Inside Richmond: The City's Pulse

Episode 16 - Inside Richmond: The City’s Pulse | Baseball Returns to McBride Stadium with the Northwoods League

• Kevin Shook • Episode 16

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Baseball is making its triumphant return to Richmond’s historic McBride Stadium! Trevor Amerson, the newly appointed General Manager of Richmond’s Northwoods League team, joined Inside Richmond host Lindsay Darnell to share what promises to be an exciting new chapter for our community.

The Northwoods League delivers a unique baseball experience. It features top college players from across the country competing in a professional style schedule. These athletes play 72 games in just 76 days, preparing for potential professional careers. The league has a strong track record of developing MLB talent, with stars like Max Scherzer and Chris Sale among its alumni, and about 80 players drafted each season.

The announcement is even more exciting because of the star power behind the ownership group. Jon Gries, known as Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite and most recently seen in The White Lotus, is part of the ownership team. He will be present at the naming reveal event on October 7 at 6:30 pm at the Wayne County Historical Museum.

Join us for a free evening where fans will be the first to see the new team name, branding, jerseys, and merchandise. There will also be swag, fresh jerseys, and plenty of fun surprises.

Beyond the field, the organization is committed to creating a complete entertainment experience. Plans include stadium upgrades such as a new deck along the left field line, family friendly areas, and on-field promotions to keep fans of all ages engaged. Ticket packages will be available for every preference, including options that include food and drinks for a full ballpark experience.

The team is also inviting community members to serve as host families for players. Hosting is a vital part of the Northwoods League experience and often creates lifelong relationships between families and future professionals.

Opening day is set for late May 2025, and the excitement is already building for summer nights back at McBride Stadium. Stay connected by following “NWL Richmond” on social media and visiting their site at richmondnwlbaseball.com.

Join the celebration

  • What: Team name announcement, swag, new jerseys, and more
  • When: October 7, 6:30 pm
  • Where: Wayne County Historical Museum, 1150 N A Street, Richmond, IN 47374

Do not miss out! Visit northwoodsleague.com/richmond-baseball
to learn more, and join Trevor Amerson, Lindsay Darnell, and the community on October 7 at the Wayne County Historical Museum for an evening of announcements, giveaways, and Richmond baseball excitement.

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to another episode of Inside Richmond, the City's Pulse. I'm Lindsay Darnell, your host, and today we have an exciting guest with us. We have Trevor Amerson with Northwoods Baseball League. Trevor, thank you for joining me.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for having me on. I appreciate you having me.

Speaker 1:

Yes, so I wanted to have you on because we have some exciting news. I know there's been a lot of talks in the community about a baseball team coming back to McBride Stadium. Can you give us a little bit of a background on you, how you got into working for Northwoods League and the Richmond baseball team?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah. So it's been a long time coming. First off, that we're bringing baseball back to McBride, but I kind of started with the Northwoods League in 2022. Kind of I started off as an intern just for a team, for Northwoods League team, in Green Bay, wisconsin, and then kind of made my way up the ranks and then the ownership group here over at Richmond baseball kind of decided to bring me on as general manager and so now now here, moved to Richmond, finally in and ready to get to work.

Speaker 1:

So Okay, great. So I have a question how did you guys choose Richmond to bring another team to?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, I think it mainly got kind of it opened up, um, the school district bought the field, um, and then it kind of got open and our ownership group loved the fact that, um, you know, the summer collegiate baseball had been in richmond previously, um and wanted to bring something back to the stadium and obviously the stadium's pretty much got everything that we need um to, you know, make a successful product. I know you guys had like the roosters back in the 90s and all that kind of um, some fun stuff. So I've heard a bunch of great stories and looking to kind of bring that excitement back yeah, we're definitely excited and I know you guys aren't just all about baseball.

Speaker 2:

You guys like to have entertainment during the games and yeah yeah, I mean like on-field promos you know we're going to be doing. Hopefully we can give, you know, the kiddos something, something to do. Other parents sit back and enjoy a few beverages, kind of be babysitters for a night, but yeah, you know, you know, fun family for fun for everybody and all that kind of fun stuff.

Speaker 1:

So let's talk about opening day. When are you guys going to plan an opening day? It's not going to be this year, it's going to be next year when baseball season starts, correct?

Speaker 2:

Correct. Yeah, with most of our guys being well, all of our guys being college players, it starts a little bit later, so it'll be around the late May mark. So the schedule is going to be coming out around the new year, so we'll be kind of posting that when that happens, but it's going to be around late May. And then. So we'll be kind of posting that when that happens, but it's going to be around late May, and then we typically play until early to middle of August, depending on how long the playoffs go.

