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Tigers’ relationship with spring training city longest in MLB

By
Toledo Free Press
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Down in Lakeland, Fla., the boys of summer actually start arriving prior to the onset of spring and have been doing so since 1934.

Save for three seasons during World War II, when the team played its spring ball in Evansville, Ind., Lakeland has been the spring training home for the Detroit Tigers. It is a relationship that’s in its 76th season, the longest between a major league team and a spring training city.

Tigers fans from across the country flock to “Tiger Town” each spring to take in the historic atmosphere surrounding Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland.

“Every day, you come across people that this has been something they’ve wanted to do their whole life, is come to Joker Marchant Stadium and see a game, or come to Tiger Town and just see it,” said Ron Myers, the Tigers’ director of Lakeland operations, who started as an intern with the organization in 1981.

“The exciting part is to see how many people know about this place, and it’s always been on their list of things to do. Once they see it, they feel it, they experience it, you can see the smile on their face, and I think any time I see that, it just makes you feel pretty special.”

‘Smokeless factory’

In Lakeland, the Tigers represent more than just a professional baseball team to check out each spring. Since Detroit first started playing spring ball at Henley Field in 1934, the organization has became a fixture in the community.

“We’re a smokeless factory in the community,” Myers said. “And our job is to produce Major League players.”

“The real magic, I think, to the Lakeland and Detroit relationship has been the longevity,” said Bill Tinsley, who serves as liaison to the Tigers and manager of community resources development for Lakeland. “Jim Campbell as the [former] president and CEO for the organization had a great relationship with the parks and recreation department and other city officials.”

Tinsley has worked for the City of Lakeland since 1971 and became the city’s parks and recreation director in 1993 prior to his current position. With more than 40 years of experience, he has seen the relationship between lakeland and the Tigers grow into what it is today.

“The Tigers have been engaged in the community since their inception here, or their first arrival here, back in the days when they came in on a train,” Tinsley said. “The chamber of commerce and the city have recognized their value to the community and the contributions here. They used to meet them at the train and carry their bags to the hotel downtown that they stayed in back in the early years.”

As times have changed and baseball has evolved during the past century, so has Detroit’s relationship with Lakeland. What used to be an eight-week spring training process is now
a yearlong courtship between the city and the Tigers.

“Now, 12 months out of the year the Tigers have a presence in the community with operations and activities that are going on,” Tinsley said. “They’re engaged, and the facility operates as a great sports revenue source. We call it our ‘smokeless factory,’ if you will, in that there is a tourism element that is 12 months out of the year with teams coming in and everything from college to high school to amateur sports, pro sports and activities that are going on that the Tigers are playing host to.”

Mutual respect

The common thread between Lakeland and the Tigers in their 76 seasons together is a mutual respect for the other.

“It’s just something that if we all walked in the same room together, if nobody had a logo on, you wouldn’t know who worked for the City of Lakeland or the Detroit Tigers,” Myers said. “It’s an all for one, one for all. It’s a relationship that’s very hard to describe because it’s so good.”

For Tinsley, that level of respect for the Detroit organization grew from the way the Tigers front office has treated city officials.

“Dave Dombrowski, Al [Avila] — these are folks that treat us as partners and equals, not as in service to them,” Tinsley said. “There is a reasonableness that’s brought to our relationship, an understanding of the economics that we have.”

According to Tinsley, all the facilities in the state of Florida are managed, run and owned by either municipal or county government, except for those operated by Disney.

The Tigers, he said, have brought a give-and-take nature to their relationship with Lakeland and stay true to their word.

“If you’re looking for what really is the key to the sustainability of an organization, it’s having excellent business people that whatever they say, you can take it to the bank,” Tinsley said. “And that’s the open, honest relationship we’ve had from the Tiger organization, from the owner down to the people in the front office.”

That mutual respect at the top has had a trickledown effect on the many players Myers and Tinsley have seen over the years, including Toledo’s 2011 Pitcher of the Year Duane Below.

“From here in Lakeland to every level, everybody’s been great,” Below told Toledo Free Press from Lakeland, where he was spring training with the Tigers.

A native of Britton, Mich., Below was drafted by Detroit in 2006 and has worked his way up the ranks of the organization, from single-A ball to competing for a spot in the rotation with the Tigers.
“They want you to succeed,” Below said. “They help you in any way they can, and I think that goes a long way to say for Mr. Ilitch, in hiring the staff that he has.”

Michael Ilitch owns the Detroit Tigers as well as the Detroit Red Wings.

Lakeland has been such a special place that several Detroit players either keep a residence there or call it home, including star pitcher Justin Verlander.

“These guys learn to love this city because quality of life has always been important in our city,” Tinsley said. “No small part is the contribution that’s made by the Tigers’ residence here.”

The early years since the time Clare “Doc” Henley and the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce approached the Tigers in 1933 about making the city their spring training destination, making the Detroit organization and its players feel at home has been a priority for the city and its parks and recreation department, which maintains the Tiger Town facilities.
“Our Parks and Recreation Department, we’re so proud of them,” Tinsley said. “They do have almost a sinful pride in the complex, in its history. I don’t think you can plan well without taking a good look back.”

Detroit’s early years in Lakeland were spent at Henley Field, a 1,000-seat ballpark which saw the likes of Al Kaline, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams in its heyday. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 and is still used by Florida Southern College and Lakeland High school.

In 1966, the Tigers began playing at their current spring training home, Joker Marchant Stadium, named after Lakeland’s former Parks and Recreation director Marcus Thigpen Marchant, who went by “Joker” and played a vital role in making sure Detroit was taken care of in Lakeland.

With an original seating capacity of 4,900, Joker Marchant stadium has undergone several expansion and renovation projects to bring the ballpark up to date. Including the estimated 1,000 lawn seats on the berm, the stadium now has an approximate capacity of 9,000.

“The city has just been great in bending over backward to make sure that our facilities don’t take a backseat to anybody, even though our age is a lot more than some of the newer complexes being built,” Myers said.

Among the criteria discussed when considering any upgrades to Joker Marchant Stadium and Tiger Town are player development and fan enhancement, the latter of which was brought to the table by Tigers’ President and General Manager Dave Dombrowski, Tinsley said.

“Our leadership has been able to focus on the big picture and view and recognize that $35 to $40 million of economic impact — our stimulus that comes from having a Major League team spring train in your city — are real dollars that are vested into your community,” Tinsley said.

Development of Tiger Town started in the 1950s at the location where the Lodwick School of Aeronautics and Lakeland Municipal Airport once stood. sprawled across 85 acres and home to both the Tigers and their Class-A advanced affiliate, the Lakeland Flying Tigers, Tiger Town features a three-story dormitory, cafeteria, recreation hall and administrative building, making it both a historically unique and comfortable facility for players.
“The city officials, the city manager Doug Thomas, going all the way back throughout the years the city has been a great supporter of ours,” Myers said. “They understand what a great relationship this is, along with the county. So we have a city, the county, that are these great backers of our organization. It’s just been a great relationship all the way around.”

Keeping it going

Neither party sees the historic relationship between Lakeland and the Tigers ending in the foreseeable future.

“I was not in every discussion that’s taken place over the 76 years, but I can tell you the relationship between the Detroit Tigers and the City of Lakeland and Polk County would be hard to be replaced,” Myers said.

The team’s current contract with Lakeland expires in 2016, but Tinsley said he doesn’t think anybody on either side wants the relationship broken.

“The way that you do that and keep that from happening is keep surprises out of the relationship,” Tinsley said. “Open, honest communication exists, and then future planning to anticipate needs before they become emergency needs that can’t be taken care of. so we’re always looking at ‘How are we going to improve ourselves and make ourselves better and stay on top?’”
Not to mention he and Myers have had a lot of fun at their respective jobs over the years.

