Yanks Featured at Hot Stove II.

January 24, 2013

Ex-Knights' Chris Stewart and Mike Thurman of the New York Yankees Headline Entertaining Corvallis Off-Season Event

Former Knights' catcher Chris Stewart (pictured, right) and ex-Knights' pitcher Mike Thurman (pictured, left), both now employed by the New York Yankees, informed and entertained a capacity crowd at the Omaha Club Room at Goss Stadium on January 22nd at the club's Hot Stove Night II event.

A competitor for the Yankees' starting catching job this season, Stewart spoke of playing on the same team with numerous future Hall of Famers, how his life changed when he was traded to the Yankees from San Francisco on the eve of the 2012 season, about meeting President Barak Obama while playing for the Giants, and how he's becoming more "comfortable" in the major leagues.

"You can never say its gets easier," said Stewart, who played at Riverside City College and was the Knights' 2001 team MVP. "There's a guy behind you to take your spot. Every day is a grind.

"I'm more comfortable with my routine. I know what's expected of a major league player, if it's scouting or something physical. It's a hard game as a kid and it doesn't get easier. It's the hardest game in sports. It's fun and it hard. It's what we do. It's what we love."

Thurman played for the Knights in 1993 before his final season at Oregon State. He played five seasons in the majors with Montreal and the Yankees, and then joined the Yankees as a minor-league coach before shifting over to scouting after one season. He's now the team's Northwest area scout.

He said scouting for a perennial pennant contender like the Yankees is harder than it would be with a weaker team. They get the early first-round draft picks; the Yankees typically pick 25th or higher.

"We have to get it right," Thurman said. "I would rather pick in the top five. It's easier to get the right guy. You scout five or seven guys. The Yankees have to scout 30 guys and see who is left."

Team president Dan Segel said it was an outstanding evening for Knights' fans.

"I can't thank Stew and Mike enough for taking time out of their busy schedules to give the West Coast League's most passionate fans an inside look at baseball at the highest level," he said.

"They illustrate what high-character people they are, and why we with the Knights are so thrilled with their success in major-league baseball."

Plans are already afoot for Hot Stove Night III, tentatively set for late January, 2014.

"We hope to make Hot Stove Night an annual event that fans look forward to with great anticipation," Segel said. "It's a wonderful evening of baseball talk and an added value for our fans."