Speaker 1:

So I know a lot of people don't know this, but it is kind of neat. Who one of the owner co-owners of Northwood Leagues is. Can you tell us who that is?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we got a little star power on our ownership uh group here. So, uh, we have uh uncle rico, uh john grace, um, that's on the squad. He's also been in uh white lotus here recently, um, but he's um, he's part of the ownership staff and it's been very helpful so far. So, yeah, he'll be. Um, he'll be at our naming announcement when we announce that and we'll be looking, we'll be including them in the stadium a little bit so yeah, so you guys are going to be having a naming announcement here in Richmond that is open to the public, correct?

Speaker 2:

yes, yes, we'll be having it, um on Tuesday, october 7th. Um, it's going to be, you know, um around the 6 30 at the Wayne County Historical Museum, um, so it's going to be a really fun event. We're going to have a bunch of merchandise on sale for people to buy as soon as we announce it. We're going to be bringing some people in be able to see the jerseys right away, all that kind of fun stuff. So right away, everybody's going to be able to see what we're kind of all about.

Speaker 1:

Okay, great. So you guys are also doing some work at McBride Stadium to kind of spruce it up and get ready, right?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, we're going to be making, you know, a couple improvements. We're currently in talks about building a deck, you know, down the left field line, and you know we got some things in the works for, you know, bringing some fun in for the kiddos as well. So we're going to kind of see our options and but some fun in for the kiddos as well. So we're going to kind of see our options and but no, so I can't wait to see. I even took some before and after pictures for myself so I can see, you know, opening night for for myself and all that excitement that's going to come with it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm very excited for this. We used to go to the Roosters games when I was a kid. One of the announcers I'm not sure. If I remember correctly, he might've been a part owner of McBride stadium. But he was a teacher of mine in high school and so I had said, hey, I want to sing the national anthem before a game. And he said, well, you have to sing in front of the class. But my nerves were just so bad I was like maybe not.

Speaker 2:

I didn't say every single person, like. The first person I talked to in Richmond was the landlord that we were renting from, and the first thing that he said he was like oh, I used to go to roosters games as a kid, so I definitely have some big shoes to fill, cause anytime I talk about you know, bringing back baseball, that's the first thing that they say is you know roosters baseball? And I was, and so, yeah, big shoes to fill there.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yes, you do, and so they. Actually, the roosters team was pretty big. A lot of people always went to the games, um, and then it just kind of died off as time, and especially after covid.

Speaker 2:

A lot of things you know were on hold and locked down during covid, so there's a lot of stuff did. Yeah. Yeah, exactly, unfortunately.

Speaker 1:

Yes, so we have had some major changes in this town since covid, but we're excited for this team to come back. Um, you guys did have like a little survey to kind of help pick out your name, right?

Speaker 2:

Yes, yeah, we did. We let people kind of write in what they think the team name should be and then we kind of chose some unique ones. We really wanted to go with names that all kind of included something you know that hit home to Richmond, bring in different aspects of the city. And I saw all the names and there are some interesting ones and some really good ones, but we kind of decided on, you know, the final five and then, you know, kind of tallied up those votes from there.

Speaker 1:

OK, so can you tell us the name of the baseball team?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, sure, I guess I'll give you guys a little bit tidbit. So, um, the name of the team is going to be um, so I think that kind of you know ties in multiple aspects of kind of Richmond. Um, that we'll kind of explain at the naming announcement and so so the naming announcement is free at the Wayne County historic museum.

Speaker 1:

So make sure that everyone that you know knows about this. October 7th, that's a Tuesday. What time again?

Speaker 2:

Um, we're, we're shooting for six, 30. So the subject to change. But, um, we'll be posted on our Facebook as well. Um, right now it's called NWL Richmond, um, which obviously that'll be subject to change as well soon Once the name announcement comes out. But, um, yeah, feel free to go on there. Um, we're gonna have. We kind of just initially posted, you know, tuesday October 7th, but we'll be posting more details in the next coming weeks here um, so, talking baseball, I was asking you earlier.

Speaker 1:

This isn't a minor league or major league, it is. What did you call it?

Speaker 2:

yeah, it's so, it's a summer collegiate, uh, baseball, um. So basically, kind of what the Northwoods League does is they kind of imitate a minor league or major league schedule. So we bring in college guys from all over the country, you know division one schools, like you got your UCLA Arkansas, all the way down to JUCO, division three, and then they come and play with us for the summer and they play 72 games in 76 days. So so it's a lot of travel, a lot of work at home, um, but yeah, so they kind of get the grind of a major league season um under their belt and then, in hopes, you know, um, we typically have some scouts that come to our games, um, that are going to be looking for them in the mid July when the draft actually happens, um. So yeah, I think the Northwoods they had like 79, a little bit under 80 players drafted in this past summer.

Speaker 1:

Oh, wow.

Speaker 2:

So it's normally around that mark where we'll normally get some higher round one guys. You know all the way through. You know the rounds later on to the draft.

