PRESS RELEASE – New England Collegiate Baseball League Commissioner Sean McGrath proudly announced the addition of three expansion teams for the NECBL’s 20th season in 2013. The NECBL Board of Directors announced new organizations to play in South Kingstown RI, Plymouth MA and in a historic move for the NECBL- Saratoga Springs, NY. Saratoga is the first NECBL team to not be located in New England.
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The South Kingstown organization will play as the Ocean State Waves.
“We are thrilled at the addition of Plymouth, Saratoga Springs and South Kingstown,” said McGrath. “All three of these communities share the core values of the NECBL: bringing top quality baseball and family entertainment value while being integrated in the community fabric.
“All three organizations enjoy tremendous community support. We look forward to their participation in the NECBL family for years to come.”
Ocean State has a natural built-in rivalry with Newport, Mystic and New Bedford. The organization has assembled a team well positioned to mine the rich vein of talent in Rhode Island.
GM Dan Scaring successfully ran the Saratoga Phillies in the NYCBL. He will bring that expertise to the Saratoga Brigade franchise. The Brigade plays in one of the nation’s premier vacation spots and introduces a New York audience to the NECBL brand.
Plymouth GM Dave Dittmann, an NECBL veteran, also brings valuable NYCBL experience from his days as general partner of the Amsterdam Mohawks. Plymouth becomes the NECBL’s closest team to the “Hub”- Boston. The team combines excellent facilities and strong community support which will enable them to hit the ground running in the 2013 season.
As part of the expansion, the League has announced re-alignment. Laconia, Sanford, Ocean State, New Bedford, Newport, Mystic and Plymouth will play in the Eastern Division. Vermont, Keene, Saratoga Springs, North Adams, Holyoke and Danbury comprise the Western Division.
It is the NECBL’s first expansion since the 2003 season. The League last played with 13 teams in 2004.
The NECBL congratulates these three new teams and proudly welcomes them into the League’s family.
There is room in New England for the FCBL and the NECBL. They are operating on different business models. The FCBL clubs are for profit entities focusing on entertainment whereas the NECBL are non profits with the focus more on the baseball. At present there is no competition between the existing teams as they all occupy distinct markets. I hope they both succeed and give the New England market more affordable baseball options.
Well said John, I hope they to succeed, however I would like to see Brockton back in pro ball!
So they will be the Saratoga Brigade instead of the Phillies? What does this mean for Dan Scaring’s PGCBL franchise? Does he sell it or will he be running two teams? I know his PGCBL team is on a one year hiatus. Does that become permanent now?
The PGCBL franchise rights are an asset they could sell during the one-year dark period, provided the league does not have the power to terminate these rights. If not, the league should consider modifying their bylaws and/or franchise agreement to protect the circuit in the future.
Even if the rights are sold, I would assume the league has the power to approve or reject any transfer of franchise rights to a new owner.
Alan
Alan
We should compile a list of summer collegiate leagues and classify them by their business styles, so all this “competition” commentary can be cleared up.
@The Baseball Traveler – It is hard to pigeonhole every league, but here is my quick take:
Category I – Different Animal: Cape Cod League.
Category II – Business Focus/Minor League-Like Operations: Northwoods League, Coastal Plain League, West Coast League, Texas Collegiate League, Prospect League, Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, Futures Collegiate Baseball League.
Category III – Baseball Focus/Generally Competitive Attendance: New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Category IV – Baseball Focus/Generally Weak Attendance: All other leagues (including those with a team or two with successful business operations, like the St. Joseph Mustangs in the MINK or the Okotoks Dawgs in Canada’s Western Major Baseball League).
Indeed leagues can coexist. That said, just because leagues have different philosophies doesn’t mean they don’t compete for desirable markets and players. You also have team owners/operators within leagues with different philosophies that can cause an internal rift, so it’s not just league vs. league.
Alan
Congrats to the NECBL and shame on the naysayers. If everyone in this country would stop trying to shoot down everyone else through negative post on sites like this the world would be a better place. However is is human nature for people to want to put folks down as opposed to wishing them success. Again, best wishes to this league and all the leagues that are trying to move forward the game.
Agreed, Jetes. It seems there a a vocal few (probably associated with the Futures League) who do nothing but bash the NECBL, no matter what they do. Last year they criticized them for losing franchises and now this year they are mocking them for adding franchises. Clearly these people are nervous and have to try anything they can to put a negative spin on the NECBL. The more teams and the more baseball, the better it is for everyone !
I also wonder how much staying power the Futures league has with some of their teams. Some of those cities with high rents like Brockton and Nashua have to be hoping for pro ball to return, I for one as a fan would like to see pro ball back in brockton. A few years ago this was one of the best places to see pro ball in New England. What are your thoughts?
you know what is funny…. look at the same release on ballpark digest and there are zero comments at last check. You know why? Because Ballpark Digest mandates using Facebook to make your post as opposed to just email addresses. While I think the platform for posting is cool and serves a great purpose on this site, I hate to see folks take a negative approach. I trust that with competing leagues there are folks posting with competition in mind. Regardless, wish both league success and hope the negative approach to posting will be tamed in 2013.
Unprofessional, clearly the new NECBL guys are feeling the heat from Futures league. seems like they are letting anybody into NECBL. the play on the field will certainly suffer.
Saratoga?! I mean seriously really big stretch there….
It appears the Ocean State Waves borrowed an idea from the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps (Midwest League):
http://ballparkbiz.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/comparing-west-michigan-and-ocean-state-logo.jpg
Alan
Definitely. That was my first thought when I saw it. And it’s not even a good version of the same concept.
What are you talking about? Ocean State’s wave has a *ballcap*. That *totally* makes it different!
kkk
Wow, the Whitecaps are my ‘home team’ here in Michigan, and I couldn’t believe the resemblance. You’d think that would be border line copyright infringement, or something. Great posts, though!
-Mike
http://minoringinbaseball.com/