Expansion to the Queen City: Baseball Comes to Charlotte

[tobin834]

Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings have always provided a way for baseball executives to get in one building and make a lot of major decisions. In 2013 the big discussion was if expanding the league by two teams would be something that would be beneficial to baseball in 2018. It turned out that it was. The league had voted for the expansion almost unanimously and cities from around the country began submitting their applications and began building their sales pitch to get a professional sports team. A big economic increase comes with a professional sports franchise, not to mention marketing in your city and a major entertainment venue for it's residents and the businesses it tries to lure in, sent many cities across the country scrambling to come up with a proposal.

Four finalists were selected among 15 applications submitted. The four finalists were Las Vegas, Portland, Charlotte, and Montreal. All four cities had strong proposals and strong arguments for expansion. In the end, the cities of Portland and Charlotte were selected to be the 31st and 32nd franchises of Major League Baseball. Both presenting a desire for baseball like none of the other applicants, and both having the economies to make it happen. So how did Major League Baseball come up with it's decision of Portland and Charlotte? Lets take a look:

Why Portland, Oregon?

For Portland, the key components are already set in stone and working together.

"There is a legitimate ownership group in Portland that has the necessary financing along with support for a stadium, which would be partially funded by a $150 million grant. Approved by the state of Oregon to help finance a stadium when efforts were underway in 2003 to be the site for the relocation of the Expos (who instead moved to Washington, D.C.), the grant is still available." - Forbes Magazine

Portland also boasts a growing population of more than 600,000 in the city limits and many, many more people living outside of it. It's also an underrated sports town, regularly selling out games in Major League Soccer club, the Portland Timbers. The city makes great geographic sense in that they could regularly feud with Seattle, cutting the Mariners travel schedule down and not making the team feel so isolated in the Northwest.

Finally, Portland has the major companies to provide corporate sponsorship. With Nike, Adidas, Columbia and a ton of major breweries in the area, Portland is the perfect destination.

Why Charlotte, North Carolina?

For Charlotte, the desire to have a Major League Team runs back nearly 60 years. Back in the 60's the first proposal for a Charlotte area baseball team was submitted. Since then, the residents of the biggest city in North Carolina wait.

Charlotte is a city that can claim a massive population, substantial population growth, and a fan base that is rapid for professional sports. Supporting a professional football and basketball team in Charlotte, as well as a Triple-A baseball team that had the highest attendance for the past three years, fans in North Carolina are begging the Major League executives to bring professional ball to Carolina.

With seemingly every major business somehow working through Charlotte, including a lot of financial institutions, the economy in Charlotte seems stable and growing. Corporate dollars wouldn't have to be as big a part of the equation with the fans in Charlotte, but they are still a consideration. The hopes of locating in Charlotte also help due to the close proximity of Greensboro, NC and Columbia, NC.

The major problem was that the $15-Million dollar stadium that was built downtown would have to be majorly retro-fitted to make room for more seating, press boxes, etc. The view of the city is spectacular and the team took it upon itself to finance the remaining budget changes to make the stadium work.

“In the end it got done. It's a great stadium that will continue to get better with time in the league. We're still committed to several million dollars in updates” said team owner Travis Thomas.

[tobin834]

THE SWANN AND THE DOLPHIN

We got to the Swann and Dolphin early. Early as in two months early. We had rented the conference room out so that we were absolutely sure we were comfortable in the room, we had been all setup and ready, and that everyone was already there. It was a lot to ask of 35 baseball professionals from all over the country to get together in one room, away from their families, for three months and sit and painstakingly go over the list of potential targets that we thought would be left off the list.

The room was dominated by computer monitors on every space of the four walls, a large conference room in the middle of the room with about 15 phones. Around it sat several baseball executives, all assigned their own team based on the relationships they had with people in the business. We made sure that we knew (or were able to predict) what would happen before it did.

We knew that we would be participating in the National League East. We had scouted the Mets, Braves, Nationals and Marlins up and down. We knew what we were getting ourselves into. We loved the travel schedule of having our furthest divisional opponent in Miami was tolerable, but made far easier to live with when we look at the rest of the division's proximity to us. Portland would be playing in the American League West.

We were drafting second and third in the draft. Portland would get the first overall pick of the Expansion Draft but that was something we were able to live with.