Myers, who grew up in Michigan with a college baseball coach for a father, has had baseball in his blood since he was a batboy for his dad.

He has cherished the opportunity to work with the many players he’s seen over the years, including Verlander, Below, the longest-tenured Tiger and fan favorite Brandon Inge and Michigan native John Smoltz.

“There’s too many to name,” Myers said of memories created over the years. “Every day, I consider it a blessing. I’ve had a great career. I enjoy what I do. I mean, I could go for days as far as [memories go], and I’d leave one out and that would probably be better than the next one. I’m very grateful, and I’m very lucky to have the position that I have.”

Tinsley, meanwhile, has formed friendships with many Tigers over the years and has taken great pride in showing them what Florida has to offer, from fishing and wild hog hunting to catching an alligator with Bo Schembechler’s son.

“I will tell you I love the people that I’ve met and have learned to appreciate that although they are big celebrities on the national front, many of these folks one-on-one, they’re good people,” Tinsley said. “I’ve just met so many quality people through that relationship that it’s just been a gift to me.

“I hit the job lotto 42 years ago.”

Muddy’s Buddies cater to youngest Hens fans

By
Brigitta Burks
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Muddy the Mud Hen drops in on some young fans at Fifth Third Field. Photo by Lad Strayer

Young fans of the Mud Hens are eligible for some special perks if they join Muddy’s Buddies Kids Club.

The popular, free program draws in about 2,000 kids every season, said Emily Croll, special events coordinator for the Mud Hens.

“Muddy’s Buddies has turned into a ballpark staple for sure,” she said. “We even get requests from Connecticut, the East Coast, the south. We get requests from kids all over, not just kids at the games.”

Perks include $1 off kids’ tickets to Monday and Tuesday games, a free prize upon signing up at guest services, opportunities for autographs and chances to run the bases.

McDonald’s, a sponsor, offers members three free Hamburger Happy Meals with the purchase of one extra Value Meal or Premium entree salad.

The Muddy’s Buddies membership also gives families 10 percent off select gear at the swamp shop, which parents love, Croll said.

“Nothing’s better than getting their kid a prize and being able to go and get something for cheaper,” she said. Club members can also attend an open field day.

In the past, the program has been more of a skills clinic, but is now moving toward a different structure.

“This year, we are changing it to more of a field day,” Croll said. “We are just trying to get people not to be like, ‘Oh, it’s a baseball camp, I don’t want to take my kids there.’”

The date for the field day is still to be decided.

Other events are also in the works, Croll said.

Children are important to both the Mud Hens and the Walleye, Toledo’s hockey team, but while children get involved with the Walleye, it isn’t at the same level as with the Mud Hens, Croll said.
That could be because it’s easier to get children involved in the summer and the fact that the Huntington Center isn’t the team’s own facility so it’s harder to do events there, she said.

“Kids are just a huge part of [the Mud Hens],” Croll said. “We’re always looking for new ways to get kids involved and get them on the field and to meet players.”

Mud Hens players can also serve as good role models for the children.

“It’s just a very positive environment. A lot of players who come to these events have gotten here because they’ve made the right decisions along the way, they’ve done things and they’ve worked hard,” Croll said.

To join, children must pledge: “As an official Member of the Muddy’s Buddies Kids Club, I pledge to uphold the highest standards of honesty, fairness and good DANCING as demonstrated by Muddy the Mud Hen. I further pledge to remain a lifelong Mud Hens fan.”

Children age 12 and younger can join Muddy’s Buddies. Registration is free.

Parents can sign their children up for Muddy’s Buddies at guest services at Fifth Third Field, select McDonald’s restaruant locations in the Toledo area or online at www.mudhens.com under the listing for “Fan Center.”

Muddy Shuttles offer ‘convenient, affordable’ ride

By
Toledo Free Press
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A TARTA "Muddy Shuttle" lets baseball fans off next to Fifth Third Field downtown.

More than a dozen Park-N-ride locations in Toledo and the surrounding area offer area residents the option to catch a bus to or from games at Fifth Third Field on one of TARTA’s Muddy shuttles.

It’s an option worth checking out, said Steve Atkinson, director of marketing for TARTA.

“It’s very easy to use, very user-friendly,” Atkinson said. “It saves on gas and saves on parking. With the several Park-N-ride locations surrounding Toledo, you can basically park your car and climb aboard the bus and be dropped off steps away from the field. It’s a safe,
convenient, affordable and worryfree way to travel.”

There are 13 Park-N-Ride locations in Toledo, Maumee, Ottawa Hills, Perrysburg, Rossford, Sylvania and Waterville where Muddy Shuttles stop.

Muddy Shuttles will continue to operate to and from Perrysburg for the duration of the 2012 Mud Hens regular season despite the community’s vote March 6 to opt out of TARTA bus service, Atkinson said.

Rossford and Sylvania Township are also considering an opt-out vote.

TARTA service to Perrysburg will continue until at least October, or for six months from the date the results are certified by the Wood County Board of Elections and then finalized by the TARTA board of trustees, Atkinson said.

The final Mud Hens home game of the season is Monday, Sept. 3.

“No matter what, we will fulfill Muddy Shuttle service to Perrysburg for the remainder of this Mud Hens season,” Atkinson said.

There will no longer be Walleye Shuttle service from Perrysburg to hockey games at Huntington Center this fall or to Mud Hens games next season.

Muddy Shuttle ridership numbers have remained fairly consistent since the service started in 2002 when Fifth Third Field opened, Atkinson said.
In 2011, there were 19,583 passenger boardings on Muddy shuttles, counting trips both to and from games, Atkinson said. That’s down from the 21,692 passenger boardings recorded for 2010. Waterville Plaza again had the highest ridership in 2011, with 3,588 passenger boardings, Atkinson said. Next most popular was them Lucas County recreation Center in Maumee with 2,751, followed by Centennial Terrance in Sylvania with 2,558.
River Place Shopping Center in Perrysburg had the fourth-highest number of boardings, with 2,136.

No. 5 was Toledo’s Miracle Mile with 1,586, No. 6 was Toledo’s southland shopping Center with 1,232, No. 7 was Toledo’s Alexis road Meijer with 1,224, No. 8 was Perrysburg’s Country Charm shoppes with 1,218, No. 9 was Ottawa Hills’ Westgate Sears with 1,018, No. 10 was Rossford’s All Saints Catholic Church with 796 and No. 11 was St. Luke’s Hospital in Maumee with 748.

Westfield Franklin Park had the lowest ridership in 2011 with 728.

Muddy Shuttle ridership statistics are not kept for the Adams Street stops because, unlike the others, it’s part of a regular TARTA route, not a special route for game days, Atkinson said.

Muddy Shuttles leave from each location one hour before home game start times and go directly to Fifth Third Field. Riders can be dropped off on either the first-base or third-base sides of the field. Return trips leave from the first-base side of the field on Washington Street 20 minutes after the end of the game.

For games that feature post-game fireworks, buses leave 20 minutes after the display.

TARTA supervisors are on hand after games to make sure riders find the right bus, Atkinson said. The bus marquee displays the name of the Park-N-Ride destination while loading or unloading and reads “Go HENs” while in transit, Atkinson said.

Cost is $1 per trip ($2 for a round trip), the same as regular bus fare. For more information, visit www.tarta.com.

