2020 Chasers Gameday *Spring Edition*

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INSIDE PIT H
2020 | Spring | Issue 1
PHOTO OF THE ISSUE: Werner Park opened the field to be available for families to reserve during the
Field of Dreams promotion. It helped scratch the summer baseball itch. (Scott Popp)
THE HEART OF THE ORDER
ON DECK
20 A KNOCK-OUT LIKE NICKY
A great contender's battle back to the major
league mound.
By Andrew Green
4 DELAY TO SEASON START
8 WERNER REMAINS READY
12 POLEY NASHVILLE
14 CHASERS 2010s TEAM
CHASERS GAMEDAY MAGAZINE The Official Program of the Omaha Storm Chasers
Managing Editor/Design
Lauren Kirk
Editors/Contributors
Tony Boone,
Andrew Asbury, Scott Popp
Printed by PIP Printing
Contributing Photographers
Minda Haas, Brad Williams,
SWI Sports Images, Christian Cuozzo
USA Today, Associated Press
© 2020 Omaha Storm Chasers. All rights reserved.
3

Delay to Season Start
By Tony Boone
If not for the coronavirus
pandemic, Omaha manager
Brian Poldberg would’ve been
opening the Pacific Coast League
season with his team in Memphis
in April. Instead, he has been
spending this spring tackling a todo
list at home as the metro area
continues to social distance due to
COVID-19 concerns.
“That’s never been a situation that
we’ve dealt with,” he said. “Right
now, it’s fine. You’re worried about
the safety of your family and all
the different people that have to
deal with this. This, to us, is very
minimal compared to the rest of
the country.”
Omaha has yet to be affected by
the virus to the extent of some of
the U.S. hot spots, but the metro
area has been social distancing
since mid-March. The Storm
Chasers suspended all activity
at Werner Park on March 12,
immediately after Minor League
Baseball announced a delayed
start to the season.
4
Poldberg was in Arizona for
Spring Training at the time. After
spending a few weeks in the
Kansas City camp with the Royals,
his minor league group had
just gotten together when Major
League Baseball announced it was
stopping all activity due to the
COVID-19 outbreak. Everyone was
then sent home.
“We were close to getting going
full speed, but we really hadn’t
gotten to any point where we
were going to have an idea of who
we were going to get out of the
big-league team,” Poldberg said.
“When we got sent down, it rained
for two days so we couldn’t even
get on the field. Everything hit at
once.
“We never even got into a group
meeting with our team. Our first
day down was Wednesday, and it
started raining then. Everything
was in the cage Wednesday and
Thursday. And they said, as of
Friday, that nobody could report to
the ballpark. I really didn’t ever
have a meeting with the Triple-A
team.”
Kansas City hadn’t gotten far
enough into Spring Training at
that point for the Omaha roster to
be set. The Royals had, however,
made a few transactions that had
some players headed for the Storm
Chasers.
Former top pitching prospect Kyle
Zimmer, lefty reliever Gabe Speier,