As we looked at the Expansion pamphlet I saw it for the first time on a Major League press kit – The Charlotte Speed. It was official. We took our name from a fan poll which obviously pays homage to the areas influence on stock car racing. The Speed can also be translated into a baseball reference as well, for the speed of a pitch or the speed of a ballplayer. It fit.

With their first selection, Portland selected Starting Pitcher Charlie Morton. It was now up to us..

COMPLETE ROSTER:

[tobin834]

JOE GIRARDI IS COMING TO CHARLOTTE

The Charlotte Speed have announced the signing of Joe Girardi to be the club's first ever Manager. Girardi managed the Yankees to the playoffs last year and has won a World Series with the club. Making his debut in Florida, Girardi then came back home to the Bronx Bombers and stayed nine years there.

“I'm excited for the chance to come in and start with a team that is just trying to discover who it is” said Girardi. Whether he believes it or not, Girardi will be under a lot of stress this season. Coming from such a winning environment like New York where he made the playoffs two of the last three years, it will be a much different experience in Charlotte.

Gone are the first class amenities any player on the Yankees has. The city is their playground and Girardi enjoyed the hospitality of New York. With an expansion team life will be much different for Girardi, and he expects that.

[Archelirion]

Interested to see how you do updates for this one. Are you thinking of doing it at a slow-pace (game-by-game, week-by-week stuff), or as a yearly update on how Charlotte's doing? Looking good either way!

[tobin834]

Thank you for the comment! Super inspiring to read. I planned on doing a game-by-game account. I would like to see how many years I can go into it. I am new to the game, fell in love with it. I have no other games saved on this system, so this will be the only one I play. Thank you for reading, please comment anytime.

[hoju89]

Interesting read, I’ll definitley be following along! I’m also new to the game and was thinking these reads will be helpful in figuring things out. Looking forward to seeing what’s next!

[tobin834]

PRE-GAME

I suspect that we are going to lose a lot of games this year. Not shocking considering we're an expansion team. We head into the year with the lowest payroll in the league, and the worst ranked minor league system. Nothing seemed to fall into place, regardless of the planning that we did. It's an extremely frustrating and exciting time in Charlotte. We're proud of the team we are putting on the field this year, however our number one goal in year one isn't going to be winning the World Series.Our plan as a ball club is to profit some money this year to make us more financially stable, and picking up a good draft pick to start our minor league system. We would like to start building that up. We obviously can't get any worse. Our top player going into this year is Right Fielder Hunter Renfroe. We're going to be relying on him for a lot of the offense. Zack Wheeler will go into the season as our ace.



POST GAME

Well it was exciting to say the least. Zack Wheeler took a no-hitter into the 5th until Jose Pirela doubled in the bottom of the 5th to break it up. The very next batter was Freddy Galvis who sent it over the left field wall for his first Home Run of the season. That gave the Padres a 2-1 lead going into the 6th inning. They never looked back. Wheeler showed great signs of being our ace tonight, but I'm not ignorant enough to think that is going to be something we get to witness every night.

A loss tonight in our home opener, but Charlotte has baseball. We knew it was going to be a long road to get here, but just getting this game played feels like a minor accomplishment to me. We need to build our minor league system A LOT and I'm beginning to see we need a true go-to guy for our squad as well. Unfortunately, I'm not sure we have the pieces to make an attractive trade for any of them.

[tobin834]

April 1, 2018

A few transactions that were made this morning:

Signed RP A. Heredia
Signed RP C. Wetherbee
Signed LF S. Sabol
Signed LF V. Cruzado
Signed C. K. Pacheco
Signed C. J. Vazquez
Recalled SS P. Valaika from Triple A Reedley
Recalled SP F. Tarnok from Triple A Reedley
Recalled LF T. Hernandez from Triple A Reedley

[tobin834]

PRE GAME

The celebrations were over. We've played our first game and now it's time to get down to business. We need to focus on making this team one that we think can win in the future. Wheeler looked great last night and provided five strong innings until he absolutely fell apart in the bottom of the 6th. We still didn't provide enough run support. I'm hoping our bats are not going to be a problem this year, however I feel like everything will be a problem this year. One thing is great – the balance sheet. We're set to make close to $30 million this year – of course that will only help us in Free Agency in the coming months. Yes indeed, being in with Charlotte right now means being able to take a lot of lumps for the time being. Buckle up.



