When I walked into Centennial Field, home of the Vermont
Lake Monsters for the first time in several years, I could not believe the
amount of work that has gone into the park over the past couple of years.
My
hat is off to Ray Pecor and the entire Lake Monsters organization. Pecor has invested about $2 million
into the field over the past couple of years and is a big reason why the Lake
Monsters have been in Burlington for 20 years, and why they are looking forward
to 20 more.
Over the past few years they have
put in a new fence, re-surfaced some parts of the field, put in new dugouts,
new locker rooms and coaches rooms (home and away), a new bullpens, a new
pavilion, a 27-foot by 16-foot video board in left field, new seats on top of
new concrete bleachers, a newly paved entrance to Centennial Field, more luxury
seats behind home plate, and brand new light towers.
Ray Pecor has really done a great job, along with Kyle
(Bostwick), in bringing this all together,” said Keith Leippman, director of
player development for the Oakland Athletics. “It’s a beautiful place, and we’re thrilled that we can put
our players here.”
Everyone
in the Lake Monsters organization is incredibly happy with all of the work that
has gone into the field. “A lot of
the renovations started because we were in a spot where we were a little bit
deficient with Minor League Baseball, said Lake Monsters Vice President, Kyle
Bostwick. “We’ve brought
everything up to where it needs to be and if you haven’t been to Centennial
Field in a couple years, I think that you’ll certainly be surprised.”
But
aside from the renovations to the park, the 20th year for the Lake
Monsters brings some new and exiting players as well.
The
offence has certainly showed up for Vermont so far, as they’ve proved that they
can play long ball. Chad Pinder
hit his first pro homer on the home opener on Thursday, and Jaycob Brugman
jacked a grand slam the very next day.
Though
it’s far to early to tell, Boog Powell stands out to me as one who’s name you
might be hearing as a top prospect in a few years. Past Lake Monsters who are now making noise in the majors
include Orlando Cabrera and Jason Bay.
Though
it’s been 20 years in the making for the Lake Monsters, and we’ve seen many
players roll through Burlington, Vermont, some things do not change around that
ballpark. For example, the front
office staff has hardly seen any change over 20 years. Vice President Kyle Bostwick has been
there for all 20 along with owner Ray Pecor, and Media Relations Director Paul
Stanfield. Up in the press box,
it’s been pretty much the same faces since day one. Stu Blanton has been operating the scoreboard for 19 years
alongside Bruce Bosley who is the official scorer, and longtime Vermont radio
personality Rich Haskell, who has been announcing batters over the public
address for all 20 years of the Lake Monsters existence. Also back behind the mic this year for
the Lake Monsters is long-time Vermont broadcasting legend, George Commo. The ten time Vermont sportscaster of
the year broadcasted the Lake Monsters for their first 11 seasons and is now
back for more.
The
home of the Vermont Lake Monsters for all of their 20 years has been Centennial
Field. Centennial Field opened in
1922 and has since been host to the University of Vermont’s men’s baseball team
until UVM dropped their baseball program in 2010.
With
all of the renovations that have gone into the field, I wonder if it is even a
remote possibility to bring back baseball to UVM. They said that they were dropping their program to budget
men’s and women’s lacrosse but the last time that their men’s lacrosse team had
a winning season was seven years ago so we’ll just have to see whether what
Pecor done to the field effects their decision at all.
Though
I’ve only been alive for 13 of the Lake Monsters 20 seasons, it has certainly
been a great 20 seasons, and I look forward to 20 more.
Follow Jasper Goodman on twitter: @Jasper_Goodman
Check out Jasper’s
blog:
www.goodmansports.blogspot.com
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