Summer.
The word conjures up so many images and ideas – sun, beaches, pools, ice cream, fireworks, vacations, flip-flops, frozen margaritas and, of course, baseball.
America’s original pastime may be just one sport (and for that matter, recreational activity in general) among so many to choose from these days, but there’s nothing that quite exemplifies an American summer like nine guys taking to the diamond in the middle of July.
There’s never been a shortage of baseball in Concord – the Sunset League has been around since 1909, plus there’s high school, Legion and recreational ball being played all over the city in the warm months.
But until this year, if you wanted to see a pro game, you had to go to Boston to watch the Red Sox or, at the very least, head down to Manchester to watch the Fisher Cats.
Now, all you have to do is go to Memorial Field, where the New Hampshire Wild of the Empire Professional Baseball League plays its home games.
The six-team pro league (partly owned by former Tampa Bay Rays great Matt Joyce) has been around since 2016, but this is the first year of having a team based in Concord. In the league’s inaugural year, there was a New Hampshire team that played at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge. After taking a year off from the league in 2017 for undisclosed reasons, the New Hampshire club is back in business and now playing in Concord.
The league is a professional league that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. In other words, this isn’t the minor leagues where players can get called up to “The Show.”
Instead, it’s a league for college players or guys who have played pro ball in other leagues, who still want to play and show what they can do. While there is no direct partnership with any MLB club, real MLB scouts regularly attend games looking for the future stars of the world’s premiere league.
“What that means is, a lot of people like to call us semi-pro,” said Eddie Gonzalez, the league’s president. “It doesn’t belong to any affiliated organization. … They (the players) don’t belong in college or high school. They’re here to showcase so that an MLB team can pick them up. We move a lot of guys to the next level. Last year, our big story over the last few months, the Miami Marlins signed one of our players from the league, Jameson Magrane.”
So there you have it. This league does send players to the Major Leagues. And some members of the league already have experience in the MLB system.
Take, for instance, Tony Rodriguez. The manager for the Puerto Rico Islanders – one of two teams in the league from Puerto Rico – played for the Red Sox in 1996. Plattsburgh (N.Y.) Redbirds Manager Selwyn Young was in the Oakland A’s system for a few years in the early 1980s. It goes to show that this isn’t just some pickup league.
“This is an opportunity for them, but if guys can’t cut it – if they don’t wanna self-develop or get better – we’re bringing in guys who are hungry all the time,” Gonzalez said. “This isn’t a vacation. This isn’t a day care.”
The players the league brings in come from all over the world. If you go through each of the rosters, available at empireproleague.com, you’ll see players from Florida, California, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Japan, Curacao, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Colorado, Boston and everywhere in between. In that respect, it’s no different from Major League Baseball or any other competitive professional league that looks for talent around the globe. (As of last Thursday, there was one player in the league listed as being from New Hampshire – pitcher Nick Kelvin of Conway, who plays for the New York Bucks.)
Another indicator that this is a serious professional league is the fact that the players do get paid. You won’t see any “Stantonian” 13-year, $325 million deals in the Empire League, but the players are compensated for their work. For starters, they’re provided housing – the Wild are staying at the dorms at Lakes Region Community College in Laconia. Their transportation is also covered, and thankfully so – with two teams in Puerto Rico, that travel bill could get pretty expensive for a bunch of recent college grads playing baseball for work. And, on top of all that, they receive a paycheck as well.
All told, the players earn the equivalent of about $1,500 a month, Gonzalez said.
“We’re a self-funded league. This isn’t a league for players to come in and make money,” he said.
That said, how many of you have ever been paid even a few bucks to play any sort of game?
We went to a game last Wednesday, the first game back after the league’s all-star break. The opponent was the Aguada (Puerto Rico) Explorers, and the Wild were looking to snap an eight-game losing streak that they took into the break after getting off to a 12-5 start.
We went in not knowing what to expect – we just wanted to get a feel for the experience of watching this new pro team play at our local athletic complex.
