Archives: Jan. 1-7, 2007
City, Jaxx team up to put the fun back in baseball
Posted Jan. 5, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The city of Jackson and the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Class AA; Southern League) say they are working with a renewed spirit of cooperation to improve attendance at Jaxx games this season. A meeting Thursday morning at City Hall drew 26 local businessmen, city officials, media representatives and Jaxx personnel to discuss ideas on how to restore community support for the Double-A baseball franchise. Committees are being formed, and a second meeting is scheduled for Jan. 18. "I feel like I did in 2003 again," Jaxx Vice President David Lozinak said after the meeting, which lasted nearly two hours. "Everyone is taking a positive approach to making this work in Jackson. Hopefully, all the negativity surrounding the battle between the city and [former Jaxx President] David Hersh is a thing of the past, and we can move forward. It really is refreshing."
Raptors propose expansion of Lindquist Field
Posted Jan. 5, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Ogden Raptors (rookie; Pioneer League) are proposing a $3 million expansion at Lindquist Field that would raise the number of seats to as many as 6,500. The team averaged more than 3,500 fans last season. City planners recommended approval Wednesday and sent the plan to Mayor Matthew Godfrey. The team and city would share the cost of the project. Bleachers along the foul lines would be replaced with 2,400 chairs. A standing-room-only deck would be built in left field.
Front-office turnover no worry for ‘Stormers
Posted Jan. 5, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
If the Peace Corps hadn’t used the motto first, working for the Lancaster Barnstormers (independent; Atlantic League) and other minor-league baseball teams could be called "the toughest job you’ll ever love." That’s because the long hours and other factors lead to "very few ‘lifers’ in minor-league baseball," the Barnstormers’ team president noted this week. So even with the departures of some of the most visible front-office people, along with its on-field manager, the Atlantic League champions are preparing for what its president Jon Danos expects to be "our third and best season yet." GM Joe Pinto left to form his own sports-marketing firm, while manager Tommy Herr left for a coaching job in the Washington Nationals organization. The Barnstormers will announce the hiring of a new GM and two new assistant GMs next Monday.
City renews Wahconah Park debate
Posted Jan. 5, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Almost 18 months after it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, Wahconah Park’s future will be debated again. Naming rights, facility upgrades and developmental grants are all topics for discussion in a meeting that Mayor James M. Ruberto hopes to have with various city officials within the next two weeks to discuss the 3,100-seat historic ballpark’s future. Ruberto said he is considering seeking a private entity to pay for naming rights to the park, then use the funding to help pay for improvements. Any entity interested in this proposal would need to keep Wahconah Park as part of the stadium’s name. The ballpark is currently home to the Pittsfield Dukes (summer collegiate; NECBL).
Say hello to the Toros
Posted Jan. 5, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
United League Baseball officials announced that El Toro Sporting Goods has agreed to be the title sponsor of the inaugural season of Winter League Baseball. The Winter League season begins play Jan. 19. Four ball clubs will play in the Winter League, three of which are already ULB members — Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings (Harlingen), Edinburg Coyotes and Laredo Broncos. The fourth team will represent the city of Brownsville as the Brownsville Toros. Each team will play 24 games, all at Harlingen Field, plus a best two-out-of three Winter League Championship Series. There will be two games daily, except on Sundays, one at 11 a.m. and the second at 3:30 p.m. Each game will be played in seven innings.
Little League stays on ESPN
Posted Jan. 5, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Little League Baseball will continue on ESPN under an eight-year contract extension announced Thursday. Financial terms of the deal, which will run through 2014, weren’t disclosed. ESPN and ABC have carried the Little League Championship since 1963. The new deal includes multimedia rights and 49 games in the eight divisions of Little League Baseball. ESPN said that this year marks the first time that the networks — including ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC — will carry all 32 games of the Little League Baseball World Series, which will run from August 17-23 in Williamsport, Pa.
