The Miners, in only in their third season in the Frontier League, are one of two teams to surpass the 200,000-fan season attendance mark and they've done in both of their previous seasons. The other team is Traverse City, which has also done it twice. Rent One Park is a big-time venue with all the amenities of any Big League park. Vice President Erik Haag
and General Manager Tim Arseneau have created one of the most fan-friendly places to watch a game, including the effective use of video, both on the ballpark's scoreboard and on the Internet.If you can't make it to a Southern Illinois home game, you can watch it on the Web free of charge on the IBN Sports site, www.ibnsports.com. It's obvious that the Miners have invested heavily in equipment and talented personnel to make these webcasts a first-rate production. To take advantage of the ever-increasing thirst for the instantaneous exchange of information, Miners' fans can also follow the team through text messages by joining the "Miners Mobile Mob". With all of these technological advances, it's clear that the folks at Southern Illinois see the future of baseball and the Frontier League.
Earlier this week, the Miners sold
the contract rights of shortstop Gered Mochizuki to the New York Mets. He'll report to Kingsport of the Appalachian League to begin his ascent up the ladder of affiliated ball. That's the real mission of the League, to send its players (and all other jobholders) on to MLB organizations. I've mentioned already on this blog that the Miners have the distinction of having an alum play at the Major League level in the year following his time in the FL. Relief pitcher Clay Zavada is now working out of the Arizona Diamondbacks' bullpen after being on the Southern Illinois roster in 2008. Shown earlier this year with Miner Manager Mike Pinto, Zavada has earned equal acclaim for his monstrous mustache.I've been highlighting the home team in my travels, but some mention should
go to a member of the visiting RiverHawks tonight. Outfielder Jason James came into Thursday's contest hitting an FL-leading .433. I was lucky enough to capture this picture on Jason's swing to knock out a single in the first inning tonight, extending his hitting streak to 23 games. He is certainly one of the best pure hitters that the Frontier League has seen.Tomorrow is a real treat. I drive north to Gateway's GCS Ballpark to see the Grizzlies and the visiting River City Rascals, but first a golf outing with the Commish. The only question is how many strokes I'll get a side.
