MichaelLortz.com/JordiScrubbings.com

(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)

Hundreds of years ago, Ponce de Leon explored and discovered what is now called Florida. Although legend says he was in search of the legendary Fountain of Youth, history (and Wikipedia) says he was looking for “the Isles of Biminy”. According to the almighty wiki, de Leon first landed on the East Coast of Florida, somewhere between present-day Saint Augustine and Melbourne Beach. After a few days, he and his crew went south along the coast of Florida, along the Florida Keys, and then back up the west coast, landing again somewhere between present-day Port Charlotte and Tampa Bay, although some historians even claim he got as far as Pensacola.

Almost exactly five hundred years later, another intrepid explorer, Ben Hill of MiLB.com, made a Florida journey, coincidentally visiting many of the same towns and areas set foot by De Leon and his mates. Whereas De Leon however came up unsuccessful in his quest for gold and riches, Hill found exactly what he was looking for: the Diamonds of Florida.

Of course, the diamonds Hill found aren’t the financial kind, although they are priceless to the people who live by them. They are the grass and dirt of Florida’s many Minor League Baseball fields and they are chock full of quirks, traditions, communities, and memories. And Hill gave a great sample of them to his MiLB.com readership.

To begin his Sunshine State trek, Hill first went to Minor League Baseball Headquarters in St. Petersburg, where he visited their player card catalog, toured their library, and took pictures of their amazing displays. I visited MiLB Headquarters a few years ago when I interviewed the Minor League Baseball President, and I really think Ben nailed the mystique of the building and awe of the work the people behind the scenes do. They have a huge job in keeping the Minors together and they do a fantastic job.

After MiLB HQ, then it was down the road to Clearwater, where Ben experienced the sheer majesty of the Threshers’ 70′s Night featuring Disco Inferno. Longtime readers of Bus Leagues Baseball might remember when I took in 70′s Night in full ‘fro.

From Clearwater, Ben made his way south along the West Coast of Florida to Fort Myers where he took in the sights of Hammond Stadium and Miracle baseball. There he talked to Cub Scouts, ate a hot dog, threw out a first pitch, and raced on an inflatable horse. That’s a good day Ice Cube would be proud of.

Then it was off to Port Charlotte to see the Charlotte Stone Crabs, tour the facility, dress up like a sumo wrestler, and eat another hot dog.

Leaving Port Charlotte, Ben made his way inland to the town of Lakeland, where he caught a Flying Tigers game, was surrounded by local school kids, and toured another facility.

After Lakeland, Ben again went opposite of Ponce De Leon’s journey and headed east a few hours to Daytona and historic Jackie Robinson Stadium, where he saw team tattoos, met Front Row Joe, sang a tune, and ate some nachos.

Last, but definitely not least, Ben visited the newest Florida team, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. With an amazing Gulf of Mexico view, the Blue Wahoos are finding great early season attendance success and Ben highlighted their service-first attitude, in the stands as well as in their drinks.

As the sole Florida State League writer for this here corner of the baseball blogosphere, I really enjoyed Ben’s tour. I think he did a great job capturing the essence of baseball in Florida. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet Ben in his journey, but seeing his pictures sure brightened my days here in Afghanistan and gave me a little piece of home.

Maybe next time, Ben.

A few weeks ago, Governor Rick Scott of Florida threatened to sign a bill that would prohibit state and local agencies from doing business with “rogue” states such as Cuban or Syria or Iran.

The hubbub about the bill got me thinking:

The Seminole Nation and other Native American areas in America have a sort of limited autonomy within the US. I wonder if they could trade with Cuba, Syria, and the like? Are they considered businesses or nations? Could they negotiate their own peace treaties?

And if so, what if the Seminole Nation or any other Native American nation got into a trade dispute with a foreign country? What if there was a deal negotiated between the Seminoles and a “rogue” nation that went bad? What if the nation, say Cuban, flew planes through US airspace and bombed Seminole land? Outside of prohibiting fly overs, would the US intervene? Would they defend their internal nation? What if it was over something that was illegal on US soil?