Ballpark Notes
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The New Orleans Zephyrs (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) announced that Ken Oberkfell will manage the team in 2007. Oberkfell becomes the Zephyrs’ ninth manager. The rest of the 2007 Zephyrs coaching staff will be announced in the coming weeks. This will be Oberkfell’s seventh season with the New York Mets organization. Prior to joining the Zephyrs, Oberkfell, 50, spent the two previous seasons (2005-06) as the manager of the Norfolk Tides (Class AAA; International League). Oberkfell led the Tides to an International League South Division title in 2005 and was named Minor League Manager of the Year by Baseball America. Oberkfell has compiled a 701-698 record as a manager in 10 years as the skipper. Before joining the Mets organization, he spent four years as a manager in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Oberkfell played 16 seasons in the majors with St. Louis, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Houston and California from 1977-1992….The Greensboro Grasshoppers (Low Class A; Sally League) announced the hiring of Yunhui Harris as the team’s new Director of Merchandise. A native of Fayetteville, N.C., Harris is a 2000 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sport Science. In 2003, she received a Master’s of Education in Sport Management from the University of Georgia….Bob Skube is the new hitting coach for the Fort Wayne Wizards (Low Class A; Midwest League) replacing Tom Tornincasa, who will take over the same duties for the San Antonio Missions (Class AA; Texas League). Skube joins the Wizards staff and the Padres system from the Texas Rangers organization He spent the 2005 season as the hitting and bench coach for the Bakersfield Blaze (High Class A; California League) and was the manager of the Rangers’ Arizona League team in 2006…. The Daytona Cubs (High Class A; Florida State League) announced that Brady Ballard and Tom Denlinger have been named the team’s Co-Assistant General Managers for the 2007 season at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Ballard is a 2001 graduate of the University of Illinois. He joined Daytona in the fall of 2005 as the team’s Director of Sales. Ballard spent two seasons with the Double-A Jacksonville Suns before coming to Daytona. Denlinger is a 2003 graduate of Messiah College in Grantham, Penn. He has spent the last three seasons with the Delmarva Shorebirds (Low Class A; Sally League) where he served in a variety of roles including most recently as Sponsorship Sales Executive. Ballard and Denlinger will take over for Matt Provence, who served as the Assistant General Manager since the fall of 2004. Provence is now working as the Director of Media Relations for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Class AAA; International League)….Mike Sarbaugh will return as manager of the Kinston Indians (High Class A; Carolina League) for the 2007 season. Joining him will be pitching coach Tony Arnold, hitting coach John Nunnally and trainer Chad Wolfe. Sarbaugh led the Kinston Indians to a 2006 Carolina League Championship last season sweeping both the Southern Division and Championship Series and finishing the season with a record of 90-54. Hitting coach John Nunnally was a Carolina League All-Star for the K-Tribe in 1994. Nunnally was the hitting coach for the Burlington Indians (rookie; Appalachian League) in 2006. Pitching Coach Tony Arnold returns to Kinston where he was the K-Tribe pitching coach in 1995. Trainer Chad Wolfe will be in his fourth year as a trainer within the Cleveland organization….
Wolff ready to go public on ballpark
Posted Jan. 4, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
After months of closed-door sessions with city and regional transit officials, the Oakland A’s management will appear Jan. 16 at their first public Fremont meeting to discuss plans to move to Cisco Field. Team co-owner Lew Wolff is expected to introduce at least basic details of the proposed stadium and its surrounding "ballpark village" on south Fremont land. The meeting will take place about two months after Wolff joined Cisco Systems Inc. CEO John Chambers in a news conference to announce a land and ballpark sponsorship deal between the A’s and the San Jose tech giant. The deal’s terms call for Cisco to give the A’s control of a 143-acre parcel adjacent to Interstate 880 and the Pacific Commons shopping center. Cisco also will pay $4 million annually for the next 30 years for the naming rights to the ballpark. Cisco Field is estimated to cost as much as $500 million. Its seating capacity would be baseball’s smallest at 30,000 to 34,000.
Council postpones Winston-Salem ballpark vote
Posted Jan. 4, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Winston-Salem City Council postponed a vote yesterday on whether to spend $29 million over 25 years on a new ballpark for the Winston-Salem Warthogs (High Class A: Carolina League). The action came after an hourlong public hearing during which residents expressed strong opinions both for and against the proposal. As the council prepared to vote on the proposal, Council Member Vivian Burke suggested that she would exercise a rarely used motion — called a no-consideration motion — that would have allowed her to take the proposal off the table for last night’s meeting without getting approval from the council to do so. The stadium is expected to cost $22.6 million, but Prim is asking the city and county to invest more than that because of the cost of loans over time. The city, for example, is ready to borrow $10 million to pay for nearly half of the stadium costs. Over the 20-year term, however, the cost of the loan is expected to increase to $21 million.
City pitches pro ball team
Posted Jan. 4, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
A new minor-league baseball team is still a few weeks away from announcing its location, but league President Ron Baron is predicting a big win for the Galveston area. The Continental Baseball League, a Dallas-based independent professional league scheduled to begin with at least four teams in May, will likely put one of its Texas teams in League City. The announcement is hinging on local investors, who Baron asked to pay a $10,000 administrative fee to guarantee the team’s location instead of the $100,000 franchise fee originally proposed. Baron said of the 42 potential cities that the league looked at, he’s narrowed it down to a few finalists, with the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Branson, Mo., and Oklahoma are all still in the running, as well as other Texas cities. Original plans had six teams playing an 80-game season that would span 13 weeks, but the number of teams was cut to two and the schedule cut to 60 games in 12 weeks.
San Antonio to discuss ways to lure pro franchises
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Mayor Phil Hardberger and County Judge Nelson Wolff have scheduled a meeting for next week to discuss how San Antonio would pursue NFL or Major League Baseball teams interested in relocation. County sports consultant Michael Sculley will also attend the meeting, Wolff said. County commissioners want Sculley to develop relationships with Major League Baseball and the NFL and keep the county apprised of opportunities. The county attempted to lure the Marlins away from South Florida last spring with a plan that called for generating $200 million for a stadium by extending the tourism taxes paying for the AT&T Center.