Muddy Shuttle Stops

Maumee: Lucas County recreation Center (2901 Key St., north lot )

Maumee: St. Luke’s Hospital (5901 Monclova Road)

Ottawa Hills: Westgate Sears (3474 W. Central Ave., west of Sears)

Perrysburg: Country Charm Shoppes (106 W. South Boundary, near shelter) O

Perrysburg: River Place Shopping Center (26597 Dixie Hwy., at stop sign near Walt Churchill’s Market/Charlie’s)

Rossford: All Saints Catholic Church (628 Lime City road, near Schreier Road)

Sylvania: Centennial Terrace (5773 Centennial Road, main parking lot)

Toledo: Alexis Road Meijer (1500 E. Alexis Road, main parking lot)

Toledo: Miracle Mile shopping Center (1727 W. Laskey Road, near shelter)

Toledo: Southland Shopping Center (3320 Glendale Ave., behind Fifth Third Bank)

Toledo: Westfield Franklin Park (4121 Royer Road, shelter across from Kohl’s)

Toledo: Uptown on Adams (1815 Adams st., three stops between 14th and 20th streets)

Waterville: Waterville Plaza (1320 Michigan Ave., near shelter at Kroger)

Ground crew keeps ballpark at its best

By
Vincent Scebbi
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Jake Tyler is the award-winning head groundskeeper at Fifth Third Field in Toledo. Toledo Free Press photo by Joseph Herr

As fans begin to pour into Fifth Third Field on April 4 for the exhibition game against the Tigers and for Mud Hens opening day two days later, they may notice the grass inside the stadium is greener than their backyards.

This is partially thanks to the warmer-than-average winter Toledo experienced, but it’s mostly due to almost constant maintenance by sports Turf Manager Jake Tyler and the rest of the Mud Hens grounds crew.

Tyler said the crew fertilizes the grass 11 months out of year, including November and December, when the crew does work on the warning track.

The crew also adds a winter feed containing nutrients such as magnesium and nitrogen that help the field “pop.”

This year, not all of the grass went dormant over the winter months, which Tyler said made the work this spring easier. He and the crew began mowing the grass Feb. 28, almost a week before their typical start date.

“It’s been really easy this year, knock on wood,” he said.

Because of the head start, most of the major work was done by mid-March, meaning the work to be done between then and the first pitch will be “fine, minute details,” such as grooming the pitcher’s mound and the infield slope, Tyler said.

While grass is what most fans notice first when walking into the ballpark, Tyler said the majority of the crew’s work is done in the infield.

“Seventy percent of the game is played on the dirt,” he said. Tyler said part of his job is working with weather conditions and scheduling around Mother Nature.

“I monitor the weather every hour of the day,” Tyler said. “You have to adapt to the surroundings.”

The field has to maintain a constant moisture level, which is always changing because of shifts in heat, humidity and rain. on humid days, for example, the dirt needs less moisture because not as much is being evaporated into the atmosphere. The goal is to tweak the field and keep it as consistent as possible for players on a day-to-day basis, Tyler said.

After 16 years of maintaining a baseball diamond, “you get a sense of how much moisture you lose,” he said. Ideally, a baseball cleat should go into the dirt and not take any chunks out with it, which Tyler tests by wearing his own and running in the dirt.

“Until you put on a pair of cleats, you have no idea how [the infield] feels,” he said.

Tyler said the red infield dirt is from Alabama and is a mixture of sand, silt and clay. In March, the crew takes the new mix and cultivates and tills it into the ground. Next, they laser-grade the infield to within one-thirtieth of an inch lower than the outfield.

“Ideally, you would be able to walk from the infield into the outfield blindfolded and not notice the difference,” Tyler said.

At night, the crew adds about one inch of water to the infield dirt, allowing it to seep in overnight and save water usage during the day. The crew also sprays the dirt with light coats of water on game days.

While many fans think they are settling dust, the truth is the grounds crew is keeping the moisture levels consistent, Tyler said.

The warning track, which is composed of crushed brick and shell stone, is watered twice a day to prevent dust. The difference in the material helps outfielders hear when they are close to the wall and adjust accordingly, Tyler said. “We have to maintain moisture in every inch of this ball park,” he said.

Tyler, a native of Jackson, Tenn., who has worked with organizations such as the Louisville Bats and New York Mets, earned the International league’s sports Turf Manager of the Year award from 2006-08 while the Mud Hens earned the Triple-A Field of the Year in 2006 and 2007.
“I know a lot of people are proud of Fifth Third Field and they bring visitors to the games and show them how beautiful it is,” said Jason Griffin, director of public and media relations for the Mud Hens.

The ballpark was also selected as a set for the film “Homerun showdown” in 2010 because the film’s producers said it “looked like a Major League facility,” Griffin said. He added that the actors from California said Fifth Third looked better than some Major League stadiums like Los Angeles’ dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Tyler said he used to be more focused on awards and recognition, but is now mostly concerned with maintaining the field.

“I just like taking care of a baseball field because that’s the way I would want it,” he said. “I’d like the fans to take a sense of pride in their hometown.”

New pubs and eateries abound Downtown

By
Erin Holden
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Toledo’s downtown entertainment district has no shortage of great options for grabbing a bite to eat before or after a Mud Hens game, including a variety of new places to try out this season.

A half-dozen new pubs and eateries have opened within the past year in the vicinity of Fifth Third Field with several more slated to open this spring, some as early as April though not in time for opening day.

The new venues will join current downtown staples including The Blarney Irish Pub, Table Forty4, Packo’s at the Park, Grumpy’s, the Spaghetti Warehouse, Glass City Cafe, Bronze Boar, Quimby’s at the Park and more.

A. 151 on the Water

151 water St., 419-725-2151

151onthewater.com

Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 11 a.m . to midnight Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday for now, except for special engagements or rentals. Will be open Mondays starting April 23. Reservations suggested on weekends.

151 on the Water, a Chicago-style restaurant and music cafe, offers “fine dining without the price, in an upscale atmosphere with a casual attitude,” according to owner Mike Scott. The eatery opened in October near Promenade Park at the former location of Murphy’s Place.

“Sweet bourbon salmon, marinated for 18 hours, is our signature dish and to die for as well as our steaks, and we have the best chicken wings in town,” Scott said.

On Mud Hens game days, show your ticket to get half-off chicken wings or chicken sandwiches, or try the Muddy dog.

“It’s the best dog in downtown; you’ll love our sauce,” Scott said.

The eatery also offers a $5.99 lunch special, a nightly chef’s feature and happy hour from 2-6 p.m. featuring $5 martinis, $3 draft beers and $2 domestics beers. The eatery’s signature rock candy martini features crushed rock candy around the glass rim.

“Everybody loves it,” said Scott, who hosts a jazz show on WCWA-AM (1230) from 6-9 a.m. weekdays and formerly owned several night clubs and an ice cream/deli shop in Toledo. The venue also features smooth jazz and R&B on Tuesdays, live music over lunch and acoustic open mic night on Wednesdays, blues on Thursdays and top 40 dance bands on Fridays and Saturdays.

B. 329

329 N. Huron St., 419-241-3777

the329.com

Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thursday-Saturday, closed Sundays for now.

The three-level 329, which opened in November, features restaurant and martini bar studio Martini on the main level, contemporary dance music at Volume Nightclub on the top level and Government Club, a lounge for private parties, on the lower level. Featuring a bar on every level, 329 offers a full selection of draft and bottled beers, wine and liquor. Happy hour is 5-7 p.m., featuring half-off appetizers and half-off drinks. Volume Nightclub features a DJ on Thursdays, Fridays and saturdays while the restaurant hosts a live band. Menu options include appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, steak and more. dress is casual at lunch, but more dressy on nights and weekends, said owner Moe Tawfik.

“People are talking about this place, that it’s nice and classy and fun,” Tawfik said. “I want people to have a good time, get home safe and talk to their friends about us.”