third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez and
speedy outfielder Nick Heath were
among those optioned to Omaha
last month. All-PCL starter Foster
Griffin, right-hander Scott Blewett
and catcher Meibrys Viloria were
slated to be Chasers as well.
Whether any of the pitching
prospects from Kansas City’s
vaunted 2018 draft class will join
them had yet to be determined.
But Poldberg had a chance to watch
some of them compete for the
Royals this spring.
“I got to see the young arms in
big-league camp,” he said. “We’ve
got a lot of things to look forward
to. To see how many are going to
start with me and how many are
going to stay in Double-A is kind
of a thing we were starting to talk
about. That’s kind of put on hold
until we get back and get started
again.”
Most of the positions on Kansas
City manager Mike Matheny’s
initial roster appear to be set, but
the battles for the final spots will
continue when Spring Training
resumes. Poldberg said it was clear
that that Royals will prioritize
defense under their new skipper,
who takes over after Ned Yost’s
retirement.
“We did a lot more fundamentaltype
stuff than we have in the last
few years,” Poldberg said. “I think
(Matheny) is going to be really
meticulous. We’re not a high-potent
offense so we can’t give up any.
We’re going to try to minimize the
things we can do on the defensive
side to keep runs to a minimum.
“We’re going to have a younger
team than we’ve had in a long
time, and it puts the emphasis that
this is what we’ve got to do. Whit
(Merrifield) has been there for three
or four years, and (Alex) Gordon’s
got a significant amount of time.
And some pitchers do. With a
younger team, (Matheny) is a really
good fit.”
Matheny will finalize his seasonopening
roster when his team
reconvenes after the public health
concerns have subsided. What that
roster will look like will depend
upon what limitations are set.
“The longer (the delay to the start
of the season) goes, the more it
changes probably,” Poldberg said.
“They said they’re not sure what
they’re going to do, (perhaps) an
abbreviated Spring Training down
in Arizona. There are a lot of
different possibilities. But until it
gets to a point where you can get
a group together, there’s nothing
finalized.”
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Werner Remains Ready
By Tony Boone
W
erner Park remains ready
to go.
Director of operations
Steve Farrens and head
groundskeeper Derek York have
made sure of that.
The Storm Chasers should have
been hosting Pacific Coast League
games for the 2020 season since
April 14. Instead, Werner has been
sitting empty due to the ongoing
worldwide
COVID-19
pandemic.
Farrens
said that’s
a shame
because
the playing
surface
at the
ballpark
is in
immaculate
condition.
“Derek completely knocked it out
of the park,” he said. “It’s too bad
we have no one out there playing.”
Farrens and York joined the
Chasers staff during the offseason.
Farrens previously managed parks
and rec facilities in Grand Island
while York was a project manager
for building and renovating sports
fields.
They arrived at Werner Park a
month apart, looking forward to
the upcoming challenges. With
Union Omaha soccer joining
8
Chasers baseball at the ballpark,
2020 was to be like no year that
came before it.
There were modifications made for
soccer that led to a busier-thannormal
offseason for York’s crew.
“We installed a new retractable
mound and moved the right-field
wall out,” he said. “We had a lot
of extra work repairing the infield
after the mound was put in and
repairing the
right-field
warning
track where
the wall was
extended.
It’s a lot of
work that
you don’t
typically
have on a
year-to-year
basis.”
Farrens, too,
came on at a busy time. Projects
were already underway to prepare
for Werner’s future. There was
a new office building for Union
Omaha on the rise as well as
some needed facility upgrades.
“We had the construction project
taking place on the north side of
the stadium in addition to the new
HVAC systems that were being put
in the clubhouses for the home
and away baseball teams,” Farrens
said. “Those were already going
when I took over. All of that has
been ongoing in recent months.”

The HVAC project was finished
in March, and the Union Omaha
construction wrapped up more
recently.
Farrens said everything was on
track to be ready for the home
opener when the COVID-19
pandemic temporarily halted
baseball. He said the Chasers staff
will continue to operate as if the
season is going.
“We’re doing things a little
different this
year, in terms
of parking and
security,” Farrens
said. “There’s
been a lot of
planning, which
is good because
you’re ahead of
the game. But
then you get
something like
the coronavirus,
which screwed
up all plans
and all facets of
operations, and
It is pretty frustrating.”
York said the grounds crew will
also continue to take care of the
playing surface as if both the Storm
Chasers and Union Omaha seasons
had started. Among the challenge
his staff faces this year will be
maintaining an even playing field
and keeping infield edges intact as
the field is flipped for both sports.
“We’re trying to maintain it to
have as healthy and strong of a
grass plant as we can so once we
do have games, and do have the
wear and tear of both baseball
and soccer, this field has a better
chance to withstand all the play
that’s going to be on it,” he
said. “We would’ve had 11 or 12
conversions through the year.
Soccer play is more aggressive,
tearing up the turf. Now, it may
stand up better for soccer.”
With no end to the global
coronavirus pandemic currently in
sight, Farrens and York said the
Storm Chasers staff will continue
working to have
everything at
Werner ready to
go on a moment’s
notice.
“Everything is
unknown now,”
Farrens said.
“Operationally,
for the last few
weeks, I had
been telling our
staff to operate
as if opening day
was still opening
day and try to
get the stadium as close to that
as possible. We have no idea what
kind of warning we’re going to get.
I don’t want to be unprepared.”
9

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Poley Nashville
By Tony Boone
It has been well documented
that current Marlins manager
Don Mattingly and former
Orioles skipper “Buck” Showalter
played together in the New York
Yankees farm system while in the
minor leagues.
Not widely as known is the fact
that they had a teammate who
has also gone on to managerial
success.
Omaha
manager
Brian
Poldberg
suited
up with
Mattingly
and
Showalter
for the
1981
Nashville
Sounds,
then the Yankees Double-A
affiliate. And he, like the others,
found a calling in baseball after
playing it.
Poldberg enters 2020 ranked 10th
on the wins list for active MiLB
managers. More than 400 of his
1,283 career victories have come
with the Storm Chasers, whom
he led to a Triple-A National
Championship in 2014 during his
first season in Omaha. He has also
won league titles at the High-A
and Double-A levels.
Every one of those MiLB victories
have come with the Royals, the
organization Poldberg joined as a
player after two years in Nashville.
The former catcher wrapped up his
playing career in Omaha in 1985
and then quickly transitioned into
coaching. His first managerial post
came at Class-A Appleton in 1988.
“I was probably 28 when I started
coaching,
and I started
managing
(soon after),”
Poldberg
said. “At that
point, you’re
so excited
to be in the
game. You’ve
turned over a
new chapter
– from
playing to
coaching.
“And to think, 30-plus years later,
if you’re still in the game and
still healthy enough to do things,
you’ve had some luck. I’m just
very fortunate to be around. Your
record’s only as good as your
players, and I have had some great
players along the way. I’ve had
some bad years, but I’ve had a lot
of good years.”
The 2020 season will be Poldberg’s
21st as an MiLB manager. He had
six as a minor-league player, and
14 12

