SEPTEMBER 20, 2003
There’s a new rivalry in baseball: Glens Falls vs. Saratoga Springs
By DAN HIGGINS
dhiggins@poststar.com

Published on 9/20/2003 - Local News - THE POST-STAR

GLENS FALLS -- Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs will be competing for bragging rights on the diamond next summer as the owners of the region's two new baseball teams formally announced the two-city rivalry Friday.

Both cities announced they will field teams in the New York Collegiate Baseball League next season. The Glens Falls team, which had already announced its plans to play in 2004, will play at East Field. The new Saratoga Springs team -- originally scheduled to start play in 2005 -- will instead start next season, playing its games at the East Side Recreation Field.

Courting what they hope will be a lively two-city rivalry next year, the owners of the two teams met informally at East Field with supporters, local boosters and league Commissioner David Chamberlain for a getting-to-know-you session.

"Hopefully we'll get a great rivalry going," said Chamberlain, who said that two teams in such close proximity will be a benefit to both communities.

Charles Adams, owner of the semi-pro football team, the Glens Falls Greenjackets, is the new owner of Glens Falls' baseball team. Keith Rogers of Troy, a Verizon engineer, and friend Dan Scaring of Guilderland were announced as the owners of the new Saratoga team -- the Saratoga Fillies.

It had already been widely known that Saratoga Springs would be fielding a team in the league. But in earlier conversations, league officials hadn't expected the Saratoga team to start until 2005.

Rogers and Scaring they wanted to start their team in the league as soon as possible. And since they were ready to go now, they would begin next season instead of waiting another year.

Among those welcoming Chamberlain and talking with the team owners Friday was Glens Falls Mayor Robert Regan.

In April, following the exit of the last professional team the Northern League's Adirondack Lumberjacks, Regan told The Post-Star that baseball was no longer a priority for the city, which has seen four teams come and go since 1980.

But that was before he knew anything about the New York Collegiate League, he said.

He was echoing earlier remarks from Adams when he said the league, which showcases the talents of unpaid college athletes in the months of June and July, is of a scale that can be sustained in this city.

Adams said that despite Glens Falls gaining, and then losing, four baseball teams, the Collegiate League is a better risk because of its smaller size.

"The enterprise has to be scaled to the market," Adams said. "This team has to be sustainable and has to be able to sustain itself.

"I only have a certain number of years left," he said, adding that he intended that the new team would outlive his career.

The cost of owning a Collegiate League team is much lower than owning a team like the Adirondack Lumberjacks, which moved to Bangor, Maine, after last year's season.

The most notable difference in overhead costs is that the players are unpaid.

During the two-month season, while the athletes are on summer break from college, they live in the homes of host families. In many of the league's teams, players actually pay the league a registration fee in order to play.

Chamberlain said that what will bring crowds to the game is high-quality baseball by skilled players. The league uses the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, except that only wooden bats are allowed, just as in the major leagues.

"We have people telling us, I don't care who's playing. I just come out with my family because I want to see a ball game," Chamberlain said.

Scaring, who is by day an engineer employed by Verizon, said he and his longtime friend Rogers wanted to bring a team to Saratoga "because I knew we'd never own a major league team, and the cost of minor league teams is getting more and more expensive."

The Capital Region residents said they chose Saratoga for the team because it was a market they felt they could succeed in.

Saratoga Springs Mayor Kenneth Klotz wasn't available for comment Friday afternoon.

Last season, the league had 10 teams -- from communities like Amsterdam, Watertown, Geneva, and Penn Yann. Several players have graduated into the major leagues, including Oakland A's pitcher Tim Hudson.

The New York league is one of 14 collegiate leagues in the country, playing a 42-game schedule in June and July. The addition of teams in Glens Falls and Saratoga will bring the league to a dozen teams, and Chamberlain said he has hopes that it could be as high as 14 by next spring.

Adams estimated that tickets for the home games at East Field would cost around $3.50 for adults and $1 for kids.

Everyone at the meeting stressed several times that they didn't expect the league to be a money-making venture, and were in fact dubious about whether a team could break even.

Besides the low overhead costs, the teams will also have not-for-profit status, easing their tax burdens and allowing them greater use of unpaid volunteers.

"You know I was never a baseball guy," said Adams, who did play when he served in the Army. "And I'm not going to make money on this. In fact I'll probably lose money that I put into it. But this is, you know, baseball, America's game. And it makes me sad to look out at that field and see it empty."