but it is amazing that every big situation he always delivers.”

Mike Gaggioli (2005, 2007), Georgetown, LHP- 8-4, 18 G, 2.21 ERA, 90 K, 105.2 IP

Not often does somebody make two NECBL All-Star games, let alone start both of them. That’s exactly what Gaggioli did in 2005 and 2007, establishing himself as the best pitcher in the league and starting for the Northern Division. It was his postseason performance, however, that puts him at the top of the list as one of the best pitchers in Mountaineers history.

In 2007, after missing 2006 with an injury, Gaggioli struck out 12 and spun a complete-game one-hitter in the championship-clinching victory over Newport. It was a masterful performance, as he took a no-hitter into the seventh en route to tossing a complete-game shutout.

“I think it has to be one of the best pitching performances,” Russo said of Gaggioli after the win. “Talk about the pressure. The game was scoreless for six innings and to have a no-hitter through seven, it was just an awesome performance. I know Mike wanted to finish that game, and his stuff got better around the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. He is one of those kids who loves this place and this community. He came back after a year away. He just loved being here and he wanted to win today for the fans.”

In 2005, Gaggioli was the probable starter for Game 3 of the finals against Newport — a game that wasn’t played as the Gulls swept Vermont. He wasn’t going to pass up a second chance, as the lefty faced just two batters over the minimum. Gaggioli also struck out eight over six innings to record the win in the deciding game of the Northern Division semifinals against the Keene Swamp Bats.

It capped another great summer in Vermont, as the southpaw holds records for the most career starts (17), strikeouts (90) and wins (8) while posting a 2.21 ERA.

Mark Murray (2005-06), Evansville, RHP- 41 G, 2-1, 26 SV, 0.19 ERA, 59 K, 47.2 IP

Weighing in at 170 pounds, Murray didn’t fit the stereotypical build of an overpowering closer. However, once he arrived in Montpelier, the right-hander turned in two years of pure dominance. Murray compiled considerable career numbers and as an All-Star in 2006, when he set the NECBL single-season record for saves (16).

“He throws all the time,” Russo said after Murray broke the saves record with his 14th save. “He is in great condition. When you think of the two summers, the numbers he has put up are unbelievable. The other side of it is that people think it’s nice and easy, but he works hard at it every day.”

In his two years and almost 50 appearances out of the Vermont bullpen, Murray allowed just one earned run and a career 0.19 ERA, the lowest in franchise history. His durability was key during the Mountaineers championship run in 2006, the year in which he was named the league’s top relief pitcher and earned All-NECBL First Team honors.

“Murray summed it up one time,” Russo said. “When I asked him after throwing for three days in a row if he was going to be fine to go out again, and he said ‘Hey, have I ever turned you down?’ And he hasn’t over two summers. The saves have been his and he’s locked it down.”

He finished 2006 without allowing an earned run, posting a 0.00 ERA over 22 1/3 innings. Murray set down the Southern Division side in order in the ninth during the All-Star Game, securing a 6-2 win against a team that had three future MLB players in Ryan Lavarnaway, Nick Gorneault and Chris Iannetta.

“I have never had as much fun during the summer as I have these last two summers,” Murray said during the finals in 2006. “When my college coach put me up here, I didn’t know what to expect. When I got here, I felt like I was at home even though I was a 20-hour drive away from my house. They treat me well up here and that makes it easy to come out and play every day when you have so many fans supporting you.”


NOTABLE OMISSIONS

Picking just four was a tough task, as plenty of talented players were left off the list. Here are our four Honorable Mention selections:

A.J. Balsinde (2006-08), Maine, RHP - 55 G, 76 IP, 2.13 ERA, 5 SV, 62 K

The only pitcher in Mountaineers history to play three seasons, Balsinde won two championships for Vermont and appeared in a franchise-record 55 regular season games. The right-hander made 26 appearances in 2008 and was named the league’s Most Improved Player after posting a 1.42 ERA following a 3.31 mark in 2007. Balsinde finished with a 2.31 ERA over three summers as a reliable middle reliever.

Kyle Brault (2004-05), UVM, OF - .266/.353/.549, 15 HR, 45 RBI, 36 R

Brault, the franchise leader in home runs (15), played in a pair of seasons for the Mountaineers and swung a big bat. He hit nine homers in 2005 and finished his career with Vermont as the regular-season leader in extra base hits (33). Brault had a two-home run game in June of that year, and still has his name in the record books 10 years later.

Troy Krider (2005-06), Evansville, 2B - .317/.406/.373, 43 R, 14 RBI, 12 2B, 16 SB

A two-time All-Star, Krider was a key piece of the talented 2006 championship team that boasted the league’s best defense. Krider, who eventually transferred to Evansville to play with Robbie Minor, was a stellar defensive second baseman who turned 28 double plays during his two-year Mountaineer career. He finished with a .317 batting average over almost 70 regular season games and scored 43 runs, ranking third in team history.

Jason Carey (2003-05), UVM, OF- .300/.391/.427, 43 R, 25 RBI, 15 2B, 27 SB

The team’s first true star, Carey played during Vermont’s first two seasons before an injury cut his 2005 season short after just nine games. Carey was a huge addition to the Mountaineers in their first season, as he had just completed a stellar campaign with UVM. The 2003 season was a rough one for the Mountaineers, as they won just 15 games, but Carey quickly emerged as the franchise’s top player. He finished with a career .300 batting average over 65 regular season games and scored 43 runs while swiping 27 bases.