2007: Going Deep
Thursday was Opening Day for the 2020 MLB season… or at least it would have been, if not for the COVID-19 outbreak that has put our entire world, and basically all sports, on an indefinite hold. However, without the coronavirus, today would have been 13 days until MiLB Opening Day. With 15 seasons in the books for the West Virginia Power, it’s to turn back the calendar and revisit each of the first 15 Opening Days in Power history.
On Thursday, we opened up the first chapter of the West Virginia Power with the 2005 Opening Day game in Hagerstown. Yesterday, we looked back at the first home opener in team history in 2006. Off to 2007.
The 2006 season was a much better campaign for the Power, as they finished 74–62, but they still missed the playoffs due to torrid halves by the Lakewood BlueClaws and Lexington Legends. The 2007 campaign saw the return of manager Mike Guerrero, who holds the second-highest winning percentage in Power history (156–116, .598), and one of just four managers at the helm in West Virginia for multiple seasons. Also undergoing another go-round in Charleston was Michael Brantley, despite his .300 average and 42 RBI in 108 games in 2006. The future Cleveland Indian and Houston Astro would only spend 56 more games in The Capital City in 2007, boasting a .335 clip with two homers and 32 RBI before shooting straight up to Double-A Huntsville.
As for the season opener in 2007, the Power welcomed in the Lake County Captains to Appalachian Power Park, the only time West Virginia would ever face off with Lake County on Opening Day (Lake County moved to the Midwest League following the 2009 season). The Power won the game, 4–3, scoring two runs in the first and two in the seventh, to claim their second straight Opening Day victory, the only time they have won back-to-back season openers in team history.
Brantley nearly hit for the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBI, while Andrew Lefave gave West Virginia its early 2–0 lead with a two-run homer to left-center in the first inning off Carlton Smith. The bullpen trio of Patrick Ryan, E.J. Shanks and Omar Aguilar locked this one down for the Power, hurling 4.2 scoreless innings, ceding just two hits and striking out seven batters.
As for the big leaguers from this game, besides Brantley, Taylor Green is the only other member from the Power that made it to the show. Granted, Green did have himself a remarkable season, mashing to the tune of a .327 average with 14 homers and 86 RBI in 111 games. From the Captains, Matt McBride, Luis Perdomo and Carlos Rivero were the only three to reach the MLB plateau.
A couple of notes from this game and season:
- Lefave’s home run was the first homer a Power player had hit during a season opener.
- Lefave’s season truly reached its peak in 2007, as he hit .345 with 17 homers and 79 RBI. His .345 average led the South Atlantic League in 2007, and is still the best single-season average mark in Charleston, WV SAL history. Lefave would only play one more season in 2008, splitting time between High-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg.
- Stephen Chapman set the single-season home runs record this year, blasting 24 bombs, while Brent Brewer struck out 170 times, leading the SAL and slotting in as the most all-time in Charleston history, and Chuck Caufield had 100 runs scored, second-most in Charleston history.
- The Power would not win another season opener at home until the 2015 season.
Three years down, 12 more to go. Come back tomorrow for stories on the 2008 opener!
