Episode 217 - Redemption: Part 2 in Hartford

Mike Abramson has been with the Hartford Yard Goats since the beginning and is their current GM. Hartford is the Double A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Mike talks about bringing back the Rock Cats identity, some of the alternate identities the team plays as, and about Dunkin Park. Mike also shares his Proffitt & Loss.

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Transcript

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Hello, I'm the new architect of the hour. I will unfold the world of stars through many of the cries of the world. She'll Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of the Earned Fun Average Podcast. I'm your host Eric Profit, coming to you from Wichita, Kansas, and with me as always, I have, Johnny Bowling, late Charles Gumbo Gator super fan, allergy sufferer, and coming you today as always, from the Bayou broadcast Center. Well, Johnny, you ready to talk a little double a baseball today? I'm ready. We have moved up, sir. We moving on up. Well this is such a, great team with some great logos and everything. Uh, I have a special guest. We have Mike Abramson with us. How are you Mike? I'm doing great. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, I appreciate you joining us. So, uh, as we had mentioned, Mike, I believe you working aa, affiliated Ball. Would you mind sharing who the team is and what you do with the team? Yeah, absolutely. So I'm the general manager for the Hartford Yard Goats. We are the AA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. I love it. Yeah, uh, it's like I said, such an iconic, team name. Got some great logos. And speaking of which, Mike, kind of one of the first things we do is talk about a, favorite hat. Is there any specific yard, goats hat you like or, uh, any other team you specific hat you wouldn't mind mentioning for us? Yeah, I mean, uh, you know, having been here since the beginning and moved, you know, my family to Connecticut, to open this ballpark and build the brand, I'm really partial to the originals, you know, the, uh, original goat head logo with you know, the two-tone colors. and then our Los Chivo, uh, logo and hat as well, which we rolled out in our second year here. I remember, you know, when we were moving our team 15 miles from where it had been, we were building the new ballpark. There were a lot of challenges with that. It was a really negative couple or few years, uh, through that process. And I remember we, when we were really getting close to the finish line and we released the brand and we released the hats, the hats really seemed to turn the tide. People just dug the logo so much. Mm-hmm. and you know, we're all used to the wildness of minor league baseball caps and logos. Now it's completely commonplace. but the name, the yard goats just like turn the world upside down at the time. And the goat head logo was just so appreciated. it's just very endeared to me so that that two-tone original with the goat head will always be my favorite. And then the cheevos, I just love the way it looks and I love the popularity of it. Obviously those, listeners aren't able to see it here, but your jacket, you have the yeshivos, uh, looks like logo right there on the jacket you're wearing today. So yeah, it's such a, a great logo with that as well. Mr. Bullen, what about yourself? What hat do you have today? Well, I think this hat originates when the team came out several Christmases ago. the CEO got me this hat and a little quarter zeal. Merry Christmas, right. So mer it is a fitted, it's like a fitted cleanup, by 47, in the color green colorway with the, uh, as Mike just mentioned, the original, goats logo on the front. And for myself, I have a tritone. I really like a good tritone fitted hat. So it's got blue, kind of around the back, a green bill, white front. And do you call this the, is it the charging goat? Yeah, I call it the baby goat. Baby goat. Uh, for some reason when I look at it, it looks like a baby goat to me, but it is an angry charging goat. Yes, for sure. And then has a little, h on it for Hartford on the side there. But Johnny, I uh, actually think I might do one of the classic things you do, and I might switch hats during the middle landings of this episode. I got another Hartford hat that I might pull out here in a minute. So. We like to, sometimes if we have multiple hats of the team we're talking about, we like to kind of switch'em up during the middle of it. So Johnny's kind of known for that. So I might do that'cause I actually do have a couple, yard goats hats here. So, love the hats everybody's talking about today, but, uh, Mike, just want to get a little more background on you. So you'd obviously mentioned you'd kind of been there since the beginning, but prior to Hartford, uh, did you have a little bit of anything else you did in baseball you wouldn't mind sharing? Yeah, absolutely. So, um, you know, I took a little bit of a crooked path to get into a career in baseball. You know, when I was in my twenties, I, I wasn't doing much. I played in bands and that's what I thought I was gonna do. but eventually I went back and finished college when I was in my late twenties, which I would never recommend to anybody. get it done when you get outta high school. It's tough to be a poor college kid when you're, you know, a full on adult. but I went back to school for communications. I was really into