C. The Bar

513 Jefferson Ave., 419-252-6528 Hours: 4 p.m. to midnight Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, noon to 11 p.m. Sunday. Will also open two hours prior to all Downtown games and events.

The Bar, which opened in September across from the Huntington Center, features two full bars and five pool tables, including an upstairs pool room. More than 40 pool league teams play at the venue each week as part of the Northwest Ohio American Poolplayers Association. The recently opened kitchen serves “upscale bar food,” including steak and chicken sandwiches, burgers, wings and more, said owner Jeremy Mitchell. Happy hour is weekdays from 4-7 p.m. The venue also offers live entertainment, including a DJ and karaoke on saturday nights and the occasional live band. The Bar will be open at 10 a.m. April 4 when the Tigers play the Mud Hens and at noon on April 6 for Mud Hens opening day, Mitchell said.

D. (Coming soon) Lazeez Mediterranean Cuisine

337 N. St. clair St., 419-243-8485

With a name meaning “delicious” in Arabic, this family-owned eatery will offer Lebanese cuisine, including gyros, in a casual, fast-food style format, said Nader salami. The recent Whitmer High school graduate, along with his brother Sam Salami, will run the business, which is under construction and set to open sometime in April at the former location of Andrew Z’s Pizzeria. Their father, Jawdat Salami, will be chef, using his own recipes from his childhood in Lebanon. Lebanese food is known for being healthy and flavorful, Salami said. The eatery will take both dine-in and carryout orders, with all dishes made from scratch and cooked to order.

E. Our Brothers Place

233 N. Huron St., 419-244-5552

ourbrothersplace.com

Hours: 4 p.m. to midnight Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday, 6 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Saturday, 6 p.m. to midnight Sunday

Our Brothers Place, which opened in June across from the Huntington Center, aims to fill a dining and entertainment niche for the 30 and older professional crowd. The atmosphere is “casual with a little beat of upscale,” said Mike Johnson, who owns the venue with his brother Glenn Johnson and brother-in-law Al Garmon. Shrimp is the most popular item on the menu, which also features crab cakes, burgers, wings, tilapia, chicken, club sandwiches and salad, Garmon said. The two-story eatery offers two full-service bars, happy hour 4-8 p.m. daily except Saturday, 50-cent wings and $1 draft beer on Mondays, free ballroom dancing on Wednesdays, comedy night and $3 Sex on the Beach drinks on Thursdays and live jazz and R&B on Saturdays.

“Usually the compliment we get is ‘We needed something like this for a long time,’ Mike said. “We want people to take in the atmosphere and have a nice night out with good music, good food and good conversation.”

F. (Coming soon) Registry Bistro

Secor Building, 144 N. Superior St. 419-725-0444

registrybistro.com

Hours: 4:30 (bar)/5 (dinner) to 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 4:30 (bar)/5 (dinner) to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, closed Sunday-Monday except on game days.

Registry Bistro, slated to open this spring, will feature a dinner menu of contemporary American bistro cuisine with an emphasis on “shared plates,” said chef Erika Rapp, who co-owns the eatery with her mother Vickie Rapp.

Shared plates, similar to appetizers, are designed as an option for diners on their way to a game or show without the time to commit to a full dinner, Erika said.

The “casual elegant” eatery will also serve full dinners as well as lighter fare such as entree salads and sandwiches. The menu will change seasonally and the full bar will feature American craft cocktails, craft beer and boutique wine, said Erika, who was formerly chef at the Toledo Museum of Art and executive chef at diva.

The venue is on the first floor of the Secor Building, which connects to the Huntington Center, SeaGate Centre and the Port Lawrence Garage via skyways. Rapp said she hopes diners experience great food and exceptional service.

“We want to make sure everyone feels comfortable and has a great time,” rapp said. “That’s really what we’re focusing on.”

G. Slap Shots

319 N. Superior St., 419-246-9966

Hours: Opens 11 a.m. Monday-Friday, opens 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday

Slap shots, which reopened in March under new management, offers a full-service bar, happy hour 4-9 p.m. daily and a bar menu of burgers, sandwiches, wings and more.

The venue also features a club area, including a dance floor, mirrored walls and another full-service bar, where owner Corey Hughes, a 22-year-old Sylvania Northview High School graduate, hosts monthly theme parties. live bands and DJs perform regularly and Hughes said he plans to start hosting rooftop parties as well.

“I just want people to have fun and leave happy,” Hughes said.

H. Weekdays

614 Adams St., 419-244-8771

Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday, closed Saturday-Sunday

This casual, family-owned diner opened in February, serving breakfast and lunch, and offering a dine-in area as well as carryout. The breakfast menu includes omelets, pancakes, French toast, eggs, biscuits and gravy, muffins, bagels, Caribou Coffee and more. For lunch, the eatery’s homemade soups and Detroit-style coney dogs are among the most popular, said manager Sean Shikwana, whose father Yousif Shikwana, a longtime Toledo business owner, owns the eatery.

“People have been going crazy for those,” Sean said.

The lunch menu also offers sandwiches, burgers (including a vegetarian-friendly black bean burger) and salads.

“For just opening, it’s been going better than we could have expected,” Sean said. “everybody loves the food, everybody loves the prices. We see the same people in here three to four times a week, so we must be doing something right.”

I. (Coming soon) Ye Olde Cock n’ Bull Tavern

9 N. Huron St.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Monday-Sunday

Ye Olde Cock n’ Bull Tavern, set to open in April, will be a casual pub featuring a covered, four-season patio facing the home plate gate at Fifth Third Field.

“I wanted a name that was quirky, urban and fun,” said owner Jim Mettler, a Toledo native who was formerly general manager at Table Forty4. “You see a name like that and you know what you’re getting into. It’s going to be a fun, friendly place.”

The menu will feature soups, salads, hot and cold sandwiches, appetizers and daily specials and the fully stocked bar will offer 34 draft beers plus wine, liquor and bottled beer. Mettler also plans to offer live entertainment. “I hope people find a fun, relaxed atmosphere to meet with friends, make new friends and have a bite to eat,” Mettler said.

J. Ye Olde Durty Bird

2 S. St. clair St., 419-243-BIRD (2473)

yeoldedurtybird.com

Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday-Saturday. Hours subject to change

Named after The Durty Bird, one of the space’s most popular former tenants, Ye Olde Durty Bird opened downtown on St. Patrick’s day and is open daily for lunch and dinner. The casual eatery offers fresh soups, salads and sandwiches as well as a grill menu that include burgers, grilled chicken sandwiches and more, all made with fresh, locally grown produce, said general manager Julie Ketterman, who owns the business with her sister Linda Ball.

The venue — most recently the location of Jed’s At The Yard — offers daily specials, a full bar including a Bloody Mary bar every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and live entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights.

The decor is “warm, cozy and a tribute to Toledo,” Ketterman said.

K. (Coming soon) Italian restaurant

611 Monroe St.

An Italian restaurant is under construction at 611 Monroe st. No further details were available.

Helping Hens offer helping hand to area nonprofits

By
John Rasche
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Helping Hens visit the Miracle League of Northwest Ohio. Photo courtesy Toledo Mud Hens.

The Mud Hens have a longstanding history of contributing generously to local charities.

The team awards tens of thousands of dollars in grants to nonprofit organizations through its charitable fund each year, but the team’s contribution to the community does not end there.

Whether it be player appearances, ticket sale fundraisers or charity jersey auctions, the Mud Hens offer Toledo’s nonprofit organizations moral and financial support year-round.

The Helping Hens Charitable Fund, formed in 2005, is the minor league team’s official charitable fund and is administered through the Toledo Community Foundation.

The goal of the Helping Hens fund is to make a positive impact on the community, said Cheri Pastula, community relations manager for the Mud Hens.

