Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 16, 1994 TAG: 9409160040
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Colorado Rockies were introduced Thursday in a hastily-called press conference on the construction site of the Class A Carolina League's newest stadium as the new Salem affiliate.
The Rockies supplant the Pittsburgh Pirates in Salem, where they have been since 1987.
On hand for the announcement in sweltering noonday September sun were Rockies director of player development Dick Balderson, a beaming Salem owner Kelvin Bowles - resplendent in a Rockies-purple sport coat - league president John Hopkins, and team general manager Sam Lazzaro.
"I guess you could say the fans have spoken and we have listened to the fans," Bowles said.
Bowles said he solicited the views of a range of Salem supporters, asking them informally if they wanted to see Pittsburgh back as the tenants in the new $5 million ballpark scheduled for opening in April 1995.
"It was always no," Bowles said. "Never a yes."
Presumably, the name and colors of the now Salem Buccaneers will change. An announcement in that regard is expected soon, Bowles said.
Bowles never made it a secret that he believed 13-straight losing half Carolina League seasons with Pittsburgh employees was hurting his business.
Bowles spoke with Pirates farm director Chet Montgomery and general manager Cam Bonifay at length by phone on Wednesday.
They were informed of his decision by fax Thursday morning.
"The Pittsburgh Pirates have been great to work with," Bowles said.
Montgomery said repeatedly that the Pirates wanted to return to Salem. Now, the Pirates are left scrambling, hoping to land in one of the two other openings in the league at Lynchburg and Winston-Salem.
"We would have liked to have played in the new ballpark after being in the old one for so long," Montgomery said. "But we realize this is ownership's prerogative."
The Boston Red Sox want out of Lynchburg and the Cincinnati Reds have been giving indications they wouldn't mind bolting Winston-Salem, where they've been the past two years.
Balderson had looked at both Lynchburg and Winston-Salem in addition to Salem. It was clear from the start his first choice was Salem because of the new ballpark.
"We wouldn't have minded at all being in Lynchburg," he said. "Winston-Salem was a distant third."
Balderson, a Portsmouth native who played baseball for the University of Richmond and later in the Carolina League as a member of a Kansas City Royals farm team in High Point, N.C., helped his case by flying to the Roanoke Valley twice in eight days.
"The Colorado Rockies showed me something when they flew here twice in eight days - that was a strong selling point," Bowles said. "The other two clubs [Pittsburgh and Cincinnati] just called. That showed me some interest on the Rockies' part."
One of the points of negotiation between Balderson and Bowles was whether to have a two-year player development contract or a four-year deal. The Rockies' custom is to go with two years. Bowles wanted - and got - four years.
Now the Rockies have three of their six minor league teams in the Eastern time zone. Along with Salem, Colorado supplies players to teams in Asheville, N.C. (Class A South Atlantic League) and New Haven, Conn., (AA Eastern League).
The Colorado rookie-league team is in Chandler, Ariz., of the Arizona League and the short-season Class A team is at Bend, Ore., of the Northwest League. The AAA club is at Colorado Springs, just 70 miles south of Denver.
The bulk of the players for the new team in Salem will have played at either Central Valley (65-71 after injuries derailed a 25-10 start) or Asheville (60-73) this past summer.
"I'd like to think that we're going to both win and develop players here," Balderson said.
Balderson also said there was a chance that1994 top draft choice Doug Million could land here in 1995.
It's been a bad week for the Pirates, who also lost their AAA affiliation with Buffalo. Montgomery and Bonifay have been looking at Calgary and Las Vegas as possible replacements.
by CNB