#3– Washington Wild Things have memorable season
The Wild Things returned to the Frontier League playoffs for the first time since 2007. At the best, the Wild Things were unpredictable. At their worst, they were amazingly dysfunctional. They were, however, never boring.
The Wild Things ended runs of six consecutive years without a playoff appearance and five straight losing seasons by finishing 57-39 in the competitive East Division and defeating Evansville in a one-game wild-card playoff at the Otters’ 100-year-old Bosse Field. Washington was eliminated in the semifinals by River City.
Second-year manager Bart Zeller guided Washington to a 31-19 record but unexpectedly resigned July 13, one day before the all-star break. The resignation came the morning after Zeller and pitching coach Kevin Gryboski got into a physical altercation in the dugout during a game against Florence.
The Wild Things went without a manager for two weeks, using a coach-by-committee approach. Hitting coach Bob Didier, a former major leaguer catcher and coach, resigned Aug. 2. Later that day, long-time assistant coach Bob Bozzuto was promoted to manager and did an excellent job keeping the players’ focus on the task at hand, which was making the playoffs.
The highlight of the season was pitcher Matt Sergey throwing the first perfect game in the Frontier League’s 22-year history when he retired all 27 Gateway batters in an Aug. 24 game at Consol Energy Park.
Two players, outfielders Stewart Ijames (Arizona) and C.J. Beatty (Chicago White Sox) were signed by major league organizations during the season. Following the Wild Things’ ouster from the playoffs, pitchers Troy Marks and Al Yevoli were sold to the Diamondbacks.