SteepleCats Hire New Broadcaster
NORTH ADAMS - The North Adams SteepleCats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League have hired award-winning broadcaster Chad Cooper as the team's play-by-play announcer and media relations assistant.Cooper comes with five years experience working in minor league baseball, most recently with the Vero Beach Devil Rays in the Florida State League. For the Rays, Cooper broadcast the team's games through milb.com and made regular contributions to the Tampa Bay Rays pregame show.
The recipient of the 2005 Frontier League Broadcaster of the Year, Cooper has also worked for the Evansville Otters and the Traverse City Beach Bums of the Frontier League.
"I'm excited to join the SteepleCats organization," said Cooper. "Over the five years of pro ball that I have called, I have seen several NECBL alums and specifically North Adams players who have had high degrees of success in professional baseball. Players like Neil Walton and Cole Gillespie and I'm very excited to see where it all starts."
'Cats general manager Sean McGrath also felt that the match of Cooper and North Adams would be a good fit.
"Chad was the front-runner for the position the very first time we listened to his CD. In the past we have hired students who went on to professional careers and now we actually have someone who has already worked several years in professional baseball writing for us and announcing our games on the internet," said McGrath. "He's a professional and will be very prepared each night. I know I'm looking forward to listening to him call the 'Cats games and represent us throughout the NECBL."
A native of Melrose Park, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia, Cooper attended Temple University where he worked for WRFT radio for four years and was editor of the Temple Column. An avid Phillies fan, Chad is quick to point out that he is a fan of Philadelphia sports teams and in no way is a "typical" Philadelphia sports fan.
In addition to his baseball experience, Cooper has also called men's and women's basketball for the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y.,(NCAA, Division II) and for the Traverse City North Stars hockey team (NAHL, Junior A).
Cooper replaces Geoff Brault, who served as the 'Cats broadcaster and media relations assistant in 2007 and was selected as the 2007 NECBL All-Star broadcaster. Brault is joining the New York Mets AA affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y., as a partner in the broadcast booth.
Season and 10 pack tickets, ranging from $45 to $100, are sold at Man's World and Moulton's General Store; Val's Variety, Adams; Cross Road Variety, Clarksburg; Billmont's Country Store, Stamford, Vt., and Angelina's Submarine Shop and St. Pierre's Barber Shop in Williamstown.
Team USA will return for their third visit to North Adams to play the SteepleCats on Sunday, June 15. The SteepleCats play their home opener on Friday, June 6, against the
Torrington Twisters. Game time is 7 p.m. at Joe Wolfe Field; gates open at 6. For more information: www.steeplecats.com.
