American baseball fans probably won’t know who Alexander Nizov is, but they will see his jersey when they visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Nizov donated his Russian Olympic team jersey to the Cooperstown museum Tuesday, but not before wearing it one more time in Monday’s exhibition game against the Saratoga Phillies at East Side Recreation Field.
For me, it’s maybe a surprise, said Nizov in hesitating English following the Phillies 10-4 victory. `It’s a big honor for me to be in with Babe Ruth and the other great players. Hopefully, this gesture will stimulate Russians to play baseball.`
Russian Olympic team manager Dmitri Shlyapnikov said, `That player was in the Europe championships many times, and he was the MVP once. He is not really ready to be near the stars of baseball, but he’s played a long, long time, and he’s played well.`
Nizov showcased the skills that helped him become one of the first Russians to play in the American minor leagues. The former Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim farmhand led off the game with a sharp single that he turned into a double with some hustle. He then moved to third on an error and scored on a wild pitch to give the Russians a 1-0 lead.
The lead didn’t last long, though. Some early wildness from starting pitcher Artur Donetskiy led to three Saratoga runs in the bottom of the first inning. Leadoff hitter Donnie Webb walked, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Bryan Rose’s one-out single to tie the game. After getting another out, Donetskiy walked two consecutive batters to load the bases. Shlyapnikov replaced Donetskiy with Vladimir Petrov, and Ryan Powers greeted the new Russian pitcher with a two-run single to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.
Petrov allowed a run in the second inning before settling down and pitching three shutout innings, but the wheels came off for Russia in the bottom of the sixth. Webb drove in two runs with a single, Rose contributed a two-run double and Powers added an RBI single to help the Phillies extend their lead to 10-1.
Russia scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning, but got no closer in suffering its fourth loss in its first six games on its American tour.
`It’s six games into our trip, and I think we are getting better,` said Shlyapnikov. `It’s a good experience against a good team with good hitters and good pitchers.`
Webb said the opportunity to play against the Russian Olympic team was a good break from the rigors of playing in the New York Collegiate Baseball League.
`I’ve never seen a whole team of Russians, especially on a baseball field,` said Webb, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored.
While the Phillies returned to their NYCBL schedule Tuesday in Watertown, the Russian team traveled to Cooperstown to continue their American tour. The Russians will visit Lake Placid for three days beginning Wednesday before moving on to North Carolina, where they will play against the Chinese and American national teams three times during a four-day stretch starting Sunday.
`This tour is to prepare for the European Championship because we had a break in our championship, and we have to play teams at this level,` said Nizov.
Notes: The Saratoga Phillies moved closer to securing a NYCBL playoff berth following a 2-1 weekend that improved their record to 21-12. The Phillies were in second place in the six-team East Division entering Tuesday’s game at Watertown, six games behind first-place Glens Falls and six games ahead of the third-place Wizards.
Three Phillies are among the top 25 hitters in the NYCBL. Mark Riffee is tied for third with a .373 batting average, while Rose is 14th with a .324 average. Webb is 24th overall with a .308 average.
Saratoga is sixth in the league in team pitching with a 3.49 earned run average. Mike Fiers is the Phillies’ top starting pitcher with a 5-1 record and a 2.15 ERA.“