Speaker 1:

And that was going to be another question I had for you is how many usually go on to major? So about almost 80.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, you never and it's not exactly you know those players, because you never know what happens in the minor leagues, whether it be injuries or stuff like that. But you know we have. I mean you could. There's so many guys in the majors right now. You know you got like Max Scherzer and Chris Hale, two really good pitchers that are, you know, stars that played in the Northwoods League. I actually did look at it. Today there's a red, tj Friedel, who I think is an outfielder I don't know if I butchered that or not, but he's an outfielder for the Reds right now. So he played for St Cloud, you know, back in 2016. So they come from all walks of life. We get, you know, those high round draft picks that are going to be eventually stars. So you know it might take a little bit more time if you're seeing them, you know, rather in indianapolis and triple a um, but a couple years down the line they might be, you know, playing for cincinnati.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, that's exciting because we're not too far from cincinnati yeah so we can always go down there. Anyone that wanted to catch a reds game.

Speaker 2:

We're about an hour hour and 20 minutes away yeah, yeah, no, and pretty much any time you know you're going to a major league game, no matter what game it is. You might not realize it, but there's probably a very good chance that there's some Northwoods League players on that roster from just a couple years ago, so definitely a very high-quality baseball coming into McBride this summer.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's awesome, that's fascinating. So we were actually talking yesterday. You're saying you're going to be playing 72 games in 76 days. So these players, you guys are going to be looking for host families for these players to kind of come in, maybe get a meal, sleep and then hit the road again for the next game, right?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, we host families are a huge part of what we do. I know, back in Green Bay, like even you know, I've created a bunch of relationships with do. I know, back in Green Bay, like even you know, I've created a bunch of relationships with them just amazing people. But yeah, basically all it is, you know, cause they are going to be on the road quite a bit, but they are going to be home too, cause, you know, you still got those 36 games that are at home. But yeah, for when they're not on the road, you know a place to sleep, you know their room, their safe space, so that they can come back and just kind of relax for a little bit. Because it is a grind, these players want to feel comfortable and you don't want to throw them in a hotel room and they're dealing with all that for 76 days out of the year.

Speaker 2:

But yeah, so these host families get to host the players. We normally give them free season tickets to our games to thank them for all that they do. And it's as simple as you know a breakfast, you know, maybe a late night snack, and then obviously we have host families that you know that from the Max Scherzer and Chris Sale that are still in contact with them, that they bring them out to games, you know, fly them out and they get to experience that too. So obviously it's not all about trying to find a major leaguer when you're a host family, but it's an added bonus because you know families with kiddos, the players, come in and you know we like to bring in those high character guys that are going to really create relationship with the family, you know, because it needs to be that mutual benefit and we've had really great success in Green Bay in my time there, so definitely looking to kind of reenact that here.

Speaker 1:

Now, when you do start looking for host families, are you going to have applications for the families to fill out?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, and I'm actually going to be going through that process pretty soon. I think once we kind of that uh naming announcement gets out, that's going to be pretty much when the next post that we put out, cause, um, that's obviously a big undertaking, um, you know, finding rides for all of them too and trying to see who has a car, who doesn't. So huge, huge undertaking, um. So yeah, but we'll be kind of posting that on our Facebook, on our website too. Um, then we'll kind of go through that process and I'll talk to all the host families and kind of go through that and see if we can get a good group together.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so how many players are going to be on the team?

Speaker 2:

So it kind of it kind of rotates throughout the year. There are a couple of different. You know if they're going to be in for the half season, full season, for just a temporary amount, but normally it's around the 35 ish mark that we'll hold with. Obviously, you know there's a little bit more movement nowadays with bringing people in and people leaving, you know with college coaches and injuries and stuff like that. But yeah, there's a bunch of different stuff.

Speaker 1:

And then are these players? They're kind of fresh out of college. Is that where they're coming from, or are they still in college?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So they actually are going to be like fresh out of college. So we actually have some of the higher division one guys that are, you know, that are actually still in the College World Series. We have to wait for them to get here because that goes into, you know, the June and early July. So we get a lot of, you know, smaller school guys at the start and wait for those bigger guys because obviously we want them to be successful, to kind of doing that for their World Series. But so, yeah, it kind of depends on when the players get in.

Speaker 1:

So did you guys already have your players drafted or are you still kind of looking?

Speaker 2:

So we're kind of in that process right now. That's it's the early fall that that kind of takes place, where you start putting together a roster. You know we were still looking for a field manager as well. So you know there's a big process that goes into the roster and the coaching and obviously once we get that coach to the coach you know has it's very similar to high school recruiting um to where you know, with um the ownership and and me and the coach go kind of go through and build a roster, you know, together that way.

Speaker 1:

Um, so 36 games that are home. Do you guys know what your ticket prices are going to be yet? Are you still working that out?

