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Home > Archive > Mar 13, 2008

Second-year Roadrunners Build for Coming Season
By Layne Roberts
A year after their inaugural season, the St. George Roadrunners are ready to begin their 2008 campaign, and plan to do so aggressively.
After struggling mightily at the beginning of last season, the Roadrunners decided to change their approach. Several roster changes were made during the season last year, and the organization saw immediate benefits.
“We realized we need to get experienced players. After we made some changes, we had the second-best record in the league the last six weeks of the season. We have a pretty good mix of players now,” Rick Berry, the Roadrunners’ general manager, said.
They seemed to have found the right mix of players as the team finished last year with not only momentum down the stretch, but after the final game as well. In front of nearly 2,000 fans, the Roadrunners ended their season with a walk-off homerun, here in St. George.
“That feeling needs carry over from last year. People did not want to leave, even after all of the fireworks,” Berry said.
The Roadrunners have continued to show they are willing to do what it takes to compete for the long run.
Recently, the team completed a trade with the Reno Silver Fox, a trade that included four players and three draft picks. The Silver Fox sent the Roadrunners second baseman Mike Done, first baseman Ryan Brown and their second round selection in the upcoming Arizona Winter League Draft. In return, the Roadrunners parted with first baseman and designated hitter Brett Flowers, a fan favorite, along with outfielder Steven Wright and first and third round draft selections.
Aside from the changes, the Roadrunners offer something very different to the community in a variety of ways.
The Roadrunners are in the Golden Baseball League, a league that team manager and former Major League Baseball player Cory Snyder referred to as comparable to Double-A baseball competition.
“The league is also actually the only independent league in the West, and it is expanding,” Berry said. “Next year there will be another couple of teams. Players like playing in this league because they want to be close to home.”
The Roadrunners have something unique to offer the community in that the team is not considered an affiliate league (where the teams are affiliated with Major League teams), but this is where players prove they are able to move up to that level.
The team is made up of mid-20-year-old ballplayers who come from a variety of circumstances, including having been injured playing in an affiliated league or in their senior year in college, or players who are just coming out of college and have yet to reach their potential.
In short, these are players are trying to do everything right, to make their mark in baseball and to get more opportunities.
“There is so much money involved in baseball (in general), that it is real hard for people to understand you don’t make any money in the minor leagues. That is just the way it is. The players are trying to pay their dues … they are trying to get somewhere,” Snyder said.
Because the players don’t make very much money, they will hold everyday jobs to get by in their offseason.
“Many of the guys will teach school because that way they have the summer off. Some are also personal trainers. They have to (have other jobs) to pay the bills,” said Snyder, who also spent time in the minors before playing nine years in the Majors.
In fact, to alleviate expenses, and because the players are only in town for half of the summer, several host families open up their homes to the players during the season.
Character is another quality the Roadrunners look for in players when they acquire new talent. In fact, the players have treated their hosts with such respect that the families and players have become very close.
“It can be hard because families and players can become very attached. The players have to leave when they have better opportunities,” Berry said of players moving on to play in other leagues.
“Families have been huge. When the kids left, there were a lot of tears. The families did not want to see their players go,” Snyder said.
Last year, players would even attend family activities, such as a Little League baseball games, or going to the park.
Not only have families helped the Roadrunners by opening their homes to players, but the team has also enjoyed the support of the community. In turn, families have loved going out to the ballpark as well.
“We have had families come up to us and say, ‘We are a soccer family and just decided to try it. We did not realize (baseball) was such a great social event with neighbors, on-field promotions, and the mascot,’” Berry said.
“Minor league baseball is entertainment, family entertainment, and there is not enough of that kind of fun anymore,” Berry added.
Because the league offers players the opportunity to enhance their baseball careers, competition can become very stiff.
For example, the Roadrunners have spring training beginning Monday, May 12, but no one is guaranteed a roster spot.
 “The Minor Leagues are about getting better. If a kid comes through that is better than the next kid, he gets the spot (on the team). That’s why spring training is so great; the best 22 make the team,” Snyder said.
The season begins a little earlier this year, on May 22, and the Roadrunners begin at home for a 14-game homestand.
Tickets can actually be cheaper than a movie ticket, Berry pointed out, and range from $6 to $10, with season and half-season tickets also available.
For more information about tickets, or host family and volunteer opportunities, call 673-5333.

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