Tim Sauter has signed a contract with the Gary SouthShore RailCats of the Northern League of Professional Baseball. The driver of the Lester Buildings #56 Chevrolet will make his professional baseball debut on August 4th, 2005 at U.S. Steel Yard when the RailCats take on the Kansas City T-Bones at 7:00pm (CDT). Sauter will start the game as the designated hitter and lead off the bottom of the first inning. It will be a big weekend for Sauter as he attempts to find success at the ball bark and on the racetrack. After joining the RailCats and taking on the T-Bones, Sauter will then wheel the Lester Buildings Chevrolet around Indianapolis Raceway Park in the NASCAR Busch Series Kroger 200 on Saturday August 6th at 7:15pm (CDT). “I have always been a huge baseball fan and look forward to doing my part to help the RailCats win the Northern League title,” said Sauter. In order to prepare for his professional debut, Sauter will take part in a workout at GMC Stadium, home of the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League, on Friday, July 29 at 8:00 am (CDT). Grizzlies players and coaches will be on hand to work with Sauter as he participates in batting practice and in a simulated game environment. The RailCats are a minor league baseball team based in Northwest Indiana and are owned by Victory Sports Group, a sports management and development company. Victory Sports Group also coordinates sponsorship, marketing and media relations for Mac Hill Motorsports.
The RailCats are currently tied for first place in their division and have a record of 32-25 in 2005. Their home ballpark, U. S. Steel Yard, is a 6,000 seat stadium that was constructed in 2002 at a cost of $45 million.(Victory Sports Group/Mac Hill Motorsports)(7-26-2005)
UPDATE: Tim Sauter followed through on his quest to play in professional baseball game, batting second in the bottom half of the first inning against Kansas City T-Bones starting pitcher Greg Bicknell, who leads the Northern League in victories with 11 wins. RailCats Centerfielder Anthony Iapoce led off the RailCats half of the first with a fly ball out to right. The US Steel Yard PA announcer then introduced the next batter, “Now batting, driver of the NASCAR Busch Series Lester Buildings #56 Lester Buildings Chevrolet, Tim Sauter.” The crowd of 3,291, gave their one-day RailCat a warm welcome, rising to their feet to see his one, and most likely only professional at-bat. Sauter took the first pitch, a fastball down the middle of the plate for strike one. “I really didn’t see that one,” commented Sauter. The next pitch, Sauter swung and missed at another fastball. Facing an 0-2 count, Sauter readied himself for what everyone thought would be the final pitch he would see. Bicknell offered a curve ball, that Sauter was able to adjust to, and hit foul down the first base line. The contact brought Sauter’s teammates in the dugout to the railing to see if he could pull off the impossible. Bicknell would have none of it, throwing Sauter an 86 mph fastball. He swung and missed for strike three. Upon returning to the dugout, Sauter was swamped by his teammates with high-fives, handshakes, congratulations and thoughts of what almost was after making contact with the 0-2 curve ball. Commented Sauter after the game: “This was an unbelievable experience. My RailCat teammates were great, even making feel as one of the gang, with the rookie hazing.” Sauter received the ‘ole “rocks in the cleats” trick, got a lesson on cleaning his cleats and was ribbed by teammates looking to exchange Sauter’s at-bat for a drive in his Lester Buildings #56 Chevrolet. Sauter continued: “A really appreciate the RailCats for working with me on this and allowing me to be a RailCat for a day. I have a new appreciation for ballplayers and what they go through to play this game at a professional level. I’ll watch baseball with a much different perspective now.”(Mac Hill Motorsports/Motorsports Development)(8-8-2005)