Imagine this:

A Cuban diplomat visits Florida and before heading home, he swings by the Seminole Hard Rock Casino to do some gambling. While there, he places a bet. He loses, but refuses to pay. When confronted, he makes a huge scene, spouting his diplomatic credentials and generally bad-mouthing the Seminole tribe. The workers try to have the man arrested, but he uses diplomatic immunity to elude arrest and makes his way to the Tampa airport back to Cuba.

What would the United States government do? Would they try to pursue legal action? Would they ignore the Seminole claims? Would it be a minor crime, a “hate crime”, or an international incident?

What if such an incident sparked violence in South Florida between Seminole descendants and Cuban in the Miami area?

The whole thing is kinda crazy and I am definitely thinking too much about it. Sounds like a Law and Order episode or something like that.

Remember, you read it here first.

All the talk across the web about FSU possibly leaving their athletic conference for another rekindled a few thoughts and opinions I’ve held for a while. 

Let me caveat what I am about to write here by saying I am a huge Florida State University fan and a very proud alumnus. I couldn’t imagine myself having gone to any other school for the time I was at FSU. My time at FSU was some of the best years, so far, of my life. I met amazing people, learned a lot, and had a great time.

That said, I have become greatly dismayed as an active alumnus. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one who is concerned about the well-being of the entire university and the FSU “nation”. I feel too much of the typical alumni mind is focused only on football, with the occasional basketball or baseball thought thrown in for good measure. We as a group don’t concern ourselves with any part of the school that we can’t see on ESPN.

Did you know FSU has lost over 105 million in school funding in recent years? The state legislature slashed all university budgets at least 25% this year. While I saw a small ripple of outrage by people I know over these university cuts, I saw a flood of concern over the fact that the athletic budget is going to be 2.5 million dollars short next year.

On an individual level, did you know 53% of all graduating college students can’t find jobs when they graduate? Those numbers have to reflect Florida State in some proximity. And how many FSU alumni are unemployed or struggling with the economy in the shape it is in? I guarantee they aren’t all only Art History or Women’s Lit majors.

Don’t get me wrong, as an alumnus, I love seeing Seminole sports succeed. It builds morale and school pride, and in some cases, even helps bring in more students. But at what cost are we sacrificing our love for the greater university and the forsaking the cause of the university – to advance society – for the immediate gratification of sports?

Although sports is much easier to market and there is no fighting the ESPN hype machine, I think more FSU-based organizations should take their focus off the gridiron and put them on the classrooms. Take for example, an organization that I was/am a part of, the Tampa Bay Seminole Club. Since I moved to Tampa in 2006, I’ve been in and out of the Seminole Club more times than the average freshman changes majors. I think I have joined on at least three different occasions only to not renew and rejoin a year or two later.

Why am I so ambivalent to the TBSC? Because it’s focus is predominantly on sports. I firmly believe the club has done little to advance the culture and pride of Florida State University alumni in the Tampa Bay area outside of “watch parties” for sporting events and the occasional drinking social.

And for that I pay a membership fee? I can drink and cavort with my friends, many of whom are also Florida State Alumni and few, if any, are Tampa Bay Seminole Club members.

For an organization based in the same state as the university it hails from, I think the Tampa Bay Seminole Club should be doing much more. They should be a focal point for alumni to stay informed about matters of the university, as well as meet, great, and network with other Tampa Bay area Noles, not just socialize, drink, and do the warchant.

Take one look at the organization’s web presence and you can see what they are all about. For every post on their website that is not about sports, there are three to four that advertise  sports-related news. That’s a poor ratio in my opinion and a bad impression to give the people of Tampa.  And the TBSC’s Facebook and Twitter pages are even worse. They should be posting links to articles on budget problems, or new books released by professors, or advances in science made by the university as well as telling people about sports. But instead it’s all news on Jimbo Fisher, recruiting, and other athletic news. 

Instead of a sports focus, here are a few things I think the TBSC should do or be more involved in:

Introduce Successful Noles in Tampa Bay

I would really like to see the TBSC focus less on visits by head coaches and write more about Noles in the Tampa Bay area who are doing great things. And don’t just focus on the Noles with the biggest paychecks or the most political clout. They could be lawyers or businessmen or even teachers. As a matter of fact, especially teachers. I would like to see the TBSC focus on Seminoles who own their own businesses, be they multi-million dollar firms or small restaurants. I don’t know about other alumni, but I would visit a pizza place owned by a fellow alumnus just to support him or her. I want to know what all my fellow Noles are doing. That’s school pride.

