When the Winnipeg Goldeyes opened the 2002 Northern League season on May 23 at St. Paul's Midway Stadium, they were a team as similar to the 2001 edition as they were different.

Of the 22 players on the opening day roster, 11 were back from last year's Central Conference championship squad. Thus, there were some immediate similarities, but the team that took the field on opening day played a very different brand of baseball.

After winning the season opener, the Goldeyes promptly lost nine of their next 11 games for a franchise-worst 3-9 start. But rather than make major personnel changes, manager Hal Lanier instead made positional changes and it worked.

With a Central-best 28 wins, the Goldeyes captured the North Division's first-half title and ensured themselves a playoff spot for the ninth straight year. They did so with big contributions from the likes of pitcher Donnie Smith, third baseman Brent Sachs and shortstop Max Poulin, players the fans had come to know, as well as those they were getting to know in pitcher Bobby Madritsch, left fielder Harry Berrios and first baseman Pete Rose Jr.

Having secured a playoff spot with solid pitching, hitting and defence, the Goldeyes began the second half much like the first half. Three straight losses saw them sink to the bottom of the division, but they quickly recovered with five straight wins and 13 in their next 20 for a share of top spot in the North come the all-star break.

Manager Lanier and pitching coach Rick Forney were well served by the five players who joined them in La Belle Province for the Northern League All-Star Game, as the Central rolled to a 12-3 win over their Eastern counterparts. Sachs, Berrios, Geraldo Padua and Rafael Gross all played key roles, as did Quebec's own Poulin, who starred before a very enthusiastic crowd that included numerous friends and family members.

The break served the Goldeyes well, as they would play on 25 straight days when action resumed. After going 8-8 in their first 16, the second-half Goldeyes suddenly became the first-half Goldeyes, winning seven of their last nine to capture both halves for the second straight year.

Just two days after concluding the regular season against Lincoln, Winnipeg hosted the Saltdogs in the opening round of the playoffs. Picking up where they left off, the hosts grabbed an early series lead, then needed to go to five games for their second straight North Division title and a Central Conference Final date with Sioux City.

With losses to Winnipeg in their only two previous playoff appearances, the Explorers came to town and outlasted the Goldeyes 4-3 in 11 innings in game one. The hosts, though, came right back with a 4-2 win the next night to even things up at a game each as the series shifted to Iowa.

Like so many other opposition ballparks this year, Lewis & Clark Park was a welcome sight for the Goldeyes. They won six of seven games there in 2002 and maintained their winning ways in the playoffs, taking game three 2-1, then finishing the job with a 5-2 win in game four to set up a re-match with New Jersey in the Northern League Championship Series.

Looking to exact some revenge, the Goldeyes did so in game one thanks to a 3-0 win. And with a record crowd of 7,056 in attendance, Winnipeg was out to make it 2-0 three nights later, but New Jersey pulled off a 3-2 win to send the series east tied at a game apiece.

Returning to Yogi Berra Stadium, where they lost just nine games this year, home field was very much an advantage for the Jackals. A late rally allowed them to post a 6-3 win in 11 innings in game three, while a 5-2 win the next night saw them repeat as Northern League champions.

It didn't end like it was supposed to, but it was still a very successful season for the Goldeyes. In leading the league in attendance for the third straight year, the 303,786 fans Winnipeg welcomed represented a league record. And included in that total was Rory Newton, who on August 8 became the one-millionth fan to see a regular season game at CanWest Global Park.

On an individual basis, Madritsch set a league-record for strikeouts as Baseball America named him its Independent Player of the Year. He and Sachs also made the magazine's All-Independent First Team, while Berrios earned a spot on the Second Team. The three also took their places on the Daktronics Central Conference All-Star Team. Last, but by no means least, general manager
Andrew Collier was recognized in t his first year on the job as the Central Conference's Executive
of the Year.

 

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