How about winning?

[SWC75]

A new regime is taking over the Syracuse Chiefs and it's about time. The Chiefs are sending people out to look at what successful minor league teams are doing to draw fans to see what ideas they can use here. Bud and the Manchild just did a whole show discussing things: turning the area outside the outfield fence into an attractive park, connecting with USA Today physically with a shuttle and economically with coupon deals, a better elevator as an alternative to all those stairs, making the Hank Sauer room into a full scale restaurant that people would want to go to even when there's no baseball game to get them used to coming to the ballpark, etc. etc.

But there's still one innovation that would cap it off: winning. I realize that minor league baseball isn't about winning. It's more of a cultural event like seeing a play or listening to a symphony. I go 8-10 times a year because I like to sit the upper deck with a coke and a hot dog on a warm summer evening and watch a ball game and a sunset. Maybe there's be a long home run or a great catch or a play at the plate. It would be nice if we could win but it's not essential. The problem is that's the only kind of fan the Chiefs have been getting and it's not enough.

I understand the limitations of a Triple A franchise. You don't control what players you have or how long you have them. They players don't want to be here: they want to be in the big leagues. If a guy is playing very well, you probably won't have him for long. You can start the season with a triple A team and wind up with a double A team. You make the playoffs one season, finish least the next, barely miss the playoffs, win the pennant but go out in the first round, then have three straight losing records, then barely make the playoffs but with the Governor's Cup. Then you're last place again.

But that hasn't been the history of the Chiefs. They've been flat-lining. Every season they have a bad start, sending the message that this year isn't going to be anything special. We have one hot streak that gets people's hopes up, (usually in June: we a re a great June team). But then we hit a slump in July and are just playing out the string by August. We haven't made the playoffs in 15 years, had a home playoff game in 19 years, (thanks to the 1998 Labor Day storm), won a pennant in 24 years, won the Governor's Cup in 37 years or the Junior World Series in 43 years.

Compare that to the Durham Bulls, who were elevated to Triple A in 1998 as a farm club of the Tampa Bay Rays. They have made the plays 12 times since then, won 5 pennants, played for the Governor's Cup 9 times, won it 4 times and won a JWS. Central New York sports fans are often described as not caring about baseball but they filled the ballpark for Steven Strasberg and for that last home playoff game, so we know the baseball fans are out there. But what fan base would retain their enthusiasm after being presented with the product the Chiefs have given them over the years? How many baseball fans would there by in CNY if we had a record like Durhams?

We need to find out what Dayton is doing to get sell-out crowds in the, (Class A), Midwest League but we should also take a look at what the Rays are doing to put winning teams in Durham and see if we can get our parent club to do those things for us. It certainly hasn't hurt the Rays in player development and it certain must have helped the Bulls draw fans. Maybe it could here, as well.

 

[IthacaMatt]

A new regime is taking over the Syracuse Chiefs and it's about time. The Chiefs are sending people out to look at what successful minor league teams are doing to draw fans to see what ideas they can use here. Bud and the Manchild just did a whole show discussing things: turning the area outside the outfield fence into an attractive park, connecting with USA Today physically with a shuttle and economically with coupon deals, a better elevator as an alternative to all those stairs, making the Hank Sauer room into a full scale restaurant that people would want to go to even when there's no baseball game to get them used to coming to the ballpark, etc. etc.

But there's still one innovation that would cap it off: winning. I realize that minor league baseball isn't about winning. It's more of a cultural event like seeing a play or listening to a symphony. I go 8-10 times a year because I like to sit the upper deck with a coke and a hot dog on a warm summer evening and watch a ball game and a sunset. Maybe there's be a long home run or a great catch or a play at the plate. It would be nice if we could win but it's not essential. The problem is that's the only kind of fan the Chiefs have been getting and it's not enough.

.

The main thing to get the public re-engaged would be if the franchise was associated with either the Yankees or the Mets. Both were available a couple years ago, and these geniuses voted to partner with Washington, who no one in this area cares about. They are tone deaf to the public.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

The main thing to get the public re-engaged would be if the franchise was associated with either the Yankees or the Mets. Both were available a couple years ago, and these geniuses voted to partner with Washington, who no one in this area cares about. They are tone deaf to the public.

Steinbrenner couldn't get out of Syracuse fast enough in the 70's (thanks, Tex) . There's no way the Yanks were coming back in 2007 when they moved from Columbus to Scranton .

 

[SWC75]

The main thing to get the public re-engaged would be if the franchise was associated with either the Yankees or the Mets. Both were available a couple years ago, and these geniuses voted to partner with Washington, who no one in this area cares about. They are tone deaf to the public.

It might help if a local cable would get a basic channel that carried all the Nat's games. They never did that with the BJ's and I think it might have helped.

 

[Knicks411]

Mets could really use a new AAA team...