Help Noles Find Work

I was unemployed for most of 2011. During that time I searched high and low for a job. I reached out to all my friends, family, and networks. Most provided help. The one network that provided the least assistance however was my Tampa-based fellow Seminoles. I would like to see that change. I would like to see the Tampa Bay Seminole Club sponsor a job fair hosted by Seminole-owned businesses. Or maybe they could have a bulletin board or maybe a page on LinkedIn where Seminole alumni in the area could let other alumni know of job openings. Not only is that an opportunity, but it is an opportunity with a commonality, which is an instant icebreaker.

Lead the Lobby

I would like to see the TBSC more involved in letting alumni know about issues affecting the school. Instead of leading me to donate to the Seminole Boosters and aiding the athletic cause, I would like to see the TBSC give me an email address of my local legislator so I can tell him or her to not cut my school’s budget. The TBSC should be leading the charge and rallying the troops to fight battles like that, not just sit on the sidelines and be a cheerleader for sporting accomplishments. There is no reason why the president of the TBSC couldn’t write a letter to the editor of either the Tampa Bay Times or the Tampa Tribune to defend FSU and other universities from the lethal axe of legislators. Perhaps his letter could even showcase the extra weight of the other TBSC board members with a 29-person signature block.

Drop Scholarships and Support Local Businesses

The TBSC has routinely given one lucky future Seminole money to begin their academic pursuits at Florida State University. While this is normally a great thing, I have one small problem with this practice.

Scholarships don’t give back to the community, small business loans do.

How many TBSC scholarship recipients come back to Tampa when they graduate? How many of them hire other Seminoles? Channeling the money raised by the Tampa Bay Seminole Club back into the local economy is a much smarter way to raise the profile of the organization and help out Seminoles in the Tampa Bay area. Scholarships are great, and with tuition going up, they are needed, but money from Tampa shouldn’t be sent to Tallahassee.

Support Our Troops

I am saying this as a veteran and currently in a position as a contractor in Afghanistan, but I think the Tampa Bay Seminole Club should either cover or campaign for the exemption of Alumni Association fees of deployed Seminoles hailing from or based out of Tampa. Although I don’t expect that to include me as a contractor, picking up the Alumni Association fee of a Seminole who has little time to worry about such things while they are thousands of miles away from their university would be a noble gesture.

Switch the Boosters and Academics on their Support page

There’s not much to this other than it bothers me that the club puts the booster program above the link for academic donations.

FSU used to be one of the most socially active universities in the nation, and perhaps the most socially active in the Southeast. Today, however, that activist mentality is all but gone, especially among alumni. We have been sedated by the entertainment value of athletics. There is no doubt as victories have gone up, protests and even general activism has gone down.

Organizations such as the Tampa Bay Seminole Club can reverse that trend. They can send a message to the community of what Tampa-based FSU alumni stand for and believe in. I believe in a strong Florida State, one that leads in both academics and athletics. Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Seminole Club and far too many fellow Seminoles believe support only involves doing the Tomahawk Chop on Saturdays.

One of the things that makes Minor League Baseball so appealing and unique are the team names. Names that usually represent something and give Minor League Baseball its local feel and attachment. For the Minor League Baseball team logo designers of Brandiose, images play just as important of a role. They are the visual representation of not just the team, but the city, town, and community as well.

We emailed the design team of Brandiose, Jason Klein and Casey White, and asked them a bunch of questions including the importance of logos, how they come up with the great ideas they have had, and whether or not they’ve gotten some free swag.

Bus Leagues Baseball: So how did you guys get into doing Minor League Logos?

Jason: The two of us grew up in San Diego, and have been best friends since kindergarten. As kids, we loved telling stories and bringing creative ideas to life.

