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Are you ready for some baseball?
We bet tens of thousands in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys are rip-roaring ready for this week's start of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers' 26th sensational season.
Yes, our region's boys of summer are back in great form at 6 p.m. today at a community celebration at Eastwood Mall Center Court, for the start of the season Tuesday against the Williamsport Crosscutters and Friday night at Eastwood Field for the home opener against the Frederick Keys. We strongly urge robust showings of community support tonight and all season long as those scrappy Scrappers take the field for another exciting and fun-filled summer.
The Scrappers enter their fourth season as a team of Major League Baseball's Draft League. From 1999 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team that played as members of the New York-Penn League. Regardless of its status, throughout that quarter century, the team has shined consistently as a beacon of pride for the Valley.
Indeed the Scrappers, presented this year by Foxconn, has grown up to become the pre-eminent summer sports and entertainment institution in the Youngstown-Warren region. The team has forged strong and enduring bonds with Major League Baseball, the Valley community and a passionate and devoted fan base.
They have more than proved their endurance. After all, a string of lower-tier professional sports teams has come and gone in our community over the past 25 years. Most of them lacked sufficient fan support and organization to keep them on the ice, on the field or on the court.
Over those same years, however, the Niles-based franchise has enjoyed an incredibly successful and sustained run at Eastwood Field, owned by the Cafaro Co., which has approved a lease with the Scrappers through 2033.
As excitement builds for the team's home opener Friday under new manager Quinton McCracken, we're counting on three months of baseball slam-packed with fun for fans, growth for the squad and myriad economic and quality-of-life perks for our sports-loving region
From a strictly business perspective, the team has proved itself an asset for the MLB in its primary mission of player development. The squad has fielded more than 100 savvy players over the years who have ended up on Major League rosters.
From a community-building perspective, the Scrappers drive home a tangible spirit of regionalism and pride in our five-county area, a refreshing change from the parochial and negative attitudes that too often hinder progress on economic, community development and other playing fields.
And why not? The dogs put talented "baseball with bite" on display for all to see. And while fans support the team, the Scrappers support their home base. The team wields a significant economic impact on the Valley through its staff and scores of game-night workers. The Scrappers also offer valuable internships each summer for college students training in marketing, operations and other fields. The team supports hundreds of community groups through mascot Scrappy appearances, donations and fundraising programs.
In addition, the economic impact of about 3,000 fans on average who attend each Scrappers game can be felt in nearby restaurants, bars, nightclubs and retail establishments.
The Scrappers also provide families and individuals with excitement at affordable prices, close to home and in one of the most attractive ballparks in the draft league. This 26th season is loaded with special events at virtually every game including fireworks and Margaritaville Night featuring the Sons of Beaches Band on opening night.
With so much going for it, we're confident diehard baseball aficionados as well as those just looking for a fun night out with the family will make it a point to support the team by attending home games. Home-game attendance has taken a hit from well above 100,000-plus in the 2010s to about 82,000 last season. Clearly, there's no reason why that trajectory can't be reversed this summer.
After all, the staff of the Scrappers' pay attention to every detail of every game to maximize fun, success and profit for the squad and crowd-pleasing summer pleasures for fans. With so much going for the Scrappers, this 26th season promises to be one summer to remember at Eastwood Field.
editorial@vindy.com