• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Baseball ’19
  • Day Zero 3
  • Earl
  • My list
  • Photo Blogging Challenge

A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

The Chiefs make you want to get on board

April 21, 2017

It’s time to get on board.

As a fan of minor league baseball, I love having several teams to choose from within a couple of hours. From the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, to the Syracuse Chiefs, to the Tri-City ValleyCats, to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, there are plenty of options.

But one team sticks out as one that has turned a pretty good corner over the past several years – the Chiefs.

One of the major reasons for the changes is general manager Jason Smorol and his staff, which is among the smallest in Triple-A baseball, according to Smorol.

My first interaction with Smorol came during his first year. I had gone to the team store in search of the Baseball Passport stamp. The people couldn’t find it, but said they’d track it down and took down where I was sitting. A couple of innings into the game, the stamp was found.

Who delivered it?

Smorol.

Smorol with Syracuse’s NBT Bank Stadium in the background.

Since then, when I go to games in Syracuse, I still see Smorol doing his thing. He gets out and talks with people. He remembers fans. He makes connections. For being a step away from the majors (Syracuse is the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals), he still seems to carry the type of feel you’d get from a general manager at a much lower level of play. He still pops by our seats, too, remembering who we are and where we sit.

“Talking to people is super important to me,” Smorol said on a sunny early spring day, as his team played a double-header for its second and third games of the year. “We need to connect with fans.”

Not everybody thinks this way.

On a road trip last year, a couple of us visited a park of a team in a very low-level Single-A league. The stamp, again, couldn’t be found. But the GM wouldn’t be bothered, so the store manager tried to help us. It wasn’t found.

In my years in newspapers and covering minor league baseball for six years, not all GMs in the Single-A league I covered were this way (though, to be fair, I only dealt with a handful of them).

Baseball is a business, though. The year before Smorol took over the Chiefs, the team was $1.2M in the hole. Last year the team turned a profit of $67,000. That might not seem like a ton, but obviously Smorol and his staff are doing something right to have that kind of turnaround in fewer than four full seasons.

“We’re still here,” he said. “Each year has gotten better. It’s selling fence signs, getting more groups, and having more promotions.”

Attendance has also been on an increase in his three seasons, and the numbers seem more legit than in the past. Of the games I’ve been to, the announced attendance seems to be – give or take – about right, when you factor in all variables.

In 2016, the Chiefs drew an announced 274,427, which is about 28,000 more than in 2013.

It seems people are getting on board, which is the slogan for the team.

“We’re the choo-choo Chiefs,” Smorol said. “We needed a call to action. Get On Board. This train will not stop. It gives you something to ask the fans.”

Syracuse’s franchise has a long history with Syracuse. Smorol, who is a Syracause-area native and who has served as the neighboring Auburn Doubledays general manager several years ago, knows and appreciates the history and what the team means to the area.

“We want to be here,” he said of the community owned team. “This is good for the community.”

Despite the more than two-hour trip to get to Syracuse, I have over the past few years attended a bunch of games. There’s a good energy. There are really good promotions and concessions. And there’s truly not a bad seat at NBT Bank Stadium. This season, I opted to buy a 10-ticket flex pack, so I’ll be getting to a bunch of games this year.

Smorol said he is happy with the progress the team has made and knows there is still a lot of work to be done. In a dream world, Smorol says this is would be his final stop for his career.

“I knew it would take 3-to-5 years, but I thought it could be quicker,” he said. “I’m proud of our staff. What we are able to do with our budget and staff – I couldn’t be prouder. I don’t know if anybody thought we’d still be here. There are a lot of people pulling for the Chiefs.”

I’ve gotten On Board with the Chiefs – the question is, are you?

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Baseball, My world, Summer of Baseball Tagged With: baseball, chiefs, get on board, jason smorol, milb, minor league baseball, on board, stories from the game, syracuse, syracuse chiefs

2 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Danielle Kempe says

    April 25, 2017

    Very cool! Caring about your fans is a key to success!

    I need to look into the baseball passport program. I’m spoiled in New England with a short drive to the Paw Sox (RI) and Sea Dogs (Maine).
    Danielle Kempe recently posted..Marathon Weekend in BostonMy Profile

    Reply
    • P.J. says

      May 2, 2017

      The Passport program is really awesome. I love it and would encourage anybody to get involved. It’s a lot of fun. I’ve been to Pawtucket and Portland. I still need to hit Boston and Lowell.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Primary Sidebar

Welcome

Welcome to A 'lil HooHaa!

This is a personal website covering many topics! We host a monthly photo blogging challenge, and then every January hold a fun writing challenge.

Thank you for stopping by and hope this becomes a stop for you!

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Follow

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 873 other subscribers

Instagram

hoohaa29

Writer who loves images just as much as words! In search of perfectly poured pints of Guinness and great hot dogs. Find me on twitter @softball29.

I guess the April Fool's joke is on us, Mother Nat I guess the April Fool's joke is on us, Mother Nature? Oh .. ha ha ha.
.
I also guess this is why hitting back roads to work is good -- you can stop and take a photo and not worry about anybody coming (usually)! Main roads around here are fine for now, but it's definitely quite picturesque on the lawns/trees etc.
.
.
.
.
#snow #winterspring #springwinter #april #blackandwhite #photography #photooftheday #goawaywinter #love #instagood #picoftheday #bestoftheday #nature #backroad #road
This was pretty relaxing and fun. #lego #legos #ea This was pretty relaxing and fun. #lego #legos #easter #legoeasterbunny #legoeaster #relax #hobby #fun
It shouldn’t be so hard to find a trash can... # It shouldn’t be so hard to find a trash can... #litter #mask #masks #blackandwhite #streetphotography
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Twitter

P.J.Follow

P.J.
softball29P.J.@softball29·
11 Apr

I mean, if you hold a #Wrestlemania in an open stadium... eventually rain delays had to come, right? 🤣

Reply on Twitter 1381040433145466883Retweet on Twitter 1381040433145466883Like on Twitter 13810404331454668832Twitter 1381040433145466883
Retweet on TwitterP.J. Retweeted
RealKentMurphyKent@RealKentMurphy·
7 Apr

28 years ago The Sandlot was released and this iconic scene was brought into our lives.

Reply on Twitter 1379783846355427329Retweet on Twitter 13797838463554273292982Like on Twitter 137978384635542732912021Twitter 1379783846355427329
softball29P.J.@softball29·
2 Apr

New blog post: Photo Blogging Challenge (March 2021): Eight #photobloggingchallenge #pbc #challenge #blogging https://hoohaa.com/?p=15201

Reply on Twitter 1378065662346682371Retweet on Twitter 1378065662346682371Like on Twitter 1378065662346682371Twitter 1378065662346682371
Load More...

Archives

Categories

Calendar

April 2021
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
252627282930  
« Mar    

Search The Site

Site Information

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

A 'lil HooHaa © 2021 · Created By Coded Creative

Copyright © 2021 · Ava Mae on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in