All-Decade Team: Outfield

Who was the best player in Wild Things history?

There are several ways to answer this. You can say Chris Sidick because he holds numerous Frontier League career records. You also could answer Mike Arbinger because he was an impact player for three seasons and the only Wild Thing to be named MVP in an All-Star game. Maybe you like pitching and prefer Aaron Ledbetter and his record-setting career. And let's not forget that pitcher Tom Cochran is the only former Washington player to make it to the major leagues, albeit for only two days.

Each of those would be a good answer. However, if you've followed the Wild Things for all 10 of their seasons in the Frontier League, your answer to the above question should be Josh Loggins.

Loggins joined the Wild Things in late June of 2002 after being released from the New York Yankees' Class AA affiliate. He was the final piece to Washington's push to the East Division title. Playing center field, Loggins batted .347 with five home runs and 45 RBI in 60 games.

In 2003, Loggins became the only Wild Things player to be named the Frontier League's Most Valuable Player when he batted .331 with 24 home rusn and 75 RBI in 74 games. He also stole 15 bases.

Loggins was signed by the Colorado Rockies in late August because the Rockies had an injury to their Class AA first baseman and needed a replacement with experience at that level. When Loggins left Washington, he took with him the Wild Things' chance to win the Frontier League championship. It was too late in the year to make a trade or sign an impact player to fill the void in the middle of the lineup.

Loggins' value to the Wild Things can be seen in his offensive numbers, but a better set of statistics are these: The Wild Things' record in 2002-03 without Loggins on the roster: 19-16. With Loggins on the roster: 91-46.

While Loggins was shifted to catcher in 2003, he ended his Washingtob career having played 68 games in the outfield and 60 at catcher, thus he qualifies for the All-Decade Team as an outfielder.

Loggins currently works for Prudential Financial and was a coach for the Lafayette (Ind.) team in last year's Colt League World Series.

All-Decade Team Outfielder: Josh Loggins (2002-03)

Useless information, V2.0

Some random thoughts and notes about the Wild Things and Frontier League:

* Has any Wild Things player ever had a better road trip than the one Chris Sidick (pictured) is having? In the first five games of the current six-game trip to Traverse City and Rockford, Sidick is 14-for-21 with 11 runs, 5 RBI, 2 home runs and 5 stolen bases. He has raised his batting average from .243 to .286.

A few other guys I recall having good road trips were Josh Loggins, Chris Carter and Mike Arbinger.

Loggins had a trip to Evansville and Chillicothe in 2003 in which he went 7-for-17 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI and was signed by Colorado during the trip.

When Washington ran off a 13-game winning streak in 2005, Arbinger and Carter were the catalysts. During a nine-game road trip to Gateway, River City and Mid-Missouri, Arbinger was 17-for-44 with 2 homers and 16 RBI. On the same trip, Carter went 15-for-38 with 5 homers and 15 RBI.

* According his Twitter account, Chris Smith, a right-handed pitcher who has been playing with the White Sands Pupfish of the independent Pecos League, has signed a contract to play with the Wild Things. Smith, who is from Louisville, was Lake Erie's first-round draft pick in the Frontier League draft in 2010. He played two games for Traverse City this year, including a rough outing out of the bullpen against the Wild Things at Consol Energy Park in May. Smith later signed with White Sands. In the Pecos League, Smith had a 3-0 record and 1.39 ERA in four outings. He struck out 28 in 26 innings.

According to the Twitter post, Smith said he will be a starting pitcher with the Wild Things.

* Former Wild Things relief pitcher Alan Williams, who was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers early in the Frontier League season, has been promoted from rookie ball to Class A. Williams was sent from Helena (Mont.) to Appleton (Wisc.), where he will play for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League. Williams pitched in nine games with Helena and had a 1-1 record, 4 saves and 2.57 ERA. He struck out 28 in only 14 innings.

* When Luis Rivera homered in the fifth inning Wednesday at Traverse City, it was the first time all season the Wild Things received a home run from the cleanup spot in the batting order. That one came 52 games into the season.

* Remember Steve MacFarland, who pitched for the Wild Things last year until an injury ended his season? McFarland was the Pittsburgh Pirates' 9th-round draft pick in 2006 but never made it past low-Class A with the Bucs. He was traded by Washington to another independent league last offseason. Since then, MacFarland has been released from three different indy leagues but is back in the Frontier. He was signed this week by the Florence Freedom.