Word has been received that baseball lifer Tony Ferrara has died. He was 84. Tony played four seasons in the Cardinals farm system before his big league dreams were cut short by injury He went on work for a number of MLB teams including the Yankees (where he was a good friend of the legendary Mickey Mantle), the Mets, the Mariners, the Cubs and the A’s. He even managed the Petah Tivka Pioneers of the Israel Baseball League in 2007. Last season he was the bench coach for the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League. We send our best to his family and we know we will be sorely missed by all who came in touch him during his long tenure on the diamond.

Jono Brooks has been resigned by the Rockford RiverHawks for the 2010 season. This will mark the fourth season that the former NYSL infielder will be Rockford’s shortstop. Last year Brooks led the Birds in stolen bases with 30 and was only caught 4 times. Brooks was second in the Frontier League in stolen bases. He hit .221 with 7 homers and 27 RBIs. The RiverHawks will move this year from the Frontier League to the Northern League.. “His defense has improved very year he’s been with us,” said Rockford manager Bob Koopman.  “I’m real glad he’s going to be back as part of our ballclub.”

We want to thank all the folks who made the 2009 NYSL season such a success–managers, coaches, staff, and, of course, our players. Check back back on his blog in January for more exciting NYSL news for the 2010 season. Until then, the happiest and healthiest of holidays.

The Joliet Jackhammers (NL) will hold two California tryouts in early January in California. On the 8th they’ll looking at players in San Diego and on the 9th they’ll be in Los Angeles. Please see the Jackhammers website for more details.

The 2010 Frontier League Tryout Camp will be held May 3 and 4 next year in Avon, Ohio. Please see the Frontier League website for for details. Click on “tryouts”.

Dave Whigham, RHP, El Paso (AA), who suffered a serious skull fracture after being struck in a game last July will pitch in organized competition for the for the first time later this month. Whigham has signed to play winter ball in Australia for the Essendon Bombers of the Victoria Baseball League in Melbourne. Whigham will head to Oz on December 28. After the conclusion of the Australian season he will report on May 1 to El Paso. Best of luck to Dave for his courage and his heart!

If you want to see some interesting baseball shirts–check out Mike Beck’s forgetfences.com. Mike was an outfielder in the NYSL in 2009 and is a graduate of Western New England College.

Players who hope to play overseas next year should monitor the comings and goings on baseballdeworld.com and misterbaseball.com. Both have much useful information about the current international baseball scene.

Alex Bardequez, 3B, has been signed by Florence (FL). The 2007 NYSL player has also played in the Can-Am League, American Association and the Frontier League.

If you’re a player, executive or fan you can’t go wrong by logging on to our favorite site for independent baseball news-independentbaseball.net. Just our opinion!