Once in college, we started designing high school logos out of our dorm rooms. We then sent letters to 150 Minor League Baseball teams, and only one got back to us: the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. They told us, “If we like it, we’ll buy it.” That summer we set out with the same goal we have today: Doing whatever it takes to make teams famous.

BLB: Why Minor League logos?

Jason: Minor League Baseball is the story of America. Hardworking people who are looking to relax, and bring their kids out for family, fun, entertainment. It fits with our DNA and we love working in this world.

BLB: What are your artistic roots?

Jason: Casey studied Painting at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and I studied Advertising and Graphic design at the University of Alabama.

BLB: What are some of the things you consider when designing a logo for a team?

Jason: Each club likes to believe they’re all the same : Family Fun Entertainment, but we found this isn’t the case. Each club has a unique story, a unique community, and their own special type of fans. We focus on this Brand Story. By communicating the story, the brand will better resonate with fans – which translates to higher loyalty and retail sales.

BLB: Do you feel you have more creative freedom with Minor League teams as compared to Major League teams or other businesses?

Jason: Major League Baseball brands have to reach a larger audience than Minor League Baseball clubs. As a result, MLB logos depict less of a narrative than Minor League logos. There’s a little bit of storytelling in there, but not as story heavy as Minor League looks. The Minor Leagues are certainly influencing the Major League clubs in their fan experience. You see the Major League clubs adopting a lot of the showmanship that the Minor Leagues have displayed for years: the crazy promotions, the intimate ballparks, the activities for the kids, etc.

BLB: How important is it to have the freedom to design as compared to having someone tell you exactly what they want?

Jason: Because our process is a true collaboration, ideas come from us, from owners, operators and interns. We love brining all these ideas together because we believe no idea is a bad idea!

BLB: How does process work from start to finish? Do teams seek you out or do you pitch proposals to them? Do you get a second chance if your first idea isn’t what they are looking for?

Jason: We begin by visiting the team in their home town, meeting with fans, eating a local restaurants – becoming honorary citizens. We want a firsthand account of local traditions, icons, stories, and the community’s personality. We tour the city, absorb the city’s color palate, meet with mayors, visit local history museums – anything we can to immerse ourselves in the community’s heart and soul. Then we collaborate with the club on fresh ways to tell the community’s story through the ballpark experience. People love being told stories – and they love their hometowns. So clubs seek us out help achieve these goals and we always present several ideas!

BLB: Which logo is your personal favorite and why?

Jason: They’re all great, because they all tell unique stories. Whether it’s the Lakeland Flying Tigers paying homage to the WWII aces that trained in Lakeland, or the steel that forged America in the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs identity. They’re all captivating brands. We find ourselves mutually agreeing with clubs on the concepts that best tell the story, so there’s not a whole lot of discussion about rejected logos we liked. It’s really focused on which tells the best story and why.

BLB: Do you get any free swag from the teams after you design their new look?

Jason: Every so often a real treat of a swag piece does show up at the studio. We just received a Bottled Water design that we dreamed up for the Mobile BayBears – it’s the taste of champions!

BLB: What team or entity would you most like to work for? What logo would you most like to do?

Jason: I’m not sure I’ve ever really thought of this. We wake up every day and simply love the challenges that arrive at the studio, so I’d have to say we kinda love the mystery of not knowing what project is coming next!

BLB: Is there a different sense of satisfaction when you see fans wearing logos you designed as compared to the players and teams wearing the logos?

Jason: We love seeing fans wearing the look, because it means success for our friends at the clubs, Our goal is to make their brands famous, so the more we see the logos in the community, the better job we’re doing.

BLB: Have any teams ever recognized you at a game as a token of appreciation?

Jason: Ha ha, not yet! However, we were honored that the Mobile BayBears have a permanent page that shares our collaboration together here.

BLB: I noticed you guys enjoy having contests on your site. How important is it to reach out to fans and other artists? Do they ever inspire new ideas?

Jason: Collaboration of any kind is really important to us. We were always daydreaming and doodling and dreamed of designing our own logos. So to have the opportunity to bring that dream to life for other artists is a great feeling!

BLB: What would a Bus Leagues Baseball logo look like?