It was a picture-perfect night for baseball at about 79 degrees or so at first pitch, with plenty of sun and a light, occasional breeze. Sadly, there were more people walking on the track, putting in work on the new tennis courts and playing softball on a back field than watching this game – Tim and I made up about a third of the crowd.
No matter, the guys were excited to play and didn’t seem to mind at all that it was a light crowd. The field is meticulously maintained, and Gonzalez was in the booth serving as PA announcer and DJ – what’s not to like?
Before the game started, Tim and I, naturally, were looking for a bite to eat. Unfortunately there was nothing to be found. The only times concessions are available at the games is when the city happens to have some event going on at Memorial Field and brings in vendors, Gonzalez said. But there’s nothing stopping you from bringing your own snacks and drinks to the ballpark. Just be sure to clean up after yourself, as some fans had clearly not done so, evidenced by a couple empty soda cans and wrappers strewn about the bleachers.
We arrived a little early and had time to meet Wild Manager Scott “Nate” Nathanson as well as some of the players and ask them about their experiences in the league, and in the state, so far.
Nathanson grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and he’s been with the league since the beginning, but this is his first year managing the New Hampshire club. He previously managed the Old Orchard Beach (Maine) Surge, and he just managed one of the two all-star teams.
“It’s beautiful,” Nathanson said of Concord, a city he’d never been to before the start of the season. “I’ve really enjoyed our time here, and the players have as well.”
“Concord’s a great place, you know, very nice, people here are really cool and everybody’s really welcoming,” said Anthony Shkrelja, a shortstop from New York.
“The weather’s good up here, and I love the scenery,” said catcher Ricardo Sanjurjo of San Juan, Puerto Rico. “Concord’s a really good place to be.”
Pitcher Ben Collesano of Chicago had been to the East Coast a few times before, but this is his first time staying in New Hampshire. “I like it a lot,” he said. “Great people, great food, beautiful weather and atmosphere, and a great place to play baseball.”
While the team is staying in Laconia for the season, they often go out and explore Concord after games or on off days.
“We went to Margaritas, then we went to the sports bar yesterday, The Draft,” said center fielder Cody Den Beste of Los Angeles, who said he’d never been east of Arkansas before. The guys said they’re always looking for recommendations, too, so we suggested they try our favorite windowless, signless, underground hangout – Penuche’s. Just in case they get tired of the places with natural light (not the beer).
After the introductions were over with, it was time for the game. The first order of business was the national anthem, during which the Wild infielders joined hands while facing the flag in center field. Then, it was time for those two magic words: “Play ball!”
Christian Telemaco of Durham, Maine, started the game on the mound for the Wild. He was throwing gas right out of the gate – there was no radar gun to look at, but by the look and sound of it, he was probably touching 90 with his fastball. He backed it up with a nice curve that was a good 15 mph slower and with good break.
The first batter laced one to the left side, but Shkrelja, the Wild’s shortstop, made a fine leaping grab to get the first out.
The next batter hit a sharp ground ball to the same part of the infield. Third baseman Josh Lavender made a diving stab followed by a strong, accurate throw across the diamond from his knees to get the out.
The Wild started their offense by wreaking havoc on the basepaths with three stolen bases in the bottom of the first. The opposing pitcher was popping the mitt as well.
After two innings without any runs on either side, second baseman Steven Figueroa – “Figgy,” as the guys call him – got the scoring started with a mammoth blast over the fence in center field. The two-run shot gave the Wild a 2-0 lead through three.
The Explorers answered back with a four spot in the top of the fourth, and the Wild came back with three more in the bottom half. Each team scored a run in the fifth, then the Wild pulled away with two in the seventh and one in the eighth to secure a 9-6 win and snap their eight-game skid.
As of this publication date (July 24), the Wild have 15 games left in the season, all of them at Memorial Field and most of them at 6:05 p.m. For the complete schedule as well as stats and more information about the club, go to wildprobaseball.com.
