We have a new rising star we'll be rooting for in future seasons--Tampa Bay prospect Fernando Perez. I saw Perez talk to a young boy at our first AFL game this season, and his manner and respect for the fans stood out from his peers. Today, after the championship game ended, Perez's interaction with young fans earned our respect and admiration.

Perez, a 23-year-old center fielder for the Devil Rays, certainly has his work cut out for him with such talent as Delmon Young and Carl Crawford standing in his path. Nonetheless, Perez plays with flair in the outfield, and his running catch of a blast over his head ended the game with a touch of the dramatic. The young man, who played at Visalia in the California League this past season, is from Elizabeth, NJ and attended Columbia University (no small feat in its own right). At Visalia, he batted .307 with 33 stolen bases and close to a .400 on base percentage. He was a seventh round pick in 2004 an we hope he's headed for big things. He's a class act all the way.

In this clip, he's being interview by a reporter from MLB.com

And so our memorable baseball season comes to an end. The Phoenix Desert Dogs beat the Grand Canyon Rafters 6-2 ending the 15th Arizona Fall League season in fine form. A relatively smaller than usual crowd for the championship game (this was our third in a row) saw a few innings of shutout pitching before two costly errors put The Dogs ahead to stay. An 8th inning home run by Detroit Tigers prospect Brent Clevlen capped the victory which was saved by Blue Jays young closer-to-be, Tracy Thorpe (all 6-4, 250 of him).

We are sad to see the season come to an end.It was a season that included the World Baseball Classic, Cactus League, major league games, the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, Fall League, the Fall League All-Star Game and now the title game. We loved every inning of every game and can't wait til 2007.