Category: T-Bones

Kansas City T-Bones pitcher Robert Calvano will join the San Diego Padres, according to an announcement.

Calvano, a right-handed pitcher, is a native of Kansas City, Missouri, who attended Bishop Miege High School.

He is the third T-Bones player whose contract has been purchased this off-season, according to a T-Bones spokesman.

The T-Bones, who won the American Association championship, saw eight players’ contracts sold to affiliated clubs during the season and two more players signed with AAA Mexico.

Calvano was signed by the T-Bones on Aug. 14 to add depth to the club’s pitching staff during the stretch run of the championship season. He made his T-Bones debut Aug. 23 against Winnipeg, where he threw two scoreless innings in an 11-1 T-Bones win.

He appeared in six games for the T-Bones, with a 0-1 record and 7.71 earned run average in seven innings. He allowed five earned runs in his second outing on Aug. 27 against Sioux City, and one more earned run the rest of the season in four appearances. He struck out four in his last four innings.

Calvano pitched for the University of Nebraska at Omaha and after graduation was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 38th round of the 2016 June MLB draft. In his first professional season he played rookie ball for the Cardinals and posted a 1-1 record with a 6.06 ERA and 14 strikeouts in the Gulf Coast League.

In 2017 he started the year with Johnson County in the Appalachian league. While with the Cardinals, Calvano went 0-3 with a 5.23 ERA in six games in the “Appy” league. In July, he moved up to play with short-season A club State College in the New York Penn League. While with the Spikes, he went 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA in 5.1 innings.

Calvano spent 2018 with two other teams before joining the T-Bones. He started the year at High A with the Palm Beach Cardinals in the Florida State League before moving to low A Peoria in the Midwest League. He had a combined record of 0-0 and averaged a 7.71 ERA in 4.1 innings of relief.

The T-Bones players contracts purchased since opening day 2018:
• 1/8/19: RHP Robert Calvano – contract purchased by the San Diego Padres, 41st player sold and 11th since opening day 2018.
• 11/29/18: OF Keith Curcio – contract purchased by the Boston Red Sox, 40th player sold and 10th since opening day 2018.
• 11/2/18: LHP Nick Lee-–contract purchased by the Cincinnati Reds, 39th player sold and ninth since opening day 2018.
• 8/4/18: IF Dylan Tice—contract purchased by New York Mets, 38th player sold.
• 7/24/18: IF Taylor Featherston—contract purchased by the Cincinnati Reds, 37th player sold.
• 7/13/18: LHP Joe Filomeno—contract purchased by the Seattle Mariners, 36th player sold.
• 7/17/18: IF/OF Nick Torres—contract sold to the Texas Rangers, 35th player sold
• 7/7/18: LHP Carlos Diaz—contract purchased by Cincinnati Reds, 34th. player sold.
• 7/3/18: LHP James Buckelew—contract purchased by the Chicago Cubs, 33rd player sold.
• 5/22/18: OF Adam Brett Walker—contract purchased by the Washington National, 32nd player sold.
• 5/19/18: RHP Cody Martin—contract purchased by the New York Mets, 31st player sold.

T-Bones 2019 season tickets and mini plans are on sale online, by calling 913-328-5618 or by visiting the T-Bones Stadium offices. Group ticket sales also are on sale. The opening day will be Friday, May 17, at the T-Bones Stadium, when the T-Bones will play the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks.

• Story from T-Bones

The Kansas City T-Bones have signed right-handed pitcher and St. Louis native Robbie Gordon for the 2019 season.

Robbie Gordon, a career reliever, comes to Kansas City, Kansas, after parts of four seasons in the St. Louis Cardinals organization where he reached high A Palm Beach in 2018.

He was drafted in the 36th round in 2016 by the Cardinals out of Maryville University (St. Louis). In 2018, Gordon went 3-1 in the Florida State League with Palm Beach, working 21 innings with 24 strikeouts in 16 games and posting a 3.00 ERA all out of the bull pen.

The right-hander was sent to low A Peoria in the Midwest League on July 1st where he threw 25.1 relief innings in 15 games with 32 strikeouts and a sparkling 0.36 ERA. He worked a total of 46.1 combined innings on the season at both stops with 56 strikeouts and a 1.55 ERA in 31 games.

Gordon spent 2017 in the New York-Penn League with State College, tossing 34.2 innings with 47 strikeouts in 20 relief appearances. He added two saves and went 1-6 in relief with a 2.86 ERA for the Golden Spikes.

In his rookie season he saved two games at rookie level Gulf Coast, pitching in 16 games with 27 strikeouts in 22 innings and going 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA for the Cardinals in the GCL.