Barreiro: Ballpark would trigger redevelopment in downtown Miami
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Building a $420-million ballpark for the Florida Marlins next door to the Stephen P. Clark Center could provide the spark that ignites massive redevelopment in the stagnant western section of downtown Miami, government officials said last week. Downtown Development Authority members Neisen Kasdin and Bruno A. Barreiro say a stadium would trigger new investment in the Flagler Street central business district and in underdeveloped areas surrounding the proposed site on Third Street. Attracting people is key to west-side economic development, Barreiro said. Existing downtown shops, restaurants and businesses would convert some baseball fans into customers. But new businesses would also spring up to service fans.
Guinn OKs bonds for marina
Posted Jan. 4, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
As he left the Nevada governor’s office, Kenny Guinn determined The Legends at Sparks Marina will contribute significantly to economic development and tourism in the state. That allows the use of Sales Tax Anticipated Revenue (STAR) Bonds to partially finance the $1 billion project. Guinn’s endorsement is a necessary step before STAR Bonds can be issued for the entertainment and retail project planned near Interstate 80 and Sparks Boulevard. Last month, the Nevada Commission on Tourism also endorsed the 1.35 million square-foot project that includes shops, restaurants, entertainment, night clubs and other attractions. Kansas City, Mo.-based developer RED Development Inc. also plans a Class AAA ballpark and a hotel/casino/spa for the site.
Avon takes a swing at baseball
Posted Jan. 4, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The race is on to bring professional baseball to Lorain County, and both cities in contention for a team are still in the game. While Lorain has received a commitment from U.S. Steel to help sponsor improvements to P.C. Campana Park in its quest for a minor league baseball team, Avon officials maintain they are not competing with Lorain to bring a minor-league team to the booming city. Yet Mayor Jim Smith did say the city is currently in discussions with a team, and he admitted he’d be happy to see professional baseball in Avon. The city has been working on plans to build a baseball and entertainment complex on about 120 acres at SR 611 and Interstate 90 that would include soccer fields, a ballpark and a walking trail, according to Smith. Smith said he has been approached by investors who are interested in buying an independent Frontier League team, but he insists the city will not sign on without the proper financing.
Centerplate plans to eliminate trans fats in 2007
Posted Jan. 4, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Concessionaire Centerplate announced plans to eliminate trans fats in 2007. The plan includes preparing foods using only trans fat-free shortening products. Centerplate also intends to continue to work with its food suppliers to eliminate their use of trans fats in their processing operations. Currently, many of Centerplate’s menu offerings at B.C. Place Stadium, the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Los Angeles Zoo and in the suites at the University of Phoenix Stadium (host of the BCS National Championship Game on January 8, 2007) are prepared using trans fat-free products. Centerplate controls concessions at six major-league ballparks and 23 minor-league ballparks. As you’ll recall, we covered this issue several weeks ago.
Baseballs found to be ‘juiced,’ company claims
Posted Jan. 4, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
A company that uses computer imaging claims baseballs had a larger rubberized core and a synthetic rubber ring in 1998, including the ball Mark McGwire hit for his 70th homer. Universal Medical Systems said Wednesday that with the assistance of Drs. Avrami S. Grader and Philip M. Halleck from The Center for Quantitative Imaging at Penn State, it took images of 1998 baseballs. "Examining the CT images of Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball, one can clearly see the synthetic ring around the core — or ‘pill’ — of the baseball," UMS President David Zavagno said. "While Mark McGwire may or may not have used illegal steroids, the evidence shows his ball — under the governing body of the league — was juiced." But Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer, said the core of the ball has been unchanged for decades. Rawlings has been the exclusive supplier of baseballs to the major leagues since 1977.
Affiliated baseball finally comes to Valley
Posted Jan. 4, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The Morning Call’s No. 1 local story of the year was the return of affiliated baseball to the Lehigh Valley in the form of a Class AAA International League team slated to take the field at a new ballpark in 2008. If you’ve not been following the story for the last few years, you should read this article: it details the several different attempts to bring baseball back to Allentown and what a political struggle it was.
Stadium Grille set to open a block from new York ballpark
Posted Jan. 4, 2007 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
Three men are hoping to tie their new restaurant to the introduction of professional baseball in York. The former Sunrise Restaurant on North Duke Street closed last week and is expected to open in a week, remodeled and with a new name. The aptly named Stadium Grille is only a block away from where construction continues on the Sovereign Bank Stadium, the home of the York Revolution (independent; Atlantic League).
Slippery Rock team to unveil name, logo next week
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After two weeks and nearly 1,000 votes, the Name the Team contest for the new independent Frontier League team in Slippery Rock has concluded. The official team name, logo, and inaugural season souvenirs will be unveiled in a ceremony at Texas Roadhouse inside Clearview Mall in Butler at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Fans are invited to attend the announcement. "We were pleasantly surprised at the number of fans who participated in the contest and look forward to seeing them at the ballpark this summer," commented Slippery Rock general manager Steve Tahsler.
Thunder owner gives record donation to Make-A-Wish Foundation of NJ
Posted Jan. 4, 20