Jason: Great question! I think you’d have to start with a poll of you readers and have them tell you what they think of your brand and personality to start!

Here is yet another poem I wrote in 2002 for a college poetry class. The first line is definitely influenced by Jim Morrison’s “Curses, Invocations” off the An American Prayer album.

The Burden of Beauty

Whistlers, Woo-Hooers, and sex machines
all pursue the blond princess.
Their manhood leads their testosterone charge.
“Leave me alone,” she cries.
Her requests for privacy fall on deaf ears.
Her beauty- her burden.
It never stops- their physical lust.
Her torment persists through the years.
Words of comfort, love, and emotion
sometimes conceal the predators’ true intention.
Still she wishes only for loneliness.
The consequences of beauty- her cross to bear.
Of one thing she asked yet never could answer:
Why would anyone wish to be beautiful?

A few weeks ago, I had a wicked chest cold. Unfortunately, chest colds are not uncommon here in this part of Afghanistan as the weather is a bit cool, it rains often, the air is thin, and there is a severely unhealthy amount of pollution in the air. Almost everyone gets sick at some point during the beginning of their deployment here. It is almost a right of passage. In my case, however, the environment plus the dungeonesque open bay living area I was temporarily housed in made my first weeks a tough burden on my respiratory system.

Thanks to the chest cold and my near constant coughing, sleep became difficult for a few nights. I knew I was waking not only my roommates but the entire barracks with my coughing fits. So one night, at the height of my bronchial blight, I decided to do something about it. When a fit of coughing woke me at 4am, I rolled out of bed, put on a jacket, and walked to our base clinic. As it was four in the morning, the only section of the medical facility open was the emergency room. And of course, going to the emergency room meant the doctors were going to check for everything, even if that meant giving me chest x-rays and hooking me up to an EKG.

By the time I was completely scanned, screened, poked, and prodded, it was close to 8am. With my results in hand, the Czech doctor prescribed me some antibiotics and sent me on my way. Before I could check out however, I had to walk from the emergency wing to the routine admission wing to pay for my visit.

(As a contractor, I have  to pay. Military folks get free health care. They also get paid a lot less than I do. Fair is fair.)

As I sat awaiting to pay for my medicine, I saw several local Afghans sitting on nearby benches. I heard the hospital tended to locals, but as my workplace is on the other side of the base, I never saw the medical staff in action nor anyone from the community arrive.

Although we all had a definite language barrier – my English, their Dari, and the medical staff’s French – we all seemed to understand the basic process of what was going on in the waiting area. All except an elderly Afghan man with a wicked cough who wandered past the staff desk and started walking down the hall towards the patient rooms. He was quickly caught, herded back to the waiting area, and a bi-lingual staff member instructed him on the proper protocol.

While the elderly man sat to my immediate right, to my immediate left sat a young father and his three children. The father appeared to be in his late 20s, and his children looked to be somewhere around the ages of ten, seven, and maybe three. They were dressed in typical Afghan garb, with flowing robe-like outfits, sandals, and scarves wrapped around their necks. The girl of course had her scarf up on her head to cover her hair as is the custom.

It didn’t take long for me to realize why the young family was in the hospital that day. They were there because of the youngest boy. Not only did he look fatigued, and his cheeks were a rosy red, but like me he also had a wicked cough, although his sounded much more meager than mine. No doubt he was hurting.

As the other two children bantered, the young boy sat quietly besides his father. The man wrapped his arm around the boy’s shoulders and held him close. I could see the young father was concerned and I felt for him. While I watched the boy the father’s eyes moved from his sick son to me, I wanted to tell him that his son was about the same age as my nephew; perhaps we could have built a bond. But I could tell his English was limited, and of course my Dari is non-existent.  So I just smiled and he smiled back.

After about 10 minutes of all of us waiting, the young father’s healthy children started to get impatient. Seeing they needed something to occupy their interest and something that might cheer up the young boy until he could finally be seen, a French nurse brought the children a handful of beanie babies. The eyes of the sick young boy lit up with presented with the gift. I saw him smile for the first time, temporarily forgetting his illness. His brother and sister, seeing his happiness, started to engage him with their beanie babies and the young boy started laughing, before another cough stifled his fun and reminded us all why he was there.

