Worcester Baseball

[NeFan]

This is a great development. Its enough to make you forget about the piles of snow and think about summer again. . .

Baseball coming to Worcester
By Bill Doyle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER ? Alan Stone confirmed last night that his ownership group will field a team in Worcester this season in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball league.


?Yes, we will be playing baseball in Worcester in 2005,? said Stone, a Boston lawyer.

Stone said a press conference will be held tomorrow, weather permitting, at City Hall to announce that the team is coming to Worcester.

College of the Holy Cross officials met yesterday to determine whether they would allow the team to play at Fitton Field. Tivnan Field at Lake Park is another possible site.

?We?re still awaiting final details on that point,? Stone said.?
The team has opened an office on Main Street and has a Worcester phone number.

Stone?s partners in the ownership group are: Phillip Rosenfield, vice president of sales for J.N. Phillips Auto Glass of Woburn; Ted Tye and Tom Alperin, principals of National Development Corp.; and Brad Michals, who owns an insurance firm in Newton. The group has paid $500,000 to the Can-Am League to become its eighth member this season.

?Worcester is a terrific market that deserves a team,? Stone said.

Members of the ownership group met with City Manager Michael V. O?Brien on Friday after meeting with him the previous week.

Stone said no general manager or manager has been hired yet.
Lake Park has lights, but Fitton Field does not. Stone said the team?s owners would provide any needed upgrades.
?We?ll do whatever it takes,? he said.

Can-Am League commissioner Miles Wolff last fall met with city officials and toured ballparks. Last week, Wolff said he was comfortable with his league temporarily playing at an existing field in Worcester until a stadium could be built.

The lack of an adequate field hampered past efforts to bring minor league baseball to Worcester. Because it is within the protected territory of the Pawtucket Red Sox, the city has been unable to attract a Major League Baseball farm club. The Can-Am League is an independent league with no affiliation with MLB.

Holy Cross has a 500-car garage near Fitton Field and more parking up the hill at the Hart Center. Cars could be parked across the street from Lake Park and at the nearby skating rink.

News reports of the team?s interest in playing at Lake Park prompted nearby residents to form a group called the Lake View Neighborhood Watch and to invite city politicians to a Feb. 16 meeting at Lake View Elementary School to discuss such plans.

The other Can-Am League teams will play in Brockton, Bangor, Lynn, New Haven, Elmira, New Jersey and Quebec. Those seven cities fielded teams last season in the Northeast League, which folded in September and was replaced by the Can-Am League. An eighth Northeast League team, which did not have a home base and played every game on the road, folded. Stone said his ownership group purchased a new franchise, not the defunct traveling team.

The Can-Am League plays a 92-game regular-season schedule from May 26 to Sept. 5.

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[NeFan]

This is from The Crusader (part 1)

Pro baseball ready for Fitton debut
By Stephen Caruso 

A new professional baseball club is set to be born right here before our very eyes on the Holy Cross campus. For more than 70 years, the second largest market in the New England area has been deprived of professional baseball. But the arrival of a new independent baseball league has brought along with it a Worcester franchise that is scheduled to play its home games on the College's own Fitton Field. 

Holy Cross is currently in talks with the City of Worcester and Worcester Professional Baseball LLC, and the yet-to-be-named independent team (a member of the newly formed Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball), regarding a plan for the team to play at Fitton Field. If the talks are successful, team ownership will be responsible for making significant upgrades to the current facility in the coming months in preparation for the 2005 season. In order to provide the Worcester community with a first-rate baseball atmosphere, the 1,000-seat capacity of Fitton Field must be tripled to accommodate roughly 3,000 spectators, while lights, dugouts, and other team facilities must be added. Holy Cross's role in the entire venture is a crucial one. In years past, the huge financial commitment typically required from the host city to provide a stadium has been the sticking point for bringing a pro baseball team to Worcester. However, the partnership between the College and the team removes this obstacle, allowing the burden to be shifted to the ownership group headed by Alan Stone, a Boston lawyer, and Philip Rosenfield, vice president of sales for J.N. Phillips Auto Glass of Woburn. 

