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Let’s get something straight right off the bat.
The Philadelphia Phillies are more than likely pulling out of Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium.
The Piedmont Boll Weevils are not.
The Phillie brass won’t officially confirm it and and Todd Parnell, the general manager of the Weevils, uses the word, “if” to begin every sentence. But publications like “Pinstripes” the official tabloid of Phillies baseball, have written it.
Philadelphia is expected to put a team in a new stadium in Lakewood, N.J. The team would still be in the South Atlantic League, placed in the Northern Division (no kidding).
The move makes sense from Philadelphia’s standpoint. Lakewood would join Double-A Reading and Triple-A Scranton in putting three Phillie minor league teams within driving distance of Veterans Stadium.
“If you read enough into it,” Parnell said, “you can see what’s probably going to work out.”
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So what happens to the Boll Weevils?
“The thing we need to stress is that the Piedmont Boll Weevils aren’t going anywhere,” Parnell said. “They’ll play baseball in Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium in 2001. We’re here to stay.”
With a new affiliation.
Parnell says that’s nothing unusual. The Augusta Greenjackets, for instance, were the Pirates. But the Pirates moved to Hickory and the Red Sox moved into Augusta.
“Two years ago, we put feelers out to see what major league baseball thought of us,” Parnell said. “There were 7, 8 teams that really expressed a lot of interest.”
And why not? North Carolina is a minor league hotbed with 11 teams. It’s close to Charlotte. And the stadium is as beautiful and comfortable as any around.
In other words, Piedmont is considered a free agent.
“If something would indeed happen,” Parnell said, “we’d be able to choose whomever we wanted. This facility speaks for itself.”
Murmurs have the Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox being the top contenders right now.
And whoever comes in will be have quite a travel schedule to maintain.
There’s a 500-mile rule in the SAL that says no team can travel more than that and play on the same day. From Columbus (Ga.)to Lakewood is a whopping 952 miles.
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What about the paying customers, the ones who were Phillie fans to begin with and the ones who turned into Phillie fans?
“If we were the Atlanta Braves, that’s one thing,” Parnell said. “This is an Atlanta Braves area. But when the fans come here, they still see ‘Boll Weevils’ across the chest, not ‘Phillies’ or any other team.”
It would affect Parnell more than the fans. He has been around Philadelphia’s minor leagues for 13 years.
“It would be different for me, personally,” the 33-year old said. “But you make new relationships and friendships. Life’s all about change.”
The Lakewood general manager’s job seemed to have Parnell’s name written all over it, considering how highly thought of he is within the Phillies organization.
“But one thing that might hurt me career-wise is my love for North Carolina,” said the Locust native.“People go over me.”
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But that’s good for the fans here. Parnell is the most familiar — and the most well-liked — face of the Boll Weevil family.
A family that will still be in the South Atlantic League, if president John Henry Moss has anything to do with it.
“It has never been a question,” said Parnell, who has received some positive reactions from Moss. “This is a respected league, a good weather league and has a good player development record.”
The league also has a team called the Boll Weevils who have not only the best record in the SALbut, according to press releases, the best record in all of the minor leagues.
A 2000 championship will be a great way for the Phillies to end their stay in a relationship that started back in 1963.
Change is inevitable. Fans will begin rooting for another major league team in 2001 but they’ll never lose their Boll Weevils.
“This stadium will not be empty,” Parnell said.
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Ronnie Gallagher is the sports editor of the Post. |
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