The Goldeyes had another exciting year on the field during the 1996 season by making it to the playoffs for the third consecutive year. They became the only team in the modern day Northern League to accomplish this feat. While they were not successful in recapturing the Northern League title, many team and individual accomplishments were achieved.

The 1996 version of the Winnipeg Goldeyes saw the departure of field manager Doug Simunic and the arrival of former Houston Astros manager Hal Lanier. Hal guided the team to its most productive season so far with 50 wins.

Team pitching saw improvement in eight different categories from the 1995 season. The team’s ERA is a statistic that can only be described as incredible and can largely be attributed to the knowledge and leadership provided by pitching coach Bob Kipper. The Goldeyes team ERA went from a League worst of 6.34 on June 30th, to the best by the end of the season with a 4.68 mark. Our pitchers gave up just 742 hits over 733 and 1/3 innings pitched, 42 hits less than the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks who gave up 788. Contributing to the low ERA was a League leading five shutouts. The Goldeyes pitching staff had two members in the top ten ERAs in the League by the end year. Andy Wise finished the season with a 3.45 ERA, placing him fifth in the League, while teammate Matt Jarvis ended with an ERA of 3.58 which was good enough for eighth spot.

On July 21, 1996, Nevin Brewer became the Goldeyes all-time save leader with 9. Todd Marion had 7 saves during the Goldeyes 1994 campaign and Mike Cather notched 8 saves during his stay with the Goldeyes in 1995. Brewer would end the season with 16 saves, placing him second in the League in that category.

The team’s 50 wins during the 1996 campaign was the highest win total in the Goldeyes brief three year history. During Doug Simunic’s tenure as the Goldeyes manager, he managed to compile records of 43-37 during 1994 and 47-38 during 1995. Present Goldeyes manager Hal Lanier surpassed Simunic’s mark of 47 wins with a 11-0 victory over the Sioux Falls Canaries on August 22, 1996. Hal, along with his strong supporting coaching staff of Kipper and Scott Neiles, went on to lead the team to a final record of 50 wins and 34 losses for the 1996 season.

The Goldeyes improved in five separate team offensive categories over the 1995 season. While they fell a little short of the 102 homers they knocked out in 1995, hitting 96 in 1996, they were a greater threat on the base paths. The team would score 26 more runs than in 1995, a stat that could be attributed to the fact that they stole five more bases, with 101 on the season, while being caught ten less times than last year with only 33. With a 75% stolen base percentage, the Goldeyes were trouble every time they reached first base. Even though the Goldeyes had 65 less hits than in 1995, they had 78 more walks, improving on their on-base percentage from a .360 mark in 1995 to a .370 mark in 1996.

Terry Lee was the cornerstone of the Goldeyes offense for the second straight year. In 1995, Lee made a run at the triple crown in the Northern League but fell two home runs short, leading in both batting average and runs batted in. In 1996, Lee improved on his home runs by hitting one more with 23, improved his RBI total by 15 by knocking in 88 runs, but his batting average dropped slightly from his Northern League record mark of .373 in 1995 to .353 in 1996. Terry finished in the top five among Northern League leaders in six different offensive categories. Among the top fives for Lee were batting average (2nd with .353), home runs (3rd with 23), RBI (2nd with 88), on-base percentage (1st with .464), slugging percentage (3rd with .634) and runs scored (3rd with 81). While
Lee’s hit total dropped slightly, his strikeouts also dropped and his walks increased, leading to an increase in his on-base percentage from .448 in 1995 to a League best .464 in 1996.

Defensively, the Goldeyes were a much stronger team than the 1995 version and committed five less errors in the field. A positive defensive turnaround came when Vince Castaldo joined the Goldeyes. This solidified both the infield and the outfield with Castaldo at third and Chris Kokinda moving to his natural position in the outfield. Kokinda, having played his entire career in the outfield, was asked to fill a spot in the infield at third base. In 53 games at third base, Kokinda committed a total of 18 errors. When he was moved to the outfield, Kokinda played 30 games and committed just one error.

This Goldeyes team set a number of club records, the most impressive of which was the 50 wins in one season, three better than the 1995 version. Prior to the 1996 season, the longest winning streak the Goldeyes were able to muster was a five gamer. Three times during this season, the Goldeyes would match or beat that mark with their best being an eight game win streak from August 4th through to August 12th. In all, the Goldeyes rallied for five, seven and eight game win streaks during the season. On the downside, the Goldeyes also suffered through a club record of eight losses in a row. These eight losses did not come without a few heartbreakers including two extra inning games, five one run games and one game after leading 3-0 going into the bottom of the ninth.

For the second consecutive year, the Goldeyes home record was the envy of the Northern League. The Goldeyes only lost 12 home games this season out of 42 played for an unbelievable 71% average. Last season, the Goldeyes won 27 of 42 games for a 64% average to tie them with St. Paul for the League’s best home record. The Goldeyes shutout their opponents four times at home and, considering the dimensions of Winnipeg Stadium, four shutouts is quite impressive. No visiting team had a better than .500 record against our team at the Stadium in 1996. The only team that would match the Goldeyes win for win at Winnipeg Stadium was the Sioux Falls Canaries.

The 1996 season began on a cold and rainy day at Winnipeg Stadium on May 31 and ended three months later on a cold and rainy day in Fargo. The Goldeyes opened the season with an impressive three game sweep of the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks and ended the season with a two games to one series loss to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the Western Divisional playoff series.

To cap off the 1996 season, individual honors were bestowed upon Terry Lee, Chris Kokinda, Jamie Ybarra and Matt Jarvis. Terry Lee earned the prestigious title of Northern League Player of the Year for the second consecutive season and was also named the All-Star first baseman. The Rookie of the Year award went to third baseman/outfielder Chris Kokinda. Our pitching excellence was also honored with two pitchers being named to the All-Star team. Jamie Ybarra was named the League’s best right-handed pitcher and Matt Jarvis was named the League’s best left-handed pitcher.

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