New York-Pennsylvania league president says tradition matters, saves baseball franchise from demise.
Courtesy: Sperling’s Best Places
Minor league baseball has been a summer ritual in Batavia NY, played for decades at the corner of Bank and State streets. But, sadly, there was every reason to believe the long run was over. The franchise was no longer viable financially.
The obituary would read “Minor League Baseball, Batavia, NY, 1939-2017.”
But the end didn’t come after all. Minor league ball was saved in Batavia in an astonishing exercise of old-school leadership. New York-Pennsylvania League (NY-P) league president, Ben Hayes, cited tradition as the reason. This team–the Batavia Muckdogs–and city were given a new lease on life.
How did it happen? In late 2017 the New-York Pennsylvania League took control of the franchise. Hayes wanted to give Batavia another chance. To help achieve that goal, he brought in an old friend and long-time baseball man, Dave Chase, to serve as the team’s GM.
Ben Hayes (right) and Dave Chase talk Muckdog baseball (photo, The Batavian)
What makes this story compelling is that it runs counter to the tide of contemporary sports management. Minor league baseball is big business. It drew tens of millions of fans last year to parks located in nearly 300 cities across the U.S. To stay in business, clubs need to attract fans, sell concessions, hawk merchandise, and secure corporate sponsors.
Batavia has had trouble doing those things successfully. Size is one reason (a small population, 15.5k, 2016). In a league with a median home attendance of about 2450 fans a game, only 811 fans per game attended Muckdogs’ games on average in 2016. The Muckdogs ranked #273 nationally in home attendance that year–down 12% from the year before.
In market terms, Batavia couldn’t compete.
The end looked to be an inevitabilty for a city that had given birth to the longest, continuing Class A league in baseball history (Class D before that). The founding year was 1939, the founding place was The Richmond Hotel, and Batavia became a charter member of NY-P’s predecessor—The PONY League—an acronym for Pennsylvania, Ontario, and New York. Batavia is the only remaining franchise.
Courtesy: Ben’s Biz Blog, WordPress.com
Over the years, local officials struggled to keep the charter franchise alive. The boldest move in that regard came in 2008. The Rochester Red Wings (a nearby AAA affiliate) were given 5% ownership in the Muckdogs for each year they provided financial help. Bill Bruton, the former sports editor of The Batavia Daily News, describes how things eventuated: “In 2017 they (the Red Wings) would hit the 50% threshold, so they are going to push for a sale to get their money.”
That’s when Hayes and the NY-P stepped in. Otherwise, the franchise would have been sold and the team moved to another city.
In an era where the dollar reigns supreme and markets rule, Ben Hayes bucked convention and gave Batavia another chance. “This is going to be an important year,” Hayes said. “Can Batavia support a ball club? If so, fantastic.”
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This article is dedicated to my childhood pal, Jim Sweeney. The two of us spent many nights watching Batavia (the Indians back then) play at the corner of Bank and State. Five decades later, Jim lives within shouting distance of the venerable stadium.