radio. I was living in Boston at the time, huge Red Sox fan, and I listened to sports talk radio all the time, and that's really what I wanted to do. So I. I went back to school for, uh, communications, broadcast journalism, and, when I came out I actually didn't go to work in sports. I actually went to work for NPR and I did some reporting for a couple of years. then from there I went and managed a couple of small radio stations, and then I went on to work for, uh, sports Radio Station in Boston, the station that I used to listen to and love. and I worked in sales there. And then. Ultimately that took me to a job with the Pawtucket Red Sox, who were a Red Sox AAA affiliate at the time. They are in Worcester now. and yeah, I was there for six years and then an opportunity. opened up to come take a step up, uh, and move over to the New Britain Rock Cats. Uh, and we were gonna be building a new ballpark and moving the team, and I wanted to be a part of that. So I've been here with the Hartford Yard Goats at Duncan Park since the beginning. and I became the GM in 2018 and from not mistake mistaken then, so here, kind of right before the season started, didn't, uh, Hartford announced that they're kind of doing a. Identity of the Rock Cats here for a game or two this season. Yeah, this is our 10th year, uh, in Duncan Park. So we decided it was time to do a, uh, tribute to the Rock Cats. it's a little bit of a hybrid, sort of a tribute and a what if, because we are playing as the Hartford Rock Cats. Okay. Uh, which was the original name of. The team when we were moving, obviously we did a rebrand and became the yard goats, but so we, uh, reimagined the logo a little bit. the colors we're using our yard goats colors instead of the red and black of New Britain. Uh, and yeah, we're playing as the New Britain Rock, the, uh, Hartford Rock Cats, coming up in May. And then we're also doing a David Ortiz Bobblehead giveaway because David Ortiz was a New Britain Rock cat, but he'll be in a Hartford Rock. Cats uniform on the Bobblehead. There we go. I love it. Mike, I've kind of had a little famous story that I've told on here a little bit. So, every year my wife and I and our boys go on a trip to some part of the country and spend about a week to 10 days and pick up as many minor league or major league ballparks as we can. And then on the separate side, my brother and I do a separate trip, a different part. So it's three years ago and it wasn't anything of your guys' fault whatsoever, but. Uh, the night before we were in a, a place, uh, up in New York, we'll just call them the Yankees. unfortunately had at the end of the, the game we were heading out and one of the workers gave us some, uh, some hot dogs that we ate and unfortunately got, food poisoning. so my wife and I and all three boys were sick all at the same time. Well, it just so happened we went to Hartford, uh, uh, on that trip three years ago, the next day. And unfortunately only made it about halfway through the game, so, oh no, we didn't get to stay the whole time'cause we all just weren't feeling great at all. But, for the couple innings we were there, did get to enjoy our time there. And then as it is this year, my brother and I are doing a trip back up in the area and we're gonna get to Hartford this year in June. So hopefully I'll. not have any bad hotdog the night before I go and get to have a fun experience this time for a full nine innings plus if they, you know, obviously play extras. But, for those that haven't been to Duncan Park, would you mind just sharing a little bit for those, uh, listeners, what they could expect if they ever come out to a game? Yeah, it's a, it's a really great ballpark and it's a great experience. Um, so on the ballpark side. When we built it 10 years ago, we were the first one of the first teams that sort of broke the model of the traditional minor league stadium, which is, you know, seating with general admission seats, bleachers, some nicer seats, foul pole to foul pole. And then a wall in the outfield or a berm. We changed it. We made a 360 concourse. We have seating all the way around and we actually have upper and lower decks of seats in the outfield. So it really looked and looks like a small major league park as opposed to looking like a minor league park that is definitely far more common now. but it was unique at the time. so it's a really cool ballpark. ton of food options all over the place. And because it's 360, there's just food and beverage in pretty much some form of entertainment all along the, uh, you know, the walkway. the game itself. We put a lot of time and attention into our show. that's really something I am, I work on very specifically. You know, we try to build. A promotional show that is an arc, like a circus. You know, we have a host introduction in the beginning, sort of similar to fan of bananas, and then the, uh, on field promotion sort of build up and get more fun and more interesting and more entertaining as you go along. And then in the, uh, end of the seventh inning, there is a full fan sing along. So it's a complete arc experience. and I think when people come out, they're really like impressed with the show. We can't control what happens on the field. We can control all of the stuff that happens around it, but I do think that's a big part of the reason why we have been so successful for so long is we take people on a journey when they come in here and then, you