Mack's Apples - Field Of Dreams, Prom Photos, Nick Madrigal, Jordan Akins, Seattle Farm System

Good morning.

 'Field of Dreams' baseball field in Iowa damaged by vandal –

An iconic baseball field in Iowa made famous in the movie "Field of Dreams" sustained thousands of dollars in damage after a vandal drove a vehicle onto the site earlier this week.

Al Steffen, the field manager for the site in Dyersville, told Fox News on Wednesday the damage was discovered early Tuesday as workers reported to work.

"It's never been this severe," Steffen said.

NY Mets offer to take  prom photos with teen fan — but there's a catch –

A teen girl who is a huge baseball fan is hoping for her very own field of dreams: She wants to take her prom photos with the New York Mets, at their home field. Now it's up to Twitter to make her dream come true. Callie Shaye Quinn, 17, attends as many games as possible and catches the rest on TV. Her middle name is a nod to Shea Stadium, the former name of the team's home. She roots for them whether they’re winning or not. Callie's love for the Mets “literally knows no bounds,” she told TODAY.com. “I love them so much.”

OSU baseball:  Nick Madrigal earns another preseason All-America nod

                   

    Oregon State junior infielder Nick Madrigal has been named a D1Baseball.com preseason first-team All-American, the online publication announced on Tuesday. It's his second preseason honor after a first-team selection by Collegiate Baseball in December.

Madrigal, who was a unanimous All-American in 2017 after being named the Pac-12 Conference's player and defensive player of the year, batted .380 with four home runs and 40 RBIs as a sophomore. The Elk Grove, California, native also had 20 doubles, was 16 of 20 in stolen base attempts and drew 27 walks with just 16 strikeouts. In 109 career collegiate games and 432 at-bats, he has struck out just 30 times.

 Jordan Akins turns from baseball for chance at NFL –

                  

     Jordan Akins knew when to stop chasing his dream of being a major league baseball player. Now, the tight end from Central Florida is set to chase his aspirations to be a professional football player.

Akins will take the next step on his new journey by playing for the South team in the 69th annual Senior Bowl on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Coming out of Union Grove High School in 2010, the multi-sport star was drafted in the third round by the Texas Rangers. “I always had the mindset that I wanted to be back in college at the age of 22 if I wasn’t in the majors,” Akins said Tuesday. He received a $350,000 signing bonus from the Rangers, but baseball didn’t happen as quickly as Akins wanted. So, the all-state quarterback and wide receiver honored his commitment to UCF three years later.

Baseball America says the Mariners have ‘baseball’s worst farm system.’  -

                 

      Thanks to a series of regrettable drafts and poor player development, Zduriencik had the system trending downward in his final years. When Dipoto took over, the Mariners were considered to be near the bottom in terms of talent and depth.

In an effort to make over his 40-man roster, change the direction of the club at the big-league level and reformat the player-development system under Andy McKay, Dipoto dealt the remaining top prospects from the Zduriencik era. Separate deals sent away left-handed pitcher Luiz Gohara, outfielder Tyler O’Neill, outfielder and former No. 6 overall pick Alex Jackson and last year’s top starting pitching prospect, Nick Neidert.

It’s not who you give away, but what you get back for them, and if Seattle wound up trading these guys for winners, this article wouldn’t have been written.