Crowds, alumni do Indies proud

by Bob Wirz
Published on July 17, 2003 under Frontier League (FL)

This could be considered National Button-Popping Week throughout Independent Baseball.

The only difficulty would be in deciding whether more chest-pounding would be in order because a former Independent hurler was the winning pitcher in the Major League All-Star Game or because of the extraordinary attendance marks being established.

Brendan Donnelly only threw 11 pitches at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, but they were an important part of the come-from-behind 7-6 victory which give the American League home field advantage for the 100th anniversary World Series this fall.

Donnelly only needed eight strikes and three balls to retire Preston Wilson (strikeout), Richie Sexton (fly ball to right) and Aaron Boone (liner to right) to keep the A.L. within two runs in the top of the eighth inning and to make the buttons pop in such places as Parkersburg, WV and Nashua, NH, Donnelly's Frontier and Atlantic League stops in 1994 and 1999, respectively.

"It's a special story," Salt Lake City Manager Mike Brumley told The Deseret News. Brumley really understands, because he also is an Independent veteran, starting his managerial career at Rio Grande Valley in 1997 before the Harlingen, TX team moved from the Texas-Louisiana League to the current Central League.

"I think it gives hope to a lot of guys who are out there grinding in the minor leagues at 29, 30 or 31," said the onetime infielder-outfielder, who managed Donnelly part of 2001 at Arkansas and last year at Salt Lake City. "Anything can happen."

Onetime Indy Players Also Featured in Minor League All-Star Games

They didn't all have as much stage as the major league glare provided by Fox Sports, Sports Center or from several hundred newspaper reporters, but a number of other former Independent League players had the spotlight for scouts and lesser TV cameras at various minor league All-Star Games.

For example, 2002 Long Island (NY) Ducks starter Jason Ryan was the only representative of the hometown Memphis Redbirds and 2001 Sioux Falls, SD first baseman Tagg Bozied was in his Portland, OR uniform in the Triple-A All-Star Game and Mike Cervenak (Chillicothe, OH), Ivanon Coffie (Fargo, ND), Noah Hall (St. Paul, MN) and Brian Myrow (Winnipeg) all showcased themselves in the Eastern League All-Star Game.

And then there was Anton French. Yes, the same Anton French who terrorized catchers with his blazing speed in the Northeast, Atlantic and Western Leagues while he was an Independent league regular in 1999, 2000, 2001 and part of 2002 as he played for Massachusetts (Lynn, MA), Quebec, Allentown, PA, Long Island and Sonoma County.

French, now an outfielder for Pawtucket, RI, Boston's top farm club, narrowly missed winning MVP honors in the Triple-A star fest where his 3-for-5 (including a home run and one of his patented drag bunts), walk, stolen base and three runs helped the International League to a 13-9 triumph.

Independents Have Drawn Nearly 3.5 Million So Far

Two Independent league single-game attendance records have fallen in recent days. Fort Worth set a Central League record with 9,216 and Atlantic City broke the Atlantic League mark with a crowd of 8,022, both on July 4.

With Long Island leading the way in the full season Atlantic League, 3,484,747 fans had paid to see Independent League games through Tuesday, according to figures reported to SportsTicker-Boston, the official minor league statisticians.

While there are many impressive stories, those of Long Island and Winnipeg stand out. The Frank Boulton-Bud Harrelson operated Ducks, located only a few miles from the New York Mets' Shea Stadium had sold out 201 of the first 248 home dates in their four-year history. The Ducks had drawn 202,903 this year, an average of 5,968.

Winnipeg, Owner Sam Katz's creation about 50 miles above the North Dakota border and 461 miles from the nearest major league team, the Minnesota Twins, leads all Independent clubs in average attendance at 6,839 per game. The Goldeyes are averaging more than 91 per cent of capacity in 7,482-seat CanWest. With the Goldeyes setting the pace in average attendance and the St. Paul (MN) Saints tops in total attendance (154,562, an average of 5,725), the Northern League paced the eight Independent leagues which have operated this summer with crowds totaling 1,019,970.

(This excerpt is from the weekly column on Independent Baseball by Bob Wirz, who has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience and runs his owns sports PR/marketing company, Wirz & Associates, in Orange, CT. The column is not for reproduction without authorization. Details are available at www.WirzandAssociates.com under Projects or at 203 877-5800.)

Frontier League Stories from July 17, 2003

• Crowds, alumni do Indies proud - OSC Original by Bob Wirz
• Conner Wins All-Star MVP Award - River City Rascals

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.