“The Mud Hens are appreciative of all the support they’ve received from the community, so they try to give it back,” Pastula said.

Last season’s focus was on providing Toledo’s youth with opportunities to learn, play and love being a kid.

The Hens donated $30,000 in grants to seven local nonprofits that gave underprivileged children the chance to play sports or enjoy recreational services in a safe environment.

The Spina Bifida Association of Northwest Ohio was another nonprofit that received a grant, allowing the organization to send seven children with spina bifida to Camp Courageous, a summer camp in Whitehouse designed for children with special needs.

“We believe that a kid should have the common experience to go to summer camp,” the association’s executive director, Jennifer O’Brien said. “Children with spina bifida often have trouble relating to other people, so bringing all these kids together in camp and building those peer relationships is an important process. Without the help of the Mud Hens, we wouldn’t be able to send them.”

The Monroe Street Neighborhood Center also received a grant that helped keep the organization’s Open Gym Program available to area students.

The after-school program allows any student free access to the center’s full-court gym and computer lab. Students have the opportunity to play basketball or volleyball and receive help on homework from staff.

“Our main goal was to keep the doors open and to let the kids have a safe environment to go to after school,” the center’s executive director, Clara Petty said. “We were able to keep that program open with the grant we received from the Mud Hens.”

Other grant recipients were the Ballet Theatre of Toledo, the International Boxing Club, Judan Judo of Toledo, Central City Ministries of the Diocese of Toledo and the Lenawee County Education Foundation.

Muddy’s Knothole Club is another way the Mud Hens hope to leave a lasting
impact. Through this initiative, local businesses partner with the team to purchase game tickets for children, many of whom have never had the experience of attending a professional baseball game.

Through this partnership, the Knothole Club has helped thousands of kids from Northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan see America’s favorite pastime up close and personal.

“There are 72 baseball games in the season, from April to September,” Pastula said. “We feel we have so many opportunities during the baseball season to help the community more.”

Some games at the Fifth Third Field are designated to support local charities by allowing the organizations to sell marked-up tickets and keep the profits.

Charities are also welcome to help the staff during many of the silent and live auctions held at the ballpark. Fans can bid on sports memorabilia, such as game-worn jerseys, while the participating charities receive a portion of the proceeds.

Among this season’s scheduled charity benefit events are:

  • July 20: Mud Hens players will wear pink jerseys during Pink
    at the Park to support breast cancer awareness. The jerseys will be auctioned off after the game.
  • Aug. 4: players will wear vintage “throwback” jerseys that will be auctioned during the game
  • The popular Bat and Memorabilia Auction will be Aug. 25.

Charity volunteers are also able to work concession stations at Fifth Third Field to raise money for their favorite causes. Since 2002, the Mud Hens’ concession company has donated more than $1.6 million, or about $160,000 a year, to local nonprofits, according to a news release from the club.

Of the 38 nonprofits that volunteered last season, Kids World Gymnastics and Cheerleading raised the most, about $13,000.

Four groups raised between $7,000 and $9,000 and eight groups raised between $4,000 and $6,000.

“Mud Hens concessions has helped our cheerleaders get new uniforms, pom-poms and signs for both our special needs cheerleading squad and our competitive squads,” said Mike and lonna Meadows of Kids World Gymnastics and Cheerleading in a statement. “Along with competitions, travel and hotels, some of our parents would not be able to have their child compete in cheerleading or gymnastics without financial support.”

The arrangement is “a win-win situation,” said Corey Pleasant, food and beverage manager at Fifth Third Field. “We have a good core of groups that come back each year and it is a pleasure working with the different organizations and meeting so many people through this program,” Pleasant said in the release. “Fundraising efforts have helped groups purchase uniforms or equipment, as well as offsetting sports tuition fees for kids who wouldn’t be able to participate if it wasn’t for this program. It’s truly a win-win situation for all parties involved.”

To participate, groups must be nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations as defined in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal revenue Code and must operate for civic, charitable, religious and/or educational purposes.

For more information, visit the website www.mudhens.com under Team Info. To donate, call (419) 725-HENs (4367) or contact Cheri Pastula at [email protected].

To learn more about working concessions, contact Corey Pleasant at [email protected].

Street signs, markers denote Toledo’s rich baseball history

By
Toledo Free Press
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To walk around Fifth Third Field is to walk amongst the names of Toledo baseball lore.

Before leading the New York Yankees to five consecutive World series titles in the 1940s and ’50s, Casey Stengel cut his managerial teeth in Toledo, leading the 1927 Mud Hens to the city’s first league championship. Moses Fleetwood Walker broke ground by becoming the first African-American to play in the major leagues as a member of the 1884 Toledo Blue stockings. Ned Skeldon, Jerome Schmit and Henry Morse broke ground more literally — spearheading the transformation of an old Maumee racetrack into a ballpark that would bring baseball back to Toledo. Gene Cook was the visionary responsible for the Mud Hens references on “M*A*S*H” as well as an early advocate of the team’s move to Fifth Third Field.

These six names are among those that appear on street signs and markers in the vicinity of the downtown ballpark. Their stories and many more make up baseball’s long and storied past in Toledo, which the Mud Hens are planning to honor with a weekend-long celebration of the city’s baseball history Aug. 3-5.

Gene Cook (1932-2002)

Gene Cook — who was the Mud Hens general manager before current president and general manager Joe Napoli — was a master innovator whose most lasting and legendary contribution to Toledo baseball may have been convincing actor and Toledo native Jamie Farr to wear a Mud Hens cap on the TV show “M*A*S*H,” according to Cook’s baseball-reference.com biography.

“USA Today Baseball Weekly called it ‘one of the great public relations moves in the history of minor league baseball,’” according to the site.

When Cook took the reins as general manager in 1978, baseball had been back in Toledo for more than a decade, but was floundering, said Mud Hens historian John Husman. Cook’s marketing efforts helped triple average attendance numbers.

“He really turned things around,” Husman said. “One of the first things he did was contact Jamie Farr and get him involved with the Mud Hens. You hear stories of Farr on ‘M*A*S*H’ — that was Cook doing that. Without a shadow of a doubt, we would have lost baseball in those years if not for him. He saved baseball for this city.”

Cook threw the last pitch at Ned Skeldon stadium and would have thrown the first pitch at Fifth Third Field, but died two months before the new ballpark opened, Husman said.

“He was a visionary about the downtown ballpark and one of the early proponents of it. You can’t say one man made it happen, but he probably did more than anyone to make it happen,” Husman said.

Cook, a longtime city councilman, vice mayor and member of the International League board of directors, came to Toledo after serving in the Korean War to attend the University of Toledo, where he played baseball, basketball and football and later semipro football.

“He was a great guy; I knew him,” Husman said. “He was a big man, a very intimidating-looking guy, but you never met a friendlier guy or a guy with a bigger heart.”

A baseball-shaped marker featuring the number “1” on it is installed at the far left end of the upper level facade at Fifth Third Field in honor of Cook. Washington street where it borders Fifth Third Field is Gene Cook Way. The Gene Cook Youth Athletic Foundation gives area children the opportunity to participate in athletics, including the Mud Hens’ annual Gene Cook Foundation Baseball Camp for Kids.

Casey Stengel (1890-1975)

The 2012 season marks the 85th anniversary of the 1927 Mud Hens team that won Toledo’s first league title.

The team was managed by Casey Stengel, who would go on to become one of the most famous managers in Major League history, leading the New York Yankees to seven World Series titles, including five consecutive titles.

Many people know his name, but most don’t realize Stengel spent his early career in Toledo, Husman said.

