'Kinney fever:' Local player wearing World Series Ring

Josh Kinney

Not since Roulette's Don Hoak patrolled third base for the Pittsburgh Pirates had the local area been represented in major league baseball's World Series.

It seems that everyone within a 30-mile radius adopted Port Allegany's Josh Kinney as a favorite player in the fall classic. Local fans were thrilled when Kinney played a role in the St. Louis Cardinals' success against the Detroit Tigers.

During the series, Kinney's rural roots caught the attention of a sportswriter from the Belleville (Missouri) News- Democrat, who wrote:

"About the only thing that could keep Josh Kinney out of a deer blind at this time of the year is baseball. A 27-year-old righthander, Kinney has impressed in his first postseason - even if it's cutting into his hunting time. 'This is what I'd rather be doing,' Kinney said. 'This is what I've done my entire life. During baseball season, I'm 100 percent baseball. I'm not worried about deer hunting. There will be plenty of time for that . . . I was raised with a gun in my hand. I've spent time with my dad and my grandpa and my uncles out in the woods. It was more of a tradition for us back home.'

"He added, 'I love to be out in the woods. It gives me piece of mind. I can collect my thoughts and focus on things that matter.' With the Cardinals entrenched in the World Series, Kinney gets his fix through numerous deer-hunting magazines that are stacked in the bottom of his locker."

Kinney showed confidence in the National League Championship Series, using his arsenal of breaking balls to interrupt the hitters' timing. He brandished a 0.00 earned run average over three-plus innings of work.

He also got out of a jam in two of the World Series games against the Detroit Tigers, continuing his scoreless streak which he hopes to carry into the major league season next April.

Kinney made his major league debut in July. Although his first pitch was crunched for a home run, he ended the regular season with a respectable ERA of 3.24.

Experience usually keys bullpen success, but Kinney and his young cohorts showed that youth can get the job done, as well.

Back in Port Allegany, Kinney Fever was everywhere, with billboards and signs all over town.

"How can you not root for a hometown kid like that?," asked rabid baseball fan Dustin Barnard, an employee of Time Warner Cable. "I pushed my beloved Chicago Cubs pride to the side and found myself rooting for the Cardinals. We were all rooting for Josh to bring that World Series ring to McKean County."