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Fryman-Borders friendship remains from big leagues to bush leagues

NILES – Maybe they’ll call it “Border Patrol” or “Pat’s Pack.”

Mahoning Valley manager Travis Fryman didn’t have a name for the show, but he said his longtime friend and former Cleveland Indians teammate Pat Borders is pushing the limits with the size of his family.

“He’s got nine kids,” said Fryman of Borders, now the manager of the Williamsport Crosscutters, who the Scrappers beat 2-1 on Tuesday. “I told him if he had one more, they were going to make a reality show about him.”

Fryman and Borders have been cracking jokes for a while. Their friendship goes back to their playing days.

Fryman, a former third baseman who played Major League Baseball from 1990 through 2002, and Borders (a catcher from 1988-2005) spent most of their careers playing against one another, but they joined forced in 1998 with the Indians, helping them reach the American League Championship Series.

“We played together a couple of years in Cleveland, and we both live in Florida. He’s on the south end, I’m on the north end,” Fryman said. “He coaches some high school. We both spend some time with high school kids in the offseason, working with them. So it’s good to see him in the game. He’ll be a good teacher and a good coach.”

The Scrappers and Williamsport finished a three-game series on Tuesday. While Fryman is in his second stint leading the Mahoning Valley, this is Borders’ first time as a head coach/manager at any level. Borders and the Crosscutters took the first two games, but Fryman got the last laugh – winning the final game and handing Borders his first managerial loss (Williamsport was 10-0).

As nice as it was, Borders, who won two World Series titles with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992-93, may still have one up on Fryman.

“World Series MVP,” Fryman said of Borders, who hit .450 in the 1992 Series against Atlanta to earn that distinction. “That’s a pretty good thing to have by your name.”

GOOD AND BAD

Following Monday’s loss to Williamsport, Fryman talked about the defensive “limitations” of Mahoning Valley first baseman Emmanuel Tapia, who made two errors in the 5-2 defeat.

On Tuesday night, he explained why he can look past those limitations, and Tapia showed why the Indians aren’t giving up on the 19-year-old non-drafted free agent they acquired in 2011.

“That’s why you put up with the defensive limitations,” said Fryman after Tapia went 3 for 4 with a double and a run scored. “His power potential is incredible. He has tremendous work ethic, and he did a lot of work the last few days with our hitting coordinator who’s in town. He knows him very well because Tapia’s been in our system for three years, at least. They made a little adjustment, and today he was able to carry that out there and have some better swings.”

TAIWANESE CONNECTION

It wasn’t a coincidence that Li-Jen Chu was catching on Tuesday. A non-drafted free agent in 2012, Chu was behind the plate because starter Shao-Ching Chiang was on the mound. Both players are from Taiwan, which helps them communicate easily during the game.

“That helps them get out there and perform well,” said Fryman, who added that a lot of thought goes into deciding which catcher plays on a given day. “How we stagger that (our catching rotation) has more to do with what our developmental goals are more so than matching guys up. However, we used (Daniel) Salters yesterday with (pitcher Kieran) Lovegrove with the intention that Salters’ presence and him being an older guy might help Kieran keep his focus a little better too. So, we plan our catching work out ahead probably more than any other position players.”

ROSTER MOVES

The Scrappers made a few roster moves over the last couple of days. Outfielder Anthony Santander was promoted to Lake County after batting .419 with three home runs and nine RBIs in eight games. Carlos Melo and Gerald Bautista were released from the roster.

Melo was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 2013 as a non-drafted free agent. Once the oldest member of the Scrappers at 24, Melo had two appearances this year and allowed two earned runs and five walks in two innings. Melo was 17-23 with a 5.53 ERA in his minor league career.

Bautista, an infielder signed by the Indians in 2012, was 2 for 8 with an RBI in three games. He owned a career batting average of .221 through 60 games.

Pitcher Ping-Hsueh Chen was assigned to the Arizona League, while catcher Sicnarf Loopstok went to Lynchburg.

Dominic Demasi and David Armendariz were added to the roster. Demasi, a right-handed pitcher drafted in 2014, started the year in Lake County, where he was 1-0 with a 7.56 ERA in five games. Armendariz also was drafted in 2014. The outfielder was batting .220 in 38 games at Lake County.

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