| The image above is a scan of the Sports page from the September 14, 1999 Burlington Hawk Eye. |
| The image above is a scan of Eric Battersby's first official baseball card, with his signature. |
| The four images below are photos of Eric's first Championship ring. The 1999 Midwest League Championship Team, is Burlington's first league championship since 1977. |
| Below is an excerpt from the USA Today scouting report (January 2000) concerning the Chicago White Sox future prospects. You can click on the USA Today logo to read the full team report. |
| SLEEPERS: |
| ERIC BATTERSBY (1B): The 27th-rounder from 1998 capped off an outstanding Midwest League campaign in '99 with a great playoff run. He homered four times in a Sept. 13 semifinal clincher against Kane County, the only pro to homer four times in one game in '99, and had four hits and another homer in the finals clincher against Wisconsin. During the regular season, Battersby, 23, had a three-homer, eight-RBI outing which tied league-highs, and batted.319 with runners on base. The 6-1, 205 pounder was an outfielder in college, but made the transition from right field to first base during the '99 season. At the plate, the right-handed swinger is mostly a pull hitter. He has a level swing and can hit for average and power. He has a firm command of the strike zone and runs well, legging out 20 infield hits and garnering 13 steals. |
| Below is the story that appeared in the rival team's hometown paper, the Beacon News, in Illinois: |
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By Bob Reynolds SPECIAL TO THE BEACON NEWS
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| In the deciding game of the best-of-three semifinal round, Eric Battersby single-handledly battered the Cougars and put an end to their season. Battersby connected for four home runs, driving in six runs as the Bees, a White Sox affiliate, overwhelmed Kane County 9-6. |
| "Four home runs have kind of left me speechless," said the 23-year-old first baseman, who was originally drafted as a pitcher. "I haven't had many multi-homer games this year, so I was kind of excited after hitting the second one. When I hit the third and fourth, it was just unbelievable. The last home run, I was pretty much floating around the bases." |
| Battersby, who led the Bees with 18 round-trippers during the regular season, picked a good game to get hot. Cougar starter Claudio Vargas was cruising along, surrendering only a second-inning Battersby homer in the first four innings and leading 3-1. |
| Then came the game's pivotal inning. Ender Gonzalez led off the fifth inning with a line single to left. Chad Durham, who hopes to team up with older brother Ray on the White Sox some day, followed with a bloop double down the right field line, pushing Gonzalez to third. That set the table for Ryan Hankins, who lined a two-run single that tied the score at 3-3. |
| Two outs later, Battersby stepped to the plate and drove a towering blast over the left field fence, giving Burlington a 5-3 lead it would not relinquish. |
| In the seventh, Battersby pushed the lead to 7-3 with a long shot just inside the left-field foul pole, scoring Terrell Merriman, who had walked. |
| "I can never remember a performance like that in a big game," said Burlington manager Nick Capra. "He had a heck of a game." |
| Hankins got into the long-ball act in the eighth inning, lifting another towering blast to left for an 8-3 Burlington lead. |
| But the Cougars, with their backs against the wall, would not go away quietly. After two walks to open the bottom of the eighth inning they chased Bees starter and winning pitcher Matt Ginter, Matt Treanor greeted reliever Brannon Whatley with a three-run shot over the left-field fence to cut the deficit to 8-6. A double by David Callahan and a walk to Matt Padgett put the tying runs on base with two out, but Willy Hill grounded back to Whatley to end the threat. Whatley got the final six outs to earn the save. |
| Battersby provided an encore in the ninth inning with a blast to center field that bounced off the top of the fence and over. Yes, it was his night. |
| "It was a big lift for everybody," said Battersby. "I hope it gives us momentum going into the championship round." |
| The Cougars got their three early runs in the third inning on a two-run single by Brett Roneberg and an RBI hit by Jeff Bailey. |
| Kane County manager Rick Renteria was philosophical after the season-ending loss. "Battersby swung a real good bat today," said Renteria. "Obviously four home runs is quite an accomplishment. We didn't expect it (the season) to end today, but you have to tip your hat to the Bees. They played real well. I wish them the best in the next series." |
| 09/14/1999 |
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This is Eric's year 2000 card, front and rear. AA Birmingham Barons |
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