muckdogs

If the Muckdogs don't last in Batavia, it won't be because Russ Salway didn't put every ounce of passion he has behind the effort to save the team.

The Le Roy native spends at least 10 hours a week in an office at Dwyer Stadium calling on local and regional businesses trying to sell season ticket packages and special event attendance as well as stadium advertising.

If you bump into him around town, he's likely going to want to talk at some point about the Muckdogs and the need for fan support this season -- this season, especially.

Salway has also set up a group on Facebook called, appropriately enough, Let's Keep the Batavia Muckdogs in Batavia.

Russ Salway doesn't work for the Muckdogs or the Rochester Red Wings, who took over management of the team three years ago. Salway is a volunteer.

"We are obviously operating with a small staff, so we can't get to everything," said General Manager Travis Sick. "So to have somebody like Russ, who is so familiar with the community and knows a lot of people, is a great help.

"He's a tremendous help to us," Sick added. "A lot of people say they want to help, but very few come through like Russ. He's great."

Salway said he is putting so much time and effort to promote the Muckdogs because he can't image Batavia without minor league baseball.

"If we lose the team, we'll never get another one," Salway said.

Last season, the Muckdogs lost about $150,000. That deficit was covered by Rochester Community Baseball, the community group that owns the Red Wings. Club officials say they can't sustain those kinds of losses indefinitely. 

"The Red Wings are definitely behind baseball here, but we need to show some improvement," Sick said. "This is still a business and we can't sustain a hundred-thousand-dollar loss year after year. I don't want to call this a make-or-break year, but we've got to show some improvement."

And Salway says he's making progress. He's finding more people and businesses willing to make a commitment to the Muckdogs this season.

"People are really stepping up," Salway said. "There is no reason we can't make this work."

Sick said season ticket sales are slightly ahead of sales from this time last year.

Salway has become such an integral part of promoting Muckdogs baseball, that it's hard to forget it's not his real job. He has worked for O-AT-KA Milk Products for 15 years, where he mixes ingredients for speciality drinks. 

His schedule allows him to go to Dwyer Stadium to field phone calls for a couple of hours during the week. He runs the Facebook group from home at night.

You might think all of this extra time spent on a volunteer effort might put a strain on his personal relationships, but Salway said that his fiancee, Kellie Porter, is 110 percent behind his effort and even puts in volunteer hours herself.

Both Salway and Porter are doing it, not just for the community, he said, but for their children.

"My kids grew up down the road from Dwyer and we've been going to games for years," he said. "I want the team to remain for years so I can take my grandchildren. It's such a great thing for the community. It's a safe, family-friendly environment. It's really the last place in the county were you can go and see old friends and make new ones."

Sick said it won't take much for the team to show progress -- if more people would just go to one more game a year and a few bring some friends, that would help. The team draws about 2 percent of the population to games. If that number just ticked up a notch to 3 percent, it would make a huge difference, Sick said.

The Muckdogs are part of a tradition of professional baseball in Batavia that goes back to 1939. The New York-Penn League was founded in Batavia. Salway said Batavia shouldn't lose that continuity and that sense of history.

The next big event in the life of every Muckdog's fan is the Hot Stove Dinner on Friday at the Batavia Party House. It may be possible to purchase tickets ($25) at the door, but it would be better to buy them in advance at Dwyer Stadium.

I know its the last week of December and also the year! There is snow on the ground and were tucked between two holidays, Christmas and New Years. We couldn't be any further away from baseball!   This is why it's more important now than ever that we think about our Batavia Muckdogs and the upcoming 2010 season. 

The Rochester Red Wings have been operating the Muckdogs the last two seasons and have stepped up to the plate and will operate the team again in 2010. I say stepped up to the plate because for two seasons the Wings have lost  a lot of money operating the Muckdogs. This is a critical time for our team. The Wings came on board at the last minute a few years ago when we were about to lose our pro team.  They really saved our team.  If Hollywood was involved, they probably couldn't have written a script any better. 'A Small city franchise since 1939 on the brink of losing its only pro team when a neighboring big city franchise saves the team.  Then its a magical year where for the first time in 45 years that small city wins a championship!'  It was a magical season, but  now after two seasons of operating in the "red" , you have to wonder how much longer the Wings can keep the Muckdogs in Batavia!