know, hopefully they get to see some good baseball too. Yeah, I'm gonna call this Johnny my, uh, redemption when I get the back to Duncan Park this summer, and hopefully get to stay for an entire game. But, if I'm not mistaken, unless things have changed, you have like a giant, cup of coffee at the top of the scoreboard, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah. top the scoreboard. There used to be up until two years ago, there was a giant hot coffee cup. Okay. And whenever there was a home run, it would steam, steam actually shot out of that coffee cup. Couple of years ago we replaced it with an ice coffee cup. and it now is digital around the top rim of the cup. So, you know, if there's a home run, it can say home run. It spins around, it does a bunch of other things. Yeah, my wife's a big coffee. I call her a coffee snob. She says she's not, but she prefers the iced coffee over anything. And, when we were there three years ago, we're kind of walking around the concourse and everything. Do you have live goats then in the outfield? Yeah. Out in center field, we do still have live goats at every game. Uh, and the, that group has grown. It used to be one or two goats, and now you can usually see five or six and several baby goats at every game. I'm loving the Eric Prophet Redemption Tour. Hartford Part two. I, I'm enjoying, that'll have to be the title of that episode, sir Redemption. Eric, prophet part two, and Hartford. Mike, I would say is a baseball fan and nerd. I'm glad the Rock Cat's logo is back when that came out several weeks ago. I thought. Now that is really cool. As you mentioned with the yard goat color scheme, but those old logos, and I, I applaud you guys for doing that. That's one of those hats back in the day you wish you had bought and then the team was gone and then, you know, now it's back. And I just thought that was really cool. I wanted to ask you, with all the brands that you guys have, what do you think is the most popular among the fans of all the identities you guys do? Yeah, I mean, uh, obviously the goat head is always the most popular. Um, Chios is crazy popular that has real legs to it. Um, we were one of the first teams to get into the MILB COPA program. enrolled that hat out, you know, eight years ago. we've done several one-off brands over the years that were very popular. The Hartford Steam cheeseburgers we did maybe in 2018 or 19. Very popular. That logo was outstanding. It was just an angry cheeseburger steam coming out of his head. that one continues to be popular. We still sell that, Hartford bouncing pickles, which we rolled out a couple of years ago. Super popular. That one has legs, uh, that is a pickle on a pogo stick. and then, you know, the hat that Eric just switched to the Hartford School Boys, that is a really popular hat as well. And the school boys is an interesting story. So we did, there was not an Negro League team in Connecticut, so a lot of the teams around minor league baseball who embrace Negro League baseball and bring back some of those old identities. We didn't have a team to do that, so, we put together a committee of folks from the community in our area, and we talked about creating a tribute Negro League brand. And that's what we did with the Hartford School boys. And there actually was a neat league player from Connecticut named Johnny Schoolboy Taylor, uh, who's very well known and we're very close with his family. And that's where the name of the school boys came from. and that hat is really cool in its simplicity. It's a huge oversized h but the font actually comes from one of the old jerseys that Johnny Schoolboy Taylor used to wear. Oh, that's, that's amazing. Since you know Mike, you've been there since the beginning. Could you tell the listeners the importance of you guys using the whalers colors in Hartford? Very intentional, of course, with this cold scheme. Yeah, it was huge. I mean, really that, so people finding out about that happened when we released those caps, which I mentioned earlier, and that really was the first positive sentiment we had in that three year process. You know, people weren't happy that we were moving the team out of New Britain. People in Hartford were skeptical about having a ballpark there. The ballpark construction did not go well. There were delays. We played a season on the road. but after a couple of years of trials and tribulations, when we released those caps and people saw that we used the whalers colors, it really turned the tide. And that's when things started to go our way. people, uh. In the area here are still very, uh, spicy about the whalers having left, you know, teams that, that leave it's a challenge because they, I don't think the attendance was there to have it be successful enough to stay, but it's one of those things like once it's gone, you're like, wait, don't take this from us. We'll go, but it's too late at that point. so there is a tremendous amount of love for the whalers here. the logo in the hat is still actually, oddly enough, one of the best selling, hockey hats, uh, NHL hats, even though that that brand has been defunct for all of these years, and I know recently Carolina did bring it back. They've been playing as the whalers, but even prior to that, people just love that logo. So, yeah, it, it really solidified us as. Being Hartford. and that was one of the first times I think that the people from the area could start to see us as being an