It was great to see that Seattle is giving Lancaster, PA first baseman Ian Bladergroen a fresh opportunity after the second major injury of the 25-year-old power hitter's young career.

At the same time, his signing started me thinking again just how difficult it is to make it from an Independent league to first base in the major leagues. Kevin Millar is such a rare case.

Bladergroen, a 6-foot-5 lefty swinger, had six homers and a league-leading 26 RBI when he broke a bone in his right hand after oNLy 26 2008 games in the Atlantic League. He finished with 15 homers in 89 games, but think of the numbers if he had not missed nearly two months.

Three slightly older first basemen I can name--and I likely have missed some--have put up major numbers without getting a single game in the majors. Brandon Sing of Pensacola, FL had 124 home run while in the Chicago Cubs system, including 32 in the Florida State League in 2004, and pounded another 22 for the Pelicans in the American Association this summer. Josh Pressley added to his career numbers with 30 homers and 101 RBI for Somerset, NJ (Atlantic League) this season, but still has not gotten above Triple-A. And, Jesse Hoorelbeke had his fourth 20-home run season with Bridgeport, CT (Atlantic) in 2007, but returned to the Bluefish in '08 (28 homers, 106 runs batted in) after he got oNLy 13 at bats for Double-A Arkansas last spring before the Angels cut him loose.

How Impressive Is This?

The Long Island (NY) Ducks, who commoNLy lead Independent Baseball in total attendance, reminded fans in a recent media release that for the last three years "Ducks fans snapped up over 70 percent of all group sales tickets within the first 48 hours of availability".

And that was before Gary Carter, who led the Orange County (CA) Flyers to the Golden League championship last summer, took over as manager oNLy a few miles from where he played much of his Hall of Fame catching career with the New York Mets . The magic group sales kickoff time for 2009 is 10 a.m. EST on December 3.

Romo, Free Agents Doing Well in Winter Baseball

The most successful player in the Arizona Winter League in the first two seasons has been reliever Sergio Romo, who won three of his four decisions and allowed oNLy 16 hits in 34 innings during two stints in 2008 with the San Francisco Giants . Romo, already a Giants farmhand when he went to the AWL for more work, has picked right up in the Mexican Pacific League by posting a 1.76 earned run average, striking out 18 and oNLy issuing one walk in 13 appearances for Mexicali.

Several former Independent players recently freed from major league organizations also are doing well in winter Baseball. Among them, lefthander Brian Mazone (Joliet, IL, Northern League and Zion, UT, Western League) is 2-0, 3.15 in seven starts in Mexico, and another Philadelphia castoff, R. J. Swindle, is 3-0 with oNLy 11 hits and three walks to go with 15 strikeouts over 12 relief innings in Venezuela.

Among hitters needing a fresh opportunity, catcher Eliezer Alfonzo seems to have found his home run swing in Venezuela with eight round-trippers and a .333 average after 102 at bats. He once caught for St. Paul, MN. Jay Gibbons, at Long Island, NY (Atlantic League) between time at Baltimore and being signed by Milwaukee in late summer, is a so-so .260 but has six homers in 77 at bats in the same league.

Former major league all-star Edgardo Alfonzo, with Long Island the last two summers, is pounding the ball at a .364 clip and has a .422 on-base percentage as a Magallanes teammate with Gibbons and Swindle.

(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes on Independent Baseball. Fans may subscribe at www.WirzandAssociates.com, enjoy his blogs (www.IndyBaseballChatter.com and www.IndependentBaseballClassifieds.com) or comment to RWirz@aol.com The author has 16 years of major league Baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford)