The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons left Moosic following the 2006 season.
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees are spending this season on the road, playing the “home” portion of their International League season at various sites while PNC Field is reconstructed.
Professional baseball for northeastern Pennsylvanians in 2012 exists primarily on the television.
To this day, the players who performed at Lackawanna County Stadium, before it was known as PNC Field, are a bigger part of Philadelphia games than those who have earned a promotion from Moosic are in New York.
New ownership of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees promises a greater connection with area fans when the team returns to PNC Field in 2013.
There is much SWB Yankees LLC can do from a promotional aspect to improve how it is perceived in the region.
A big boost, however, would come from Major League developments that do not seem likely.
Research by the Yankees found that local fans were split almost equally into three groups – New York Yankees fans, Philadelphia Phillies fans and fans of other Major League teams.
The third group is not inclined to be driven by the interest in watching players from its favorite team develop. It, however, can still be swayed. Ultimately, baseball fans find themselves following the exploits of players who once fine-tuned their profession in Lackawanna County.
That opportunity is alive and well in Philadelphia.
The Phillies are now a thriving, big-budget team. They got there, however, by first building through their minor-league system. The players that passed through Moosic were largely responsible for creating the success in Philadelphia. That success led to consistently larger crowds, financial prosperity and the ability to add big-name players to supplement the roster that had been built.
The opposite approach has existed for decades in New York. With Derek Jeter as a lasting, notable exception, money has been spent to bring in top talent rather than patiently developing players in the organization.
A half-dozen years after the Phillies ended their relationship with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre International League franchise, players on the team’s roster as of the start of this month had spent a combined 467 games as members of the Red Barons. Players on the disabled list spent another 361 games here.
The New York Yankees roster as of Friday included players who spent 237 games here in the past five years, even though the Triple-A team is the last stop before climbing to New York and the temporary stop of players who are sent back down for more work. The disabled list included players with another 175 games here.
Catcher Chris Stewart, who is hitting .225 in 13 games for New York, played the most games here among current Yankees. He hit .279 in 86 games in 2008 and .280 in 78 games in 2009.
Stewart and even currently disabled outfielder Brett Gardner came nowhere near creating the legacy that was built by several Red Barons on their way to helping the Phillies become world champions.
Before Carlos Ruiz was hitting .371 to rank second in the National League, he was a catcher hitting for high average for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He batted .300 in 100 games in 2005 and .307 in 100 more games in 2006.
Chase Utley spent 271 games here before coming a .290 career hitter in 1109 games. Utley is currently on the disabled list, along with Ryan Howard, who overpowered the International League before producing six straight seasons of 30 or more homers in the National League.
Howard had 25 homers, 83 RBI and .336 average in 90 games for the Red Barons in 2004 and 2005.
Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, also prominent players in making the Phillies yearly contenders, played more than 100 games each here. Victorino hit .310 as International League Player of the Year in 2005.
Cole Hamels shared the Major League lead in wins through the end of May with an 8-1 start and 2.43 ERA. He was only here briefly, but made a lasting impression with the Red Barons. Hamels struck out 36 and walked just one in 23 innings to go 2-0 with an 0.39 ERA in 2006.
During their time here, the Yankees have delivered big names in the form of injury rehabilitation appearances by Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez.
The team’s return can create short-term excitement by combining an attractive stadium with attempts at an improved public image.
There are also built-in advantages to being affiliated with one of the most famous and successful franchises in all of professional sports.
There are disadvantages, however, to being part of an organization that has historically been less reliant on the players that play in its minor-league system.
Long-term interest would be best built by watching players develop their games here on the way to helping keep the Yankees among baseball’s elite. Expecting the Yankees to overhaul their approach to baseball would be unwise, but any increase in how their farm system is used would translate into bringing increased importance to the team that occupies the remodeled stadium.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com or followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.
COTTON OWENS PASSES AWAY
Legendary driver and car owner Cotton Owens passed away at age 88, only weeks after being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Owens was diagnosed with lung cancer seven years ago at 81. He chose not to treat the cancer aggressively, saying he had led a full life.
He was born in Union, SC but lived most of his life in nearby Spartanburg, S.C., where he based his racing operation.
In a motorsports career that lasted most of a half-century, Owens won nine Sprint Cup (then Grand National) races as a driver and later built winning cars for other top racers. He and Hall of Fame driver David Pearson teamed to win the Cup championship in 1966.
Driver David Pearson and Cotton Owens in 1966
He first raced modifieds on the dirt tracks of the Carolinas and quickly built a strong reputation, winning dozens of races in the 1940s and 1950s and becoming known as the “king of the modifieds”. Even after moving up to the Grand National series and its higher-profile races, he continued to run in modified events, in part because they typically paid well and he typically was among the favorites wherever he ran.
Pearson often has said Owens was a hero of his and one of his inspirations for starting his own driving career.
Owens drove in the Cup series from 1950 to 1964, leaving high-level driving at the age of 40. He probably would have driven for several more seasons, but vision problems that had plagued him since crashes in the 1950s led him to climb out of the driver’s seat.
Owens had a team in the Cup series through the 1973 season. He scored 38 wins as an owner, enjoying the most success with Pearson, a fellow Spartanburg resident.
In 1970, Buddy Baker drove an Owens-prepared winged Dodge Daytona to a speed of 200.447 miles per hour in a tire test at Talladega Superspeedway, marking the first official NASCAR lap over 200. It was a key achievement Owens later said was as meaningful to him as his championship.
After leaving the circuit on a full-time basis, Owens occasionally fielded cars for close friend and country music singer Marty Robbins, who raced sporadically as a hobby.
Owens closed out his racing career in the 1990s where it started – on dirt. His three grandsons had an interest in driving, and he built cars for them to race on dirt at several South Carolina tracks. Even in his 70s, he was able to drive those dirt cars at speed while trying to perfect the setups.
Owens was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers in 1998 as the organization celebrated its 50th anniversary.
LOGANO GETS SECOND CAREER CUP VICTORY
POCONO, Penn.—Joey Logano, who set a new Pocono Speedway track record during qualifying had to duel it out with Mark Martin in the closing laps to win Sunday’s Pocono 400 Cup race.
“I knew my car was better than Mark’s and I just couldn’t give this one away,” said Logano. “I’m not sure how Mark got ahead of me on that last restart, but I knew this was one race I had to win.”
The win was only the second Cup victory for the Joe Gibbs driver, and it might have saved his job. There has been speculation that when Logano’s contract expires at the end of this season, it won’t be renewed.
During a restart on the race’s last caution on lap 151 of the 200-lap race, Martin got by Logano, but lost it four laps later after Logano put a love tap on Martin’s rear bumper, causing his car to squiggle, and allowing Logano to retake the lead.
“I raced as hard as I could,” said Martin. “The team gave me a great car, and we all wanted to win, but I just couldn’t hold him off. But it felt so good to be up front that late in the race.”
Tony Stewart survived several minor bumping incidents to finish third.
“This race track made for a long, hard day,” said Stewart. “It was so hard to pass. We had a good car, but this freshly paved track made a big difference in the racing. It was so hard to pass.”
The remaining top-10 finishers were: Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt, Paul Menard, and Jamie McMurray.
Dale Earnhardt had a fast car and ran up front with the leaders for most of the race, but a series of late race cautions and pit stops cost him several positions.
Jeff Gordon finished 19th after being involved in an accident early into the race, and a pit road speeding penalty.
Kyle Busch lost the engine in his No. 18 and wound up 30th.
Top-12 Chase leaders after 14 of 36: 1. Kenseth-523, 2. Earnhardt-513, 3. Biffle-507, 4. Hamlin-504, 5. Johnson-493, 6. Harvick-470, 7. Truex-465, 8. Stewart-448, 9. Bowyer-443, 10. Keselowski-426, 11. Edwards-423, 12. Kyle Busch-420.
SAUTER IS TEXAS TRUCK WINNER
Johnny Sauter won Friday night’s truck race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Matt Crafton, Joey Coulter, Brendan Gaughan, Nelson Piquet, Jason Leffler, Ty Dillon, Cale Gale, Justin Lofton, and Parker Kligerman were the other top-10 finishers.
Top-10 leaders after 7 of 22: 1. Lofton-272, 2. Peters-267, 3. T. Dillon-260, 4. Buescher-249, 5. Kligerman-247, 6. Piquet-234, 7. Crofton-223, 8. Coulter-219, 9. Hornaday-218, 10. Bodine-212.
WILL KURT BUSCH STAY OR GO
By now everyone knows that Kurt Busch, driver of James Finch’s No. 51 was suspended for the Pocono race because of a temper tantrum towards a news reporter following the Dover race.
Finch told ESPN.com he would meet with Busch over the next couple of days to discuss whether they would keep the handshake agreement they made before the season.
“If he's going to kill himself, I'm not going to be in the airplane with him,” Finch said. “If that's what he's planning on doing, I am going to get out.
“There are a lot of people that don't like Kurt. He's never done anything to me personally. He just needs to look in the mirror and see what the problem is.”
However, Tony Stewart didn’t think Busch’s statements were so out of line. During his weekly radio show on Sirius, Stewart said he agreed with Busch and thought his answer was fine.
At the time Busch was hired, Finch said of the deal, “He (Busch) can't quit and I can't fire him. But that may be changing. (Kurt) needs to either get his mind right or he's going to be working somewhere else. Quit wrecking cars. Be nice to people. That's not hard to do,” Finch said on Sirius radio.
David Reutimann was in the No. 51 car this past Sunday at Pocono.
Weekend Racing: The Nationwide and Cup teams are at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway. The trucks do not race again until June 28.
Sat., June 16, Nationwide Alliance Truck Parts 250, race 13 of 33; Starting time: 3:45 pm ET; TV: ABC.
Sun., June 17, Sprint Cup Michigan 400, race 15 of 36; starting time: 1 pm ET; TV: TNT.
Racing Trivia Question: Where will the first race of the 10-race Chase for the Championship be held this year?
Last Week's Question: Who won NASCAR’s inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis? Answer. Jeff Gordon won the 1994 inaugural race.
You may contact the Racing Reporter at <mailto:hodges@race500.com>hodges@race500.com.
Some runners have speed.
Others have endurance.
Elk Lake junior Kirsten Hollister has an impressive combination of both.
Hollister used her speed to make major contributions to Elk Lake’s Lackawanna Track Conference Division 3 regular-season championship, then turned to more of an endurance test to help land the Lady Warriors a state third-place relay medal in Class AA at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships at Shippensburg University.
For her efforts in May, Hollister has been selected as the latest Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month.
“My coaches always tell me I have a gift being able to run either a long distance or sprints,” said Hollister, who is most comfortable at 200 and 400 meters. “In the whole preseason and the entire beginning of the season, I had trained for sprinting, up to 400 meters.”
Hollister went undefeated in the 100, 200 and 400 during league competition. Late in the regular season, she added some training for the 800 to join the 3200-meter relay team that produced the best finish by Susquehanna County athletes at this year’s state meet.
Elk Lake qualified for the state meet by finishing second in the District 2 meet despite a dropped baton. The Lady Warriors arrived in Shippensburg as the 10th seed but qualified second for the finals with a season-best finish of 9:36.21.
Hollister added to her state medal collection by joining Maria Trowbridge, Katie VanEtten and Jenny VanEtten for a finish of 9:37.65 and a state bronze medal.
During Elk Lake’s 2010 state Class AA cross country championships, Hollister was the third runner to finish for the Lady Warriors. She was third on the team again last fall when Elk Lake finished second.
As a freshman, Hollister was the fourth runner on an Elk Lake cross country team that finished 11th in the state.
“It’s an honor to work with those girls,” Hollister said of Elk Lake’s strong group of distance runners. “It’s a great experience but there was definitely a lot of pressure there because I had not been doing much mileage like they had been and hadn’t been doing any distance workouts.
“It was a little bit stressful for me, but my coaches helped me get through it.”
Hollister was part of a District 2 championship in the 1600 relay as a sophomore.
Hollister had also been on the basketball team at Elk Lake for two years before switching to indoor track this winter.
Kirsten is the daughter of Brian and Kim Hollister. She lives in Dimock Township.
