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32-611: Pitcher Ben Sheets , first baseman Prince Fielder , shortstop J. J. Hardy and third baseman Bill Hall formerly played for the Raptors. Hall of Famer Frank Robinson played for the Ogden Reds, a previous Ogden franchise in the Pioneer League. The Raptors' inaugural 1994 season is chronicled in the book Minor Players, Major Dreams (1997, University of Nebraska Press) by author-in-uniform Brett Mandel. During their second season of play

64-631: A college baseball scholarship. He once struck out 20 batters in a game against Louisiana Tech . In the summer of 1998, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) with the Wareham Gatemen , and returned to the CCBL in 1999 to play with the Orleans Cardinals , where he was a teammate of fellow future Major Leaguer Mark Teixeira . Sheets was inducted into

96-516: A no-decision . The Athletics lost the game in the bottom of the 9th. On July 29, 2010, the Athletics announced Sheets would miss the remainder of the season due to a torn flexor in his right elbow. His season ended with Sheets going 4–9 in 20 starts. On July 1, 2012, the Atlanta Braves announced that Sheets had signed a minor league contract with the organization in order to attempt a comeback to

128-470: A 3–0 count on only 2% of all batters he faced in the season, the lowest percentage in the majors. He also threw curveballs 33% of the time, more than any other starter in the major leagues. At the end of the season, he incurred a tear in his right elbow, underwent Tommy John surgery and did not pitch in the postseason. In October 2008, Sheets filed for free agency. Most teams were put off by Sheets due to his propensity for injuries. In addition, Sheets

160-404: A 4.76 ERA . In 2003, Sheets was troubled by bulging discs in his lower back. "My back has been hurt but you've got to go out there and perform," he said. Over the final two months of the season, Sheets pitched poorly and finished the year 11–13 with a 4.45 ERA. In 2004, Sheets' trouble with a bulging disc subsided. On June 13, 2004, Sheets struck out all three batters on nine total pitches in

192-408: A five-hit, eight-strikeout performance. On May 10, Sheets struck out St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman Albert Pujols on a breaking ball in the first inning to reach 1,082 strikeouts, breaking Teddy Higuera 's club mark. On July 9, Sheets had a season-high 11 strikeouts, including the first seven outs as strikeouts. By mid-July, he was 10–3 with a 2.85 ERA and was chosen as a starting pitcher for

224-705: A run, yeah I am. But I'm not surprised I'm getting people out. I wouldn't have come back if I didn't think I could get people out." Sheets made the final start of his career on October 3, 2012, against the Pirates. Sheets was born on July 18, 1978, in Baton Rouge , Louisiana . During the 2004 season, Sheets resided in St. Amant, Louisiana . In 2008, he was living in Highland Park, Texas . He and his wife Julie have two sons, Seaver (named after Tom Seaver ) and Miller Bennett. Sheets

256-509: A strikeout ratio of 10.09 batters per nine innings. In 2000, Sheets was on the United States national team for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney . He pitched 22 innings, struck out 11 batters, walked one, and gave up 11 hits during the tournament, and faced off against Cuban ace Pedro Luis Lazo in the gold medal game, giving up three singles and advancing just one runner to second base for

288-543: A strikeout-to-walk ratio of over 8:1, far and away the best in the major leagues. A mediocre 12–14 win–loss record during this outstanding season was primarily the result of poor run support. Sheets finished 8th in the Cy Young Award voting. In response to his success in 2004, the Brewers signed Sheets to a four-year, $ 38.5 million extension. At that time, it was the largest contract in Brewers history. However, after signing

320-610: Is also part owner of the American Hockey League 's Milwaukee Admirals . He enjoys Cajun food , including jambalaya and crawfish etouffee . Since 2013, Sheets has been a volunteer baseball coach at his alma mater the University of Louisiana at Monroe . Andy Sheets , a former major league infielder, is a distant cousin. On June 13, 2014, Sheets was inducted into the Brewers Wall of Honor for pitching over 1,000 innings with

352-530: Is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers , Oakland Athletics , and Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball . Sheets is a four-time MLB All-Star (2001, 2004, 2007, and 2008). He won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics . Sheets graduated from St. Amant High School in Ascension Parish, Louisiana . He attended Northeast Louisiana University on

