My final post

Well, I went to the game last night to say goodbye to the hometown team. Yeah, I know...Ben Deach said check the website for 2009 ticket info; yeah, I know...GBL owners say they haven't made a decision but we all know the reality. And the other 200 people who were there last night know it too.

I want to start by saying thanks to guys like Curt Jacey, John Rice, and Ben Deach who busted their asses to make this thing work and to the great folks from the league office like Kevin Outcalt who actually listened to the fans. It was a fun three years that included a league title.

One thing I have never really discussed on this blog is that Kevin and Curt let me work with the team last year and John was the actual guy I worked with the most. I got to ask every question I wanted and got real answers. I got to hang in the booth for the better part of the second half and I got to try the different jobs that occur in there. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I really appreciated it.

It was a great three years and I had a blast going to the park and follwing the team. I told you my goal was to treat it like an MLB team so, through this blog, I think you saw how into this team I tried to be. I hope it added something to your enjoyment of the team as well.

Unfortunately, and this is no knock on the folks I just mentioned, the announcement of AAA baseball in concert with the tight budgets of GBL teams killed the Silver Sox. And no one is really to blame. You can't expect the GBL to continue to pour money into a team that draws in only 50-200 fans per game this year (with the exception of firework nights). And because of that, the people who did show up probably got a lessened experience from prevous seasons. Here are some examples:


-- All games in 2007 (home and away) were on the local ESPN affilate. This year, only home games were braodcast and it was only on the internet. This meant that you couldn't listen to the game at the stadium or on the way home if you had to leave. And, for the past month, no games have been broadcast at all.


-- I believe what was meant to be a monthly printed program became a one and done program. I never saw another one and, last night, there weren't any at all handed out. And, at no time this year did I get printed rosters like we got the last two years. This is key with a team with high turnover.


-- Speaking of turnover, the Sox sold zero players to MLB this year. Zero. Remember in 2006 we set the record for an independent team for the number of players we sent back to affiliated ball. Instead, we sent Crespi, Dixon, Brown and Senreiso--some of our best players--to other independent teams. If that is not a slap in the face to our team, I don't know what is. Brown was to complete a previous deal...the others? We got nothing in exchange.


-- And that is probably because the on-field product this year was SO bad. The pitching was the absolute worst I have seen in three years and it really detracted from games. I didn't count but I would wager that half the games we lost were the result of the other team scoring double digit runs. Because the entire pitching squad was so bad, guys would just stay out there and get bombed for 6,8, or 10 runs because there was no one else to come in. Last night was a perfect example when we got yet another "rent a pitcher" who got bombed and, with the expection of one mound visit by Leslie, stayed in the game depsite being totally ineffective. And even defense like the awesome plays from Hattig, Alvarado, and Madrid couldn't change that.

-- Giveaways were WAY down! There was the league wide giveaway of sun flower seeds and there was a (delayed) giveaway of a logo ball...but the other advertised giveaways like baseball cards and mini-bats went by the wayside. Just comparing this to Chico shows that other league owned teams are light years ahead of the Sox. This is part of minor league and major league baseball. This has to happen.

-- Website updates were atrocious. Last year we got game reports, player profiles, and an e-mail every time a player was sold to affiliated ball or to talk about roster changes. This year? No away games for the first month and then some reports from away games later; nothing on player movement (Crespi, Senreiso, and Dixon, our three best players. leave and no one tells us anything). Then our PA announcer of 2.5 years leaves. Again, no info to the fans. It made following the team very difficult unless you were hardcore enough (like me) to scour the internet for information. This hurt brand loyalty since we never knew who would be on the field from game to game (epsecially at the pitcher spot). I mean in the final games our DH was who??? A guy not on the roster and not on the GBL transactions page.

-- Speaking of transactions, the GBL quit trying to update this as well. Many transactions went unposted which is unacceptable since the league owns the team. They sign all the contracts so it is not like they didn't know when guys joined the team, even if it took a couple of days to be reported to them by local management.

-- On field entertainment fell to just a pizza box race, a dizzy bat race, and mascot race. This is less than last year (tricycle race, sign race, etc) and is way less than the other stadiums...just review the video I sent from Long Beach's sumo wrestling. The bottom line is, in yet another chicken and the egg scenario, I am not sure if the lack of fans killed the atmosphere or if the lack of promotions did. Either way, the stadium was dead silent a lot of the time this year. I mean I can hear coaches talking to players and players talking to each other...kind of cool but energy in a stadium really improves the environment.

-- My daughter caught a foul ball in Chico once and it was great for her. A real GBL ball with Kevin Outcalt's signature on it. We caught a foul ball tonight and it said "Minor League Baseball" and was signed by Pat O' Connor. Not only are the Sox not part of MiLB but O'Connor is not the commissioner. Not to sound snide but did the Sox get a cut-rate deal on balls that was cheaper than official GBL balls? This seemed pretty unprofessional.

-- Finally, advertising was way down. No radio ads on ESPN and no ads in the paper. I saw a TV commercial but it was so in frequent that in watching an A's game I saw it once. And to be honest, how many people are really watching an A's-Orioles game beside hard core fans who probably already have a decision in their mind about the Silver Sox.

In any event, I feel both the GBL and the fans gave up on the Sox this year and now they will be looking for a new home. If they tried to come back, I can't see it being economically feasible without stripping out even more of the stuff we have come to expect. Fan support is just not there. Remember that when the league debuted in Reno, their goal was 1500 a night to break even. So unless there are 1300+ paid no-shows a night, this team has been underwater all year.

I will always be a Silver Sox fan and a fan of the GBL. It was a good three years and I may have to take in a Chico game next year just to support the league. The GBL is a great concept and my appreciation for indy baseball has grown tremendously. I wasn't pleased with how it ended in terms of the experience fans got but, at the end of the day, it was what we allowed them to give us by not attending in larger numbers like we did in season one. In the end, the final homestand was the perfect ending...swept at home in front of 200 fans. Kind of the story of this season...swept out of town with only a few people even noticing they are gone. Sad, really, with as hard as the players and staff worked...and for the true blue fans who came all the time...like Richard with his lollipops and the girl who sat behind me and knew everything about every player. But it is what it is.

Thanks for reading for these two years...I enjoyed the interaction with everyone and the ability to follow our hometown team so closely.