Speaker 2:

we're still working that out. Um, that's kind of one of my goals is, um to get, get that all kind of settled and, um, you know, you have to build the ticket map with a new stadium too, um, so I'm kind of in the process of doing that right now, um, and kind of working with the owners to to kind of set those prices. Um, we're going're going to have everything you know under the sun, um, we're going to even have, like food and drink inclusive packages. We're going to have, you know, like five game plans, um, with a little bit more perks, you know, committing to that, with, you know, inaugural t-shirts and all your hats. So there's going to be a bunch of different packages that go into different spots throughout the stadium. You know some higher end, you know some normal ticket pricing, stuff like that, but yeah, so we're going to have a bunch of different options for everybody to enjoy.

Speaker 1:

So with your merch drop, with the naming of the team on October 7th, are you going to be selling merchandise as well? Yeah, October or not 17th, I'm sorry, october 7th.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, october 7th. Yes, yes, we are going to be doing that actually right from the naming announcement. And even if people can't make the naming announcement as well, um, we're going to have the shop, you know, fully ready to go by that time as well. Um, so, you know, I would imagine we'd, you know, live stream it in some way or fashion so people can watch from home too. Um, but we're also going to have that shop online right away and kind of as soon as we named that team, we're going to be loading it up so people can get their merch and I'll definitely be the poster boy for walking around town in it. It won't really find me without you know our branding. So it'll be cause. It'll be fun.

Speaker 1:

And talking about walking around town as the poster boy, I also wanted to kind of touch base that you are a young professional that just recently moved here to Richmond.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, no, and, and honestly I've had a great time so far. Um so me and my girlfriend kind of moved, moved from Wisconsin over here. Um so, definitely, looking to you know, meet everybody. I can, um, you know, make all those different connections, trying to integrate myself in here, cause what I've seen so far, it's a beautiful community.

Speaker 1:

And you've gotten to try some of the local restaurants already, correct?

Speaker 2:

Yes, A little bit still trying to make my way around. Um, you know, made it to the different spots like little Sheba has been a lot in the depot district so far. Yeah, um, but yeah, I made it to legends last night actually. So that was a good great burgers as well. So definitely going to be making my way around town trying to find everything.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so and I know we were talking about that yesterday Definitely want to hit up the farmer's market. Some of the festivals events that are going to be happening. Um there's going to be an October fest uh down in the Depot district on. I believe it's September 20th.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

But farmer's market is Saturday morning nine to 12.

Speaker 2:

Yep, already planning on going on Saturday. You convinced me yesterday. So, very, very much looking forward to that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, um. So yeah, I would say you know I'd love to get you back on here after you've kind of lived here for a little bit, checked everything out, and we'll check back in and see. You know your thoughts on all the different restaurants, the different events that we have going on here in town.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, no, going to be kind of making my way around, so can't wait to come back and you know, kind of tell the stories.

Speaker 1:

Yes, no we're very excited to have a young professional in your girlfriend as well. Yeah, so that would be two young professionals that have moved here to Richmond. I know that we were kind of talking about winters. They're pretty mild. We might have one or two snowstorms that will get maybe six inches, usually three inches, but then they kind of melt away. But no, we're excited to have you and your girlfriend here in the city and we're excited for this new baseball team.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Is there anything else that you want the community to know, or where they can follow you to get more information on social media?

Speaker 2:

No, yeah, that's a great question.

Speaker 2:

Um, if you guys take a look at our Facebook, um, it's going to be the NWL Richmond.

Speaker 2:

Um, that's going to be kind of a placeholder for now, uh, where he can find us, um, as well as uh same thing on our Instagram as well, um, you can give us a follow on both of those, cause that's kind of where you're going to get the news. Um, and obviously, our website, um is going to be um, the uh, richmond NWO baseballcom. Um, so if you just look that up or look that up in Google, um, and you just look for the Northwoods League, that's going to be your best bet on kind of all of our news and naming announcement. And then, kind of off of that, once we start get going with all the ticket plans, you know, and we're going to have a bunch of contests where people can win season tickets for life, win a bunch of free merchandise. So be on the lookout for that, because we're going to hold some cool contests this fall and into the winter, kind of keeping the excitement rolling all the way until next spring and next summer.

Speaker 1:

So Okay, so I'll definitely make sure that I share your guys' posts on the city's social media. Awesome, make sure that you guys get down to the historic Wayne County Historic Museum on October 7th, as soon as they have the information time that it's going to be for the name announcement, I will share that. Trevor, thank you for joining me. I know this was kind of a short podcast, but you know we were still in the works of it. We don't want to give too too much information out until it's ready to go.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, I can't wait to come back and explain all the fun things that we're going to be doing this upcoming summer. So, yeah, Thank you. Yeah, thank you.

Speaker 1:

That's Inside Richmond, the City's Pulse. Join me next time.