I have spoken with several people involved with the Red Wings and they all want this to work in Batavia. This is where I ask you, the citizens of Batavia and Genesee County to step up to the plate and support our only professional franchise.  If every business in our area bought just one pair of season tickets, that would be enough to save the team! Just one pair! Its a tax write off for the business and in turn they can use the tickets for their employees and a gift to other businesses they work with.  

A summer night at Dwyer Stadium is so much more then a night out at a baseball game. Dwyer stadium is really the only place left in our County that people can gather together in a community atmosphere and visit with old friends while making new ones. I worked for a small business in Batavia on Main st. for years. I used to hear all the time how our community would gather together on a Saturday night on Main st. and visit with old friends while making new ones! Dwyer stadium is our last place like that!  I can't tell you how much fun the social aspect is at Dwyer!  Also the cost for a family of four sitting together on a summer night outside compared to a night of sitting in the quiet dark movie theater is no contest! The Muckdogs win in price and entertainment every time!

Batavia has had pro ball since 1939. The league we play in was born right here at the Hotel Richmond!  Yes it has grown and moved on to bigger markets like Staten Island, Brooklyn and Aberdeen. How cool is it hat Brooklyn comes to Batavia to play pro ball?  How cool is it that a parent can bring their kids to a game where they can watch future MLB stars in our own backyard?

There are bigger markets that would jump at the chance of having a pro baseball franchise in their city.  We are lucky to still have ours and its up to us, the citizens and businesses of Batavia and Genesee County to hold onto ours!  I hope you consider stopping down to Dwyer in the coming month, the first of 2010, to show Rochester and the New York Penn League that were serious about keeping our franchise for many years to come!

The Batavia Muckdogs will host their home opener for 2010 on June 19, according to a schedule released by the team today.

Game time will be 7:05 p.m. and the opposing team will be the Auburn Doubledays.

It will be one of 38 home games for the minor league team.

The Muckdogs open the season the day before in Auburn.

There will be six Friday and seven Saturday games played at Dwyer Stadium in 2010.
 
Holiday packs, ticket packages, and season tickets for the 2010 season are now on sale. They can be purchased by calling 585-343-5454, or in person at Dwyer Stadium from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m..  The Muckdogs will also be at Christmas in the City on Friday, Dec. 4.
 
For a complete schedule, visit www.muckdogs.com.

The Batavia Muckdogs will have a new coaching staff for 2010.

Mark DeJohn, who led the Muckdogs to a NY-Penn League championship in 2008, will not be back. He's being replaced by Dann Bilardello.

Bilardello has served in the St. Louis Cardinals organization for the past three years as catching coordinator. Prior to that, he was a manager in the Red Sox and Dodger minor league systems.

The new pitching coach is Ace Adams, who filled that role in Quad Cities in 2009.

DeJohn remains in the Cardinals organization as a roving instructor.

This just came across came across the wire:

St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer Alan Ahmady has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for an amphetamine. The 21-year-old Ahmady played this season in Class A Batavia, N.Y.

Ahmady was one of my favorite players this past season. He's also the one who hit a home run over The Batavian sign in right field in the fifth inning, winning one lucky fan $250.

There was a standing ovation in Dwyer Stadium on Saturday night, but it wasn't for a great diving catch, or a rare triple play or a bomb hit over the dead center field fence -- it was for the stadium announcer, Wayne Fuller.

Fuller, the voice of Batavia baseball for 25 years, announced his retirement from the PA mic, and the crowd paid Fuller the ultimate sporting honor -- a Standing-O.

Fuller, who also served as the official scorer, has been positioned in the Dwyer press box -- dubbed "Wayne's World" -- calling out starting line-ups and determining hits and errors through the baseball eras of the Trojans, Clippers and Muckdogs.

"There is a trick to determine when you leave on your own or are asked to leave," Fuller told the crowd. "I have decided this is my time to retire and leave the two jobs. As I have gotten older it has become harder, as they say today, to multi-task, and that's the principle reason for my decision."

Fuller continues on in his afternoon shift with WBTA and will also remain in the booth for high school and college games.

Fuller told me this morning he's looking forward to a trip to Alaska next summer -- a dream he couldn't fulfill while obligated to the Muckdogs for home-game announcing.

