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A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

syracuse

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!

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

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Summer of Baseball: Syracuse a solid spot to watch a game

June 16, 2014

I’ve always been a fan of the Syracuse ballpark. It’s quaint, easy to get to and, usually, easy to get out of. But, despite a city of about 145,000 people, it doesn’t seem like the Chiefs draw on a nightly basis.

NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse.

The day I was there was a cool spring afternoon with a 2:05 start and had an announced attendance of 2,559. With the seating capacity at NBT Bank Stadium at about 11,000, I am quite sure the stadium wasn’t a quarter filled, so it was easy to put the feet up, watch the game and enjoy. Parking had a fee of $5, but I can’t imagine that would necessarily scare people away.

The layout of Syracuse is quite nice. I’m not sure there’s a bad seat in the house. However, one thing I learned from the year before – it’s better to sit on the third-base side because of the sun. If you are on the first-base side and it’s hot and sunny, you’re in trouble. Therefore, it’s the third-base side for me.

I know there aren’t many people who do this anymore, but I am a baseball nerd in that I still keep a scorebook. Last year, I backed a Kickstarter campaign for a Halfliner (bia the Eephus League) and it goes with me to any professional game. So, when doing this, you need the lineups.

Everything needed for a game!

Most professional stadiums (and many smaller college summer leagues) have a lineup posted. You’ll often see people with scorebooks scribbling the lineup so they can keep track of what’s going on. I noticed it last year – and again this year – that Syracuse doesn’t have one. That makes it a little difficult for those of us who keep score to do it.

That means getting the names off as announced or when they come to bat. It takes away from the experience.

At one point, the new general manager was walking around and chatting with people. He sat with us for a few minutes and I noted this one important piece missing from the baseball experience. He assured me it was in the works and hoped, by the next time we visited for a game, one would be in place. I do, too, as even for those who don’t keep score, it’s nice to be able to look at a lineup.

Warming up in the pen.

Turns out, though, this is a whole new regime in Syracuse. The Chiefs lost upward of a million dollars last year, and this new GM is part of a new group hoping to turn things around. From our brief talk, he seems to have some good ideas and a vision, so hopefully he can make the franchise viable again and put some people in the stands.

Overall, the stadium is a good place to watch a game. There are plenty of options in regard to concessions. The hot dogs were pretty solid, albeit a bit pricey for a Triple-A team that doesn’t seem to overflow the stands. I only had that and a small order of fries, so I can’t comment on the quality of everything else. But if it’s anything like the dog and fries, it should be good. There are a lot of choices, and that is always a good thing.

Though I didn’t dabble, the beer selection was the normal items, though I did see a few local brews as well.

In the end, Syracuse is a good stadium to visit. I’ll likely do it at least one more time this summer, hopefully with a lineup card available.

Park Notes:  

NBT  Bank Stadium
Syracuse, New York
Home of the Syracuse Chiefs (AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals)
Visited on: Sunday, May 18.
Opponent: Columbus Clippers (AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians)

Ratings (out of 10)

  • Stadium: 7.5/10
  • Concessions: 7/10
  • Parking: 9/10
  • Ambiance: 8/10
  • Friendliness: 8/10

I am embarking on a summer of baseball with the plan to hit a minimum of 10 stadiums this summer. Hopefully, there will be more than that. I will report on each park that I hit on the blog.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: Baseball, My world, Sports, Summer of Baseball Tagged With: aaa baseball, ballbark, baseball, eephus league halfliner, minor league baseball, nbt bank ballpark, syracuse, syracuse ballpark, syracuse baseball, syracuse chiefs

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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.

Couldn’t resist stopping on the way to work too Couldn’t resist stopping on the way to work too quickly snap some photos of this scene. Hamden Covered Bridge. #bridge #coveredbridge #hamden #snow #winter #instagood #photooftheday #happy #picoftheday #fun #igers #bestoftheday #life #photo #iphonesia #igdaily #iphoneonly #love #beautiful #photography
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