Eventually, after only 35 minutes of sitting in the waiting area, I was finally able to pay my bill and leave. A few moments before I walked out, however, it was the little boy’s turn to be seen. As his siblings remained in the waiting room, the sick little Afghan boy took his father’s hand with one hand and clung tightly to his new beanie baby with the other. The pair followed another French nurse down the hall and into one of the patient rooms.

I walked out of the clinic wondering about the sick little Afghan boy. Were they able to give him something to cure him? Did he only have a common cold or the flu or was it something much worse? Did he have a capable home life where he could take his medicine, get plenty of rest, and eat and drink what he needed to stay healthy? What if international military forces weren’t in Afghanistan? Where would his father have taken him?

There is a lot of talk about why the international community needs to leave Afghanistan. They say support for international presence in Afghanistan is at an all-time low. But I am positive on that day a few weeks ago, the young father of the sick little Afghan boy was among one of our greatest supporters.

I’ve never been much of a form writing fan. I can do it, and I think I do it well when I put my mind to it, but it’s not really my thing. Kinda like math.

Anyway, I wrote these a little over 10 years ago in a poetry course I took back in college. My teacher really liked the one about the bird. It’s my favorite as well.

Zero one two three four five six
Seven eight nine ten
Eleven twelve

Sometimes Haikus really suck
Boring me with nature
My Haikus rule

Bombs drop from the sky
Men weep over loved ones
My bird sits on my finger

A gazelle streaks across the plain
Far Away from the lion
The sun shines

Death paces towards me
Everyday closer it comes
I swim in the sea

They ask but I don’t tell
Never an answer
I kick them in the shin

(This post originally appeared on Bus Leagues Baseball.com)

Last season I did a lot of work in Dunedin with the Dunedin Blue Jays staff. Craig Durham, a man who wears many hats as you will soon find out, was instrumental in coordinating interviews for me and helping me find my way around the ballpark when needed, to include the first time I ever covered a game from the press box. For whatever reason, however, I failed to ask Craig his story. This season, I figured we would fix that.

Bus Leagues Baseball: So how is the season going so far?

Craig Durham: The season is off to a great start. The team is 16-4 through its first 20 games, and they have simply been awesome. There is a lot of young talent in the Blue Jays organization right now so being able to be a part of it night in and night out is really a blast.

BLB: How did you get into broadcasting? Was it a lifelong dream or something you fell into?

CD: I wouldn’t say that it was a lifelong dream, but it is something that I’ve been interested in from a very young age. My first year in broadcasting was in 2009, the year after I graduated college, when I worked for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League. I had been with the Whitecaps the previous summer, but not as a broadcaster. Fortunately the same two guys came back to broadcast in 2009, I asked if I could join them and they said yes. I definitely wouldn’t be here today if they hadn’t given me that first opportunity.

BLB: How long have you been with the ballclub?

CD: This is now my second season with the Dunedin Blue Jays. I started here in January of 2011.

BLB: Do you announce games for the major league club during spring training? How does your role change from spring training to the Florida State League season?

CD: I don’t get to do any broadcasting during Spring Training, and it’s almost as if I have two separate jobs – one from April-September when the Florida State League is in season, and one October-March when it’s not. In the “offseason” I spend most of my time preparing for, and selling for Blue Jays Spring Training.

The consistent piece between the two seasons is that I run dunedinbluejays.com, handle the Dunedin Blue Jays facebook and twitter accounts, and send out press releases about the Blue Jays Florida.

BLB: How much research do you put in to your job? How much time do you take to look at other teams and their players?

CD: Not as much as I wish I could! I usually get to do most of my research in the few hours before the game, as I have other office responsibilities during the day.

BLB: What visiting player are you looking forward to seeing play the Dunedin Blue Jays?

CD: One guy I’m very excited to see is Gerrit Cole, last year’s first overall pick who is currently with the Bradenton Marauders.

BLB: What game that you were in the booth for stands out the most and why?