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384-824: The CCBL Hall of Fame in 2008. Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round (10th overall) of the 1999 draft , he made his professional debut with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League . In August, against the Idaho Falls Chukars , Sheets struck out eight batters while allowing just one hit through five innings. Later in the month, he was promoted to Class A Stockton of the California League . In his seven minor league starts that year, Sheets averaged

416-636: The Los Angeles Dodgers . A strained hamstring in August forced him to miss the rest of the 2007 regular season. Sheets started on Opening Day 2008 in a 4–3 win over the Cubs. He batted eighth in the lineup, the first Brewers starting pitcher to bat in a position other than ninth. In his second start, Sheets threw only the second complete-game shutout of his career, beating the San Francisco Giants 7–0 in

448-609: The Western League (1947–1958), Central League (1948–1951) and Western International League (1952–1954). The Western International League became the Class B Northwest League in 1955, and the Western and Central loops folded. The hierarchy of Triple-A through Class D continued until Minor League Baseball restructured in 1963, at which time Classes B through D were abolished, with existing leagues at those levels reassigned into Class A, while

480-488: The Class A-Advanced level. These three leagues operated with Low-A naming for the 2021 season. Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, MLB announced on March 16, 2022, that the leagues would revert to their prior names, effective with the 2022 season. MLB also discontinued use of "Low-A" in favor of Single-A. On June 30, 2021, Minor League Baseball announced that

512-458: The National League in the 2008 All-Star Game. Pitching in his fourth All-Star Game, Sheets became the first Milwaukee Brewer pitcher to start an All-Star Game. In his 2008 All-Star outing, he pitched two scoreless innings, giving up one hit, walking two, and striking out three. Sheets finished the season with 13–9 with a 3.09 ERA in 31 starts and 198 1 ⁄ 3 innings pitched. He went to

544-559: The Raptors set a league record for most runs scored in a single game, defeating the Helena Brewers 33–10 on August 27, 1995. The official mascot of the Ogden Raptors minor league baseball team is Oggie. Oggie is a cartoon green raptor who wears the white home uniform with a "#" as the number. He is a regular part of Raptors' home games and events. Before they arrived in Ogden, the team

576-664: The South Atlantic League (renamed as the Southern League ) and Eastern League ascended to Double-A. In 1965, a Class A Short Season designation was created, for teams playing June–September schedules, primarily meant for new players acquired via the amateur draft . The Class A-Advanced designation was established in 1990, between Class A and Double-A in the minor league hierarchy. Class A and Class A Short Season were considered independent classifications, with Class A having "Full-Season" and Advanced sub-classifications, per

608-686: The club. Class A (baseball) Single-A , formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A , is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A , Double-A , and High-A . There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each team in Major League Baseball (MLB), organized into three leagues: the California League , Carolina League , and Florida State League . Class A

640-445: The contract, Sheets struggled with health issues. A series of inner ear infections that caused dizziness and a loss of balance forced Sheets onto the disabled list for a period of time in the beginning of the 2005 season. Sheets started the 2006 season on the disabled list but quickly came off it only to pitch three starts before going on the DL again with shoulder tendinitis . He returned to

672-417: The entire game. Sheets gave up no walks and struck out five in a 4–0 complete-game shutout. By 2001, Sheets had been promoted to the Brewers' starting rotation. His first two starts resulted in losses, but he won his next four, while pitching to a 1.73 ERA. On May 29, in his ninth career start, he pitched his first shutout, giving up five hits against the St. Louis Cardinals . He ended the season 11–10 with

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704-519: The franchise record of 14, set by Moose Haas in 1978. By the end of the season, Sheets established himself as a strikeout threat, throwing 264, to finish second in the National League and third in the majors behind Randy Johnson and Johan Santana . After posting an ERA above 4.00 in his previous three seasons, Sheets compiled a dominant 2.70 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, which ranked Sheets fourth and third, respectively, among all starting pitchers. Most impressively, Sheets amassed only 32 walks, giving Sheets

