The Atlantic League knew it had an upbeat day Tuesday well before the All-Stars were scheduled to swelter their way through near 100-degree temperatures to put on a display of their talent before a number of major league scouts and a sellout crowd of more than 6,000 fans at Citibank Park on Long Island.
Mid-year planning sessions of both owners and general managers could be expected to have an extra jolt of pride because two more of the league’s players had been promoted during the holiday weekend to major league opportunities they had pursued for several years. Left-handed-hitting outfielders Cory Aldridge and Matt Watson were promoted, Aldridge to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Watson to Oakland.
Watson, alone, was worth boasting about because he was at Lancaster as recently as May 28, so every one of the 44 All-Stars knew their goal of major league gratification was possible. He had not been in the majors since 2005, ironically also with the Athletics. Aldridge, who played at Newark two years ago, had only been in the majors back in 2001 when he spent 27 days with Atlanta.
The story above was part of Tuesday's Atlantic League Notebook which has gone to subscribers. Other stories in the Notebook included:
--The league's hopes to establish a Western Division
--What Cory Aldridge and Matt Watson said about getting to the majors
--Sparky Lyle's recollections of a previous All-Star Game in New York
--Details on the lingering injuries at Somerset
Subscriptions to the Notebook, which is delivered every Tuesday and Friday, are available at www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com or www.WirzandAssociates.com.
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