Winnipeg Goldeyes infielder Matthew Warkentin and Gary SouthShore RailCats starter Peyton Long won the American Association’s Carbliss batter and pitcher of the week for the week ending 7/6, the league announced Monday.
Warkentin led the league in hitting this week with 13 hits in 26 at-bats (.500). Among those 13 hits were two home runs and five doubles. He also drove in eight runs and scored five.
He got off to a roaring start to the week, collecting three hits in each of the first three games of Winnipeg’s six-game set against Fargo-Moorhead. He’s currently on a seven-game hit streak.
The native Canadian from Windsor is in his first season back in his home country after spending two seasons in the Chicago Cubs organization as well as time in fellow partner leagues in the Pioneer and Frontier.
On the pitching side, Long went a long distance in his start this week, throwing a complete game shut-out against Kansas City on Wednesday night. He allowed just three hits and walked one while striking out seven.
It was a big bounce-back start for Long who had given up a combined 12 runs across his previous two appearances. He’s been an innings-eater for the RailCats, pitching at least five innings in nine of his 10 starts.
This is year two for Long in Gary after he put up a 5.50 ERA in 21 starts in 2024. He previously spent two seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers organization before also playing in the Pioneer League.
Carbliss is the founding partner of the American Association.
Marv Goldklang
Goldklang spent 31 seasons as the chairman and principal owner of the St. Paul Saints, including the club’s time in the American Association from 2006 to 2020. From the Saints’ inception in 1993, the club served as a flagship for independent baseball, bringing together innovative promotions, experienced leadership, and high-quality baseball for the enjoyment of millions in the Twin Cities. The Saints reached even greater heights upon the opening of CHS Field in 2016, drawing over 400,000 fans per season. On the field, the Saints won five league championships during his tenure, including the 2019 AAPB crown, while four AAPB Saints reached the majors.
A minority owner of the New York Yankees, Goldklang’s management organization, the Goldklang Group, has owned and operated clubs at all levels of baseball. He is also a member of the South Atlantic League, Florida State League, and New York-Penn League halls of fame.
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Jeff Bittiger
Bittiger has been involved with independent baseball since its modern-era inception in 1993. The former big-league hurler with the Phillies, White Sox, and Twins pitched in the Northern League with Rochester, Winnipeg, and Fargo-Moorhead from 1993 to 2002 and was named Baseball America‘s Independent Player of the Decade for the 1990s. Bittiger also served as Fargo-Moorhead’s pitching coach through the 2003 season.
After joining the Oakland Athletics as a scout in 2004, he remained active in the RedHawks’ player personnel department, eventually becoming director of player personnel in 2017, a position he continues to hold. Since joining the AAPB, Fargo-Moorhead has qualified for the playoffs seven times and won the 2022 league championship, while four (Chris Coste, Jason Pearson, Brandon Mann, Kevin Herget) former RedHawks have reached the majors. The RedHawks also won five Northern League titles in addition to the one American Association Title in Bittiger’s time with the club.
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N. Bruce Thom
Thom served as the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks’ owner and chairman from the club’s inception in 1996 until his passing in 2025. He was instrumental in bringing the club to Fargo as well as the construction of Newman Outdoor Field, with nearly 5 million fans passing through the gates during his tenure, six league championships including a 2022 AAPB title, and the emergence of the RedHawks as one of independent baseball’s model operations.
Known as “The General,” Thom led the RedHawks organization as President from the club’s founding in late 1995 before heading an investment group that purchased the club in 2004. Thom was a Fargo native who graduated from Fargo Central High School and Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.
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Dan Moushon
Instrumental in the growth of independent baseball throughout North America, Moushon was the American Association’s president from the league’s inception in 2006 through the 2017 season, overseeing the AAPB’s operations and administration as it emerged into a solid, well-respected league. At various periods between 1994 and 2018, he also served as president or executive director of the Can-Am/Northeast League, Central League, and Northern League, as well as vice president of the Burlington Royals of the Appalachian League.
He is currently Senior Administrator of the Major League Baseball-sponsored Appalachian League as well as the MLB Draft League in the northeastern U.S.
