Former Kalamazoo Growlers Player To Face Former Bombers Player In World Series

Every year, the Battle of the I-94 Cup takes place in the Northwoods League when the Kalamazoo Growlers take on the Battle Creek Battle Jacks. The two teams are neighboring city rivals, and it’s a fun way to see which team can come out on top that year.

This year in the World Series, the Toronto Blue Jays will be taking on the defending championship Los Angeles Dodgers, but few people may know that the battle for the I-94 cup has now reached the main stage, as a former Kalamazoo Growler who plays on the Blue Jays will be facing off against a former Battle Creek Bomber who plays on the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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The former Kalamazoo Growler is Joey Laperfido, who was a member of the Growlers in the 2018 season.

This was actually the year that I ran music for the Growlers and got to see him in action. He played in five games and had a batting average of .471 with eight hits and three RBIs.

This was during his time at Duke, before eventually being drafted to the major leagues in 2024 by the Houston Astros and traded later that year to the Toronto Blue Jays.

As of right now, he’s on the bench but will be in the lineup. He has played 41 games for the Blue Jays with 32 hits, two doubles, and four home runs.

He’ll be going up against the former Battle Creek Bomber starting pitcher, Gavin Stone.

Stone had a very short stint as a Battle Creek Bomber one year after Joey played in the league, with just two games and two innings under his belt.

However, he had an ERA of 0.00 and only one hit and one ball, but captured three strikeouts. It may not be the most intense rivalry, but it’s fun to know that one of two former players from our city's teams will win a World Series this year.