(The following team reviews include the amazing work of Teflon, not only are his parks unreal but his write-ups for each park are simply irresistable....I had to add them!)
Over the next month we will offer an overview on each of the four teams of the National Baseball League of Breda. This week we will focus our attention on the New Perth City Browns.
New Perth City Browns
New Perth City, Kent County (181,051)
Parkway Field (15,000)
NPC's Parkway Field is gonna be an interesting place to play the outfield. With a fairly short distance (330 down the line 345 to left field) and the "Red Monstah" 40 foot brick wall, whoever plays left for the Browns is going to have his hands full.
In watching some of the players invited to New Perth City for tryouts a number of the outfielders misplayed balls lined off the wall which led to the ball caroming back and being fielded by the 3B or SS!!! Another factor is not only are bricks hard (be interesting to see how many LF's crash into it!!) but the construction is not the smoothest leading to some strange bounces and lots of triples.
The Browns CF will have an easier job as LC is a more reasonable 380 while CF is a fairly short 390 which should lessen considerably the ground he will have to cover. The CF is gonna have to help out the RF though as the deepest part of the park is RC at a whopping 420 while RF is 405. The 'Red Monstah" tapers to a mere 15 ft from LC to C but still is brick. From there the wall turns into a wooden fence a paltry 5 ft in RC and RF and then only 3 ft in RF. We saw a number of players flip over those walls while making running catches during the workouts.
Although the seating capacity is only 15,000, there are plans to add an additional 4,000 bleacher seats (on top of the brick wall in left) and an another 4,000 regular seats down the first base line and in RF.
The ballpark's groundskeeper has planted a variety of rose bushes in deep right center field and beyond the short right field fence - adding to the outfielders woes. Also he maintains an orchard of apple and cherry trees beyond the outfield fences. The stadium sits next to a world-famous brewery, Pioneer Beer.
----- Dimensions -----
LL 330
LF 345
LC 380
CF 390
RC 420
RF 405
RL 335
----- Wall Height -----
LL 40
LF 40
LC 15
CF 15
RC 5
RF 5
RL 3
Browns Personnel
GM Ryan Schurman - The 39 year old Canadian comes has lived in Breda for the last 10 years serving as the Director of Baseball for the Sporting Club of New Perth City...when the club opted to turn professional, Schurman inherited the position of general manager...becomes the first black man to hold a front office position...Known as a strong and silent leader that demands loyalty and hard work...former Negro League first baseman
Manager Ron Carrey - The 50 year old former manager of the St Paul Saints collegiate baseball team (his alma matter) comes to NPC...well balanced approach to veterans and rookies...known as a good teacher of basic skills working with pitchers and hitters while at STPU...very light hearted and laid back approach which should conflict with GM Schurman's hard-nosed presence and potentially add fireworks to the team
Pitching Coach Juan De Los Santos - Legendary Mexican hurler heads north to assist Carrey in developing his pitching staff...speaks fluent english from years of working winters in the southwest US
Hitting Coach Garrett Boulter - Young coach who was manager Carrey's assistant coach at STPU follows him to NPC where he hopes to assist the young Browns hitters...youth may aid him in developing relationships with rookies...it should be interested to see how veterans deal with the 31 year old's advice
Bench Coach Jerry Stewart - Stewart is GM Schurman's hand picked coach as he was the manager of the Sporting Club's baseball team the last 7 years...close relationship with Schurman could be problematic to manager Carrey if team does not win early...very animated and outspoken with colorful language...never seen without a large mouthful of tobacco...reporters have learned not to get to close
Notable Players
Alejandro Roman 2B - Nicknamed the "Thrillseeker" for his wild off the field activities....came to Breda with De Los Santos...many believe that Roman was the reason De Los Santos was hired....great contact hitter with the ability to avoid the strikeout...never stops talking on the field
Ramon Sanchez SP - Nicknamed the "Spider" due to his long fingers that make his hands look like spiders...young Negro League star who was released after last season...born in Puerto Rico but lived in New York (USA)...average fastball but gets by with great movement on his pitches including sinker
Ed Wilcox SS - 27 year-old Bredan shortstop...has great range and a strong arm...standard hitter but has displayed no power at any level of play...has been offered to play in Canada but decided to remain at home
Gerard Cluff LF - young Bredan outfielder with power potential...left handed batter that has short swing and could produce 10 home runs and 50 or more RBI's per season...decent arm but below average glove and range
Mauro Lucero 1B - Big and strong Cuban player...another Negro League transplant...more of a gap hitter than a pure power hitter...likes to pull the ball...very good athlete who has attracted the attention of NPC's amateur basketball sporting club