SteepleCats Moved to the West Division
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The SteepleCats will be joined in the West Division by former South Division rivals the Pittsfield American Defenders and Danbury Westerners. They will be joined in the West Division by the Holyoke Blue Sox, Keene Swamp Bats, and Vermont Mountaineers, all formerly of the North Division. The East Division will be comprised of the Lowell All-Americans, Manchester Silk Worms, New Bedford Bay Sox, Newport Gulls, North Shore Navigators, and Sanford Mariners.
With the realignment, the SteepleCats will once again compete in the same division as the Keene Swamp Bats in the race for the playoffs. From 2003-2004, the SteepleCats and Swamp Bats competed against each other in the NECBL North Division. The SteepleCats-Swamp Bats rivalry is a very interesting rivalry. The SteepleCats were founded in 2002 by the father and son of Swamp Bats President Kevin Watterson. Watterson’s son Johnny, and father John, were responsible for bringing the SteepleCats, and the NECBL, to North Adams. The North Adams community is indebted to the Watterson family for bringing great baseball and family entertainment to the northern Berkshire County. The SteepleCats went 0-2 last season versus the Swamp Bats, and are 10-12 all-time against the Swamp Bats.
By realigning, the league aims to reduce travel for players and coaches, as well as travel costs for each franchise. During the course of the regular season, each team’s schedule will consist of six games against each team in its own division, three home and three away, and two games against each team not in its own division, one home and one away.
“We are excited for the realignment. Not only does it save us a good amount of time traveling in the bus, but we are reunited with the Swamp Bats in our division,” said SteepleCats General Manager Sean McGrath. “I know many of our fans enjoy when they come to town because of the relationship with the Watterson family, and often make the trip to Keene as well. I know our players also enjoy playing in front of the tremendous fan base that often time leads the league in attendance with close to 2,000 fans per night.”
“On the baseball front, now we don’t have to play the Newport Gulls six times,” McGrath added. “They’ve been our biggest nemesis in this league, with an all-time record of 11-20 against them.”
Players and coaches will arrive in North Adams on May 31 to begin preparing for the season and will open the 2009 season on Friday, June 5 in Keene, New Hampshire to take on the Swamp Bats. The SteepleCats will then come back to North Adams for their home opener on Saturday, June 6, as they host the Danbury Westerners.
Some highlights of the SteepleCats’ 2009 schedule include a home-and-home series with the Pittsfield American Defenders the second weekend of the season, June 12-13. The SteepleCats will also play host to the Vermont Mountaineers on the Fourth of July, which will be followed by another fireworks extravaganza.
The SteepleCats’ longest homestand of the season will be five games, and will take place between July 8 and July 12, which will coincide with the SteepleCats’ Family Weekend. Many players' parents will visit the community and participate in numerous activities, be recognized on-field, meet their son’s host family, and gain a sense of what it is what like for their son to be a part of the northern Berkshire County for the summer.
Although no exhibition games are currently scheduled for Joe Wolfe Field, the NECBL is fortunate enough to have put together an in-season team of NECBL all-star caliber players to compete against Team USA at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ minor league stadium in Manchester, New Hampshire on Sunday, July 5. This unprecedented game will feature the best of the best in the NECBL against the best of the best in collegiate baseball. The annual NECBL All-Star Game will take place on Saturday, July 18 at the home of the Holyoke Blue Sox in Holyoke, MA.
In case you haven't purchased your season ticket for the upcoming season, please visit one of these local businesses listed here to purchase your full season's ticket or 10-pack ticket. The Full Season Family Plan is $100; Full Season Individual Plan is $70; Ten-Pack Family Plan is $60; and the Ten-Pack Individual Plan is $45. Tickets are sold at all of the following locations: Adams: Val's Variety; North Adams: Man's World and Moulton's General Store; Stamford, VT: Billmont's Country Store, and in Williamstown at Angelina's Submarine Shop and St. Pierre's Barber Shop.
The SteepleCats’ 42 game schedule features 21 home games at Joe Wolfe Field. All home games will start at 7:00 p.m. For the SteepleCats’ complete 2009 schedule, please visit www.steeplecats.com.