POST GAME

It's nice to finally win a game. Pat Valaika came through for us tonight in a big way to get our first franchise win. It's a burden that is now off our back and now we can concentrate on getting better. Being .500 sounds good, but our pitching needs to get better. I feel like all season I may be talking about how we need to get better in specific places. It's obvious but I can't help but point it out. I was happy with Harrison Bader tonight as well. 2 for 4 tonight and .333 on the young season with 1 RBI. He's 23 and loaded with potential for us. We're keeping an eye on him to contribute in the coming seasons – and hopefully this one.

[tobin834]

Saturday March 31, 2018

ORGANIZATION NEWS

- LF Adam Frazier will be out 6-days due to Hamstring Tendinitis. Frazier is batting .400 on the early season.

- Signed Relief Pitcher Jairo Labourt to a minor league contract



PRE-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed.

The Charlotte Speed come into the night 1-1 on the year and looking to win it's first series against the San Diego Padres. Pat Valaika came through strong last night and will be asked to do the same tonight. Third man in the rotation, Rob Zastryzny will be on the mound for the Speed who look to make it two in a row.



POST GAME THOUGHTS from owner Travis Thomas

A great win for our club tonight. Exciting game tonight with a win that we captured in the 6th inning. I'm proud of our team for hanging on tonight. When you watch our team you always get the slight suspicion that we're going to give it away with our relief pitching. Maybe that's just my nervousness throughout the game. Either way, we're above .500 in this young season.

[tobin834]

The Charlotte Speed announced today their partnership with WFNZ (610AM/102.5FM) The Fan in Charlotte have agreed to a new multi-year deal for WFNZ to become the team's flagship radio station.

““The Speed are an exciting organization in a great sports town,” said Matthew R. Hanlon, VP/GM Entercom/Charlotte. “It makes so much sense for WFNZ to be the flagship station for the Speed radio network. We’re very proud to be a part of the growth and success of the Charlotte Speed.”

“We are very happy to be partnering with The Fan and broadcasting all of our games on a great radio station and amazing organization. Our fans will benefit by having coverage of every game that we play as well as exclusive content on The Fan's radio programming as well.”

The partnership between The Speed and WFNZ will feature every game with pre-game and post-game analysis.

“We look forward to working with The Fan for many years to come” said Thomas.

In addition to the pre-game and post-game shows, The Speed will also introduce a new weekly show that covers the entire team through the Majors to Rookie ball, as well as how the rest of the team is doing.

Matt Swierad who has come over from the Charlotte Knights Triple-A organization will be coming on to provide the Play by Play and host the weekly wrap up.

[tobin834]

THE FAN 610 MLB ROUND UP

A look at the league standings and very early leader board:



A LOOK AT THE NEXT SERIES: CINCINNATI REDS


TRAVIS THOMAS APPEARANCE ON SHOW:


What he's looking forward to this upcoming season?

“Coming out of our first series with a 2-1 series win, we move on to our first home stand in Charlotte against the Cincinnati Reds. We'll get Hauschild and Hu on the mound for the first time this year, and then end with Zack Wheeler. I'm more interested in Wheeler's start this series as he had a great outing against the Padres, taking a no-hitter into the 5th until coming unraveled. It will be interesting to me to see how he comes out this time."

On Pat Valaika and his .600 batting average?

“Pat's been on fire early on. We love how he's approaching each game too. He is coming to the ballpark really loose and it's helping the other guys as well. He's a great guy to be around, I hope his success continues. He's a talented ballplayer.”

On the Minor League season starting on April 6th?

“We're not where we need to be at with our minor league system – that is obvious. We do have some players that I am interested in seeing start this year. Starter Freddy Tarnok, 1B Victor Caratini, and 1B Jose Augusto Rodriguez come to mind. All are at the Triple-A level.

[tobin834]

Monday April 2nd, 2018

ORGANIZATION NEWS

No organizational news to report.



PRE-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed


Winning our first series was great. It was something that the fans of the city deserved after all their hard work to get the team to become a reality, but to be 2-1 going into our second series is something I can live with.



