1996 Bakersfield Blaze Roster
Team Record: 39-101
Finished 5th in the CL's North Division
Manager: Graig Nettles (39-101)
Location: Bakersfield, California
Ballpark: Sam Lynn Ballpark
Attendance: 83,307, Avg. 1,190 in 70 home dates
The Bakersfield Blaze of the California League ended the 1996 season with a record of 39 wins and 101 losses, finishing fifth in the league's North Division.
The Blaze scored 682 runs, worst in the league, and conceded 1138 runs, most in the circuit. Juan Espinal led Bakersfield with 26 home runs, and Alex Cabrera walloped 15 or more, too. Juan Espinal drove in 98 runs. Mauricio Gonzalez topped hitters with significant playing time by connecting at a .278 clip. Rob Kell, Toure Knighton and Steve Arffa paced the team with 5 wins each, while Toure Knighton registered a 6.54 earned run average, best among pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
Players from the 1996 Bakersfield Blaze who spent time in Major League Baseball during their careers included Alex Cabrera, Wayne Edwards, José Cabrera and Mark Lukasiewicz.
Graig Nettles served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Arffa | R | L | January 26, 1973 | 6'2" | 195 | |
| Norm Bates | L | L | February 27, 1975 | 6'4" | 202 | |
| Gavin Baugh | S | R | July 26, 1973 | 6'3" | 197 | Burlingame, CA US |
| Matt Bazzani | R | R | September 17, 1973 | 6'0" | 205 | Burlingame, CA US |
| Kevin Bentley | R | R | September 21, 1972 | 6'2" | 210 | Wichita, KS US |
| Chris Bray | R | R | October 28, 1974 | 6'4" | 200 | Newport News, VA US |
| Craig Bush | R | R | August 13, 1973 | 6'2" | 190 | Bowling Green, KY US |
| Alex Cabrera | R | R | December 24, 1971 | 6'2" | 217 | Caripito, Monagas VE |
| José Cabrera | R | R | March 24, 1972 | 6'0" | 205 | La Delgada, Santiago DO |
| Doug Carroll | L | R | August 31, 1973 | 6'2" | 195 | Newton, MA US |
| Dan Collier | R | R | August 13, 1970 | 6'3" | 200 | Ozark, AR US |
| Craig Daedelow | R | R | April 3, 1976 | 5'11" | 183 | Lakewood, CA US |
| Wayne Edwards | L | L | March 7, 1964 | 6'5" | 185 | Burbank, CA US |
| Juan Espinal | R | R | April 15, 1976 | 5'11" | 200 | La Vega, La Vega DO |
| Dennys Gomez | S | R | June 21, 1971 | 6'0" | 195 | Miami, FL US |
| Mauricio Gonzalez | L | R | February 13, 1972 | 5'11" | 170 | Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional DO |
| Clint Gould | R | R | August 18, 1971 | 6'1" | 235 | Renton, WA US |
| Blake Green | S | R | August 17, 1951 | 6'2" | 225 | Bakersfield, CA US |
| Eric Greene | L | R | August 27, 1971 | 5'10" | 180 | Montebello, CA US |
| Ryan Greer | R | R | September 15, 1975 | 6'1" | 245 | |
| Frank Harmer | S | R | May 21, 1975 | 6'3" | 210 | Jersey City, NJ US |
| Ryan Hendricks | L | R | August 3, 1972 | 6'3" | 210 | Baltimore, MD US |
| Jeremy Herider | S | R | April 9, 1972 | 5'10" | 180 | |
| Derrick Hritz | L | L | September 21, 1972 | 6'0" | 200 | Columbus, OH US |
| Todd Johnson | R | R | December 18, 1970 | 5'11" | 195 | |
| Rob Kell | R | L | September 21, 1970 | 6'2" | 200 | Lansdale, PA US |
| Kirk Kinard | R | R | March 7, 1974 | 6'0" | 175 | |
| Josh Kliner | S | R | December 27, 1972 | 5'11" | 180 | Downey, CA US |
| Toure Knighton | R | R | July 4, 1975 | 6'3" | 180 | |
| Andreaus Lewis | R | R | January 22, 1974 | 6'2" | 215 | Decatur, GA US |
| Mark Lukasiewicz | L | L | March 8, 1973 | 6'5" | 240 | Jersey City, NJ US |
| Dalton Maine | R | R | March 22, 1972 | 6'3" | 185 | Worcester, MA US |
| Jeff Martin | R | R | July 14, 1970 | 6'4" | 220 | |
| Pat Moultrie | L | L | April 27, 1973 | 5'10" | 170 | Fresno, CA US |
| Bob Oldham | R | R | April 4, 1974 | 6'5" | 200 | |
| Igor Oropeza | R | R | July 11, 1972 | 6'3" | 160 | |
| Brett Palmer | L | L | March 8, 1975 | 6'3" | 180 | Seattle, WA US |
| Chris Paxton | L | R | December 11, 1976 | 6'2" | 210 | Tarzana, CA US |
| Mickey Perez | R | R | June 2, 1972 | 5'10" | 165 | |
| Nelson Perpetuo | R | L | July 6, 1970 | 5'11" | 165 | |
| Dan Reed | R | L | October 20, 1974 | 6'4" | 210 | Fairfax, VA US |
| Tony Runion | R | R | December 6, 1971 | 6'3" | 229 | Covington, KY US |
| Aaron Sellner | L | R | September 6, 1973 | 6'1" | 193 | New Haven, CT US |
| Tony Sheffield | L | L | February 17, 1974 | 6'1" | 195 | Tullahoma, TN US |
| Dave Smith | R | R | February 18, 1972 | 5'10" | 160 | Buffalo, NY US |
| Rob Steinert | R | R | September 29, 1971 | 6'2" | 195 | Huntington, NY US |
| Mike Stoner | R | R | May 23, 1973 | 5'10" | 210 | Shelbyville, KY US |
| Mike Symmonds | L | L | March 13, 1973 | 5'9" | 180 | Honolulu, HI US |
| Ken Teasley | S | R | November 16, 1972 | 6'0" | 220 | Simi Valley, CA US |
| Kyle Towner | S | R | November 11, 1972 | 5'5" | 160 | Mobile, AL US |
| Jeff Twist | R | R | June 17, 1973 | 6'3" | 220 | Bakersfield, CA US |
| Josh Watts | L | R | March 24, 1975 | 6'1" | 210 | Plattsburgh, NY US |
| Michael Wolger | L | L | September 12, 1972 | 6'2" | 195 | Redwood City, CA US |
Average attendance is based upon the number of actual home dates where known (most leagues from 1992 and later). Where the number of home dates is not known, the average is calculated using half the team's total games.
