Schooners Take 'Long' Road Back After Tough Debut

The Mystic Schooners just missed the New England Collegiate Baseball League playoffs in their first season here and placed ninth out of 10 teams in attendance, averaging 250 tickets a game.

A 18-24 record is usually not a standard of excellence, and the attendance was poor. The team was 11th out of 12 teams in attendance. But the Schooners' on-the-field performance was championship-quality compared to its off-the-field matters, which included myriad negative issues that still are unresolved.

The Schooners relocated here from Bristol with the stipulation that to the summer college league standards. Groton's Board of Education jumped at the opportunity for a state-of-the-art field at no cost to the town.

Unfortunately, the deal looked better on paper than in reality. The project was delayed and not finished until a week into the Schooners' season. Plus, it cost $140,000 more than expected.

The Schooners say they are right now unable to contribute toward the owed money to contractors. That could change, however, in the future as a baseball club has taken on a much more local profile with the addition last summer of Phil Orbe, Montville High baseball coach, as manager and the appointment last week of Dennis Long, former minor league pitcher and long-time local baseball instructor, as general manager.

Long, who lives in Norwich and owns Pitching Easy LLC., takes over GM duties from Kevin Kelleher, who will remain President of the Mystic Baseball Club. Kelleher, who runs an accounting firm in West Hartford, decided he could not wear two hats as president and GM.

"This is a nice position for me," Long said. "All my life I've loved being around ballparks. I was a batboy for Niantic American Legion and used to love to watch the high school teams play before I became a player. I love the atmosphere of a ballpark, and now I hope to generate interest in the community to spend nice summer nights at the ballpark."

Because of the Schooners' late start in their inaugural season, Kelleher and his staff did not market the team in the community as much as they would've liked.

"Phil and I hope the local touch is going to help," Long said. "We have meet-and-great appearances and events in the works such as hot stove clinics during holiday breaks, fundraisers such as a golf tournament or road race. The biggest area we want to explore is reaching out to local Little Leagues and youth leagues. I know I'm going to recommend to every player I instruct that they come out to a game and see a Division I college player up close."

“Dennis is a significant hire for our club,” Orbe said. “Aside from his extensive baseball background, Dennis brings a wealth of experience in the business sector and working with groups  in various communities.  I truly think he is the perfect fit for the club.  Dennis has provided the Schooners with instant credibility.”

The Cape Cod League is considered one of the country's best summer college leagues, attracting professional prospects from big-time college programs. The NECBL attracts Division I underclassman talent as well. Waterford's Colin O'Keefe, a pitcher at Virginia Tech, is expected back with the Schooners. Long said the roster, which includes players from UConn, is 90 percent complete.

An NECBL franchise can succeed. Some franchises, such as Holyoke, Mass., and Newport, R.I., boast loyal followings of 2,000 or more fans a game.

"Holyoke in particular has great ties with youth leagues in the community," Long said. "Newport has the benefit of a beautiful historic stadium within walking distance of many hotels downtown.

"We will continue to sell Mystic as a destination for top college players to spend their summer," Long said. "That's one of the appeals of the Cape where I played, to play baseball in a beautiful summer area. I can't think of many nicer places to play or watch baseball that Noank-Groton Long Point in the summer."

Perhaps if the financial issues with the Fitch ballfield improvements, plus a logistical matter of the third base dugout blocking views to left field from the pressbox, can be fixed, news surrounding the Schooners will be reserved for "who's on first?" rather than "who pays first?"