San Antonio Missions - 2009 Season

2009 Season

The 2009 season started out with an exhibition game between players on the Missions roster and members of the Padres’ Big League Spring Training roster. The result was a 7–3 win for the minor league guys, bolstered by a grand slam by hometown hero Seth Johnston.

Under the leadership of former MLB All-Star Terry Kennedy, the team earned a playoff berth by winning the first-half division title—clinching the berth on the road during an extra-innings win at Corpus Christi on June 23, the last game in the first half of the season.

The season was anti-climactic, however, as the team struggled down the final stretch and into playoffs. The Missions were eliminated by the Midland RockHounds, the eventual Texas League title winners, in four games – mustering enough excitement to win one playoff game behind the pitching of Will Inman. During Game 2 of the southern division championship series, the benches cleared when Mitch Canham defended Inman, who let out a yell to celebrate striking out Midland's catcher Josh Donaldson. When Canham came to bat the following inning, Midland pitcher Carlos Hernández threw a pitch that came close to Canham's head, clearing the benches again and nearly provoking a fight between the teams.

Several players stood out at times during the 2009 season, some of them being promoted for their performance. Outfielder Mike Baxter was promoted early on for his assault on Texas League pitching, batting .376 with 23 doubles in 51 games. Pitchers Tim Stauffer, Cesar Carrillo and Mat Latos were promoted to the Padres after performing well at the Double-A level, though Stauffer and Carrillo both spent a few weeks at the Triple-A level before moving on to the Majors. First baseman Craig Cooper led the team with a .312 average and 11 home runs by the end of the season. Outfielder Luis Durango led the Texas League with 44 stolen bases. Right-hander Ernesto Frieri led the team in most pitching categories, finishing the season protected on the 40-man Major League roster. Other noteworthy players include shortstop Lance Zawadzki, who played in the Arizona Fall League All-Star Game; third baseman Logan Forsythe, who led all of minor league baseball in on-base percentage for a bulk of the season; Cedric Hunter; lefty Nathan Culp and outfielder Sawyer Carroll. Also, second baseman Eric Sogard opened enough eyes to be sought by the Oakland Athletics in a trade that sent Sogard and Kevin Kouzmanoff to the A's and Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham.