Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

My kind of town, Chicago is; my kind of town.

Which is where, on vacation last week, I caught up with two members of the Lexington Legends Hall of Fame: John Buck and Josh Anderson, in town for the Kansas City Royals series against the Chicago White Sox.

Buck, a catcher, played for the first and most popular Legends squad — the 2001 team that compiled the best record in professional baseball (92-48) and won the South Atlantic League championship.

Anderson, a centerfielder, is unquestionably the most popular individual to play for the Legends, in 2004. The first Kentuckian (Eubank, in Pulaski County) to play for the team, Anderson was selected by the Houston Astros in the third round of the 2003 draft, out of Eastern Kentucky University. He led the NCAA in stolen bases that season with 57.

With the Legends, Anderson set club records by batting .326 and stealing 47 bases in just 73 games before being promoted to High-A Salem (where he hit .268 and stole 31 bases). He tied a minor-league record by going 6-for-6 in a home game against the Greensboro Bats, scoring five times and stealing four bases in a 13-6 victory.

He rose to the big leagues in 2007, hitting .358 and stealing one base over 21 games with the Astros.

Soon after that season, the Astros traded Anderson to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for RHP Oscar Villarreal. Anderson spent most of the 2008 season with Triple-A Richmond, but also played 40 games for Atlanta (.294, 10 steals).

Josh Anderson

This season has been especially busy for Anderson, who turned 27 on Aug. 10.

On March 30, the Braves traded him to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for RHP Rudy Darrow. Anderson hit .242 with 13 steals for Detroit.

Then, just ahead of the trade deadline, the Royals got Anderson from Detroit on July 30 for cash.

Six days later, Anderson’s wife Heather gave birth to their first child, Easton Aaron.

“I got time off for the birth, but it kind of drug out and we waited around and waited around,” Anderson said. “Finally, he was born Aug. 4, and I had to leave Aug. 5. So my time at home wasn’t really with him a lot, but I was there for the birth and that’s the most important thing.”

If you thought going from the first-place Tigers to the last-place Royals would “bum out” Anderson, then you don’t know him very well.

“I just want to play,” he said. “And wherever I go I’m going to play my best and play hard. … The fact that I went from the Tigers (to) here, I didn’t think about that one bit, really. I just looked at the opportunity that was available here and the opportunity that I’ve been blessed with. And for that I’m thankful and looking forward to it.”

In his first 13 games with Kansas City, Anderson is hitting .233 and has a pair of steals.

He says the Royals have “made the transition very easy for me.” And he is enchanted by refurbished Kauffman Stadium.

“I think, of all the stadiums I’ve ever played in, it’s the prettiest park you’ll ever see,” he said. “The fans are great. They draw great crowds. And it’s a great place to play.

“You’ve got a staff here that cares about each guy and wants to win. And this clubhouse is full of great guys, so I don’t see how you can ask for much more than that.”

John Buck

Buck, now 29, hit 22 homers and drove in 73 runs to help the Legends to their 2001 title. His most memorable game came against the Charleston (W.Va.) AlleyCats. He smacked a first-inning grand slam homer and, an inning later, had a three-run blast.

He also handled a pitching staff that finished third in the SAL with an ERA of 3.10.

Now, he’s in his sixth season with the Royals. His career totals for 569 games include a .232 batting average, 67 homers and 252 RBI.

He came to Kansas City as part of a three-team deal involving the Astros, Royals and Oakland A’s.

An early season back injury has limited Buck to 44 games (through Monday) this season. Now, the injury is behind him.

“I feel great. The back’s good,” said Buck, who is hitting .212 with five homers and 29 RBI. “Didn’t play a whole lot when I had the bad back. With three catchers, it definitely gave me time to heal the way I don’t ever feel it, which is a good thing.

“Obviously, with a back injury, you’ve got to take it seriously and let it heal. Even though you feel good and want to go out there and just do it every day. But I’m glad I took the time off that I did because now I don’t feel it at all.”