institution in their backyard as opposed to somebody that was moving from somewhere else like outsiders. Yeah, it was, it was just a brilliant, brilliant move and, and bringing, healing the people that had lost their, team, like you said, with that deep affection kind of reminds me of the expos, right? Their attendance was not great, but once they were gone. I wish they were still around personally, but, you know, as a baseball fan, but then you're like reminiscing about the memories of going games there and what that team meant. And I'm certainly, you know, the folks in Hartford, have been dealing with that same for years now. Loss of their team. Mike, I, I say this all the time. I believe in recycling. So this is my GM team owner question, and I love the answers Eric and I get with this question. So here's the question. If money's no option, what is your dream? One night promotion. You have a blank check to do. Anything you wanna do one game only? I mean, am I speaking personally or am I speaking, uh, as a a, a businessman who wants to make money? I, I'm, this is personal. This is total dream scenario, not based in reality. hair metal night, I'd like to get all of the late eighties, early nineties, uh, hair metal bands that are still around to come out, uh, and play at a game.'cause that's, uh, one of my original and true passions in life. Oh wow. That would be fun. That would be cool. And I imagine the merch you guys would come up with would be phenomenal. Could you imagine the goat would. Like a mullet and kind rock goat by guitar or something. Definitely mullet caps for sure. Oh, Mike, obviously you had mentioned, uh, kind of being a, a Boston Red Sox fan. Do you have like a, maybe a Mount Rushmore top four favorite Red Sox growing up? Yeah, I mean my, my all time favorite baseball player is and always will be, Pedro Martinez. you know, when I was a kid growing up, I was a Red Sox fan and, you know, I loved the Weight Boggs, the Dwight Evans, Edmond that, you know, when I would go and see games when I was a kid, that was my team. But when I was in my twenties and I lived in Boston, I lived right up the road from Fenway Park. My friends and I went all the time'cause you could buy a$10 bleacher ticket, which seems like pretty antiquated idea. But uh, we used to go to games all the time and I loved. That late nineties, you know, early two thousands team, and the, you know, a configuration of which went on to win that first World series. But Pedro, for me, is just my absolute favorite. I, it was a ritual for me every time he pitched, that was my night, because every time he got on the mound, you had a chance to see a perfect game or a no hitter every single time. and just the ferocity. In the intensity he brought to every game as a guy with like a small frame, just on that mount, absolutely fearless. I loved the way he would throw at players if they showed him up and you know, he could just put the ball anywhere he wanted to at any time. And it was just a pleasure. I can remember just planning meals around those games and like sitting there, I'm like, this is what I'm doing for the next two hours. I'm gonna watch this man pitch. ironically. The year after I left Pawtucket, he became a minor league pitching coordinator and he was in Pawtucket all the time, of course. So I have never met him, oddly enough, and I, I just missed seeing him all the time, but by far my favorite for sure. Well, I want to go back real quick. So obviously you'd mentioned some of the alternate identities you guys do, and I just wanna say, you do such a great job. So I collect those little ice cream helmets. And so you've had pretty much all of'em on there. The bouncing pickles, the steam cheeseburgers, the kind of the main logo with the blue and the green colored helmet. So that's one thing that I enjoy that you guys do. But um, we mentioned obviously about the ballpark. So on the trip, my brother and I, you know, usually go on. We like to try to go to some like local breweries or whatever we can around. So for those that get a chance to get to Hartford, is there, anything you typically suggest for the people that are getting there for the first time? Yeah, well, there's a couple of options. So, um, there is a really popular brewery that's not far away. It's it's not in Hartford, but it's an adjacent town. Verium, brewing super popular locally. People love it and we do sell it in the ballpark. So that's something to look up. if you're looking to come into Hartford and stay in Hartford. Urban Lodge is right down the road, right down the road from the ballpark. There's a little downtown drift, a district with like a nice street with like cobblestone and brick and lots of restaurants and bars there. And Urban Lodge Brewing is there. and Vaughn's Public House, which is an Irish bar. So those are great places to go and drink. Uh, and Urban Lodge does, uh, brew their own beer as well. I love it. Yeah. Looking forward to getting back to Hartford. But, uh, Mike, one of the segments we do is called the profit and the loss and the profit's. Something you've gained or earned, it could be your time in Pawtucket or with the yard goats. Now, any specific profit to gain, you can kind of think of. yeah. Well, I mean, I owe so much to, this, you know, sport that, you know, I work in. You know, I, I was, we were talking a little bit before we started the show, you know, when I went to work in minor league baseball, I didn't know