POST-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed

Its beginning to look like the early MVP of our team is Pat Valaika who continues to come through in tough situations. No offense to Pat, but he wasn't anyone that we were looking to rely on this year with the bat. He was a great value for when we got him so we picked him up, but he's been far past our expectations thus far.

[tobin834]

Monday April 2nd, 2018

ORGANIZATION NEWS

- In the weekly Power Rankings report, we came in at number 3.

OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE

- The Indians have announced today that Mike Napoli will call it a career. The 36-year-old will retire at the end of the year.

- Boston announced the signing of Closer Trevor Rosenthal. The closer is out for 9-10 months with an injury. Boston has inked him to a 1-year deal presumably to buy them some time to make a longer commitment.



PRE-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed

We were happy to get out of Cincinnati with a win yesterday. Pat Valaika came through with a huge hit in the bottom of the 9th to send everyone home happy and increase our record to 3-1 on the young season. Today we have Chih-Wei Hu taking on Homer Bailey for the Reds. Both are seeing their first action of the year.



POST-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed

We were confident in Harrison Bader's abilities and he proved us right tonight at least. Hitting a Grand Slam in the first inning helped propel us very early. Happy to see our offense coming through tonight with 15 hits and 11 runs. Its beginning to look like Hunter Renfroe is struggling mightly. Off to an awful start, we're starting to notice that and looking for ways to get him out of the slump he is in. We're happy to pick up our third win in a row and fourth all season.

[tobin834]

Monday April 3rd, 2018

ORGANIZATION NEWS

Charlotte has reportedly been in talks with previously retired Prince Fielder, who may be looking to make a quick return to baseball.


OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE

No news to report.


PRE-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed

Yesterday's victory over the Reds guaranteed another series win for the Speed. Joe Girardi said it's important to win series:

“We just need to make sure we're winning the series and improving. So far, in my mind we're not 4-1, we're 2-0. We like to look at series as opposed to overall record. We'll keep improving – it's still early on.”

Harrison Bader broke out yesterday hitting a Grand Slam and driving in 6 runs to lead the charge yesterday. The team is said to be very high on Bader, and in an organization that ranks dead last in minor league system – they could use young prospects like the 23-year-old Bader.

Ace Zack Wheeler going for the Speed tonight. Last appearance he took a no-hitter into the 5th inning before letting it slip away. Wheeler is 0-1 on the season with a 4.26 ERA.




POST-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed

It seems were always talking about Pat Valaika. Going 2 for 3 with two Home Runs, will make certain people talk.The Speed are making a lot of people talk right now. Off to a 6-1 record now and closing in on the expansion best start.Girardi has them playing well, a bunch of players who banned together because their original team didn't want them – all of them making the best of their second chance.

[tobin834]

Tuesday April 4rd, 2018


ORGANIZATION NEWS

- No organization news today.


OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE


- Max Scherzer put together 15 strikeouts yesterday en route to a 4-2 Washington win over Colorado.



PRE-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed


Yesterday's win against the Reds assured us our first sweep of our expansion's young history. We are currently 5-1 and tied with the Yankees and Dodgers for the best record in the Majors. We've surprised a lot of people, including ourselves. The Reds are a lowly team so three of those wins must come with a grain of salt, however, a win is a win in the Major Leagues and we'll play them every night if it means getting to the postseason. There is still a long season ahead of us, and Zack Wheeler's performance yesterday going 4 innings and giving up 5 earned runs wasn't the type of game we were looking for him to have – especially after the first game he put together putting a no-hitter together through 5 in our franchise's first game ever against San Diego.





POST-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed

A heartbreaker to the Cubs tonight in a game we were at one time winning 6-1. The late part of the game is one we continue to struggle with. Jumping off to a fast start and losing it is what led to both of our losses. We must find some relief in the bullpen as well to really think of winning a good amount of games this season.

[tobin834]

Wednesday April 5rd, 2018


ORGANIZATION NEWS

- No organization news today.


OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE


- No news from around the league today.



