The AppleSox are part of the national recognition the Wenatchee Valley has received by AARP Magazine.

Wenatchee was one of five communities the magazine highlighted on their list of best/most affordable places to retire in the country.

Six AppleSox players were named to the post-season top prospect lists by Perfect Game CrossChecker and Baseball America. Perfect Game CrossChecker listed the West Coast League’s top 35 prospects that featured six Wenatchee players, while two AppleSox players made the Baseball America list ranking the WCL’s top 10 prospects.

Perfect Game Top 35 WCL Prospects

Former AppleSox pitcher Tom Milone made his MLB debut Saturday, getting the no-decision after allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings. The highlight of the night for Milone did not come on the mound, but up at the plate.

On the very first pitch he saw as a major leaguer, Milone blasted a three-run homer. Only 26 players in MLB history have a hit a home run on the very first pitch they saw, and Milone became the first starting pitcher in history to accomplish the feat. After the historic blast Milone was cheered on by fans to take a curtain call. Click here to watch the home run.

The record setting summer for Owen Jones was capped off by being named the West Coast League’s Pitcher of the Year. Jones, who’ll be a senior at the University of Portland, set a league record with 7 wins, going 7-1 with a 2.00 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 77 innings pitched.

In addition to the WCL Pitcher of the Year honor, the Edmonds native was already named a summer collegiate baseball First Team All-American by Perfect Game CrossChecker. Only four pitchers in the country were named to the All-American First Team.

Eleven members of the 2011 Wenatchee AppleSox have earned All-West Coast League honors. West Coast League president Ken Wilson announced the 2011 All-WCL teams as voted on by member head coaches.

The AppleSox placed six players on the 15-member first-team, more than any other team in the West Coast League. Two AppleSox players made the All-WCL Second-Team, while three earned honorable mention.

The legendary King and His Court 4-man softball team will make a return trip to Wenatchee for the second to final stop of their farewell tour. The game, sponsored by Tony’s Market, will take place on Friday, August 26th at Paul Thomas Sr. Field and will be produced by the Wenatchee AppleSox Baseball Club. The King and His Court, which fields only a pitcher, catcher, first baseman and shortstop, will play the Wenatchee Fastpitch Legends.

Much like the Harlem Globetrotters, the King and His Court are known for their crowd pleasing comedic routines and feats of athletic talent. In 2000, Sports Illustrated ranked the King and His Court as the United States’ eighth-greatest team of the 20th century.

AppleSox ace Owen Jones has been named a summer collegiate baseball First Team All-American by Perfect Game CrossChecker. Only four pitchers in the country were named to the All-American First Team.

The University of Portland junior went 7-1 with a 2.00 ERA for the AppleSox this summer. Jones etched his name in the West Coast League record books, setting a new WCL record for wins in a single season.

The AppleSox finished the 2011 season as the #11 ranked summer collegiate baseball team in the country in Perfect Game CrossChecker’s last poll. The ranking is an improvement from last season, when the team finished as the #17 team in the country after winning the WCL Championship.

A mainstay in the rankings throughout the summer, the team was ranked every week of the poll and on two occasions climbed as high as the #3 spot.

The Wenatchee AppleSox and Wenatchee Valley College have signed a new agreement to extend the team’s lease at Paul Thomas Sr. Field for the next four seasons. The AppleSox have played at Paul Thomas Sr. Field on the campus of Wenatchee Valley College since the team’s inaugural season in 2000. The new four-year lease agreement will run through the 2015 season.

“I appreciate Jim Richardson and athletic director Greg Franz for working hard to create an agreement that will allow us continued use of Paul Thomas Sr. Field each summer,” said AppleSox owner/general manager Jim Corcoran. “It’s a win/win/win situation for the college, the AppleSox, and our fans.”

A very promising, record-breaking AppleSox 2011 season was ended Saturday night in Wenatchee after a heartbreaking loss against the Walla Walla Sweets.

The Sweets swept the series against the AppleSox winning first in Walla Walla Friday night and then taking the win in Wenatchee 5-4 Saturday night.