Andre Chiefs

Medford, MA- As the pre-season schedule gets into full swing this week, a sight that Chiefs fans will be pleased to see is the promise of a healthy Keith Forbes re-assuming his spot at the top of the pitching rotation.

The former San Diego Padres righty showed signs of brillance last season, his first back after two shoulder surgeries. Forbes was dominant while going 3-1 and posting an ERA of 1.75 despite some nagging shoulder issues. He threw the first Chiefs no hitter since 1995 when former Red Sox hurler Mike Carista accomplished the feat. Forbes was overpowereing in his no-no in Wakefield on June 13. He nearly duplicated that effort two weeks later when he took another no hitter into the last inning and settled for a one hit win over the Americans. Most impressive was Forbes 79 strikeouts in just 44 innings, a strikeout to innings pitched ratio not seen in the ICL in over a decade.

As a professional, Forbes climbed up the ladder in the Padres organization, eventually setting a record for the most minor league apperances in season with 74 in 2000. Forbes recorded almost a strikeout an inning, 209 in 214 innings, in his four year stint with the Padres.

At the conclusion of the 2007 Chiefs season Forbes, now 31, signed another professional contract making two starts for Sussex Skyhawks of the Can-Am League. 

Medford, MA- Pre-season began for the Chiefs on Sunday when the Chiefs hooked up with the Medford Americans at Playstead Park. From an original field of 77 hopefuls, 40 players are still in the running for one of the 26 final roster spots.

Below is a tenative schedule of the Chiefs pre-season and non league contests leading up to the Intercity League opener on Tuesday, May 27. The final three games of the pre-season, a doubleheader against Lunenberg and a single game against the Americans, will be uniformed non league games.

Medford, MA (April 29) The Chiefs continued the upgrade of their 2008 pitching staff with the recent addition of pro journeyman lefthander David Garcia.

Garcia was originally a product of Colorado Rockies system in the late 1990's. Following a stint in the Netherlands, where he pitched a couple of seasons in the Dutch Major League, Garcia returned to his native Domincan Republic where he continued his professional career in Dominican Winter League. In 2003 his career took him north of the border where he pitched for Saskatoon of the Canadian League before returning to the Domincan League for the last few seasons.

Despite his long pro resume, the imposing 6' 5 southpaw is just 27 years old.

Medford, MA (April 24) The Chiefs have announced that former Princeton University star and ex minor leaguer Andrew Hanson of Cumberland, Maine, has joined the Chiefs for the upcoming season. The OF-1B finished his record breaking career at Princeton University in 2001.  He helped lead the Tigers to four consecutive Gehrig Division Championships, two Ivy League Championships and NCAA Division 1 tournament appearances in 2000 and 2001.
  
Hanson, who hits left-handed, earned All-Ivy league honors for four consecutive years. By the time he graduated he re-wrote the Princeton record book which has a rich history of over 100 years of baseball. Andrew ranked 4^th in most games played in a career (161), 1^st in games played in a season (48), 4^th in career at bats (570), 3^rd in at bats in a season (186), 12^th in runs scored in a season (35),  5^th in career hits (184), 5^th in career runs scored(111), 3^rd in hits in a season (63),  1^st in hits in a game (6), 10^th in career doubles (31), 8^th in doubles in a season (12), 5^th in career homeruns, 6^th in homeruns in a season (8), 5^th in career extra base hits (56), 7^th in extra base hits in a season (20), 1^st in extra base hits in a game (5), 1^st in total bases in a season (118), 1^st in total bases in a game (16), 9^th in career slugging percentage (.498), 5^th in career RBIs (118), 3^rd in RBI in a season (47), 1^st in RBI in a game (7), 1^st in career put-outs (811), 1^st and 2^nd in most put-outs in a season (376, 369), 2^nd in put-outs in a game (19) and 1^st in put-outs in a 7 inning game (17). 

A former Princeton captain, he was the recipient of the prestigious Kafer Trophy. He was drafted sixth overall by the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League. In the spring of 2003, Andrew was signed by San Angelo Colts of the Central league and later traded to the Sioux Falls Canaries of the Northern League in 2004.  As a professional, Andrew played in 137 games, batted .248 with 77 runs scored, 46 RBI, 23 doubles, 5 triples and 4 homeruns.

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