anything about it. I learned a lot quickly. The one thing I learned was that it is a, uh, a double full-time job. It is a day and a night job. but the general manager who was in. Pawtucket at the time, Lou Heimer had been there for many years. He helped start the team when the new owner had had bought this old defunct, uh, stadium. and he was an absolute mentor for me, a great friend. I loved that man. And he went on coincidentally to, found the Wichita Wind surge, your team, and build that ballpark in Wichita. but I learned so much from him and I learned so much about the game and I feel like. The person I am at 51 years old, the husband that I am, the father that I am so much of it is grounded in the way that I have learned to manage a very large group of people and also manage people's expectations of coming out to a game. You know, we are the relief in people's lives. Everybody is busy, everybody is stressed when they come out here. We want to put them on a conveyor belt and just give them everything. We don't want it to be hard. You know, my favorite thing about this ballpark is when families come out and they have little kids, it's easy for them. It's easy to park, it's easy to get in the ballpark, it's easy to find the food and the drink that you want, and nothing is easy when you have little kids. so that's my greatest profit is just how much of. a person I've learned to be from the work that I've done, you know, um, the kind of man that I've become as a result of it. Yeah, we had talked kind of before we got started here that I met Lou a couple times. So as the winds surge, ballpark was starting to get built, he, we could go up there and he'd take, you around and do some ballpark tours and everything to see what the stadium was. So, wish I would've got to know him a little bit better, but. I'm sure he is really proud of once May, 2021 rolled around and they got to, play their very first game at the ballpark. Unfortunately he wasn't there with us, but I'm sure he is probably proud of where that became and six years now, the ballpark, we've been season ticket holders from the beginning, so, appreciate you sharing a little bit about that. What about the flip side, the loss, you know, was it any of the previous Red Sox teams prior to finally breaking through in, what was it, 2004? Uh, any specific loss you can think of? well, gosh, yeah, I mean that 2003 year, I, I, I still remember being in, uh, my wife and I lived in a condo at the time and I had a friend over. We were huge Red Sox fans and I remember that moment, uh, you know, when they lost, uh, on that home run in the playoffs and it was just over. That was probably like my greatest disappointment at the time. But, you know, we have not had a lot of winning years on the field here in Hartford, all of our years off. The field have been winning years, but on the field not so much. you know, we are a Iraqis affiliate and they have been in a, a long slow rebuilding phase, and that does trickle down. But couple of years ago we had a really strong team and we went to the playoffs and unfortunately we lost. And, I just remember being at the ballpark and, uh, the, the game itself was probably the, one of the best baseball games I've ever seen. And it came down to the final pitch in the ninth inning. And, you know, I just had that same pit in my stomach that I had in 2003, watching the Red Sox playing the Yankees. but unfortunately we lost that game, so it was another disappointment. But, you know, I'll have, Another, uh, profit someday when we do win a championship. Yes, for sure. Well, hoping that'll be soon. And, appreciate your time. We know you're, uh, getting ready to play. So Johnny e said before we got started, I believe they're playing the, those Richmond flying squirrels this week. So, hopefully our, friend, uh, Jesse's not listening, so, uh, go yard goats. I hope you guys win. I'm getting ready to head up to the ballpark myself, the wind surge playing the Springfield Cardinals, the defending Texas League, chance, the finishing up the last couple games of the series here tonight. So Mike, really appreciate your time. Uh, hopefully, like I said, getting up there this summer. Maybe if you're out and about getting a chance to run into you and say hi. But, uh, for those that want to follow along, uh, get tickets, get any of the gear we've been talking about, do you have the website you could share? Yeah, absolutely. So yard, goats baseball.com is where you can find all of the stuff that you need. and our socials are super fun. we focus on a lot of things other than baseball on our socials, a lot of pop culture and silliness. So, you know, you can find us on x, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok. So I'd suggest if somebody is looking to learn about the team, you'll learn a lot about us on the, uh, social feeds. Yes, for sure. Yep. I've been following you guys and I know Johnny has for quite some time, so if you're not already, make sure you guys follow them. If you get a chance, get to Hartford. Check out a game and then make sure you guys follow us as well. We're earned fun. Average average is a VG. We're on Instagram, Twitter, blue sky, and threads. One more time, Mike, really do appreciate your time today. Thank you so much. Yeah. Thank you. And I'm looking forward to meeting you in person. That's gonna be great. America, lower your standards average is what these guys do best. Uh, Uh, Uh, Uh, uh, uh, uh uh.