Kansas City’s struggles are difficult on the psyche. Buck says the team isn’t playing up to it capability. Nevertheless, he continues to savor life in the big leagues.

“It’s what I dreamed of. We don’t win as much here as we did in Lexington, but you’re still playing baseball, you’re doing what you love to do,” he said. “Playing at the highest level. Even though we’re not having the best season, still, you’re playing big-league baseball.”

John Buck

The Kansas City Royals already have one member of the Lexington Legends Hall of Fame, catcher John Buck.

Now they have a second, and indisputedly the most popular player in the Legends’ nine seasons, outfielder Josh Anderson.

Josh Anderson

The Detroit Tigers sent Anderson, 26,  to the Royals for cash Thursday.

Anderson, a native of Eubank in Pulaski County and a collegiate standout at Eastern Kentucky, hit .242 with 16 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts for the Tigers this season.

The Houston Astros selected Anderson in the fourth round of the 2003 draft.

At Eastern, Anderson led the Colonels to a second-place finish in the 2003 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. He led the nation with 57 stolen bases, was named OVC Player of the Year and became EKU’s first Louisville Slugger First Team All-American.

After earning New York-Penn League all-star honors with the Tri-City ValleyCats in 2003, Anderson landed on the Legends roster to open the 2004 season.

He stayed only half a season, then promoted to High-A Salem.

In 73 games with the Legends, Anderson hit .324 with four homers, 31 RBI and 47 stolen bases in 56 attempts. He scored 69 runs, and his strikeout total matched his stolen-base total — 47.

Including his time with Salem that season, Anderson was 78-for-91 on the basebaths.

He was named a South Atlantic League all-star.

The highlight of his short stay in Lexington was a still-standing club-record 6-for-6 game in a 13-6 rout of the Greensboro Bats. Facing four pitchers that day, Anderson had five singles and a double, scored five times, drove in a pair of runs and stole four bases.

From Salem, Anderson advanced the Double-A Corpus Christi (2005-06) and Triple-A Round Rock (2007), then joined the Astros for 21 games late in 2007. He hit .358 for Houston, with 11 RBI and a stolen base in his lone attempt.

The Astros traded Anderson to the Atlanta Braves after the 2007 season for pitcher Oscar Villarreal. Anderson split time between Atlanta and Triple-A, setting a Richmond (Va.) Braves and International League-record 27-game hitting streak. He hit .314 at the Triple-A level that season, with 155 hits, 77 runs, four triples and 42 stolen bases.

In 40 games with Atlanta, Anderson hit .294 with three homers, 12 RBI and 10 steals.

The Tigers acquired Anderson last March 30 in exchange for minor-league pitcher Rudy Darrow.

A left-handed hitter, Anderson’s big-league totals include a .283 batting average, three homers and 39 RBI.

South Atlantic League baseball

Coming up

                              Lexington Legends
   vs. Rome Braves

What: Four-game series

When: Saturday through Tuesday (7:05 each night, except Sunday at 2:05 p.m.)

Where: Applebee’s Park

Tickets: Call (859) 422-7867

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Saturday, RH Robert Bono (7-4, 2.16) vs. RH Paul Clemens (4-3, 5.25); Sunday, RH Ross Seaton (6-7, 2.73) vs. RH Randall Delgado (1-7, 5.66); Monday, RH Kyle Greenwalt (6-7, 3.61) vs. LH Dimaster Delgado (1-2, 3.62); Tuesday, RH Jordan Lyles (5-7, 3.15) vs. RH Zeke Spruill (7-4, 3.32).