“His name is the most recognizable of any Mud Hen we’ve ever had. He was pretty successful here — although he also had a 200-loss season, so he did it all in Toledo,” Husman said.

After a professional playing career as an outfielder from 1912-25, Stengel managed and occasionally played for the Mud Hens for six seasons, from 1926-31.

“He was a character. He had a lot of witticisms called Stengelese. He talked in riddles, much the same as [another famous Yankees manager] Yogi Berra,” Husman said.

“I often wondered what it would have been like to be a pitcher with Stengel and then have Yogi come out. He wouldn’t know what the heck was going on.”

Stengel came to Toledo from a minor league team in Worcester, Mass., where he not only played but served as manager and general manager, Husman said.

“One of the stories he liked to tell is how he got here,” Husman said. “To make himself available to Toledo, he let himself go as a player, fired himself as manager and then resigned.”

Stengel was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. In 1970, he became the first manager to have his number retired by two major league teams (Yankees and New York Mets); the second was Sparky Anderson (Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati reds) in 2011.

Ned Skeldon (1924-1988)

Edward “Ned” Skeldon is perhaps most widely known as the namesake for Ned Skeldon Stadium, the Maumee ballpark that was home to the Mud Hens from 1965 to 2001.

Today, North Huron street where it runs along Fifth Third Field is Ned Skeldon Way.

The Toledo politician and businessman was the driving force behind bringing baseball back to Toledo in 1965, Husman said.

“He probably did more than anyone else to get a team back in Toledo,” Husman said.

Skeldon’s daughter, Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak, recalls her father’s passion for baseball fondly.

“We tried to never miss a game. Even on the cold and rainy spring nights or the hot and balmy summer nights, we tried to be faithful fans of the Hens!” Skeldon Wozniak wrote in an email to Toledo Free Press.
“If my father were alive, he would have been a big advocate of building the stadium Downtown.”

“My family was very supportive of giving the team a new home in a state-of-the-art facility and at a perfect regional location, allowing Northwestern Ohioans an opportunity to enjoy America’s greatest pastime. I can’t thank the community enough for continuing to recognize him for his contribution to baseball in Lucas County. I smile every time I see the [street] sign.”

A graduate of Central Catholic High school and the University of Toledo and a World War II veteran, Skeldon served as a city councilman, county commissioner and vice mayor and on various boards.

After an unsuccessful run for mayor in 1965, he became the head of an organization devoted to cleaning up the polluted Maumee River. His dedication to the project led to a variety of publicity stunts attempting to demonstrate the waterway’s cleanliness, including gulping down a glass of river water in 1972 and swimming across the river in 1973, according to newspaper reports.

In an article published at the time of his death, friends recalled Skeldon as an energetic, enthusiastic visionary for Toledo.

“Ned was a real institution around Toledo and was the first person you called on with a problem,” said the late Harry Kessler, Toledo Municipal Court clerk, former mayor and longtime friend of Skeldon’s. “He told me that if something is good for a community, he didn’t want to hear 10 reasons why it should not be done, but one good reason why it should be done.”

Henry Morse (1908-1982)

Henry Morse, a graduate of Scott High school and the University of Toledo, was a respected Toledo banker and civic activist.

An executive with Toledo Trust, Morse was part of the committee of local civil and business leaders assembled by Ned Skeldon that brought baseball back to Toledo in 1965. Morse then served as the team’s first president.

According to a biography printed in a 1983 Mud Hens program, Morse was quiet and soft-spoken, often seen sitting behind the home plate screen with his trademark unlit cigar.

“There is no way to measure the number of individuals whose lives he touched as he counseled leaders in industry, business, education, religion, politics, social organizations and community agencies during 50 years of dedication to his fellow human beings,” the Medical College of Ohio trustees wrote in a resolution upon Morse’s death.

Monroe street bordering Fifth Third Field is named Henry Morse Way.

A number of other local sites also bear his name, including UT’s Henry l. Morse Physical Health Research Center.

Jerome Schmit (1910-1997)

Monsignor Jerome Schmit was a Catholic priest at The Historic Church of St. Patrick in downtown Toledo and also part of the committee assembled by Ned Skeldon to bring baseball back to Toledo.

“He was actually the guy who looked out at the old county fairgrounds (at the present location on Key street in Maumee) and said we ought to put some ball fields there,” said Skeldon, according to a 1981 newspaper article.

A graduate of st. John’s Jesuit High school, Schmit was a member of the board of directors for the Mud Hens and Lucas County Recreation Center and an advocate for youth sports.

“He used to go to all the Mud Hens games, but lately he hasn’t been able to because of his other duties,” Morse said in the article. “sometimes you can see him sitting in his car beyond the foul line outside the left-field fence saying his prayers and watching a few innings.”

Schmit, who overcame a speech impediment that nearly prevented him from entering the priesthood, was unrivaled at fundraising, sometimes employing unconventional methods to secure the funds he needed to keep his programs running.

Although he felt placing bets himself would be improper, Skeldon said Schmit would sometimes ask him to bet on a particular horse at the racetrack for him.

“He has a way of getting you to do things for him. You just want to do things for him,” Morse said in the article.

In a letter published in a 1998 Mud Hens program after Schmit’s death, church employee Martha Smith called Schmit “a gem” and “a great man.”

“He had the charm to raise money for charity drives, but he would never buy for himself, not even necessities,” Smith wrote. “He lived as if his money was destined for others. He opened his heart and his pocketbook to everyone. He never refused anybody. even if he was busy, he was always there for me or anybody else.”

North st. Clair street where it borders Fifth Third Field is named Msgr. Jerome Schmit Way.

Moses Walker (1856-1924)

Ohio-born Moses Fleetwood Walker is widely credited as the first African-American to play Major League baseball, as a barehanded catcher for the Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884.

He also played for Oberlin College and the University of Michigan.

Walker was known for his powerful throwing arm and aggressive base-running, according to a historical marker near the home plate gate of Fifth Third Field. The area is known as Moses Fleetwood Walker square.

Walker endured racial prejudice from teammates, opponents and fans.

He eventually left baseball to become a writer, inventor, civil rights advocate and entrepreneur. He was inducted into the Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.

New lounge offers unique view

By
Erin Holden
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Ray Benjamin, special projects division manager for The Lathrop Company, talks about the renovated media area/fan lounge at Fifth Third Field. Toledo Free Press photo by Sarah Ottney.

A new suite-level lounge and viewing area will offer a behind-the-scenes experience for club- and suite-level ticket holders at Fifth Third Field.

From the lounge, located behind home plate, fans will be able to look out over the field as well as observe radio and broadcast teams in action through a new, glassed-in media area.

To create the new space, the former media area was reduced by about half and glass walls were installed around the new space. An interview area on the concourse just outside the press box will allow fans to listen in on pre- or post-game interviews.

Mud Hens President and general manager Joe Napoli said he believes the design of the space is unique.

“We’ve looked around minor and Major League ballparks and we’re pretty sure no one else is doing this,” Napoli said. “This kind of interview space is what you would see on College Gameday or ESPN Zone. You don’t typically see it in stadiums like this except for at special events. Watching interviews from just a few feet away will give fans a bit of that Hollywood feel. It’s very exciting.”

Construction started in January and will be completed in time for the exhibition game with the Detroit Tigers on April 4, said Jason Griffin, director of public and media relations.

Napoli declined to discuss the cost of the project, but said it was funded through Mud Hens operating revenues.

Ray Benjamin, special projects division manager with Maumee-based The Lathrop Company, oversaw the construction process.

“People are literally going to be able to see right into the press box area, which they couldn’t do before,” Benjamin said.

Although the renovation reduced the size of the media area, press teams will still be able to do all they did before and more, Benjamin said. Technology has improved since the stadium was built and modern equipment doesn’t require as much space, he said.

