With Walter Young already under contract, the Goldeyes now have a solid left-right combination that would serve them very well in a boxing ring.

Goldeyes manager Rick Forney announced today the signing of outfielder Tydus Meadows. Winnipeg has 18 players under contract for 2008, 10 of whom are position players.

Meadows, 30, batted .301 last year with 17 home runs and 59 runs batted in for Fargo-Moorhead. His dingers total, as well as his team-leading 61 walks, were both among the top five in the Northern League.

After a slow start that saw him batting just .152 two weeks into the season, Meadows was released, but re-signed by the RedHawks five days later. He got better as the season went on, including a second half where he hit .351 in 46 games with 13 home runs and 39 runs batted in to raise his average more than 50 points.

A career .293 hitter with an .898 OPS in more than 1,000 games, Meadows has hit double digits in home runs in all 10 of his seasons. He spent his first four years in the Cubs system followed by stints over five years with Kansas City, Texas and the Dodgers before landing in Fargo last year.

Winnipeg opens training camp at Canwest Park on Thursday, May 1. The regular season begins two weeks later when the Kansas City T-Bones arrive for the first of a four-game series.

FISH FOOD: Ticket packages for the Northern League All-Star Celebrations go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. at all Ticketmaster locations, including the ballpark box office, by calling 780-3333 or on-line at ticketmaster.ca. For $25 (Club), $21 (Prime), $19 (On Deck) and $15 (Grand Slam), fans get assigned seats to both the Skills Competition on Monday, July 7 and the All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 8. Single tickets to each event go on sale May 3.