The 2003 version of the Fort Myers Miracle
accomplished everything they could during the first
half. They walked away with the division, finished
tops in batting average and runs in scored in the
Florida State League, but there was still one more
piece of business to take care of Thursday night at
Jack Russell Memorial Stadium and that was victories
by a Miracle team in a half. As a result of their 5-1
win over the Clearwater Phillies, the 2003 first half
champion Fort Myers Miracle can be considered one of
the greatest Miracle teams in history.

Win number 44 came relatively easy, but looked a lot
like many of their other 43 in the first half. Great
pitching, timely hitting and solid defense. Jeff
Randazzo tossed five solid innings allowing just one
run on four hits, while walking one and striking out
three to earn his third victory of the season. The
Miracle got on the board with an RBI double from
Michael Sandoval in the second. They put up two more
runs in the third on a sac fly from Joe Mauer and an
RBI single by Jason Kubel. Kubel finished the night
3-5 with two RBI and a stolen base. They tacked on two
more runs in the seventh on an RBI double from Joe
Mauer and an RBI single from Kubel.

The Miracle finished the first half 44-26 and walked
away with the Western Division title. They surpassed
the 1996 second half Miracle team, which had 43
victories and finished ½ game back of the Tampa
Yankees for a playoff spot.

(Recap by Sean Aronson, Fort Myers Miracle)

Boxscore
http://www.geocities.com/fmmiraclegal/boxscores/061203box.html

Miracle set new record for wins
http://vh40039.vh4.infi.net/news/sports/030613miraclemain.html

3 Miracle to start All-Star Game
http://vh40039.vh4.infi.net/news/sports/030613miraclenotes.html

The Twins say they probably will promote a handful of
minor leaguers in the next few days.

Catcher Joe Mauer, one of baseball's top prospects, is
expected to be promoted from Class A Fort Myers to
Class AA New Britain. Mauer, the first overall pick in
the 2001 draft and a former Cretin-Derham Hall star,
is third in the Florida State League with a .332
batting average.

Righthander J.D. Durbin (9-2), who leads the
organization in victories, will be among the players
moving from Fort Myers to New Britain after Saturday's
Florida State League All-Star Game.

Class AA New Britain catcher Rob Bowen, who has gone
on a 31-for-73 tear (.425) to raise his average to
.313, will be promoted to Class AAA Rochester. Bowen's
improvement at the plate led to the decision to
promote Mauer.

Twins set to promote Mauer to AA
http://www.startribune.com/stories/509/3934441.html

Bowen heats up with the spring
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=8304742&BRD=1641&PAG=461&dept_id=17739\
&rfi=6

The next game at Hammond Stadium is the All-Star Game,
Saturday, June 14 at 7:35 p.m. The Century 21/Sunbelt
Realty Homerun Hitting Contest begins at 6:00 p.m. The
Miracle have three representatives in the game:
pitcher J.D. Durbin, catcher Joe Mauer and outfielder
Jason Kubel. Jose Marzan will manage the west along
with Miracle pitching coach Eric Rasmussen and coach
Mike Tosar. Miracle trainer Larry Bennese will be the
trainer for the west.

All-star Profiles:

Vero’s Gutierrez hot commodity
http://vh40039.vh4.infi.net/news/sports/030613dodgers.html



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