Admission

Read this column in the Bowling Green Daily News for an incredible happening. A sportswriter admits -- however obliquely -- that...he...was...wrong.

A newspaper columnist not long ago wrote that he wasn’t sure Minor League Baseball was a good fit in Bowling Green, a town not exactly renowned for its support of baseball or for its tendency to consistently populate the bleachers at local sporting events.

Today, it certainly appears that columnist was wrong. I see no reason to drag his name through the mud, but you might be able to find his picture somewhere on this page. And if the upcoming seasons for the Bowling Green Hot Rods are anywhere near as successful as 2009’s inaugural campaign, that face you see will soon be splattered with egg.

Hot Rods baseball quickly took control of Bowling Green’s summer social calendar in ’09, drawing more than 230,000 fans to the impressive yet cozy Bowling Green Ballpark - a number no other sports attraction in this area can dream of equaling - between April and September. The Hot Rods’ auspicious first season, highlighted by a memorable, event-like Opening Night, earned the club the Daily News’ sports story of the year honor for 2009, as voted by this newspaper’s newsroom. The debut of Minor League Baseball earned 57 points - including four first-place votes - from the six-person panel.

I almost wish that the Rattlers were going to Bowling Green in 2010 instead of 2011.

Beloit's turn

Bowling Green introduces the Beloit Snappers to their fanbase.

Beloit seems to be a rarity in the Midwest League in that it had just one team in one league for one season before the Midwest League arrived. That team played in the Wisconsin Association in 1905; after that, baseball was gone until the Midwest League placed an expansion franchise into brand-new Pohlman Field for the 1982 season.

More at the link.

Something from the new guys

The Bowling Green Hot Rods have been doing an Introducing.... column to, um, introduce their fans to other teams in the Midwest League.

It was our turn last Wednesday. The open:

It is a common misconception that baseball in Appleton, Wisconsin, began when former Hot Rods production assistant Cameron Wengrzyn fled Kentucky for the land of brats, beer, and cheese following the 2009 season. Despite Cameron's considerable talents, which you saw on the video and LED boards throughout 2009, baseball began long before he or any of us were even thought of. Cameron's new club, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers is just the latest team to call Appleton home, a city that's had baseball for nearly 120 years.

Cameron Who? Did we just hire somebody?

An outsider's look

The Bowling Green Hot Rods have been working their way through the Midwest League to introduce their fans to the new teams they will be seeing. This week, the spotlight was turned on the Peoria Chiefs. A little history from the middle of the article.

While the Chiefs didn't win it all in '85, a total of eight players on the roster eventually played in the big leagues. Two of those players made lasting legacies to say the least. Greg Maddux, he of the 355 career wins and future residence in the Hall of Fame, went 13-9 with a 3.19 ERA, pitching six complete games. He was joined by 20-year-old outfielder Rafael Palmeiro, who in just 73 games hit .297 with five home runs and 51 RBI.

A year later the Chiefs made their last playoff run as a first-time Cubs affiliate, doing so with another pair of big league stalwarts. Three-time MLB All-Star Mark Grace hit .342 in 126 games. Three-time, and possibly soon to be four-time, World Series champ Joe Girardi was the back stop of the '86 club.

Plenty more there for a good read.