How does one become an honorary Navy Seal? Several people have done it, but Eric Owens did it the hard way. He trained with them for two years before he left the Navy.

Eric’s father was in the Navy and Eric grew up in a Navy environment, dreaming of becoming a Navy Seal. He moved with his father to San Diego when his father was stationed there and spent much of his time checking out all things Navy. He visited many of the military vessels that came to port in San Diego. Then he enlisted in the Navy, hoping to become a Seal. He trained with the Seals for two years and then left the Navy for a career in professional baseball.

Owens is best known for his baseball career, which began with the Cincinnati Reds in 1992 and ended in 2008 – sort of. Two years after retiring in 2004 from the Detroit Tigers, he spent two years coaching several minor league teams and finally retired in 2008.

Early in his baseball career, Owens played for the San Diego Padres, which brought him back to his friends in the Seals. He would visit them whenever he could and often got them into home games. He got some lucky sailors into the Padres’ dugout to watch the game.

Leaving the Padres for the Florida Marlins was difficult, for he was so close to the Seals. Evidently the feeling was mutual, for they made him an honorary member of the organization.

Eric Owens, a former Major League Baseball utility player, was born February 3, 1971, in Virginia. He played baseball at Ferrum College. Later, he began his major league career when he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1992, at the age of 21. He was traded to the Florida Marlins in March 1998 and later that same year, his contract was sold to the Milwaukee Brewers. After moving to the San Diego Padres, Eric shared a locker with Garth Brooks, the country music legend, and they have remained friends since that time.

While playing for the Padres, Owens became the first player get a hit in Safeco Field against the Mariners. He was later traded to the Florida Marlins. Owens retired from actively playing baseball at the end of the 2004 season and went to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as hitting coach for their affiliate team, the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Then he went to the Arkansas Travelers as hitting coach and later moved to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes as manager.

Owens was considered to be an aggressive player and able to play any position in the outfield, being known as a utility player. In order to make a play, he would slide, dive, run, jump, and even crash. He also was great at stealing bases, totalling 126 in his career. His stats are impressive, with 2,353 at bats and 621 hits, with a career average of 1264. Also, he was noted for his ability to hit grounders into left field. Although he was a large player, at 6’1” and 183 pounds, he recorded 305 runs, 86 doubles, 16 triples, 26 homeruns, and 214 RBIs. Eric Owens had an impressive career.

The home office of the Texas League is in San Antonio, TX. In a split schedule, they play 140 games. The championship is determined by the first-half division champion playing the second-half division champion. The league championship is determined by a best of seven series.

The Texas League has been in operation since 1888 and has a very interesting history. The 2009 Texas League season will open April 9th and will end September 1, followed by the championship games in mid-September. Texas and Missouri make up the Texas League with two divisions, the North division and the South division. The North division is made up of four teams: Arkansas Travelers, North-west Arkansas Naturals, Springfield Cardinals, and the Tulsa Drillers. The South division also has four teams: Corpus Christi Hooks, Midland RockHounds, Frisco RoughRiders, and the San Antonio Missions, each being affiliated with their respective major league teams.

The 2008 championship game was played in front of 3,000 enthusiastic fans at Dr. Pepper Park in Frisco, Texas with a winning score of 11 to 3. The two teams playing were the Arkansas Travelers and the Frisco RoughRiders, with the Arkansas Travelers winning. The Arkansas Travelers were founded in 1895. They are based in North Little Rock, AR, and are the AA affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, also known as "The Travs." Their affiliation was extended for an additional two years on August 20, 2008. The team played in Ray Winder Field from 1932 through 2006. They were then moved to their new field, Dickey-Stephens Park in 2007. The Arkansas Travelers hold league titles for the following years: 1977, 1979, 1980, 1989, 2001, and 2008. They also hold the division title for 2008.

Billy Wagner was born on July 25, 1971 in Tannersville, Virginia and is a relief pitcher for the New York Mets. He started out pitching right handed, but taught himself to utilize his left arm after a couple of right arm breaks. This must have worked out well for him as he was honored with being the 1990 Baseball Player of the Year in 1990 at Tazewell High School. His success continued as he went to Ferrum College in Virginia and set NCAA records for strikeouts, fewest hits allowed and he still holds the Division III marks for strikeouts in a career there. Later in life, he was inducted into the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Houston Astros drafted Wagner in 1993 for pitching in the minor leagues, where he led all the other pitchers in strikeouts. He made his Major League debut on September 13, 1995 for the Astros where he stayed until 2003 as the relief pitcher and ended his time there by being named Astros Pitcher of the Year by the Houston Chapter. Wagner then moved to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2004 and in the 2005 season had his best ERA ever. After that season, he signed a four-year contract on November 28, 2005 with the New York Mets. As with prior teams, he had great success with the Mets and they actually won their first division title for many years.

No matter how talented Billy Wagner is, an injury may put him out for the entire 2009 season. He endured elbow surgery in September 2008 and has already started working out, but the Mets don’t want to hurry him.

Eric Owens was born on February, 3, 1971. He attended Ferrum College in Ferrum, Virginia, and after college, began his baseball career in 1992, after being drafted fourth in the amateur draft. Owens played in the minor leagues for the Cincinnati Reds for three years, before making his major league appearance in 1995. He played for a total of nine seasons before leaving the league in 2003.

Owens played for a total of six major league baseball clubs including the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, and Milwaukee Brewers for the National League teams. For the American League teams he played for the Anaheim Angels, and Detroit Tigers. Throughout his career he was considered a trend setting ball player, and was able to set club records that are still recognized as impressive. Owens was considered an aggressive outfielder, able to play all positions in the outfield; he would stop at nothing to catch the ball. Owens had been noted for sliding, diving, skidding, running, jumping, and crashing, in order to make the play in the outfield.

Towards the end of his career he began to decline at the plate. In the earlier years of his career, Owens had a talent for base stealing, with one year stealing 32. Towards the end of his career however, he was struggling to get on base. While his defense skills were still accurate, he was in competition with his teammates for batting, such as Tony Gwynn. Owens simply lost his zest as all athletes do in time.