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they made an impact on him. He
quickly recalled his season with
Mattingly and Showalter
in Nashville.
The Sounds were loaded in 1981.
In addition to Poldberg, Mattingly
and Showalter, Nashville’s
roster included future big-league
outfielders Willie McGee and Otis
Nixon as well as a young starter
named Mike Morgan, who went
on to pitch for 12 MLB teams.
Mattingly, a six-time American
League All-Star and ninetime
Gold Glove winner
who spent his entire career
with the Yankees, was the
team’s star.
The Sounds finished the
regular season with a
league-best 81-62 record.
However, they lost to the
East Division champion
Orlando Twins, with Gary
Gaetti and Frank Viola, in the
league championship series.
“It’s fun to look back
and see all the players
with us. Those guys
played for quite
a bit of time,”
Poldberg said.
“I look back to
coming up with the
Yankees in my first
three years and all
of the people that I
played with. And,
now, I bring their
names up to some
of our guys, and
they’re like, “Who’s that guy?”
“That tells me how long I’ve been
in the game. But it’s fun to think of
all the good times we had coming
up, when nobody had any money.
You were out there just hoping you
had a jar of peanut butter in the
clubhouse when you got done, just
so you had something to eat. That’s
how far the game has come.”
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Storm Chasers 2010s Team
By Tony Boone
Minus a few years in the
1960s, Omaha has been
a Triple-A baseball city
since 1955. And over that long
period of time, the teams that have
called it home have seen their fair
share of success on the diamond.
Nothing, however, compares to the
run that the current franchise had
during the past decade. Omaha
claimed four division crowns, three
Pacific Coast League titles and two
Triple-A National Championships.
Many of the players involved in
those achievements went on to
success in the majors. In fact,
seven of the 15 players on the
Omaha 20-Teens Team have
reached All-Star status in the big
leagues. Introduced recently, this
group – which played here under
managers Mike Jirschele and
Brian Poldberg during the decade
– represented the best of an
unforgettable era (2010-19) in the
Kansas City Royals organization.
This team is so loaded that a
Minor League Player of the Year
(Wil Myers), a 100-RBI performer
20 16
(Clint Robinson) and a two-time
Omaha player of the year (Frank
Schwindel) couldn’t crack the
lineup. Some of the players that
did make the list, however, went
on to help Kansas City win its
first world title in 30 years while
combining for 18 MLB All-Star
Game selections and 17 Gold Glove
Awards in the 2010s.
Headlining the group is Kansas
City stalwart Alex Gordon, who
completed a move from third base
to left field in Omaha in 2010. He
then went on to be the best in
the game at that position during
the decade. The Nebraska native,
a PCL All-Star for Omaha, owns
seven Gold Glove Awards, one
shy of the Royals franchise record.
Six-time MLB All-Star Salvador
Perez has five at catcher and joins
Gordon on this team.
The corner infielders on the
squad are Eric Hosmer and Mike
Moustakas. Both, like Gordon, were
Top-5 draft picks for the Royals,
and they helped the Chasers
break in their new home at Werner
Park. Moustakas broke the Omaha
franchise record with an 11-RBI
day at Rosenblatt Stadium in
2010 before driving in Hosmer for
the first run by the Chasers at
Werner. They later became world
champions with Kansas City.
All-time franchise hits leader
Irving Falu and fan-favorite Johnny
Giavotella join Moustakas and
Hosmer in the infield of the Omaha

