This column strives to give credit where credit is due and when four Normal CornBelters players make the roster for the Frontier League All-Star Game, they must be recognized (even if it turns out that by the time you read this column, the game will have been completed at CONSOL Energy Park in Washington, Pa., home of the Washington Wild Things).

Just the same, I want the four players who received the honor to get their due. First baseman Mike Schwartz, shortstop Pat McKenna, and pitchers Ryan Demmin and Drew Provence represented Normal at the annual classic. Having four players named to represent Normal is the second-highest number of players chosen since Normal joined the Frontier League in 2010. In 2011, the team’s second year of operation, the CornBelters sent five players to the event.

McKenna, Schwartz, and Demmin were among 24 players selected for the 27-man roster by a voting contingent of the league’s players and media members. The remaining three players were hand-picked, in the case of the Western Division team, by their manager, Phil Warren. Managers of the first place teams in their respective divisions automatically serve as managers for their respective All-Star teams. Warren is manager of the Gateway Grizzlies, who currently lead the Western Division. With Traverse City in first place in the Eastern Division, that gives the manager’s honor to the Beach Bums’ skipper, Gregg Langbehn.

Regarding Provence’s being selected as one of the last three players to make the Western Division roster, CornBelters Manager Brooks Carey said, “Obviously, Phil saw Provence’s numbers and thought he should be an All-Star.”

Going into the All-Star Break, Provence is 3-2 after being in nine games with a 2.12 earned run average. In 55 innings, he has registered 48 strikeouts and walked 20 batters.

To Provence, getting to the All-Star Game “is a great honor to be named to such a team,” but the right-hander is quick to remind that any player’s goal “is to win a league championship.” So even though the fans get to enjoy the break, clearly the 23-year-old Fayetteville, Ga. native still sees the ‘Belters getting to the playoffs as a first priority.

Of being named to the All-Star squad, Demmin admitted he “didn’t really expect it. I just expected to come here and pitch. Being named an All-Star is just a blessing for me.” Going into the break, Demmin is 4-3 and boasting a 2.06 ERA. In 69.2 innings pitched, he has registered 66 strikeouts and walked 18 batters.

“Demmin and Provence are two of the better pitchers in the league and both are very deserving of the honor,” Carey added. “With stats like the kind they have, it’s no wonder they are representing Normal in the All-Star Game.”

Although this is the second consecutive year 26-year-old McKenna has been chosen for the All-Star Game, Wednesday was the first time he got to play in the star-studded contest. A partially-torn Ulnar Collateral Ligament in his throwing arm sidelined McKenna for part of the 2012 season and forced him to sit out on his first time as an All-Star when the game was at The Corn Crib last year. Because the injury was only a partial tear, doctors concluded McKenna would need to wear a brace to repair the damage rather than surgery which would have been followed by almost a year of rehab, as has been what players usually go through after they have had the surgery. That particular medical procedure is more commonly known because of the one of the game’s stars who had it over 30 years ago – the New York Yankees’ Tommy John.

This season, McKenna, batting .302, has played in 48 games, batting 172 times where he accumulated 52 hits including 10 home runs, five triples, and 14 doubles, providing 38 runs batted in. He has been walked 32 times and struck out 57 times.

It’s a goal of mine every year to be an all-star,” McKenna told me. “It’ll be different this year considering I’ll be able to participate.”

For Schwartz, receiving the honor “is just really humbling and it feels really good to see my hard work paying off.”

Schwartz, the CornBelters’ leadoff hitter, currently batting .268, has played in 49 games thus far and gotten a hit of some kind in every single game, including five home runs, two triples, and eight doubles. He has 20 RBIs and been walked 33 times.

“I’m just really excited and looking forward to having fun,” Schwartz said in anticipating his first All-Star experience.

“McKenna is probably the best shortstop in the league and Schwartz has some of the best production numbers of a leadoff man we’ve ever had in some time,” Carey added.

‘Belters Host Evansville For Three After Break: Before games were played Saturday, Normal was holding on to third place in the Western Division five games behind division leading Gateway and 2 ½ games behind second place Schaumburg. First and second place teams compete in the playoffs to get to the league championship at season’s end.

The Evansville Otters will visit The Corn Crib for three games, Friday through Sunday, July 19-21 before visiting Joliet for three games Monday through Wednesday, July 22-24. The league’s permanent road team, the Frontier Greys, pull into town for three games Thursday through Saturday, July 25-27.

As of last Saturday, Evansville was in fourth place at 26-22 and 3 ½ games behind Eastern Division leader Traverse City. Joliet was in fourth place in the Western Division at 21-28 and 10 games back of Gateway. At 18-31, the constantly-traveling Frontier Greys are dwelling in the basement of the seven-team Eastern Division, 12 games behind the division leaders.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 12th, 2013 at 10:27 pm and is filed under Normal Cornbelters, The Normalite. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.