WILLIE GLEN SELECTED TO ALL-INDEPENDENT FIRST TEAM

 

October 11, 2007                                               Contact:  Tom Nichols at (219) 882-2255

 

Gary, Ind.—Gary SouthShore RailCats all-time career victories leader Willie Glen has been selected to the First Team All-Independent Leagues team by Baseball America.  He is the first of three starting pitchers listed on the honorary team by Baseball America, the highly-respected trade publication of minor and major league baseball.

 

The team features 13 players from seven independent professional leagues.  Glen is joined on the team by fellow Northern League stars Darryl Brinkley (outfielder, Calgary), Luis Alen (catcher, Winnipeg), and Carlos Duncan (third baseman, Calgary).  Brinkley, who hit .400 this season, was named Independent Leagues Player of the Year.

 

Baseball America honored Glen while referring to the accomplishments of the RailCats and two other independent league champions as "mini-dynasties" and "becoming old hats at champagne celebrations."  Over the past three seasons, the RailCats have won the league championship twice and finished as league runners-up in the other year. 

 

Glen, now a free agent, went 12-1 during the regular season for the RailCats in 2007 and 4-0 in the post-season.  He also established a new independent Northern League record for strikeouts in a single season.

 

Glen is 32-9 over his three-year RailCats career and 8-0 in three years of playoff action.  This season, he allowed just three earned runs in 33 playoff innings after tossing 17 scoreless innings in the playoffs in 2006. 

 

Glen was also named Northern League Pitcher of the Year in 2007 and was selected the "Most Outstanding Player" in the Northern League Championship Series.  He was also voted by his teammates as the RailCats "Most Inspirational Player" for 2007, a testament to his tremendous work ethic and impeccable character.

 

RailCats manager Greg Tagert, general manager Bill Terlecky, and the entire RailCats organization are hopeful that Glen will receive a much-deserved opportunity to pitch at a higher level in 2008 after leading the RailCats to the 2007 Northern League Championship and serving as a key contributor to the club's 2005 league title and 2006 appearance in the league championship series.

 

More Info:  The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a Professional Minor League Baseball Team serving Northwest Indiana and Chicago's south suburbs.  For the last four years, they have been chosen "Best Local Spectator Sport" by Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly.  Their 96 game schedule includes 47 home games at beautiful U. S. Steel Yard, an award-winning 6,000 seat state-of-the-art facility located next to the Indiana Toll Road (I-90) with easy access to I-65.

 

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