The Great Lakes Loons became the Dodgers Class-A affiliate in 2007 YCK; that is, in the Year of Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers, in a surprise move, brought their affiliate from Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida to Midland, Michigan to begin the 2007 season.

The Loons during their ten-year span in Midland have made the playoffs four times. However, they have yet to advance as Eastern Division winners to challenge the Western Division winners for the league championship. In their two most recent forays into postseason play in 2013 and 2015 they bowed out in the first round of the playoffs.

The Midwest League has an expanded playoff system that includes eight teams in the sixteen team league, four in each division. The Loons were able to gain entry to postseason play by claiming a wildcard berth in the second half of the season and they did not back in but played the kind of ball their manager was hoping to see as the season progressed.

Manager Gil Velazquez’s team had a somewhat disappointing first half of the season with a 29-41 record. The first-year manager was given a very young team with several teenage players in his first term and seemed to relish the challenge of helping each one to grow as a young man and a player, as he himself would grow as a manager. In early April he acknowledged that there would be good days and some not so good days. However, in any conversation with Loons play-by-play announcer Chris Vosters on ESPN 100.9-FM, Velazquez was forever positive and supportive of his players even on those not so good days, some of which might have been described as dark days.

“We’re young,” Velazquez said, referring to the players but potentially also himself. “We’re going to make some plays that look good and some that don’t.”

For some time during the second half the Loons were still struggling, especially offensively, when the team owned the lowest aggregate batting average in all of minor league baseball for an extended period of time. However, slowly but surely things turned around for the young players who continued to give it their all even when things seemed to be a bit hopeless. Velazquez said his team was learning how to win which took on a different meaning. It did not simply mean doing what needed to be done during a game – that is execution – but understanding the nature of hard work, commitment, failure and playing with a tired or aching body and then doing what had to be done between the lines.

“At the beginning of the season, pretty much everybody here was in their first full season (as a pro ballplayer). They’re all young, they’re all learning how to get through the grind and the struggles, and they’re understanding that you have to keep working (through adversity),” he said.

“Once they get between the lines (on the field), they understand that it’s still a ball game, and they’re having fun,” he added.

As the season entered what might be called the dog days of summer in August the Great Lakes Loons were making other teams and their fans sit up and take notice. Their bats were coming alive, the defense had improved immeasurably and the pitching was simply the best in the league.

If there was a defining moment for the Loons during the current season, it most likely came on August 11 in a game against the Lake County Captains. Great Lakes entered the bottom of the ninth inning down 10-4. With two outs, four straight walks plated one run and set the table for second baseman Omar Estevez who unloaded a grand slam to left field. Outfielder Luke Raley followed with a solo shot to knot the game at 10 and the Loons would go on to win 11-10 on another two-out bases empty run in the 10th inning.

Omar Estevez’s grand slam on August 11 was the defining moment of the Loons 2016 season.
(Photo courtesy of Great Lakes Loons)

Following that game, the Loons went on a 17-8 run which included a four-game sweep of the Lansing Lugnuts. In their eight losses during that stretch the Great Lakes squad lost but one game by as many as three runs while five of them were by one run. Their reward was simply returning fun to the game they love with a closely knit group of teammates, and also propelling themselves into the playoffs.

The Loons pitching had become a pitching coach’s dream, or maybe it was the result of his dream, but more on that another day.

Several players during the season were promoted to the Loons from the Ogden Raptors or Arizona League Dodgers as others were promoted from the Loons to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League. All made an impact, but aside from pitching, it seems to me that first baseman Ibandel Isabel had a Yasiel Puig-effect on the offense. The 21-year-old right-handed bat hit the ball as hard as any player in the league and after he was inserted into the cleanup spot on August 4 the offense seemed to blossom. Of his 24 hits prior to going on the 7-Day DL, 13 of them were for extra bases including seven home runs, some of which could be described as monster shots.

On July 20 infielder Zach McKinstry joined the Loons from the Arizona League Dodgers. He has played both second base and third base and most recently has settled into third base. The versatile infielder was selected by the Dodgers in the 33rd round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft. His presence in the infield seems to have been a steadying one for his teammates and he had played a stellar third base.

Also of note was the insertion of left fielder Saige Jenco into the number one slot in the batting order. While leading off he has provided stability to the lead off position and is hitting .308 while batting at the top of the lineup.

In early August a playoff spot seemed to be almost an impossible dream. However, with the aid of their coaches and their own hard work the young Loons have earned a postseason berth in the Midwest League. Their efforts were rewarded on September 4 when they came away with a 1-0 victory over the West Michigan Whitecaps, a team they may meet if they advance past the first round of the playoffs.

The Great Lakes Loons have now taken a first big step in their quest to pursue a league championship. They have come into the playoffs on a roll having won four of five games, including three against the Whitecaps.

Their first playoff game was completed over two days as it had to be suspended because of rain in the bottom of the fourth inning on Wednesday. That seemed to be unfortunate as the Loons were leading 3-0 at that point and 20-year-old Yadier Alvarez had held the Bowling Green Hot Rods to five hits and no runs over four innings. The concern was that perhaps the young Loons would come out on Thursday and try to nurse that three-run lead.

Nothing could have been further from the truth as they ran away with a 15-1 win over the Hot Rods having broken loose for five two-out runs in the fifth inning and plating another five in the sixth inning. When the dust had settled the Loons’ 15 runs and 14-run margin of victory were both team postseason records. Great Lakes out hit the Hot Rods 20-8.

“Twenty hits and 15 runs — you can’t complain about that,” noted Loons’ manager Gil Velazquez. “But the most important thing was that the guys came out to play. The effort was there, they were rooting for each other, picking each other up, so that was really nice to see.

“You don’t ever anticipate anything like that,” he added. “Anytime you get 20 hits and 15 runs, that’s just good hitting. Guys were just aggressive and getting pitches to hit, and they didn’t miss them.”

Loons left fielder Darien Tubbs went 2 for 5 with a double in Wednesday’s 15-1 rout of the Bowling Green Hot Rods. (Photo courtesy of Great Lakes Loons)

Individually every Loons starter had at least one hit except third baseman Zach McKinstry who walked twice and plated two runs. Right fielder Gage Green and second baseman Omar Estevez combined to go 7-for-9 while driving in two runs each. Green missed the cycle by a home run after hitting a single in the 3rd inning, a double in the 5th and a run-scoring triple in the 6th. Five other Loons had multiple hit games including catcher Jake Henson who went 3-for-5 with three doubles and four runs batted in. First baseman Matt Jones chipped in with a 415-foot home run to the deepest part of the park.

The bullpen shut down the Bowling Green offense all afternoon over the final five innings. Twenty-year-old right-hander Dean Kremer picked up the win pitching three innings while giving up one run on three hits. Righties Ivan Vieitez and Shea Spitzbarth each had a scoreless inning to open their postseason lines. They combined for 21 pitches over the two innings with 18 of them being strikes.

The easy part is over now and game two goes tomorrow at Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Kentucky once again against the Eastern Division leaders. Right-hander Jordan Sheffield will get his first taste of professional postseason action as he squares off against 19-year-old Genesis Cabrera of the Hot Rods at 7:35 ET.

Pregame coverage with Chris Vosters will be aired at 7:05 p.m. on ESPN 100.9-FM and Loons.com.