Adam Milligan

Brave to watch: OF Adam Milligan (6-foot-3, 210 pounds, from Morristown, Tenn.) was promoted to Rome on Friday, up from Danville of the Appalachian League. Milligan hit .439 with two homers, five doubles, a triple and 10 RBI in nine games with Danville. Atlanta took him in the sixth round of the 2008 draft, the third time the Braves selected the left-handed-hitting power hitter (who throws right-handed). He backed out of a committment to Vanderbilt, signing for $350,000. Milligan roomed with the son of Braves scouting director Roy Clark while attending Walters State (Tenn.) Community College. He also was recruited for football, out of Hardin County High School, where he was a Tennessee all-stater three years in a row. He played plenty of positions — quarterback, running back, receiver, kick-returner and safety.

Brian Pellegrini

Legend to watch: 1B Brian Pellegrini (6-1, 240, from Willoughby, Ohio) has tormented SAL pitchers since joining the Legends on May 16. Pellegrini began the season with High-A Lancaster of the California League, batting .171 with seven homers and 15 RBI over 30 games. Over 40 games with the Legends (through Thursday), Pellegrini is hitting .366 with 12 homers and 35 RBI. His 12 homers tie him for fifth in the league. He does not have enough appearances to qualify for league leaders in most categories, but his .366 batting, .441 on-base and .697 slugging numbers, as well as a gaudy 1.138 OPS would otherwise rank first. He hit .437 (38-for-87) with nine homers and 26 RBI in June. Pellegrini also spent much of last season with the Legends, notching 21 homers and 69 RBI over 87 games. His 33 career homers are a club record. Selected by the Houston Astros in the 12th round of the 2007 draft, out of St. Bonaventure University, he was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2006.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

South Atlantic League Baseball

Coming up 

Lexington Legends vs. Rome Braves

Jordan Lyles

Kyle Greenwalt

What: Four-game series

When: Wednesday through Saturday (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday at 7 p.m.; Thursday at 10:30 a.m.)

Where: State Mutual Stadium (Rome, Ga.)

Probable pitchers (Legends listed first): Wednesday, RH Kyle Greenwalt (2-1, 0.78)

Ross Seaton

Henry Villar

vs. RH Jacob Thompson (0-2, 4.28); Thursday, RH Jordan Lyles (1-2, 4.94) vs. LH Brett DeVall (0-1, 4.91); Friday, RH Ross Seaton (4-1, 0.91) vs. RH Zeke Spruill (4-0, 2.39); Saturday, RH Henry Villar (0-0, 2.37) vs. RH Randall Delgado (1-3, 4.03).

Brave to watch: 1B Gerardo Rodriguez (6-foot-1, 195 pounds, from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) leads the Braves in hits (28), triples (3), homers (5), RBI (15) and total

Gerardo Rodriguez

bases (54), and shares the team lead in doubles (5). Also has played error-free ball at first base. Originally signed by the Yankees after the 2004 season, when he was 17. Joined the Braves in 2008, leading Danville in homers (13) and RBI (49). the latter total ranking third in the Appalachian League. 

Arcenio Leon

Legend to watch: RHP Arcenio Leon (6-1, 162, from Maracaibo, Venezuela) has notched wins in his last three appearances, all in relief. Overall, Leon is 3-0 with a 2.12 ERA over seven appearances (one start) and 17 innings. He has held opponents to a .136 batting average. Two of his wins came last week against Rome. Signed by the Astros Feb. 7, 2005, Leon went 3-6 over two seasons in the Venezuelan Summer League. He spent the past two seasons with Greeneville of the Appalachian League, going 0-7, 4.67 in 2007 and 3-1, 3.33 in 2008.