Napoli said he thinks the viewing area will be popular because the press box is always an area of interest during ballpark tours.

“We do a behind-the-scenes tour and the press area is usually one where people ‘Ooh and ah,” Napoli said.

The idea for the viewing lounge came about in part because of the popularity of a club-level lounge area at Huntington Center, Napoli said.

Toledo-based architectural design firm The Collaborative Inc. created the design.

“We are honored and excited to be a part of the process,” said lead designer and project manager Matt Pastula, in a statement.

“The Mud Hens came to us with a vision for the project and what they wanted to see this area become. We appreciated the opportunity to make the vision a reality and look forward to seeing the fans enjoy the end result.”

Area Hens, Tigers fans gear up for exhibition game

By
Erin Holden
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Lowell and Shirley Hinkle have been collecting baseball memorabilia for nearly six decades.

Their massive collection started in the 1950s with programs Lowell collected from Toledo Sox games at Swayne Field.

“When we got married, I said, ‘If you’re going to keep all this stuff, we’re going to display it.’ And it just grew and grew and grew,” Shirley said.

Today the collection includes a couple thousand signed baseballs — which line the walls of their Perrysburg home nearly floor-to-ceiling — as well as signed bats, posters, photos, ornaments, magazine covers, baseball-themed record albums, bobbleheads, menus from restaurants named after famous ballplayers and much more.

They focus mainly on collecting autographs from minor leaguers, studying stats to try and gauge which players will make it to the majors.

“We evaluate the minor league players as a scout would,” Lowell said. “We say, ‘Yeah, we want him,’ and then we try to get him. It’s fun doing. It’s a hobby.”

Sometimes they guess wrong. One case in their collection is devoted to balls signed by players who never made it to the majors.

“We still keep them,” Shirley said. “You never know. Sometimes it’s amazing and a couple years later, they’ll come back.”

Shirley keeps a meticulous inventory of their collection, which fills several notebooks.

“Mainly we like to follow the players,” she said. “When we get their autograph, I keep a list of where they go. It’s a lot of work, but knowing all these names, I think that keeps our brains moving.”

The Hinkles, who are members of the Society for American Baseball Research, have been to 10 induction ceremonies at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., and have visited the spring training camps of numerous teams. They spend their summers touring ballparks and have been to about 130 so far.

“We’ll take a five-day trip and see four stadiums,” shirley said. “We’ll keep doing it as long as we’re able.”

Lowell is retired from a 45-year career with the Bostwick-Braun Company, where he served as vice president and director of transportation. Shirley is a retired office manager at Harbor Behavioral Healthcare. They have four children and eight grandchildren.

“We don’t go to Mancy’s for dinner; we’ll get two autographs instead,” Shirley said. “Everyone has a different way of looking at things. Whatever you do to have fun.”

For the Hinkles, fun is scouring antique shops, flea markets and garage sales in search of baseball treasures.

Meeting Whitey Ford

Once, they found a poster for the 1955 Brooklyn dodgers vs. New York Yankees World Series, which they later had signed by Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford and dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe.

“Whitey Ford was amazed. He said, ‘Where did you get that at?’ I said, ‘I picked it up at a flea market,’” Lowell said proudly.

Another discovery was two framed 1931 Toledo News-Bee articles about the Mud Hens, including quotes from manager Casey Stengel, who would go on to become a legendary Yankees manager.

Friends from across the country also donate to their collection.

A former Mud Hens bat boy gave them several bats after taking a tour of their “museum.”

“He said he just had them up in the attic,” Shirley said. “We’ll donate them all back to the Mud Hens someday.”

The Hinkles have held Mud Hens season tickets since the mid-1990s.

“We loved Ned Skeldon stadium,” Shirley said. “It was more personal. Our seats were near the [players’] wives, so we talked to the wives and saw their children. It was just a totally different atmosphere. It was a close-knit group.”

They were in the crowd at the Maumee ballpark in 2000 when Detroit last visited Toledo, and they have tickets to the Tigers-Mud Hens exhibition game April 4.

“We’re looking forward to the game because it’s been so long,” Shirley said. “They’ve promised every starter will at least go to bat one time.”

Detroit’s Prince Fielder is one they are especially looking forward to seeing. They got the first baseman’s autograph years ago when he played in the minors, but have never seen him play in person.

For Shirley, the most memorable part of the 2000 exhibition game, which the Tigers won 6-3 in front of a crowd of 7,150, was how available the Tigers players were.

“I remember how the players hung out afterward and signed autographs. They were so nice about it,” Shirley said. “This time, my gosh, they are selling standing-room only tickets. I don’t know. It’s going to be a zoo.”

Both Lowell and Shirley attended their first Toledo baseball games at Swayne Field. Lowell’s first was in 1948, where the highlight was watching one-armed former major leaguer Pete Gray play first base.

“That was a beautiful park,” Lowell said.

A standout pitcher for Anthony Wayne High School, Lowell was a member of the first All-Ohio baseball team along with classmate Larry Morrison, now commissioner of the Northern Lakes League.

Sometimes after baseball practice in Monclova, he and a friend would hitchhike into Maumee, where they would catch the bus into downtown Toledo and walk to Swayne Field. Then Lowell’s father would pick them up on his way home from work.

“That was quite a hike, but worth it,” Lowell said. “One night, we had a couple neat little girls we were running around for and missed our ride home,” he added, grinning as his wife protested the story. “We walked from Swayne Field to Maumee where the Trail comes in, and here comes my dad and my mother. Oh golly, was he mad. I’ll never forget that.”

After high school, Lowell played for a year in the independent Ban Johnson league. A few years later, he got the chance to work out with the Tigers at Briggs stadium.

“I worked out in the outfield and then pitched along the side,” Lowell said. “If you’ve ever been in that stadium and looked at that green background and looked at the ball coming off the bat, it was just unbelievable. I’ve never been in anything like that. That was the most awesome thing I have ever done.”

“He’s still mad no one was there to take his picture,” Shirley added, laughing. “So we only have his word for it he was there.”

Lowell, an Indians fan, was at Municipal stadium in Cleveland in 1959 when the White Sox beat the Indians to clinch the American league pennant, its first since 1919 and what would be its last until 2005.

Cleveland had the bases loaded in the ninth inning with one out when the White Sox made a double play to win the game.

“Bedlam broke out,” Lowell said. “We went down by the locker room and it was just awesome, just unbelievable.”

One autograph missing from the Hinkles’ collection is Babe Ruth’s. Lowell had the chance to get the famous slugger’s signature as an 11-year-old batboy for a Monclova legion team, which heard Ruth speak at Detroit’s Briggs stadium shortly before he died of cancer in 1948.

“I could see him so plain,” lowell said. “He had his hat and his collar up. He was so hoarse talking that day, but he did it. some guy came down and asked a couple of kids if they wanted to get his autograph. I could have went with them, but I was shy then.” Lowell said.

Perhaps his favorite ball in their collection is one signed by Willie Mays. The legendary outfielder helped the New York Giants defeat Cleveland in the 1954 World Series, in which standout Indians pitcher Bob Feller did not play.

“I asked him, ‘Willie, if Bob Feller would have pitched against you in the ’54 World series, would he have beat you?’” Lowell said. “He said, ‘He lost those fastballs, curve ball wasn’t breaking; we would have hit him all over the place.’ Then he said, ‘If you see Bob uptown don’t tell him I said that.’ That was my favorite. That was awesome.”

One of shirley’s most memorable autographs came from major leaguer Nomar Garciaparra. “We were up in Detroit and I was standing there all by myself. He was there doing calisthenics and he walked over and signed a ball,” Shirley said. “Immediately I had 50 people on top of me, rushing over. But I was standing all alone and he came over and I thought that was so neat.”