20-Teens
Team. Each
was an
integral
part of the
Chasers
championship
era.
Paulo Orlando
was as well, which
earned him a spot in the
outfield alongside Gordon
and Lorenzo Cain, who has
gone on to be an All-Star in
both the American and National
Leagues. Jose Martinez, who broke
the modern-day PCL batting record
in 2015 with a .384 average, is the
Omaha 20-Teens Team designated
hitter. Two-time AL hits leader
Whit Merrifield is the utility player
due to his versatility.
Luis Mendoza was the first Omaha
player to be selected his league’s
pitcher of the year in 38 seasons
when he led the Storm Chasers to
their first PCL title in 2011. Aaron
Brooks was the playoff MVP on the
2014 title team, retiring the last 20
batters he faced in the winner-takeall
PCL championship finale.
Louis Coleman excelled out of the
bullpen for all of the Storm Chasers
playoff teams in the past decade,
joining Mendoza and Brooks on
the Omaha 20-Teens Team. Danny
Duffy and Kelvin Herrera round
out the squad, following up their
successful stints at Werner Park
with a 2015 world title in Kansas
City.
The players on the list, and their
teammates, made the 20-Teens
a ton of fun in Omaha – both at
Rosenblatt
Stadium and
Werner Park. The standard here is
high as the first season of the
2020s nears.
The Omaha
20-Teens Team
Catcher: Salvador Perez
First Base: Eric Hosmer
Second Base: Johnny Giavotella
Shortstop: Irving Falu
Third Base: Mike Moustakas
Outfield: Lorenzo Cain
Outfield: Alex Gordon
Outfield: Paulo Orlando
Designated Hitter: Jose Martinez
Utility Player: Whit Merrifield
Pitcher: Aaron Brooks
Pitcher: Louis Coleman
Pitcher: Danny Duffy
Pitcher: Kelvin Herrera
Pitcher: Luis Mendoza
21 17

22

23

A Knock-Out Like Nicky
By Tony Boone
Nicky Lopez had an
aggressive agenda when he
opened the 2019 season with
the Storm Chasers.
Although he had played less than
half of a year at the Triple-A level
at the time, the Kansas City infield
prospect said he intended to be
with the parent club by the time
the Royals came to Omaha on June
13.
Kansas City was to set face Detroit
in the first Major League game
ever to be played in Nebraska
as a lead-in to the 2019 College
World Series. The contest was
scheduled for TD Ameritrade Park,
where Lopez starred at Creighton
for three seasons prior to being
selected by the Royals in the 2016
MLB Draft.
“I always set lofty goals,” he said.
“And one of my goals was to come
back for that game in June.”
Lopez, now Kansas City’s starting
second baseman, admitted during
his appearance on The StormCast,
the Omaha Storm Chasers new
podcast, that he thought he might
have blown his chances in the first
week of the Pacific Coast League
season. He went hitless in his first
18 plate appearances to open 2019.
But he turned it on after that,
batting .353 in 31 games with the
Chasers before being promoted
to Kansas City on May 14. Lopez
made his Major League debut
against the Rangers in Kansas City
that day.
And, sure enough, he was in the
starting lineup when the Royals
took the field at TD Ameritrade
Park for the inaugural MLB in
Omaha game. Nearly a year later,
Lopez is moved by the memories
of that night.
“To be able to come back to
Omaha in a Royals uniform,
though, was something that was,
like, full circle,” he said. “It was
unbelievable. It was something
that I can’t really explain. It was
very surreal.”
Lopez said he was more nervous
for the game in Omaha than he
was in his MLB debut the previous
month. He ran into familiar
faces, including Creighton coach
24 20

Ed Servais, when he arrived at
the ballpark. The Illinois native
received
a warm
welcome
from a city
that has
adopted
him as its
own upon
his return.
“When I
got to my
first atbat,
it was
loud,” he
said. “I’m
getting
chills
thinking
about it. It was the coolest feeling
ever.”
It became even cooler moments
later, when Lopez roped a 1-0
offering from Detroit starter
Matthew Boyd into the right-field
bullpen. His first MLB home run
sparked the Royals to a 7-3 win
over the Tigers.
Lopez was hitting just .204 entering
the game in Omaha. But his two
hits that night began a turnaround.
The following week, the Royals
second baseman recorded four
multi-hit games in the span of five
days. Lopez later put together a
12-game hitting streak in August,
then hit .289 in September to end
the year.
The strong finish took him into an
offseason dedicated to bulking up
for his second year in the majors.
“I wanted to hit the ground
running starting right from Spring
Training,” he
said. “I had
a little bit of
confidence
coming from
the way I
ended last
season. …
I wanted
to carry it
into Spring
Training.”
The 25-yearold
Lopez
was batting
.360 through
10 games
when play
was halted this spring due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. He’s remained
in Arizona since, staying ready for
the day in which baseball returns.
“I was ready for my first Opening
Day,” Lopez said. “That was
something that was very special (to
me). You see all these MLB players
tweet, ‘(There’s) nothing like
Opening Day.’ Well, I was looking
forward to being able to experience
Opening Day. It just kind of got
taken away from us very fast.”
25 21

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