Huge signing for us - these guys were big contributors last season, great members of the community, and the type of player that we want. Glad we were able to get them back - the team is coming together nicely.
http://www.wallawallasweets.com/news/stories/index.html?article_id=142
An (almost) day-to-day recap of starting a West Coast League baseball team in Walla Walla. Starting from the ground up...literally. Started in 2009, lucky season #7 has first pitch on June 3, 2016. The time has flown...
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Growth one series at a time
The WCL approved the 2011 schedule this morning (the full schedule will be released later this month). The highlights include an increase from 24 to 27 league games - meaning 54 league games, and we have added 6 additional games (3 2-game sets) to get to 33 home games at Borleske for the 2011 season (a STEAL for season ticket holders - because we set the prices while we were still at 31...great for the fans!).
It is exciting to see the growth of the league - painful at times (with the loss of Moses Lake this season - a market we hope to resurrect soon - we are staying at 9 teams this year), but still a far stretch from what it was 6-7 years ago. It makes me appreciate people like Jim Corcoran and Jim Richards, who a decade ago had the vision to see that baseball at this level could be successful as a business. Major Leagues? Nope. Fun, engaging, great baseball and a powerful way to reach fans for businesses in an affordable manner? Yep.
The Sweets Shoppe re-opens next Monday - fans will love the new gear, and with our talented retail manager Katie running the show - look for us to have continually great gear for people to choose from, especially at the holidays.
More signings to come - stay tuned.
It is exciting to see the growth of the league - painful at times (with the loss of Moses Lake this season - a market we hope to resurrect soon - we are staying at 9 teams this year), but still a far stretch from what it was 6-7 years ago. It makes me appreciate people like Jim Corcoran and Jim Richards, who a decade ago had the vision to see that baseball at this level could be successful as a business. Major Leagues? Nope. Fun, engaging, great baseball and a powerful way to reach fans for businesses in an affordable manner? Yep.
The Sweets Shoppe re-opens next Monday - fans will love the new gear, and with our talented retail manager Katie running the show - look for us to have continually great gear for people to choose from, especially at the holidays.
More signings to come - stay tuned.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
All-Star Outfield
I am very excited about our outfield for the 2011 season. We have only released two of the signings in the outfield (Kelani Brackenridge of Hawaii and Brett Jacobs of Washington State), but the other names (coming soon) are as talented as they get at this level. Kelani was a draft pick as a senior in high school (Tampa Bay, 44th round), and figures to be a big part of the Rainbow Warriors push to return to the NCAA tournament in 2011 (after a trip to the Regionals in 2010).
If you are from Southeastern Washington and follow baseball, then Brett Jacobs name should ring a bell. In addition to being the State 4A Player of the Year as a junior, hit .429 as a senior in high school, was a 2X all-state selection and led a team from Richland, WA to Williamsport, PA for the LLWS in 2003.
With how big the outfield plays at Borleske, our outfield is an important piece of the lineup, and I think Sweets fans will like who is out their every night.
If you are from Southeastern Washington and follow baseball, then Brett Jacobs name should ring a bell. In addition to being the State 4A Player of the Year as a junior, hit .429 as a senior in high school, was a 2X all-state selection and led a team from Richland, WA to Williamsport, PA for the LLWS in 2003.
With how big the outfield plays at Borleske, our outfield is an important piece of the lineup, and I think Sweets fans will like who is out their every night.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Refreshed Website
We have refreshed the website. You can check it out here: http://www.wallawallasweets.com/
In addition to the refreshed look of the site, we are enhancing content, building in tools to keep our burgeoning group of social media (Twitter, Facebook) engaged and interacting with our team. I really enjoy this page - our alumni list: http://www.wallawallasweets.com/club/alumni/. It will be great as players move on to minor league baseball, and ultimately to Major League Baseball, and create the tie back to their start in Walla Walla.
We also now have a tentative date on the store re-open - we are targeting the second week of November, and may be able to move that up depending on when product arrives. We will likely have some game-used jerseys and other collectibles on sale as well, so it will be fun to re-launch. Check out this story to find out how you can get some deals in Walla Walla with our new gear: http://on.fb.me/doTugh
The roster is coming together - we have a release planned for next week in which we will begin to announce signings. We are making pitching depth a priority.
Any predictions on MLB playoffs? Lincecum and and Halladay were awesome - but it was only one game, and if Atlanta and Cincy can bounce back they can still go home with a chance to win.
In addition to the refreshed look of the site, we are enhancing content, building in tools to keep our burgeoning group of social media (Twitter, Facebook) engaged and interacting with our team. I really enjoy this page - our alumni list: http://www.wallawallasweets.com/club/alumni/. It will be great as players move on to minor league baseball, and ultimately to Major League Baseball, and create the tie back to their start in Walla Walla.
