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Friday, September 3, 2010 | Serving Del Rio and Val Verde County: Since 1929
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Public asks questions of commissioner
Published July 30, 2010
While the public was given its opportunity to ask questions about a proposed independent professional baseball team coming to Del Rio, only a handful of citizens took advantage.
Twelve people, mostly persons associated with baseball leagues in Del Rio, met with Andrew Dunn, commissioner of the Pecos Baseball League, Wednesday afternoon and asked questions about the league, the proposed team the league is looking at putting in Del Rio and how it would affect local baseball leagues.
Dunn answered many of the same questions he’d faced since arriving in Del Rio Tuesday night including what needed to be done to Roosevelt Park, the largest baseball park in Val Verde County, in order to allow it to support a professional baseball team.
He explained that the team, if approved, would start play May 11, 2011, would play its games Wednesdays through Saturdays, feature 22-man rosters and that the players would be ages 21 to 27 with roster spots available for four players over the age of 27.
He added that the team would be comprised of players selected through an open tryout.
He also said the league would operate under Major League Baseball’s National League rules, meaning pitchers would bat and save teams at least one roster spot.
Dunn was also asked if the team’s proposed name, the Del Rio Bombers, would be a permanent one. He said the team name was still up for discussion and any team colors, which were being proposed as orange and blue for the time being, could be decided by the team’s season ticket holders.
However Thursday Dunn had updated the proposed team’s website and its name has been changed from the Del Rio Bombers to the Del Rio Gunslingers and the colors now appear to be purple and gold.
Much of the discussion at the public meeting centered around Roosevelt Park and Dunn’s recommended changes to make it a suitable location for pro baseball. Those changes included either pushing the centerfield wall back about 60 feet or moving the infield closer towards the backstop.
Dunn said the league has played at better fields, but Roosevelt is in good shape and because of Del Rio’s proximity to proposed franchises in Alpine and Abilene that it would have to work.
“What’s been the city’s response to the proposed adjustments at the field?” Ramiro Cruz, a Del Rio Babe Ruth Baseball League coach, asked.
“It’s something we can do. We have to finalize the details and the level of involvement, but just doing it is not a major issue,” Anthony Rodriguez, city of Del Rio’s parks and recreation director, said. “There’s now way I can answer how long it would take or how much it would cost now, but it looks favorable just from the details I received today.”
Dunn was also asked how Del Rio’s size and population compares to other proposed cities in the league. He said the biggest city in the proposed league would be Pueblo, Colo., and the smallest would be Alpine and Bisbee, Ariz. Del Rio would be most comparable to Roswell, N.M., he said.
In terms of stadium seating, though, Dunn said Del Rio would be the smallest.
“That’s one reason we thought about moving the plate back. You’re a long way from the action from the stands right now. If you move home plate back, you’ll be close enough to hear the seams of the ball,” Dunn said.
Dunn was also asked about where the team would practice.
“They would probably practice at Roosevelt Park or maybe not. They probably wouldn’t move in until after the second week of the season after opening up on the road. You don’t want to throw a team out there and have them get lit up in their home opener,” Dunn said.
Another requirement Del Rio would need to fill would be that of about 20 host families for the players and manager. Dunn explained that they would only need a place to be housed because their pay would cover meals and other necessities.
“We don’t have the money to house the players at this level. Guys come and go. You’ll get about 10 stable players and 10 unstable players, which are those players who are traded, cut from the team, leave the team, etc. Host families are just people who want ball players to stay with them and who aren’t obligated for anything but providing housing,” Dunn said.
Not all of the questions or comments aimed at Dunn were in favor of a pro team in Del Rio.
Tony Reyes, a longtime youth baseball coach who has coached at a variety of levels, said Dunn was the fourth or fifth person who came to Del Rio with an idea of bringing a baseball team to town. He said every person who brought the idea of knocking down the wall at Roosevelt Park to the city council was met with a resounding no.
“Not only that, but that’s the only park we have for our older kids. We use it five days a week. I think if you go before the city they’ll tell you that it’s for the kids,” Reyes said.
“We’ve worked in Las Cruces and they’re about 90,000 people with only one stadium. Conflicts have come up in every city. We present what we have to present and if they go with it they do and if they don’t then they don’t,” Dunn said.
Al Arreola Jr., executive director of the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce, said the addition of a pro team and the renovations to Roosevelt Park would benefit Del Rio by leading to a new multi-use park for everyone in the city and the county.
Dunn said he understood the concerns and the interest he’s seen from the city and its citizens and said the league would be ready to work with Del Rio should the opportunity present itself.
“Del Rio went from being a long shot on a board two weeks ago to being a strong possibility days before the (Continental Baseball League’s) championship,” Dunn said. “We’re not asking for any money, but if the enthusiasm for Del Rio is as true as it shows then this may be the place for the Pecos League. If Del Rio wants a pro team this may be their best shot. We’ll give our best efforts and if you guys will too then we’ll try and make it work.”
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On the Net:
Pecos Baseball League – www.pecosleague.com
Del Rio Gunslingers – www.delriogunslingers.com
Fans Forum - http://pecosleaguebaseballfans.myfastforum.org/index.php
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