The Appalachian League faces an uncertain future. Franchises in Pulaski, Greeneville, Johnson City and Danville are on solid footing, but the same can't be said for places like Princeton and Elizabethton.
The Minnesota Twins have had a team in Elizabethton since 1974, and it's been one of the most accomplished in the league. The E-Twins have won ten league championships, the most recent in 2012, and are a perennial contender. But the on-field accomplishments haven't translated to the turnstiles -- Elizabethton has finished no better than 5th in attendance in the past five seasons.
Elizabethton's home park -- Joe O'Brien Field -- opened when the Twins arrived 43 years ago, and it's been showing its age for more than a decade. That, the middling attendance numbers, and the city's deliberate approach to funding upgrades to the ballpark have put the long-running Twins affiliation in jeopardy.
During the Princeton Rays' recent series at Elizabethton, I sat down with E-Twins General Manager Mike Mains for a candid, illuminating conversation on the future of professional baseball in a town of 14,000 people.
That interview will be aired in three parts, in the "Dugout Show" segment of the Princeton Rays' Pre-Game Show during the P-Rays series at Bluefield. The pre-game show begins at 6:45 pm EDT on Saturday, July 8th, 5:45 pm on Sunday, July 9th, and 6:45 pm on Monday, July 10th.
You can hear the pre-game show -- and the game -- online, on the Princeton Rays Network.
The Minnesota Twins have had a team in Elizabethton since 1974, and it's been one of the most accomplished in the league. The E-Twins have won ten league championships, the most recent in 2012, and are a perennial contender. But the on-field accomplishments haven't translated to the turnstiles -- Elizabethton has finished no better than 5th in attendance in the past five seasons.
Elizabethton's home park -- Joe O'Brien Field -- opened when the Twins arrived 43 years ago, and it's been showing its age for more than a decade. That, the middling attendance numbers, and the city's deliberate approach to funding upgrades to the ballpark have put the long-running Twins affiliation in jeopardy.
During the Princeton Rays' recent series at Elizabethton, I sat down with E-Twins General Manager Mike Mains for a candid, illuminating conversation on the future of professional baseball in a town of 14,000 people.
That interview will be aired in three parts, in the "Dugout Show" segment of the Princeton Rays' Pre-Game Show during the P-Rays series at Bluefield. The pre-game show begins at 6:45 pm EDT on Saturday, July 8th, 5:45 pm on Sunday, July 9th, and 6:45 pm on Monday, July 10th.
You can hear the pre-game show -- and the game -- online, on the Princeton Rays Network.
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