PRE-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed


Yesterday's loss was a heartbreaker due to the fact we were leading at one point by 5 runs. Today, Rob Zastryzny (1-0) will try to get his second win of the season. Last inning saw a 6 inning performance in which he let up 1 earned run and won. The Speed will oppose the Cubs' pitcher Jon Lester (0-0). Lester got a no decision last time out with 5 IP and 4 hits. His ERA is 1.80. The biggest news for Speed fans however is Hunter Renfroe's dismal start to the season. The Right Fielder is batting just .071 and has an on base percentage of .129. Two numbers that need to change. Last game he struck out four times and hit rock bottom (we hope) of this cold streak to start out the new year.







POST-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed

The losing streak now sits at 2. The Cubs pitcher Jon Lester shut us down and the Cubs won 6-0. Renfroe continues to struggle and there is no choice but for us to either sit him or bring him down to Triple-A where he can maybe find his swing again. Right now that isn't an option as the Minor League schedule doesn't start until April 6th. We sat down our regular lineup tonight to rest them, but they'll be back tomorrow when we try to squeeze at least one win out of the Cubs.

[tobin834]

Friday April 6th, 2018


ORGANIZATION NEWS

SP Rob Zastryzny is out Day-to-day with forearm soreness.


OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE


No news from around the league today.


PRE-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed


We're on the verge of getting swept by the Chicago Cubs. It's something that will happen this year, however avoiding sweeps are the most important part of being successful in this league. We got off to a hot start and now we're losers of our last two.







POST-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed

What to do with Hunter Renfroe? The Right Fielder has a Major League contract and has been struggling something fierce in the earlier part of this season. Going 1 for 5 today didn't help his cause. We keep hoping he'll break out of his cold streak because he's one of the best players we have. Anyone else and we'd be sending them to the minors or the bench, but (against maybe our better judgment) we're going to ride it out with Renfroe and hope he finds his swing.

[tobin834]

Saturday April 7th, 2018


ORGANIZATION NEWS

- SS Pat Valaika is out 4-weeks with a fractured finger.
- CF Harrison Bader has been put on the 10-day DL fot a concussion.
- The Speed have announced the signing of 29-year-old RP Reid Redman. Redman signs a one-year, $1.01 Million dollar contract.


OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE


- The Astros announced that shortstop Carlos Correa would miss the rest of the season due to an injury he received last night. Correa will be out for the year with a ruptured disc.




PRE-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed


The Charlotte Speed will enter today's contest on a three-game losing streak and trying to break out of it after a great start to the season. Tonight Ace Zack Wheeler (0-1, 6.97 ERA) goes for the Speed. His opponent will be Lucas Sims (0-0, 4.50 ERA).

The Speed come into the contest consumed by injuries. Harrison Bader and Pat Valaika both out of the lineup for several days (Valaika for a month), that is a shot to this young team who rely on both to lead. In their place will be CF Enrique Hernandez and SS Ehire Adrianza who will both be getting a look here tonight.






POST-GAME via The Fan WFNZ 102.5FM Home of the Speed

What to do with Hunter Renfroe? That was the question that we asked last night and he comes through with a Home Run to show some signs of life. Unfortunately that was the big news for him, and the Speed as they take a loss here 11-4 in a game that was much closer than that. 12-innings and another extra-inning loss for the Charlotte Speed.

Newly acquired pitcher Reid Redman will be day-to-day with some soreness. Bader and Valaika both continue to be out and their absence shows.

[tobin834]

CHARLOTTE SPEED IN TALKS WITH WHITE SOX ABOUT CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS


(CHARLOTTE, NC ) - Since 1999 the Chicago White Sox and the Charlotte Knights have enjoyed a working relationship with the Knights being the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Now, rumors out of Charlotte have been confirmed that Speed Owner Travis Thomas is looking to purchase the Knights to make them the Triple-A affiliate of the Speed.

"In building a baseball community that is supportive of the Speed, we find it counter-productive for both ourselves as well as the White Sox to have their organization based in Charlotte. There have been several productive talks, but nothing that leads me to believe it's a done deal" said Thomas candidly to WFNZ.

The Charlotte Triple-A organization is based in Reedley, California which is a suburb of Fresno. The flight expenses alone are expensive enough to have any team think of reconsidering their options for the top flight minor league program.

As for the White Sox, they'll trade the Knights for the Reedley Padres, who are ironically owned by the Speed. (It gets confusing).