Erie baseball fans have a reason, albeit a distant one, to root for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2011 World Series.

St. Louis left-hander Arthur Rhodes, who’s approaching the end of his 20th Major League Baseball season, pitched for the former Erie Orioles early in his professional career. The Baltimore Orioles selected the now 41-year-old reliever in the second round of the 1988 amateur draft.

Rhodes appeared in five games for the 1989 Erie Orioles, who played at Ainsworth Field in the New York-Penn League. He went 2-0 with a 1.16 earned-run average over 31 innings.

Baltimore promoted Rhodes to Frederick (Md.) of the Class A Carolina League later that season, and finally called him up to the parent club in 1991.

Rhodes has a career record of 87-70 in an even 900 regular-season games with eight different teams. Ironically, the Cardinals claimed him off waivers from the Texas Rangers, their opponent in the current Fall Classic, on Aug. 11.

– Mike Copper

The Salt River Rafters lead the Arizona Fall League’s East Division with a 10-4 record after Wednesday’s action.

Salt Lake, managed by Stu Cole, also boasts Erie SeaWolves manager Chris Cron as its hitting coach for the league’s 2011 season. The Rafters’ roster also includes pitchers Casey Crosby and Tyler Stohr, who pitched for Erie in 2011, and former SeaWolves starter Andy Oliver.

Salt River’s AFL season runs through Nov. 17. Mesa and Scottsdale are its division rivals, with Surprise, Peoria and Phoenix comprising the West Division.