University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters University of Nebraska Press 2012 Bluegrass Baseball Katya Cengel Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples Cengel, Katya, "Bluegrass Baseball" (2012). University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters. 143. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/unpresssamples/143 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Nebraska Press at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Nebraska Press -- Sample Books and Chapters by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Bluegrass Baseball Buy the Book Cengel000.indd 1 6/13/12 10:09 AM Bluegrass Baseball Buy the Book Cengel000.indd 2 6/13/12 10:09 AM A Year in the Minor League Life Katya Cengel University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London Buy the Book Cengel000.indd 3 6/13/12 10:09 AM © 2012 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cengel, Katya. Bluegrass baseball: a year in the minor league life / Katya Cengel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. isbn ---- (pbk.: alk. paper) . Minor league baseball—Kentucky—Louisville. I. Title. gv.kl .'—dc Set in Adobe Caslon by Bob Reitz. Designed by Mikah Tacha. Buy the Book Cengel000.indd 4 6/13/12 10:09 AM To Marcus, for always being there when I need him Buy the Book Cengel000.indd 5 6/13/12 10:09 AM Buy the Book Cengel000.indd 6 6/13/12 10:09 AM Contents List of Illustrations, viii Acknowledgments, xi Introduction, xiii part 1. lexington legends: a tale of obsession 1. The Legend behind the Legends, 3 2. The Man Who Would Be Alan, 19 3. A Loyal Following, 36 4. Past Legends and Future Stars, 51 part 2. louisville bats: a lesson in discontent 5. Great Expectations, 73 6. Pitch Perfect, 86 7. The Faithful, 99 8. Diminishing Returns, 110 9. The Star Who Almost Landed in Louisville, 120 part 3. bowling green hot rods: the business of baseball 10. America’s Other Pastime, 133 11. The Start-Up Sprint, 145 12. The Businessmen, 157 13. Kings of the Road, 164 part 4. florence freedom: the humble life 14. Falling Down, 185 15. Closer to Ordinary, 197 16. Strike Two, 214 17. A Long Way to Go, 218 18. Back to Reality, 231 Afterword, 247 Notes, 251 Buy the Book Cengel000.indd 7 6/13/12 10:09 AM Illustrations Following page 64 1. Alan and Kathy Stein in the stands 2. Jiovanni Mier leaving the dugout 3. Jiovanni Mier and Jose Altuve 4. Groundskeeper Chris Pearl and “Mini Pearl” 5. Jose Altuve in his condo 6. Jiovanni Mier in his room 7. Jiovanni Mier in his condo 8. Jiovanni Mier and Kristen Lawson in the kitchen 9. Jiovanni Mier in his car Following page 126 10. Buddy Bat and Matt Maloney 11. Gary Ulmer in his office 12. Usher Bobby “Perk” Perkins 13. Kalee Maloney in the stands 14. Cotton candy at a Bats game Following page 176 15. Eligio “Eli” Sonoqui working hard 16. Chris Murrill at bat 17. Eligio “Eli” Sonoqui at play 18. Jared Elliott at work 19. Tom Gauthier on the radio 20. Chris Murrill and fans 21. Ty Morrison in the dugout Buy the Book Cengel000.indd 8 6/13/12 10:09 AM Following page 240 22. Kevin Whittaker in the clubhouse 23. Tim Grogan in the clubhouse 24. Pete Rose Jr. in the batting cage 25. Players wait for a ride 26. Inspirational sayings and advice 27. Dancing mascots 28. The Wall Rats 29. Katie Sparrow in the stands Buy the Book Cengel000.indd 9 6/13/12 10:09 AM Buy the Book Cengel000.indd 10 6/13/12 10:09 AM Acknowledgments When David Daley, my editor at the Louisville Courier-Journal, first approached me about following several Minor League Base- ball players over a season, I was a little skeptical. I am a features writer, and I don’t normally cover professional athletes. But then I got to know the players and the world of Minor League Baseball and realized it was the perfect setting for the kind of stories I love telling, those about regular people. Robert Taylor believed, as I did, that the subject could be expanded into a great book and walked me through it. The teams made it all possible, with Tom Gauthier, Nick Evans, Keith Elkins, Megan Smith, and Josh Anderson helping to coordinate my trips. Of course, without the players, presidents, and managers, there would have been nothing to write. I am grateful to them for letting me into their lives. Then there are the family mem- xi Buy the Book Cengel100.indd 11 6/13/12 10:09 AM bers, fans, ushers, host families, and other people