LINE OF THE WEEK

[jkloes1]

Well if there was ever a time to have a line of the week, it would have to be the All-Star game. The 2002 All-star game did not dissappoint. With what was considered a memorable all-star game, the player of the game was a new-comer.

First, lets get to the highlights. In the fourth inning with 3 on, Sadaharu Oh Jr came in to pinch hit for the pitcher Kurt Hassin a 2-0 game. Oh took a 0-1 pitch deep off of Jeffrey Baeza for a Grand Slam making it 4-2.

Next inning. After Lance Pere hit a run scoring double off of Jay Lee in the fourth, a risky move to keep him in, sent Rande Sorbo to the plate with 2 on and was hit by a pitch. This brought first time all-star and the lone representative for the Greenville Moonshiners to the plate, Bill Burkholder. After getting ahead 2-1, he fouled away the next pitch, and then came the dagger. On the 2-2 from Lee, Burkholder was able to get just enough of the ball to knock it 367 feet to right for the second Grand Slam of the game.

That was all the JL needed. They would go on to win the game 9-2 and became the only All-star team to hit 2 grand slams in the mid-summer classic. Burkholder would go on to become the MVP of the game, and forever becoming enshrined in baseball history.

Final Line: 1 hit, 4 RBI off of Jay Lee in the All-Star game, I don't think it gets much better than that.

So who is Bill Burkholder, you ask? a few years ago, he backed up Dan Manville, and began getting some playing time. Following the career ending injury to Manville, Bill got the full-time starting gig. After 2 solid seasons, with last season knocking in 107 RBI's, second behind Roman Empire, the canadian born Left fielder is having a break out season in 2002 leading ever major offensive catagory on the Moonshiners and in the top 5 in the JL. When asked of GM Jeff Kloes what about him makes him great, he simply said "He's a special type of player." He certianly is.

I'm Lance Bolden and this was your Line of the Week.