There are plenty of new faces in the T-Bones clubhouse this season, but one in particular is already getting noticed in his first season in the Northern League.

Ryan Fox is among the league leaders in many of the offensive categories, and after spending time in the Rockies farm system and two other independent leagues, he’s happy with where he is now.

“It’s great here,” he said.  “Town’s fun, people are awesome and the fans are great.”

Fox has several ties to Kansas, and with his hometown just three hours away on the Arkansas-Missouri border, Kansas City is the perfect place for him to be playing.  He loves having family and friends close enough to come and watch him play and is fitting right in with the T-Bones.

“Andy was pretty much the only guy I knew coming into spring training,” he said.  “It’s a veteran squad, and they all just enjoy playing the game for fun.  Everyone here gets along.”

Not only is Fox a nice addition to the clubhouse, he’s also proving to be an asset to the lineup.  In the first four games of the season, he has collected four extra-base hits, including two home runs.  He’s also leading the league in RBI and currently boasts a .750 slugging percentage.

“I’ve done a lot of work to fine tune my swing,” he said.  “I feel comfortable at the plate.”

Part of this comfort comes from experience.  Fox is in his seventh season of professional ball and throughout this time, has developed strong defensive skills to compliment his powerful bat.

A Jack-of-all-trades, he has already started in three different positions for the T-Bones.  He likes being so versatile and enjoys getting to play a variety of positions, although he considers himself a natural right-fielder or catcher – even if his body doesn’t agree sometimes.

When he’s not at the ballpark, Fox enjoys hunting, fishing and playing golf.  He said it’s hard since there’s only about a month of good golf weather left by the end of the season, but figures that’s just the price of getting to play baseball every day.

The utility man loves the game and is happy to still be playing. He says at this point in his career, he’s not really worried about scouts coming around anymore.  He’s content playing here and hopes to stay with the T-Bones for a while.

“I’m treated well and feel like I’m wanted,” he said.  “It’s everything and more than I even expected.”