Gazing around the room at their collection, Lowell said he ought to write a book.

“There are so many stories,” Lowell said. “Every ball has a story.”

“We have definitely run out of room,” Shirley added. However, they don’t plan to stop anytime soon.

“It’s an amazing hobby. We just love it,” Lowell said. “I don’t know what we would do if we didn’t do this.”

The Ringleins

Jane Ringlein has been a diehard Tigers fan from a young age.

“I remember going to bed with a little transistor radio and every night I listened to the Tigers games and scored them. Every night I went to sleep with the Tigers,” said Jane, who saw her first Tigers game in fourth grade.

She remains as devoted today as she was as a girl growing up in Toledo.

“I’d be at the Tigers every day if it didn’t take me an hour to get there and back,” she said. “I don’t drink; I’m not there for the food. I go for the game. When the Tigers lost 100 games in a season, I would still go. You always go with who you grew up with.”

When she heard Detroit would be coming to town to play an exhibition game with the Mud Hens, she snapped up the maximum number of tickets allowed.

“I knew the tickets were going on sale at 11 a.m. [Jan. 7],” Jane said. “I got on my iPad and got four tickets. I talked to someone else who got on right after me and didn’t get any. I think they sold out within 15 minutes, so I was fortunate I got them.”

After season ticket holders were given the opportunity to purchase tickets, a limited number was released to the general public on Jan. 7 and all 1,000 did indeed sell out within 15 minutes, said Erik Ibsen, Mud Hens assistant general manager of tickets and operations.

Standing-room only tickets went on sale March 3 and there are a limited number still available, he said.

‘I have to be at this game’

Thanks to supportive co-workers at New Jersey-based Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, where she works as a medical science liaison in oncology, Jane was able to arrange her work schedule to be free for the game.

“I said, ‘I have to be at this game,’ and they said, ‘We’ll work around you,’” Jane said.

“If it gets rained out and doesn’t happen, I’m going to be really disappointed.”

Ringlein’s husband Paul, their daughter Chelsea and Chelsea’s fiancé will join her at the April 4 game, which will be broadcast by FOX Sports Detroit.

Jane said she is most excited about seeing the Tigers’ newly acquired first baseman Prince Fielder, son of legendary Tigers player Cecil Fielder.

“Our seats are on the first-base side, so I’ll get to see a lot of Prince,” Jane said. “I was a huge Cecil Fielder fan.”

Her husband is also curious to see Fielder play.

“He’s like a modern Babe Ruth in terms of his swing and his power and just his personality,” Paul said.

Paul, a project manager with Toledo’s Division of Code Enforcement, said he is more of a Mud Hens fan than a Tigers fan. He was at the inaugural opening day Mud Hens game at Fifth Third Field in 2002.

“I remember the weather was cold and almost ready to rain, but it was fun to be there,” he said. “Everyone was there. They didn’t want to turn anyone away.”

High fives with fans

Both Paul and Jane were at the 2005 and 2006 games when the Mud Hens won their International League titles.

They recalled Fifth Third Field erupting with excitement, with players lapping the field, giving high fives and interacting with fans.

“The players who did not understand the culture of Toledo were like, ‘My God, these people love us,’” he said, adding that most Detroit fans also back the Mud Hens.

“When Detroit people see you with anything that says Mud Hens, they always give you a nod and a cheer,” Paul said.

The Ringleins enjoy visiting major league stadiums, especially if the Tigers are playing. They’ve had great experiences, but traveling has also made them appreciative of Toledo.

“I don’t think Toledoans realize how good they have it,” Paul said of Fifth Third Field. “If you could hit the easy button and [let people visit another stadium], I think they would be surprised at how good we have it in terms of the quality of the game, the players, the food, the parking, the price and really how good the stadium is. They’d come back and say, ‘My god, we’ve got a great deal here,’ and I’d say, ‘Well, no kidding!’”

Jane said she most enjoys going to Mud Hens games when Detroit players are rehabbing with the team.

“Like when they sent Brandon Inge down last year — that was bad for him, but cool because we got to see him play all the time,” Jane said.

The couple attended a 2006 World series game in Detroit when the Tigers played the St. Louis Cardinals. “We were up in the nosebleed section, but that was really cool,” Paul said. “I love going to live games.”

Upset to be missing it

The Ringleins’ younger daughter, Maureen, follows the Tigers like her mother, but will be out of town for the exhibition game.

“She is so upset to be missing it,” Jane said.

The two once took a trip to Detroit’s spring training camp in Lakeland, Fla.

“It was awesome because you can get right up there with the players,” Jane said. “Mo has a picture of herself with Justin Verlander. She was happy.”

Chelsea’s wedding this spring will include at least one Tigers touch — the ring bearer’s pillow will feature Detroit’s logo.

“He’s a Tigers fan, too. That was the first connection between my future son-in-law and my wife. When I heard that, I said, ‘Well, I don’t have to worry about that relationship,’” Paul said, laughing.

No matter what happens at the exhibition game, Jane is just happy baseball season is starting again.

“It’s so boring in the winter without baseball,” she said.

 

Social media drives Mud Hens’ marketing game

By
Caitlin McGlade
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0

Thanks to modern technology, you can get your fill of Mud Hens anytime, anywhere — as long as you have a smart phone.

More than 48,500 people “like” the Mud Hens on Facebook while nearly 9,000 people follow the team on Twitter. This allows the Mud Hens to not only connect with fans on a regular basis, but it also allows for fans to score some hot deals.

The team recently opened up a block of opening day tickets to Facebook fans only, a marketing tool that sold a few hundred tickets quickly, said Nathan Steinmetz, manager of online marketing for the Toledo Mud Hens and Toledo Walleye.

The Mud Hens have more than twice as many Facebook fans as any other minor league baseball team, according to sportsfangraph.com, which tracks and ranks the social media usage of sports fans. The Mud Hens rank No. 8 in number of Twitter followers.

Other tools steinmetz wants to use in the future at Mud Hens games are already active at Walleye hockey games.

With a goal of fans interacting with each other as well as with the team, Facebook and Twitter posts from fans have been featured in-game on the big screens. Fans can also win prizes by answering trivia questions via the two social networks and are encouraged to take photos of themselves in their Walleye garb so the team can post the shots to its Facebook page.

“We’re looking to take that online conversation and bring it into the arena,” Steinmetz said. The Mud Hens had an “app” for the iPhone last year, but will not this season because the business conducting the app backed out. Steinmetz said he wants to reinstate a new app for future seasons, but it is unlikely to happen in 2012.

An exciting new piece of social media that might hit the market will include the ability to log in with a Facebook account to see where other people are sitting in the park and whether they have checked in yet, Steinmetz said. That is still in the dream stages. But until then, the Mud Hens’ mobile site works just as well.

At the site, fans can check the latest headlines and stats. Steinmetz said the mobile site is run by the minor leagues and he did not have a measure of how many hits it garners. However, he expects that popularity is similar to the Walleyes’ mobile site, which represents 15 to 20 percent of Internet traffic to the site.

But what if you’re old-fashioned and you just want to sit back and soak in the nuances of a ball game — the clap of the ball as it hits the glove, the smell of peanuts and Cracker Jack or the slow, drawn-out nature of the sport?

For those fans, Steinmetz points out that the Mud Hens are one of the only minor league teams with two high-definition score boards.

“While there are fans that appreciate the romance of baseball and all that it is, there is a big percentage of people that get into the bells of whistles of going to a game in the modern age,” he said. “Fans don’t have to get on their mobile phones and look up stats if they want to have a conversation and just enjoy the game.”

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