2003  S e a s o n

When you look at the roster for the Rebel Club in 2003, you’re struck by two things: 1) the amount of decent to very good, but great players outside of a past-his-prime Jerry Vasquez and 2) how most of the players were at the perfect age to make the most on-field impact. So the Rebel team continued to be their unremarkable selves and win 32 games during the summer taking the Thursday Night League Division title. But let’s give credit to Rebel fans about all else. It says something about a team’s supporters when they don’t raise a stink about an accomplishment not being recognized nationally. The Rebel fans seem to be comfortable with their position and perfectly fine with celebrating their team’s milestone amongst themselves.

Summer League Standing

Summer  Roster

Champions! Rebels Softball Club Win the 2003 Thursday Nights in Waukegan for the First Time in Franchise History… A wild summer that was filled with unexpected moments and unbelievable comebacks has come to an end — and the Rebels Mens Softball Club have been crowned new Waukegan Park District Thursday Night champions! The Rebels beat the JR Wrecker’s Club with a score of 13-9 on Thursday August 14th to win the division. The victory concluded an exciting contest that saw the Rebels steal three out of four games from the heavily favored JR Wrecker’s Club and also marks the first time that the franchise has won a summer League Night Title in their history. Considering the era this team played in, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Rick Garza had one of the quietest .643 / .729 / 1.255, 14 home run seasons that Lake County Softball had seen.

Summer  Stats

Player

Poss

G

P.A.

A.B.

Runs

O.B.

Hits

1B

2B

3B

HR

OPS

RBI

BB

AVG

RE
Dennis  WuorenmaP298983224737351101.010246.4464
Jeff  WilsonP36123112487962535221.1584911.5546
Ricardo  MitchellP3915714862105906715531.507699.6086
Jerry  VasquezC3110390345439299011.0913613.4332
Tony  CauvallC197158184430245011.2752113.5171
Carson  Florio1B7211981277000.93922.3683
Ryan  Borre1B381451416790805712471.479594.5676
Jeremiah  Johnson2B2910598355746386021.135317.4694
Kevin  Lowery3B2286804149411595121.770516.5132
Ross  Jensen3B83029101513110111.12161.4481
Brad  JensenSS38158150901069050236111.724778.6008
Nathan  DeRohanSS83030141918121231.700140.6001
Scott  KnightonSS208981395743402101.220198.5316
Rick  GarzaLF301189864866333142141.9485820.6433
Nestor  ToroLC341441356387714319451.441409.5267
Louie  TorresRC3010492345638325101.0272712.4136
Jon  SchumacherRF33117100376341338001.0283117.4105
Zach  SmoleRF83629142114120201.20477.4830

Most  Valuable  Player

There were many viable candidates for most valuable player during the 2003 season but as the respective races heated up over the final weeks, shortstop Brad Jensen separated himself from the pack. The 21 year-old All-Star Shortstop Brad Jensen, batted .600 / .671 / 1.053 with 11 home runs, 77 RBIs, 90 Runs and 40 extra base hits through what became a breakout season in 2003, ultimately becoming the first short stop to win the MVP since Adam Miller in 2000. Jensen also won the Player of the Month for August 2003 and a Gold Glove. Accordingly, it was no surprise that Jensen was named MVP, when the balloting was revealed. Jensen was the runaway winner, getting 29 of 30 first-place votes.

Rookie of the Year

Rebel first basemen Ryan Borre dazzled us from the moment he stepped onto a Lake County diamond last May. Are 20-year-olds supposed to be this good? This polished? Borre became the face of the Rebels in a magical turnaround season and was honored with the Rookie of the Year Award. He received 27 of 30 first-place votes, and batted .567 / .621 / .858 with 7 home runs, 59 RBIs, 67 Runs and 23 extra base hits.

Ryan Borre made his team debut on May 13th, 2003 against Clover’s Pub at Jefferson North, going 2 for 3, with a Run. Collected his first triple on Thursday June 19th, 2003 vs. Yaskawa Electric Softball, Gm.2 at Dugdale Park. Collected his home run on Tuesday May 20th, 2003 vs. Go Jo’s Softball at Dugdale Park.

Team Memorabilia

FanEdgeCardSignCardBrad2003

This is a genuine autographed baseball card of the famous Rebels shortstop, Brad Jensen. The card was signed during his college days at Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Only 430 of these signed cards exist. Brad Jansen, "Most Valuable Player" 2003 signature
autograph card.

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