Atlantic City historically has been a failure as a professional sports venue. Less than an hour away from Philadelphia, baseball has ironically been its biggest flop. Going back to the early part of the 20th century, successful franchises have consistently failed off the field in the “Las Vegas of the East”. The most glaring sports failure of recent memory was the folding of the Atlantic City Surf. This professional baseball team called Bernie Robbins...
Why are mascots important to minor league baseball? In the current economy, you would think a budget-friendly version of our national pastime could stand on its own. Let’s face it though. There’s a lot of competition for our entertainment time and dollars. With rosters full of “Who are you?” and “Didn’t you used to be?” there are more empty ballparks and folded franchises than we care to admit to. Mascots give your team brand...
Why are mascots important to minor league baseball? In the current economy, you would think a budget-friendly version of our national pastime could stand on its own. Let’s face it though. There’s a lot of competition for our entertainment time and dollars. With rosters full of “Who are you?” and “Didn’t you used to be?” there are more empty ballparks and folded franchises than we care to admit to. Mascots give your team brand...
Team League Organization Reno Aces Pacific Coast Arizona Diamondbacks Mobile BayBears Southern Arizona Diamondbacks South Bend SilverHawks Midwest Arizona Diamondbacks Visalia Rawhide California Arizona Diamondbacks Yakima Bears Northwest Arizona Diamondbacks Missoula Osprey Pioneer Arizona Diamondbacks Gwinnett Braves International Atlanta Braves Mississippi Braves Southern Atlanta Braves Rome...
Andrew approached me last week with a complaint: in compiling the list of nominees for the Bus Leagues Player of the Year award, I had neglected to include representatives from any of the independent leagues. You could argue that this was an inexcusable offense for someone with my background; I prefer to imagine that it was my way of protesting the likely death of independent baseball in Nashua (note: it was the first reason)....
It’s a banner day: Nashua, New Hampshire made Deadspin. Wheee. For those who don’t like clicking links, the city of Nashua locked the American Defenders of New Hampshire out of Holman Stadium yesterday afternoon due to a number of unpaid bills. The team and city could not reach an agreement on an acceptable payment plan, so the few remaining home dates have been rescheduled as road games. As the title suggests, the situation calls...
I’ve written about the Nashua Pride/American Defenders here many, many times. For various reasons, and despite all attempts to break me, it is an organization that holds a place close to my heart. I want the Defenders to succeed, and I feel bad that I don’t personally do more to make it happen. There are probably a lot of people in the city who feel the same way – “We like the idea of...
After last night’s American Defenders game, my friend Chris was moved to write down a few thoughts of his own on the current state of the team and its seemingly inevitable demise. There comes a time in everyone’s life where their childhood memories eventually fade away. It may be something small and minuscule or it may be something significant. This is minuscule but it is still something that is hard to watch die right...
My road trip was originally supposed to end on Sunday, June 28, with a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. About three weeks ago, however, I saw a story that changed my plans slightly: the day after our return, Eric Gagne was coming to Nashua. In a way, it’s more fitting that the long weekend (which I’ll write about eventually, provided I can remember all the wild stuff that...
Up to this point, the biggest story in the Can-Am League this season was Quebec’s signing of former major league pitcher Eric Gagne. The Boston Herald, however, ran a story today on the first base coach for the Brockton Rox, Justine Siegal. Yeah, HER name is Justine. The Rox think she is the first female coach in professional baseball history (that’s actually the fun thing about independent baseball: you can claim pretty much anything...
2012 05 14 Scranton Wilks Barre/ Empire State Yankees vs Pawtucket Red Sox