736-568: The highest level, restricted to leagues with cities that had an aggregate population of over a million people. Entering the 1902 season, the only Class A leagues were the Eastern League and the Western League —both leagues had eight teams, in cities such as Toronto, Ontario ; Buffalo, New York ; Worcester, Massachusetts ; Omaha, Nebraska ; Denver, Colorado ; and Peoria, Illinois . Leagues operating within less populated areas were classified as Class B, Class C, or Class D. Class A remained

768-718: The major leagues. He made his first minor league start with the Mississippi Braves on July 4, 2012. On July 12, the Braves announced that they had called Sheets up from the minors. Sheets made his first start in nearly two years, on July 15 against the New York Mets. He pitched six scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out five to earn the win. After his second start also resulted in no runs given up by Sheets, who pitched six innings of five-hit, six-strikeout ball, he stated, "If you asked me if I'm surprised I haven't given up

800-610: The rules governing baseball's minor leagues. The overall hierarchy was: Entering the 2020 minor league season (which was not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic ), Class A consisted of the Midwest League and South Atlantic League (a newer "Sally League", which been formed in 1963 as the Western Carolinas League ). Prior to the 2021 season, MLB restructured the minor leagues, eliminating Class A Short Season and discontinuing

832-583: The starting rotation two weeks after the All-Star break. Sheets pitched a seven-inning shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates . In his second game back, he would pitch nearly a complete-game shutout, but in the 9th inning, Sheets gave up a two-run homer to Ken Griffey Jr. of the Reds. In 2007, Sheets started both his and the Brewers' season on a high note by throwing an Opening Day complete game, two-hitter against

864-482: The third inning of a 5–4 loss to the Houston Astros , becoming the 26th National League pitcher and the 35th pitcher in major-league history to accomplish an immaculate inning . During 2004, his fastball was being clocked regularly at 96–98 miles per hour (154–158 km/h), primarily a result of improved health. That season he also struck out 18 batters in a May 16, 2004, game against the Atlanta Braves , shattering

896-660: The top classification until Class AA was established in 1912, then remained the second-highest classification until Class A1 was established in 1936. In 1946, the top two levels changed from being Class AA and Class A1 to being Class AAA and AA, with Class A remaining the third-highest level, above Classes B through D. Class A in 1946 consisted of the Eastern League and the original South Atlantic League (or "Sally League"), with teams in communities such as Vancouver, British Columbia ; Omaha, Nebraska ; Colorado Springs, Colorado ; Charlotte, North Carolina ; Scranton, Pennsylvania ; and Allentown, Pennsylvania . Class A soon included

928-576: The use of all historical league names within Minor League Baseball. The Midwest League and South Atlantic League were reclassified as "High-A" leagues, and operated during 2021 as High-A Central and High-A East , respectively. They were replaced at the Class A level by three "Low-A" leagues: Low-A West , Low-A East , and Low-A Southeast . These leagues had historically been known as the California League , Carolina League , and Florida State League , respectively, and had previously operated at

960-651: Was a "type-A" free agent , meaning that if a team signed him before the Rule 4 draft , they would forfeit a draft pick to the Brewers. Sheets ultimately did not play during the 2009 season. On January 26, 2010, Sheets agreed to a one-year, $ 10 million with an additional $ 2 million in incentives, contract with the Oakland Athletics. Sheets got the Opening Day start, going five innings allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out three and walking four, receiving

992-1037: Was known as the Pocatello Posse and played in Pocatello, Idaho . On September 17, 2017, the Raptors beat the Great Falls Voyagers 8–3 to win their first ever Pioneer League championship. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Pioneer League, of which the Raptors have been members since 1994, was converted from an MLB-affiliated Rookie Advanced league to an independent baseball league and granted status as an MLB Partner League , with Ogden continuing as members. Pitchers Utility players Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches [REDACTED] Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list [ 4 ] Roster  updated June 29, 2024 Transactions Ben Sheets Ben Michael Sheets (born July 18, 1978)

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1024-467: Was originally the highest level of Minor League Baseball , beginning with the earliest classifications, established circa 1890. Teams within leagues at this level had their players' contracts protected and the players were subject to reserve clauses . When the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues – the formal name of Minor League Baseball – was founded in 1901, Class A remained

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