The Batavia Muckdogs take on the Jamestown Jammers tonight at 7:05pm. This will be the last home game for the Muckdogs 2009 season.  Its Fan Appreciation Night and also Rock the Park Night at Dwyer! Come on out for a beautiful Saturday night of great baseball action at the best baseball venue in WNY! There isn't a bad seat at all in Dwyer stadium.  The fun starts at 6:05pm with the pregame concert by Papa and Mama Root presented by Tim Horton's of Batavia and New Buffalo Impact. Enjoy great end of summer fun at Dwyer with your Batavia Muckdogs!

Let's meet up at Dwyer Stadium Thursday and take in the greatest show in town -- a Batavia Muckdogs baseball game.

The game against the Auburn Doubledays is the next to last home game of the season, and I have free tickets available.

Between what the Muckdogs gave me for advertisers' appreciation night (because The Batavian was a sponsor this year) and the unused season tickets I have -- I have 28 tickets available.

E-mail me your request for tickets and we can either arrange for you to stop by the office to pick them up or meet me before the game and I'll give them to you.

Game time is 7:05 p.m. and my e-mail address is howard (at) the batavian dot com.

Request as many tickets as you like, just make sure you can use them. First come, first served.

I usually set in the third-base bleachers and you're welcome to join me for the game. Heck, I might even let you buy me a beer.

Batavia (36-34) was down 7-4 going into the bottom of the 6th but was able to score four runs across the last four innings to get the 8-7 win over State College (34-26).

Both teams started scoring early; the Spikes scored three in the first and the Muckdogs followed with four.  Bases became loaded right away for Batavia after Devin Goodwin and Ryan Jackson had back-to-back singles and Alan Ahmady walked.  Matthew Adams then hit a double to center to clear the bases.  Adams was able to come home later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Niko Vasquez.

The 4-3 lead lasted until the Spikes had a three-run inning in the 5th and scored once again in the 6th.  But, the Muckdogs answered right back.  Kyle Conley homered in the first at-bat of the 6th inning to decrease to deficit to 7-5.

The comeback continued with another run scored in the 8th as bases became loaded once again.  Ahmady walked, Conley reached on a fielder’s choice that also allowed Ahmady to move to third on an error and then Jon Edwards also reached on a walk.  Walks proved problematic for the Spikes as Luis De La Cruz was also walked after a pitching change to score Ahmady.

The Muckdogs tied the game in the 9th after Goodwin doubled and came home on a sacrifice bunt by Jackson.  Conley got the game-winning RBI on a single later in the inning to score Jackson.

Michael Blazek got the start, going three and two-thirds innings with three runs, two his, five walks and four strikeouts.  Kevin Siegrist went three innings with four runs on six hits and two walks.  LaCurtis pitched the 8th with two hits and two strikeouts and Josh Squatrito (4-1, 1.38) got the win in the 9th, allowing one hit while striking out one.

Conley finished 3-for-5 on the night with a homerun and two RBI.  Goodwin went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

Both teams had ten hits in the ten inning game, but Batavia (35-34) was able to beat Auburn (24-44) in the end.

The Doubledays scored one run right away in the 1st inning and one more in the 3rd but the Muckdogs took a 3-2 lead after the bottom of the 3rd.  Devin Goodwin and Ryan Jackson were issued back-to-back walks and came home when Matthew Adams hit a two-out double.  Adams himself came in to score when Kyle Conley followed with another two-base hit.

Auburn took the lead right back, though, scoring once in the 4th and once again in the 7th.  However, Batavia decided to make things interested by scoring tying the game up in the bottom of the 7th.  Alan Ahmady reached on a walk, was advanced to third on a Conley single and then came in to score the tying run on a single by Jon Edwards.

The game stayed notched at four a piece until the bottom of the 10th.  Niko Vasquez led off the inning with a single that allowed Ivan Castro to reach on a force out during the next at-bat.  Goodwin then came up with a game-winning triple to score Castro and end the game.

Dan Calhoun got the start on the mound, going five innings with three runs (two earned), five hits, one walk and three strikeouts.  Tyler Lavigne followed him in an inning’s work with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.  Tyler Leach came next, throwing three innings with one run on three hits while striking out two.  Santo Maertz (3-1, 1.52) picked up the win, hurling the last two innings with just one hit, two walks and four strikeouts.

Offensively, Conley, Edwards and Vasquez all went 2-for-5, Conley and Edwards each with a RBI.

14 innings - two games - loads of laughs.

First game was a bust, but the second game was all Muckdogs.  Great game

Homer hamming it up!

Russ and Kelly (playing for the honor of the beer tent)  tossing fake food into the grills for a gift certificate.  Homer cheering them on.