We also now have a tentative date on the store re-open - we are targeting the second week of November, and may be able to move that up depending on when product arrives. We will likely have some game-used jerseys and other collectibles on sale as well, so it will be fun to re-launch. Check out this story to find out how you can get some deals in Walla Walla with our new gear: http://on.fb.me/doTugh
The roster is coming together - we have a release planned for next week in which we will begin to announce signings. We are making pitching depth a priority.
Any predictions on MLB playoffs? Lincecum and and Halladay were awesome - but it was only one game, and if Atlanta and Cincy can bounce back they can still go home with a chance to win.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
2011 Roster
We are starting to see signings come in for 2011. What is great for year 2 is that we can really look at our roster position by position, know the ballpark we play in, and be systematic as to our approach to improve the team, rather than just sign someone for the sake of signing them. While we are releasing names or schools yet, I think Sweets fans will be happy with the improvements that we will be making. Pitching is certainly a priority...really looking at guys that can throw strikes, eat innings, and be bulldogs on the mound - I like a little mean streak in a pitcher.
Offensively, I know the fans like a home-run hitter, but personally I could care less, especially in Borleske. Give me a guy who can consistently hit a double to the gap, run the bases hard but smart, and refuse to strike out, and I'll sign him all day long. Too many strikeouts and base-running mistakes in 2010. Again, not a criticism, just recognizing areas of improvement.
Stay tuned as we begin in mid-October to start announcing signings.
Offensively, I know the fans like a home-run hitter, but personally I could care less, especially in Borleske. Give me a guy who can consistently hit a double to the gap, run the bases hard but smart, and refuse to strike out, and I'll sign him all day long. Too many strikeouts and base-running mistakes in 2010. Again, not a criticism, just recognizing areas of improvement.
Stay tuned as we begin in mid-October to start announcing signings.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sweets Players Recognized by League Coaches
Everyone loves all-stars. At the MLB level, it allows the fans to participate in a way not available at other levels, and for players it is a level of recognition that says "you're elite". And the fans are pretty right on most of the time.
In the WCL, all-stars are selected by the coaches, which I think is a great way to do it. For a three-month season and not a ton of shared media, it would be pretty difficult for fans to accurately pick the all-stars, and with players that are long on potential but short on experience, the trained eyes of a manager or coaching staff can recognize all-star talent that stats from a 3-game series might not be able to.
Kevin Kuntz - a guy who developed into our starting SS this season - was a player who quietly did all the right things. He took pitches, he put extra work in, he got on base and was a phenomenal bunter...all things that help a team win but don't necessarily get reflected in a stat line (although he was a league leader in OBP and walks). He was recognized by coaches - being named to the WCL honorable mention squad - who noticed the little things that a fan might miss but that accumulated over the course of a season and allowed our club to be competitive - within a 1/2 game of the playoffs with 10 games to go in the season (although we fell just short).
I am excited with what our players did this first year and the chance to build on the foundation of success that they established.
In the WCL, all-stars are selected by the coaches, which I think is a great way to do it. For a three-month season and not a ton of shared media, it would be pretty difficult for fans to accurately pick the all-stars, and with players that are long on potential but short on experience, the trained eyes of a manager or coaching staff can recognize all-star talent that stats from a 3-game series might not be able to.
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| Kevin Kuntz was not flashy, but effective. Photo: S. Parsons, WW Sweets |
I am excited with what our players did this first year and the chance to build on the foundation of success that they established.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Some Sweets Headlines
The Sweets have had a run of headlines recently that have brought some great national attention to the club. Two that stand out are the following:
1. This piece was a feature on ESPN.com - written by senior baseball writer Jim Caple. Believe it or not, we did not solicit this piece. Kudos to our staff for their job in presenting our product.
2. This news release highlighted that the team cracked the top 25 in overall attendance among summer league teams - finishing at #23. Thanks to Ballpark Business for compiling the data. Here is the story that ran in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.
3. A little love from Codball.com as we are talked about on NPR. Take a listen here.
We are hard at work speaking with players and finding the right fit for the 2011 season. We were league leaders in every facet of the business operations side of the WCL and look to work hard to make sure the play on the field is the best in the league as well. What schools would you like to see represented in Walla Walla?
1. This piece was a feature on ESPN.com - written by senior baseball writer Jim Caple. Believe it or not, we did not solicit this piece. Kudos to our staff for their job in presenting our product.
2. This news release highlighted that the team cracked the top 25 in overall attendance among summer league teams - finishing at #23. Thanks to Ballpark Business for compiling the data. Here is the story that ran in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.
3. A little love from Codball.com as we are talked about on NPR. Take a listen here.
We are hard at work speaking with players and finding the right fit for the 2011 season. We were league leaders in every facet of the business operations side of the WCL and look to work hard to make sure the play on the field is the best in the league as well. What schools would you like to see represented in Walla Walla?
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