83.0° Complete Forecast

Sports blog: Stamford Sports Scene

By JERROD FERRARI

Times Staff Writer


REGION -- A prominent baseball columnist has sparked the idea of a Major League Baseball team coming to Fairfield County.

Peter Gammons, a columnist for MLB.com and analyst for MLB Network, wrote in a column "there are smart people in the Major League Baseball offices wondering if there's hope of even discussing a potential move of the (Tampa Ray) Rays to New Jersey or Southern Connecticut ..."

The New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman, a Darien resident, was hesitant to entertain the idea Gammons laid out saying, "I don't comment on things that aren't going to happen."

"We (the Yankees) are not just east, west; we are north, south and global," he said when reached by phone Thursday. "We have a good fan base in Connecticut, and we are proud of that."

Former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy said he was often approached by professional sports teams during his tenure as mayor.

"We had discussions with professional teams from times to time," said Malloy. " There was the (New Jersey) Nets at one point."

Malloy said if it wasn't for opposition; the hockey arena in Bridgeport would have been built in Stamford.

"The Yankees wanted to move a minor league team here years and years ago from upstate New York," said Malloy. "I would say we were routinely approached. The big impediment to that is that there is geographical rights (in Major League Baseball)."

Gammons, who did not return messages seeking comment, went on to say in his column published Jan. 22 that any move would have to overcome "certain protests from the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox and Phillies."

Major League Baseball uses an anticompetitive territory allocation system and it is believed that the New York Mets and Yankees territories spread through Southwestern Connecticut.

Malloy, a Fairfield County mayor for 14 years ending in 2009, said he could see the area supporting a professional hockey team or perhaps a basketball team, but it may be tough to support a National Football League or MLB team.

Gammons points to the Rays' current venue as the issue that could force the team to move.

"The Trop (Tropicana Field, where the Rays play) is stuck in a place that no one East of Tampa... will drive to... a market such that after its team won 97 games and the American League pennant, attendance and revenues stayed flat," reads the column.

And Gammons real question is "What we don't know is whether Florida is a Major League Baseball state."

Many say that same question would exist here in Connecticut.

"I don't see how you would get the monies together," said Malloy.

There are currently two professional baseball teams operating in Connecticut: the Bridgeport Bluefish and the New Britain Rock Cats. The Oneonta Tigers from New York are moving to Norwich for the coming season.

The Bluefish, the only professional team in Fairfield County, are part of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The team was founded in 1998 and has had its ups and downs financially. In 2008, Frank Boulton, who is also the owner of the Long Island Ducks and the founder of the Atlantic League, purchased the team becoming its third owner in 10 years.

Connecticut does have a rich history when it comes to baseball. In 1876, James Henry O'Rourke of Bridgeport had the first hit in National League history. His last hit came at age 54, making him the oldest player to have a hit.

Three Connecticut-born players are in the baseball Hall of Fame, all having played in the 19th century. More modern players include Norwalk's Mo Vaughn, Bridgeport's Charles Nagy and New Haven native Brad Ausmus.

Through the 19th and early 20th centuries, baseball teams dotted the state from Stamford to New Haven and up to Hartford.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in The Stamford Times community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines. Basically, be civil, smart, on-topic and free from profanity. Don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read! And remember: We may miss some, so we need your help to police these comments. Please identify the comment, the story and why you think it's objectionable.
Read the commenting guidelines

Add a new comment