CD: The last game of last season when we were eliminated from the playoffs definitely stands out as a game I will probably never forget. It was a winner take all game 3 of a 3 game series, and we led 3-0 going into the 8^th before it all fell apart. Daytona scored 4 in the bottom of the 8^th, and in a flash we went from being favorites to win it all to being eliminated. The suddenness of it, and the realization that it was all over for at least six months was tough to take.

I also called a no-hitter in the Cape League in 2010, but I did mostly color commentary for that game, and it was the pitcher on the opposing team that threw it so I don’t have as many memories from that one.

BLB: What players have stood out the most during your time in the booth?

CD: I love watching good pitchers, and last year we were blessed to have a ton of them. I really loved watching Nestor Molina pitch because he worked so quickly and threw lots of strikes. I also enjoyed watching our closer from last year, Wes Etheridge, for the same reasons that I liked watching Molina.

From the Cape League, I really loved watching Jed Gyrko, who is now in the Padres system. He is a smaller guy, but he can hit the ball a very long way.

BLB: Do you root for guys to get promoted or secretly hope they’ll stay in Dunedin so you can keep announcing their games?

CD: Haha, no comment …

BLB: Do you travel with the team?

CD: I go on most of the bus trips, yes. If we go on an extended road trip I prefer to drive so that I have a little more freedom and flexibility in terms of what I can do with my “down time”. Having my own car also allows me to seek out better food than whatever is available within walking distance of the team hotel!

BLB: Being that Dunedin is one of the smallest towns in the Florida State League, I’ve noticed there is a strong community vibe to the team and the organization. How does that effect your announcing? Are you recognized in town outside of the ballpark?

CD: Haha if I am recognized in town it’s certainly not because I am the broadcaster. Dunedin is a great little town with a lot of owner operated businesses and restaurants so I have gotten to know a lot of people here through the team and also just by living right downtown, which I am lucky enough to be able to do. If people know me as a Blue Jays employee its likely because I’ve tried to sell them an ad or some sort of sponsorship at one point or another!

BLB: How important is your broadcast to the community? To the families of players who might listen online?

CD: I know a lot of our season ticket holders appreciate the broadcasts of the road games because they are an extremely loyal group of fans. I’ve also had fans tell me they like listening because that’s how they really learn about the players.

I know that the broadcasts mean a lot to the families and friends of the players who are often very far away from home. The broadcasts of the games are, in some way, how they keep in touch with their loved ones, and frankly I am most proud of the fact that I am able to provide this link for them. Many of the player’s families have emailed me at one point or another to thank me, and it truly means a lot to me.

BLB: Before the season, you wrote a passionate plea in a local newspaper for fans to come out to the ballpark and see the Dunedin Blue Jays. How important is it for the community to support the team?

CD: It’s extremely important! Seeing empty stadiums night after night last season was a real shock to me, and it was incredibly disappointing to see. It’s not just Dunedin that struggles to draw fans in the summer, it’s 75% of the teams in the Florida State League, and 100% of Florida’s teams in Major League Baseball. It’s sad really, there is so much good baseball being played and nobody watching it.

BLB: Why do you think attendance struggles so much in the Florida State League?

CD: There are a ton of factors, and having only lived in Florida for 16 months I don’t want to pretend to be an expert, but I think the economy and the weather are two big problems. The economy in Florida isn’t doing all that well, and people are very careful about how they spend their money. Unfortunately it seems like baseball is one of the first things they cut out, despite the fact that tickets to Florida State League are so inexpensive.

The weather is the other big one. It’s really really hot here from May-September, and people would rather be inside with air conditioning than out in the sweltering heat and humidity. The fact that it rains almost nightly (and right around gametime) doesn’t help either. While it really stinks, I can definitely understand people who just can’t stand the heat enough to stay home instead of coming to a game.

BLB: Lastly, what are you looking forward to this season?

CD: I’m looking forward to everything. Being back in the booth, getting better at calling games, getting to know the players, eating stadium food, and 1,000 other things.

I also believe that the D-Jays have a great chance to win the FSL Championship this year, something that’s never been done in the team’s 27 year history, and to be a part of that would obviously be an amazing experience.

We would like to thank Craig for his answers and wish him and the Dunedin Blue Jays the best of luck this year.