who were so generous with their time and stories. Photographers James Calvert and Alex Slitz captured the images I hope I conveyed in words. My mother and stepfather provided valuable feedback and support, and my sister, friends, and other family members helped me in every way they could. But the most important was Marcus, who has all the patience I lack and helped me in more ways than I can list. xii acknowledgments Buy the Book Cengel100.indd 12 6/13/12 10:09 AM Introduction In many ways, the story of independent and Minor League Baseball in Kentucky is the story of baseball. It is a tale of dreams, history, and heartache. There are the former Major Leaguers who spent their early professional careers in little mountain towns—Greg Maddux, Dan Plesac, and Dwight Smith. Before they were in the bigs, all three played for Minor League teams in eastern Kentucky, where attendance sometimes didn’t even reach the triple digits. Bobby Flynn helped establish the first integrated team in the South when he, a white man, joined the black semiprofessional Lexington Hustlers in 1947. Let’s not forget Louisville, the state’s largest city, where professional baseball has been a part of things for well over a century and whose Minor League Louisville Colo- nels nurtured such talents as Hall of Famers Earle Combs, Joe McCarthy, and Harold “Pee Wee” Reese, who embraced Jackie xiii Buy the Book Cengel100.indd 13 6/13/12 10:09 AM Robinson when he broke Major League Baseball’s color line. But that is just the background in which this book is set. The action takes place during the 2010 season, as three Minor and one independent league teams battle for fans, wins, and a future here in the Bluegrass. These men are professionals—they are paid to play—but life for them is nothing like it is for their colleagues in the bigs. They are paid a fraction of what their Major League counterparts make, travel mostly by bus, and live with constant uncertainty, all in the belief that it will pay off down the road. But even among the best of them, the ones drafted, only about 5 percent to 10 percent will make it to the Majors. Some will never get past the first level, Rookie League. If they do, there is still Class-A Short-Season, Class-A (includ- ing high and low or advanced and regular), aa, and aaa. With more than a dozen leagues and almost two hundred teams that charge admission, the Minor League system is an immense maze through which some players never make it. But at least they are on the fast track, playing for a team affiliated with a Major League club. Players in the independent league have no such affiliation; they are a step below even the Minors. Down here the game is different; general managers in the Minor and independent leagues talk more about affordable family entertain- ment than winning. It’s a business, and they are in the business of developing players and running a successful local operation. The stories that hover around these lower-level teams are populated by characters trying to reach a goal, or keep one from slipping away. These are kids right out of high school living away from home for the first time, athletes from poor countries try- ing to find something better, and men well into their twenties struggling to hold on to the one thing they know. xiv introduction Buy the Book Cengel100.indd 14 6/13/12 10:09 AM And that’s just the players. In the Minors you have managers who missed making the Majors now living a life just as exhausting as their players. They do it without the hope of fame, however, just to keep the taste of the sport in their system. There are wives who live their lives in limbo so their husbands can chase their dreams and children whose home is the road and whose toys must fit in a small storage container. There are also the fans, businesspeople, and politicians who brought the teams to town, the families that welcome players into their homes, and the entertainers who keep the crowds coming. The characters who populate Kentucky’s three Minor and one independent league teams include all of these and more. The Class-A Lexington Legends have a colorful president whose wife is an equally colorful state senator. Alan Stein is baseball in Lexington. If it wasn’t for Alan, this Houston Astros farm team would not exist. Lexington has a spotty history with profes- sional baseball, and several attempts to bring a team to the city before Alan met with failure.