Photo courtesy of BallparkReviews.com and quotations courtesy of the Beloit Daily News.
The Beloit Daily News reported just before the season started that the Snappers are supposedly nearing a deal that would keep the team in Beloit for the foreseeable future. "We're to the point now where we are just pushing for the last five or 10 percent of the funding to push the thing through," said Snappers President Dennis Conerton. "We've had some tremendous support from people in the community that a year ago weren't involved at all." Midwest League President Dick Nussbaum has been outwardly supportive to the team staying, as anybody in his position would be, but also cautions that this is far from a slam dunk. A decade-plus of my musings in this blog and false promises and zero progress by the team would also support that theory. The current Professional Baseball Agreement with Minor League Baseball, which every team signs, ends following the 2020 season. If the Snappers do not have some sort of concrete plan and funding strategy in place by then, Nussbaum's understanding will quickly turn to taking a new course of action; in other words, looking for the team to sell or move. To quote Nussbaum: "It's not too late, but time is of the essence."
It's no secret that the Snappers are long overdue for a move or a new stadium. Every biennium when parent clubs sign their minor league agreements, there is a reason that Beloit is left as the final default choice for whichever MLB team is left - my hometown Little League in South Milwaukee is a better facility than Pohlman Field. And having one of the smallest markets of all 180 minor league teams in a city that is still experiencing double-digit unemployment only worsens the situation. Quite frankly just about everything imaginable is working against the Snappers for a new stadium deal and I think at this point a move is the more likely scenario. Janesville and Rockford would be interesting alternatives. Janesville has a state university and a much larger metropolitan area (relative to Beloit),and Rockford has an underutilized existing facility in Loves Park that currently houses a failing Northwoods League franchise that is not really within the footprint of the league. Both places are also not that far from Beloit and could retain that fan base. We've also seen here in Milwaukee with the summer-collegiate Chinooks and indy league Milkmen that there is an appetite and support for more baseball in the area. If the Chicago area can support the Kane County Cougars, I'm sure that the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area could support a minor league team as well.
Time will tell how and where the Snappers will end up, but I've said that many times before.
STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 5/3/19:
Brewers 17-16, -4.0; 3 v. Mets, 3 v. Nationals, 3 @ Cubs
Twins 19-10, +3.0; 3 @ Yankees, 3 @ Blue Jays, 4 v. Tigers
2019 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 0
Peter - 5
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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