Charley Taylor

Albert Cartwright

Also of interest: Legends pitching coach Charley Taylor continues to recover at his Northern Kentucky home after undergoing surgery to remove his prostate and  cancerous bladder. Taylor says he hopes to be able to visit the team at Applebee’s Park in early June. … Legends 2B Albert Cartwright suffered a broken ulna (left forearm) as a result of being hit by a pitch

Brian McCann

during Monday’s game at Augusta. He is expected to be sidelined six-to-eight weeks. Cartwright hit .316 (25-for-79) over 23 games, with three homers, 13 RBI and 16 runs. … Taking Cartwright’s roster spot is IF Andy Simunic, a 17th-round draft pick out of the University of Tennessee last June. Simunic, 23, had been in the Astros’ extended spring training camp. Last year, he hit .234 with 14 RBI and 20 runs over 53 games with Tri-City of the New York-Penn League. … Atlanta Braves C Brian McCann was scheduled to make a rehab start Wednesday against the Legends, but the Braves changed the assignment Tuesday night to High-A Myrtle Beach. McCann, who helped Rome to the 2003 SAL championship, has been on the disabled list since April 25 due to an infected left eye.

Radio: WLXG AM-1300

Astros Minor League Players of the Month

Legends Players of the Month for April, as announced by the parent-club Houston Astros, are Daniel Meszaros, Ebert Rosario and Albert Cartwright.

Daniel Meszaros

Ebert Rosario

Meszaros is the team’s Pitcher of the Month, converting all seven of his save opportunities without allowing an earned run. Over 7 1/3 innings, he struck out 12.

Rosario, a third baseman, is Offensive Player of the Month. He hit .375 (21-for-56) with seven doubles, eight RBI and 10 runs scored in April.

Cartwright, a second baseman, is the Defensive Player of the Month. Over 20 games and 112 chances, Cartwright compiled a .973 fielding percentage (three errors).

Several former Legends earned organizational Player of the Month honors:

SS Tommy Manzella is Defensive Player of the Month for 3A Round Rock (18 games, .964 fielding percentage).

RH Brad James is Pitcher of the Month for 2A Corpus Christi (1-0, 2.81, 16 innings). 

The Houston Astros announced Saturday that the club has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with SS Tommy Manzella.

Manzella is the fifth player with past ties to the Lexington Legends — South Atlantic League affiliate of the Astros — to come to terms in the last three days. He joins OF Brian Bogusevic, RHP Chris Sampson, IF Drew Sutton and C J.R. Towles.

Tommy Manzella

Manzella, 25, agreed to a deal with a corresponding Major League value of $400,000. He hit .259 (117-for-452) while splitting last season between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Round Rock. He was named a Texas League All-Star and earned Defensive Player of the Month awards with both the Hooks (April) and Express (August). A third-round draft pick out of Tulane in 2005, he was a non-roster invitee to big-league training camp last year, going 6-for-19 (.316) in 11 games with the Astros.

* Astros pitchers and catchers had their first spring training workout Saturday at the Osceola County Stadium complex in Kissimmee, Fla. Of 35 players due Saturday, only RHP Jose Capellan did not show, due to a travel delay. All 27 pitchers in camp threw a 15-minute bullpen session.

The first full-squad workout is scheduled for Tuesday. Grapefruit League play begins Feb. 25, against the Washington Nationals at Kissimmee. Houston’s first road game in Florida will be Feb. 26, at Orlando, against the Atlanta Braves.

The Astros will finish pre-season work with a pair of exhibitions at Houston, April 3, vs. the Cleveland Indians. Houston opens the regular season at home, April 6 against the Chicago Cubs.

* Cincinnati Reds pitchers and catchers also reported Saturday, at the City of Sarasota (Fla.) Sports Complex Of 37 players due, only C Humberto Cota was absent. He is en route from Mexico. Position players are due Tuesday.

* Thanks to Sally Gunter of the Astros and Rob Butcher of the Reds for providing information for this entry.

Fernando Nieve

Hard to tell in snowy Central Kentucky, but baseball season soon will be here. (Not soon enough, though!)

The Houston Astros, parent club of the Lexington Legends, open spring training at Kissimmee, Fla., on Feb. 14, when pitchers and catchers are due to report. Position players report for the first full-squad workout on Feb. 17.

Eleven Astros are on provisional rosters for the World Baseball Classic, including former Legends pitchers Wandy Rodriguez (Dominican Republic) and Fernando Nieve (Venezuela). Rodriguez, known as Eny Cabreja during his time in Lexington, recently signed a one-year deal worth $2.6 million, plus incentives.