"This is a way for us to reach out, partner with the local community, and hopefully bring some economic benefits to the area," said Holy Cross's vice president of administration and finance, Michael Lochhead. "We really do think it's a win, win, win. All three sides [the team, city, and college] can benefit from this arrangement." 

In an official press release from the school, Holy Cross president, Father Michael McFarland, expressed his enthusiasm for the school's involvement, as well: "It is an excellent opportunity to use our resources and work with our closest neighbors to contribute to the entire city's physical and economic well-being." 

[NeFan]

(part 2)

Can-Am League Commissioner Miles Wolff said the success of the Worcester team will lie in large part in the quality of the facility. "It's got to be comfortable and safe and an appealing place for a night out," he said. "Holy Cross provides a great setting and a great history, so we're really optimistic that something good can happen at the Holy Cross field." Unlike the major league teams that we have all grown up watching, minor league baseball offers fans and the community more than just a high-quality, competitive on-field product. It also brings to the plate an inviting, family-friendly atmosphere and affordable, family-oriented entertainment. Worcester's general manager Mike Lieberman stressed the importance of this community aspect of minor league baseball. "While we will do everything possible to make the team and the game itself as entertaining as possible, we're also going to do our best to make sure that, win or lose, fans will leave the park having had a ball."

The ability of an independent baseball team to mesh well and become integrated with its community is another key factor in its overall success as a franchise. As Wolff highlighted, "The goal of every independent baseball team is to make the community identify with the team and to become the community's team." Lieberman expressed these very same goals, emphasizing Worcester Professional Baseball's desire to build an organization that the Worcester and Central Massachusetts communities would be proud to call their own. "This is an organization that wants to be part of the Worcester community for the long haul, and that means being around and being a part of the community twelve months out of the year, not just from May to September. We need to remember at all times that we are a part of the community and are here to serve the community," Lieberman continued. "We have to make sure that we make it easy to be a fan. We will strive to provide a major league quality product, but we should never think that we are major league, or act as such."

The Can-Am League is an independent league in its inaugural season, and has no affiliation with Major League Baseball. The other seven teams in the league will play in Bangor, Brockton, Elmira, New Haven, New Jersey, North Shore, and Quebec. Each of these cities fielded teams last year in the now-defunct Northeast League, which recently folded and was replaced by the Can-Am League.

In the coming months, the still nameless Worcester team plans to fill out its roster through formal tryouts as well as complete its hiring of front office personnel and coaching staff. In a February 15th press conference, the team formerly introduced Worcester-native and former Boston Red Sox all-star catcher, Rich Gedman, as its field manager.

As their first official community event, Worcester Professional Baseball held a "Name Your Team" contest, which received more than 2,800 e-mail entries. The team anticipates unveiling its entire name, logo, mascot, and uniform package by the end of February. With the negotiations between Holy Cross, the City of Worcester, and Worcester Professional Baseball nearing a critical stage, all sides deferred comment on the very specifics of the agreement. However, Lochhead ensured that "the College, the City, and the baseball team are negotiating on a good faith basis to determine if this venture is feasible and in the best interests of all concerned." Each party has expressed its optimism in successfully closing the deal.

The Can-Am League plays a 92-game regular-season schedule from May 26 to Sept. 5. Worcester is currently scheduled to make its debut on May 28 at Fitton Field. To learn more about the Can-Am League or Worcester Professional Baseball, you can visit their respective websites, http://www.canamleague.com and http://www.worcesterprobaseball.com .

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[/pre]

[NeFan]

Anybody hear anything abou the team's name yet? What are your favorites?

[Steve]

The rumor is that they'll be called "The Worcester Tornado's", a somewhat poor choice for all those who suffered back in the 1950's.

I'll still cheer for them, and be at as many home games as I can attend...but, man...I wish they could have picked another name.

[jim brink]

Think what is needed here is a slight change to the name that would appear less offensive but, still be very marketable. I thought something along the lines of THE WORCESTER WHIRLWINDS was an  acceptable alternative name that the general public could grow to accept.  

[NeFan]

I'd like to invite everyone to take part in our Worcester Tronadoes discussions at NeFan.net http://www.nefan.net

We're looking for participants from Worcester and a volunteer moderator or two.