Tag Archives: Andy Appleby

Independent Ball

What New Teams Can We See In 2017?

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It is well known that independent baseball is always changing. Leagues often move their teams from city to city for a variety of reasons: financial, attendance, expansion, etc.

We are now in the midst of the baseball off season – a time when a lot of news and rumors begin to formulate about the next playing season.

Right now, it appears as though there will be new teams in the American Association, United Shore Professional Baseball League, Pecos League, and Empire League.

New to the American Association will be the Cleburne Railroaders. The Railroaders will play at The Depot, a stadium/community event center that is currently being constructed. Cleburne, a city in the  greater Dallas-Fort Worth area, will take the place of the Joplin Blasters for the 2017 season. The Blasters are out of the American Association after their ownership was sued by Joplin for $12 million for a breach of contract and fraud.

After a great inaugural season, the United Shore Professional Baseball League is also looking to add a fourth team for the 2017 season. That team will also play at Jimmy John’s Field, home of the other three teams;  However, 2017 may be the last season that all teams in the league play in the same stadium. Owner, Andy Appleby, is looking to expand the USPBL to the midwest in 2018 and beyond.

The Pecos League has announced that they will bring a team to Amarillo next year. The Amarillo Lone Stars, who are taking the place of the Topeka Train Robbers, will play their games at Potter County Memorial Stadium which was last used by the Texas AirHogs in the American Association this season. The AirHogs will be moving to Grand Prairie for the entire 2017 season.

And finally, the Empire League is looking to move forward as well. After a rocky and controversial season, the mistakes just seem to keep happening. Earlier this month, the league posted a press release announcing a new team in Plattsburgh, but they quickly took the story down when they realized it was “inadvertently posted.” While there have been discussions between the league and the city, nothing is official just yet.

Last month, the Empire League also announced that there will be a franchise in Puerto Rico for the 2017 season.  Their goal is to have the team play their home games in Puerto Rico and all other teams would travel there to play as visitors.  Since nothing is finalized and the league doesn’t seem to know exactly what they will do and where they will be in Puerto Rico, that team is supposed to play all of their games on the road until the details are straightened out.

The league will also be welcoming MLB player, Matt Joyce, as an owner.  Even though he plays major league baseball, don’t expect that to translate to more money for the league’s players.

“Just because im involved doesnt mean players make more money or the league has high funding. We still rely on sponsors and advertising to fund our operations, but I bring a new level of networks at the Major League level to help bring in better sponsors and advertising partners to help execute a good league. I also bring my direct scouting and MLB recruiting networks to make the Empire league an elite developmental program that will also have players ready to play affiliated ball.” said Matt Joyce.
“The Empire League may always be a low budget league” said Eddie Gonzalez, “but with extremely high value. Players on this league should be nothing but grateful and appreciate the opportunity we provide to play ball at a pro considered level. If not they would be back at home doing nothing. Our League is not a League to make a living, its simply that last resort chance to show MLB that they truly belong.”

(empireproleague.com)

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Independent Ball

United Shore Professional Baseball League – Q & A

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The United Shore Professional Baseball League (USPBL) is an independent baseball league in Utica, Michigan that plans to begin operating next summer for the 2016 season.  I recently interviewed the league’s Executive Director of Baseball Operations, Brian Berryman.

How did the idea of creating the United Shore Professional Baseball League come about?

This idea was a 10 year process. Our chairman / CEO Andy Appleby every good idea he’d seen and done in sports management and marketing and incorporated it into the USPBL. Andy helped to pioneer sports marketing back in the 80’s and 90’s and also owned a Minor League Team in Ft. Wayne IN for 8 years. We’ve instituted best practices in all aspects from sponsorships, sales, ticketing, value engineering and player development. Our league is going to be unique, traditional and cutting edge – which we believe will keep fans and players coming to the park for years to come.

What teams are going to be in the league, do they all have the same owner and how will the league (schedule) be set up?

We just released the names of the teams last week; ( Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers, East Side Diamond Hoppers, Utica Unicorns) You can find that press release HERE.

All 3 teams will be playing out of Jimmy John’s field in 2016. Our schedule is in the works now and will be release shortly. But all teams will play 50 games either Wed-Sunday or Thursday – Sunday. We’ll also have an all-star game and championship game. Since we are a single entity league we’ll own all the teams. Having said that, all teams will have their own managers & coaches and competitiveness of the league will be tremendous.

What made you chose Utica, MI as the location for the league and stadium?

Utica is a great town in Michigan that has all the best demographics that you could ask for when looking at independent professional baseball. Great highway exposure, location that’s close to a vibrant downtown and a city that understands and values what we’re bringing to the community.

You’re building a completely new stadium. How is the construction going?

We’ve been fortunate on the weather and our GC has been good to work with as well. Please see the attached Drone video HERE.

What are your expectations for fan attendance and community involvement?

We plan to try and sell out every game. We have all the dates you could want for professional baseball. We have a staff of professionals that leads the country in experience and a ball park that will be a gem in this great community. We plan to have summer reading programs and other avenues for the players to be involved.

We’ve seen a lot of independent leagues go dark due to finances and lack of marketing. Do you have any worries about that or about how you are going to finance the league?

We are ready to play in 2016 and have invested and raised significant capital to assure we’ll be around for years to come. We have also pre-sold most of our suites, premium seating and sponsorships.

What age and experience are you looking for with your players? Are there roster limits on age/experience?

Ideally we will be looking for the 20-25 year old player that just missed being drafted or signed by an affiliated team. We will also be working with players that have been released and still wanted to continue their dream of playing and making it to the major leagues.

How exactly does the pay system work for players? Are they given host families?

Players are paid on a monthly basis, similar to almost all independent leagues. The host family program is being discussed. We are working on the pay scale and should have this available in early 2016.

Do you expect the players to get a fair look from scouts with a chance to move up to affiliated ball?

Yes. 100%. We are investing in the best technology to be able to provide scouts and player development personnel the most up to date information on our players. We are also planning on hosting pro days to showcase our players throughout the season. Our goal is to give every player the opportunity to move to their next level.

What are you goals for this year and beyond?

The goal for 2016 is to get our stadium up and running, provide the best fan experience in the country and put the best product on the field. In the future we hope to build on our success, expand the league with new teams and continue to grow our brand.

Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about the USPBL?

Just that we believe we can be successful and starting in Metro Detroit is a big in help that most of us have lived here all or most of our lives (where our business and personal relationships are). We believe it will be successful if we all work hard and service our fans and stakeholders with great baseball.

I would like to thank Brian Berryman for doing the Q & A with me.
You can find more information on the USPBL on their Official Website.