The Mudcats

Picture
Team Photo 2012
Welcome to the site of the Chillicothe Mudcats.  The 2013 season will mark the twelfth season of Mudcat baseball.  The Mudcats participate in the MINK League (a wood bat league) which is affiliated with the National Baseball Congress.  The MINK League is made up of teams from Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Every year the NBC holds a World Series in Wichita, Kansas.  In the past eleven years the Mudcats have played in the Series three different times.  During the eleven years the Mudcats have always had a winning record.  The Mudcats had the second best record in the MINK League in 2012.  

The Mudcats organization is run by Grand River Entertainment of Chillicothe.  GRE is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to bring family type entertainment to the area.  The Mudcats have been very successful and the community has been very supportive of the team.

Meet the Coach

Picture
Taking the reins as coach is Eric Peterson, Director of Baseball Operations and assistant coach at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.  This will be Eric’s second season as the head coach of the Mudcats.  Before taking the job at Kansas, Eric was an assistant coach at Niagara University in Niagara Falls, N.Y…  He is the seventh coach in Mudcat history.  Eric has Midwestern roots, having grown up in Lawrence, Kansas, and attending and playing baseball for both Kansas University and Pittsburg (KS) State.

Player Signings
Meet the 2013 Mudcats

Alex Gutierrez-Catcher/Infielder
Illinois Central Community College



As a freshman at Illinois Central College, Alex Gutierrez hit .384 with 6 home runs, a school record 22 doubles and 58 RBIs to earn first-team all-Mid-West Athletic Conference honors and
all-Region XXIV honors.

Brett Kelley,his head coach, says about Alex,"If you're talking about the best offensive player in the conference, I don't think there's many others in the discussion, he was simply dominant last year and we anticipate a similar performance this coming Spring. We got exactly what we thought we would when he was coming out of high school."

Gutierrez was a two-time all-Mid-State 6 Conference selection at Peoria Woodruff High School
before transferring to East Peoria Community High School as a senior when Woodruff closed. At
EPCHS, Gutierrez hit .385 with 9 home runs, 44 RBIs and 30 runs scored. Gutierrez was also a
three-time regional wrestling champion, twice at Woodruff and once at East Peoria.
____________________________________________________________________________

Ryan Vansaghi-Right Handed Pitcher
Illinois Central Community College

Mudcat Sponsors

2013 Schedule

Coming Soon!
Picture
Click to listen live!

Here's one from our head coach, Brett Kelley, about:
“We were pretty blunt with Ryan about we felt he performed as a freshman. And instead of
sulking and feeling sorry for himself, he made the lifestyle, diet and work ethic changes we
recommended and he took off.”
_______________________________________________________


Mudcats Workout at "Anytime Fitness" for Free

Picture
Anytime Fitness of Chillicothe is available to the Mudcats 24 hours a day.  At Anytime Fitness the Mudcats find amazing amenities, and more!  The Mudcats have access to the best equipment in the industry.  Anytime Fitness offers a wide variety of cardio, strength, and "free weight" equipment to ensure that the Mudcats get the best possible workout.  Best of all it is free.

Improvements are being made to Shaffer Park

Picture
Josh Norris (Chillicothe Park Superintendent also a former Mudcat)
and Kevin Haney are making improvements to the Batters Box and
Pitchers Mound at Shaffer Park.  They are using products made
by "Diamond Pro" which are the same materials used by the
Major Leagues.  The park staff will be adding “Infield Conditioner”
to the base paths this spring

Mink League