Gordon had a standout college career with Maryville University where he played three seasons for the Saints. Gordon went 4-4 in 2016 with two saves and posted a 3.98 ERA in 61 innings of action.

He recorded a team-high 57 strikeouts while making 11 starts, surrendering just 12 extra-base hits. Gordon tossed a perfect game against Hillsdale on March 13, 2016, the first no-hitter in program history. Gordon recorded nine strikeouts as he retired every batter he faced.

In 2015 Gordon went 3-4 in 16 appearances (9 starts), throwing 53 innings with 52 strikeouts and a 3.67 ERA. His first collegiate season he would post a 2-3 record in 36.2 innings with 31 strikeouts and a 3.44 ERA.

Gordon graduated from Maryville University in May of 2016 and was the first Saints baseball player to be drafted in 2016. He is originally from the St. Louis area and is a graduate of Ladue High School.

Full and half-season 2019 ticket packages, as well as mini plans, are on sale at www.tbonesbaseball.com or by calling (913) 328-5618 or visiting the T-Bones Stadium offices. Group ticket sales are also on sale.

Joe Calfapietra, the 2018 American Association Manager of the Year, recently signed a multi-year contract with the T-Bones to stay through the 2020 season.

Calfapietra took the T-Bones to the American Association championship this past year, when they won 62 games, and then were 6-3 in postseason competition.

The T-Bones tied a franchise record nine-game winning streak from June 18 to 28 and reached a club record 26 games above .500 on Sept. 1, 2018.

Calfapietra, a Pennsylvania native, has guided the franchise to two of the four seasons above .500 since the team moved to Kansas City, Kansas, in 2002 from Duluth, Minnesota.

“I am very appreciative to John and Adam Ehlert along with Chris Browne to have the confidence in me to run their baseball operations for the next two years. My family and I love the T-Bones organization, fans and surrounding area. We consider this our second home,” Calfapietra said.

In Calfapietra’s first season at the helm of KC in 2017, the club finished in a three-way tie for the Wild Card playoff spot but would not advance to the playoffs because of a tie breaker. Calfapietra guided Kansas City to the second-best overall record in the club’s history (57-43), turning over the 2017 roster with only one hold over from the 2016 and helping the club reach a then franchise high of 84 days above .500 out of a 109-day season.

Despite a 1-5 start to begin the season, his 2017 club reached .500 at 7-7 at Sioux Falls on June 2 and stayed at or above for 93 days, 83 in a row. With the win on Aug. 26, 2017, at Gary, Calfapietra won his 900th career game. He hit the 50-win mark for the seventh straight season on Aug. 23 at home against Cleburne.

“We are proud that Joe Calfapietra returns as our league-champion manager,” Adam Ehlert, president of the T-Bones, said. “In two short years, he built a powerhouse team. Joe is a gentleman who managed his team well through the final winning out this past September, and he out worked everyone else in order to get us to that championship series. Additionally, it’s a testament to T-Bones fans that Joe enjoys his time in KC so much.”

Calfapietra was named the T-Bones sixth manager in the club’s history on Nov. 30, 2016, after a successful 14-year run with the New Jersey Jackals in the Can Am League. In 18 seasons in the independent league dugout, he has compiled a 967-820 record. Calfapietra currently boasts 964 wins in his career going into the 2019 season. With 36 more wins, he is set to join St. Paul Manager George Tsamis, former Fargo boss Doug Simunic, current Gary Manager Greg Tagert and second-year Chicago Dogs Manager Butch Hobson in the 1,000-win club in indy ball.

Calfapietra has instilled a philosophy of building his teams through helping his players seek positions back in affiliated baseball. In 2018, Calfapietra led the club to the league title despite a regular season where Kansas City had 8 players’ contracts sold to affiliated clubs and another pair of players signed with AAA Mexico, all en route to winning the American Association Championship.

During 2018, the T-Bones promoted a total of 14 players, adding to the four players sold to affiliated ball in 2017. Calfapietra’s efforts have been historic in KCK as he is the first manager in franchise history to guide the club to records above .500 for two seasons, and he became the first to guide the club at or above .500 in back-to-back years.

“We’re thrilled to have Joe as our manager,” Chris Brown, T-Bones vice president and general manager, said. “He’s an excellent leader, and we share his passion and respect for the game. I am looking forward to seeing #44 in the T-Bones dugout for years to come. I can’t wait for Joe to hoist the Miles Wolff Trophy and celebrate the championship again on Opening Day and all season long with our fans.”

Tickets for 2019, both full and half-season ticket packages, as well as mini plans, are on sale at http://www.tbonesbaseball.com/tickets/season-tickets/ or by calling 913-328-5618 or visiting the T-Bones Stadium offices. Group ticket sales are also on sale.