Adios Mobile, The Legend of HenWrigs, Great Day In History, What to Look For

ADIOS MOBILE

or

I CALLED THAT ONE

One should not be above claiming an occasional victory or cheering a successful prediction. If you can't get excited about your own work, you can't expect anyone else to do it for you. But this one kinda hurts, accurate as it may have been.


In this blog on April 12, 2014
"If I were a BayBears fan I would be worried, the only other team in the league that doesn't have cameras for online broadcast is Huntsville!"

By July 18th of 2014 in a post titled Red Flags for BayBears Fans
"its a matter of when, not if. ...the real question to be asked is "where?"

Those posts prompted emails from a few of said BayBears fans asking what I knew about a possible move. My response was that I only know what I see, a Baybears club with money troubles, attendance issues, trouble attracting MLB affiliations, two new nearby ballparks and no expectations of improvement.

Now we find that same Mobile club in its final regular season visit to Montgomery, a sad state of affairs for the city with the oldest baseball history in Alabama. Mobile beat Montgomery to baseball by a matter of weeks, forming the Mobile Dramatics in April of 1867.

CAN THEY REBUILD IT?
Perhaps a new ballpark would attract a Southern League team, maybe poaching Jackson's team and restoring Mobile to double-A. Mobile fans have voiced such optimistic hopes.

However a new Mobile team will likely have to obtain permission to enter the area market from both Biloxi and Pensacola. Both the Wahoos and Shuckers had to obtain such permission from the Baybears, who were probably not in much position to win if faced with a league vote. It would be unlikely a new team could obtain two such permissions at once, a situation which could negatively influence financial backers decisions to put money into a new Mobile team.

And then there's that whole "build and pay for a new ballpark" thing.

Barring a natural disaster or MILB reorganization, Mobile's time in the Southern League is likely done for a long time.

Nutella is a Dugout Essential for Mobile

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

The Baybears are playing with the attitude of a .600 team and the stats of a .400 team. Which makes them a .500 team. Perhaps they are still looking to make a first half run by vaulting the three clubs ahead of them.

this bear swings and misses alot

Either way, their paltry .215 team batting average is lowest in the league by a wide margin. Also last in home runs and runs scored, among others. If the BayBears are going to compete with the Biscuits they will need to look for more hits than what they have been getting.

Pitching-wise, the BayBears keep the ball in the park and have respectable digits on the stat sheet. However, at some point the Mobile hurlers will get tired of looking down their bench and not seeing anyone who can provide run support.


Look for two-way players. Mobile has two, former top prospect Kaleb Cowart and Bo Way. Coward got into a game in relief and then played the field the next day, providing plenty of versatility. Way hasn't pitched yet in this series but is listed as a two-way guy in the media handouts.

Look for the Biscuits to get on top of the BayBears in the first inning, the BayBears have a habit of allowing first inning runs. Conversely, the Biscuits can also look to put up late runs as Mobile has been badly outscored in the last three innings.
   

FORMER BISCUIT IN FEATURE FILM

Former Biscuits first baseman Henry Wrigley announced on Instagram that he was to make his feature film debut in a movie that will premiere this summer. Wrigs said in his IG post that he spent time last week shooting with actor/director Michael Fredianelli, whose current film "Through The Ashes" is due for release soon.

When I told him I wanted to hear more, Henry said he would have more details about his first filming experience for us later, promising me as early a scoop on the film as he can give!


"I loved all my fans in the Gump." said Wrigley and the feeling was returned in kind. The handsome first baseman was a very popular player with Montgomery fans.

Which leads me to tell the story here for the first time.

Many were awed by Henry's slick defense and ability to bat baseballs over fences as well as his good looks. Montgomery fans found him so irresistible that the team held a Win A Date with Henry Wrigley contest. At the time they thought they were winning a date with a future big leaguer, instead they won a date with a future movie star!



THE LEGEND OF WIN A DATE WITH HENRY WRIGLEY
As I pieced it together, perhaps the statute of limitations has expired on this one. The facts may be hazy, but thats how legends go.

Fans really loved to see Henry Wrigley. They loved to cheer when hit hit a homer, which he did often, dug out a low throw at first or simply flashed his winning smile.

It became apparent to me in the second inning of an August evening game. An assortment of young female fans behind me broke into a group giggle that built up, gaining steam for a few moments before erupting into "okay, one... two.. three! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HENRY WRIGLEY!!!!!"


This must have become obvious to the front office as well, for it wasn't long afterwards we saw the promo...

And so it was.

Actually, the event was pretty popular for a minor league Ladies Night, bringing a good crowd on the appointed evening. Ten or fifteen hopeful women were on hand for the Win A Date promotion, from which Henry would select his chosen one. After answering questions each mid-inning, Henry would be giving a rose to the girl of his choice in the seventh inning.

The winner would be whisked away on a date night to have dinner with the handsome first baseman, enjoying a night on the town courtesy of the team and its sponsors.

While it was not general knowledge that Henry was in fact, seeing someone at the time, the front office made arrangements to have his girlfriend quietly slip in among the contestants so that Henry could make the right choice and avoid a potential relationship issue. The fix was on.

Well, maybe not.
Biscuits being Biscuits, something happened and I was told the girlfriend wasn't able to attend the game. Perhaps someone was able to warn him, but when the seventh inning rolled around and Henry came out of the dugout to choose a winner, Wrigs probably realized he should have paid more attention to the answers the girls had been giving.

Henry come out to face a group of hopeful contestants who had no idea there was a fix much less that it had gone wrong. He did pick a winner and the girl was really excited about it. I was told they went on the date that fulfilled the contest. But I always wondered how it went for Henry with the girlfriend...

This Day in Montgomery Baseball History

 

Hey, it really is this day in history and its got a BIG one! 

MAY 3rd 1867
Montgomery Baseball Club organized. A group of over two dozen men organize by electing officers and introduce the first base ball team to Montgomery as reported in the Montgomery Daily Advertiser.

MAY 3 1954
Prisoners use a baseball game to escape during a contest between Atmore and Kilby prison ball teams.

With a tight game going, the Atmore team sent nineteen men to the bullpen to warm up but none of them got into the game. One by one they slipped through a hole in the fence while a tower guard napped above them. Guards could have prevented the escape but were too interested in the close game to notice.

*this is my pitch for a baseball movie, how great could this be?!*

MAY 4 1958 
Max Burleson assigned to Rebels, will play third base for Montgomery. Former Florence State tailback recently signed with Detroit Tigers.

Article mentions the trouble Montgomery has with attendance, attracting only 300 patrons per game. Article states that other teams in league have the same trouble and cites 1955 Census figures of White/Negro population and states Ala-Fla league maintains segregation and eliminates "Negro draw".