Spring training invitees include past Legends Sergio Perez, Chris Johnson, Lou Santangelo and Bud Norris.

Watch out for camels

Meanwhile, the Legends annual radio caravan will visit Cynthiana, Somerset, Richmond, Danville and Lexington, Tuesday through Thursday, Feb. 10-12.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Josh Anderson, a former Legend and Eastern Kentucky University standout, will join the Caravan for its visit to Somerset. Anderson is a native of nearby Eubank.

Another former EKU Colonel, Legends pitching coach Charley Taylor, will be along for Caravan stops at Somerset and Richmond.

The final stop, at Applebee’s Park, will feature Lexington’s Michael Bertram, Doug Flynn, Ben Revere and John Shelby.

Bertram, a third baseman, hit .285 with eight homers, 55 RBI and 51 runs over 102 games last year with the Detroit Tigers’ Class A Lakeland, Fla., team. Bertram has risen through the minors with Ryan Strieby, a teammate on Kentucky’s 2006 Southeastern Conference co-championship team.

Flynn won World Series titles with Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” in 1975 and ‘76. He also won a Gold Glove in 1980 as second baseman for the New York Mets.

Minnesota Twins prospect Revere earned MVP honors in the Midwest League last season, leading all of minor-league ball with a .379 average for the Class A Beloit Snappers. He also had a homer, 43 RBI, 51 runs and 44 stolen bases (57 attempts) over 83 games. He had nearly as many walks (27) as strikeouts (31).

Shelby, a Chicago White Sox prospect, was a teammate of Bertram on UK’s SEC co-championship team. He hit .295 with 15 homers, 80 RBI and 81 runs over 114 games for High-A Winston-Salem last season. In addition, he stole 33 bases in 38 attempts. His father, a former big-league outfielder of the same name, is first-base coach for the Baltimore Orioles.

The Legends note that other guests may be added, and that the schedule of guests is subject to change.

The schduled stops:

Tuesday, Feb. 10 – Live broadcast (8-9 a.m.) of Coffee Break with Rick Chasteen on WCYN-AM 1400, Biancke’s Restaurant, 102 South Main, Cynthiana. Harrison County High School coach Mac Whitaker will be a special guest.

Wednesday, Feb. 11 – Backyard Burgers (3-4 p.m.), Highway 27, Somerset; and

Powell Building (5:15-6:15 p.m.), Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond.

Thursday, Feb. 12 — Danville (details incomplete); and

Maker’s Mark Club (5:30-6:30 p.m.), Applebee’s Park, Lexington.

Talking Legends baseball

Keith Elkins hosts a weekly radio show, Legends Inside Scoop, on WLXG-AM 1300, Tuesdays from 7:20-8 p.m.

Recent guests include Manager Tom Lawless, pitching coach Charley Taylor and Astros “Scout of the Year” Nick Venuto.

* The Legends will host their annual national anthem tryouts Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 14-15, at Lexington’s Fayette Mall.

The auditons will take place in the mall wing nearest Dick’s Sporting Goods, noon-3 p.m. Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

For details, or to reserve an audition time, call the Legends at   (859) 252-4487  . Walk-up entrants also are welcome.

* You say you’ll save the fans from your vocals, but you’d still like to be at the park?

Well, senior slugger, the Legends have a pitch to make to you about the Silver Sluggers Club.

SSC membership, for fans 55 and over, costs $30. That will get you “a special package of gifts,” as well as Sunday tickets for half price, meal vouchers for Sunday games and “exclusive sale opportunities at the Legends Locker merchandise store.” Those registering before April 1 will receive a free box seat to the April 13 home opener.

Club members who attend six Sunday home games will receive a dinner for two in the Maker’s Mark Club. Those who attend all 10 Sunday home games will receive an autographed set of team cards. More details are available from the Legends:   (859) 252-4487  .