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SEATTLE, WA -
Is BLB expansion on the horizon? Earlier this week a group of marijuana dispensary owners formed the organization "Expansion Baseball Seattle (LLC)" or "EBS", with the hope to bring professional baseball to the Pacific Northwest.
Seattle is not known as a baseball city. There aren't many parks within the city limits. The more popular sports are football, basketball and soccer as a direct result of the regular rain in the area. However, there has been a recent rise in interest over the last decade. Many believe it to be directly related to the BLB's California Kodiaks, whose Single-A affiliate plays here in Seattle. In 2005, the Pilots won their first ever Bush League Championship and interest in the sport continues to grow. The local fans fell in love with Pilot's Catcher Mike Del Rio and First Baseman Pat Linden. Even today, over 10 years later, the most popular BLB jersey's you see around town are Del Rio's Denver BC blue and Linden's California Kodiak blue.
E.P.S has decided to hold a contest in the Seattle Times newspaper to get names for the potential franchise, hoping to sway current team owners that their interest is very real. The group has already appointed some of it's potential front-office in long-time Washington Bats GM Pat McLaughlin.
Within hours of the announcement over 10,000 people submitted entries for the name competition. The the five most popular being: "Orcas", "Shamans", "Evergreens" and "Thunderbirds".
There is already a lot of hope and excitement in Seattle. However, there are many who believe this attempt will go up in smoke. How serious is this ownership group? How serious is the fan interest? Baseball in Seattle? Lots of questions remain.
"Who knows if it will happen," said McLaughlin. "We don't even know if the league is ready for more teams. Where would they play? The IL? DL? Would there be realignment? So many questions still, we are very early in the process. We don't even know if this ownership group can even stay clear headed long enough to get the proper paper work done."
The ownership group has said to be very serious and believe that the apprehension of the league based on their marijuana business is unwarranted. They believe Seattle is ahead of the curve and other states will soon vote to legalize the miracle herb.
"Also, don't forget, other cities have tried and failed to land BLB Expansions in the past," exclaimed McLaughlin. "Remember the Memphis Fighting Iguanas or the People for the Ethical Treatment of Salt Lake City?! No?.....Exactly."
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Is BLB expansion on the horizon? Earlier this week a group of marijuana dispensary owners formed the organization "Expansion Baseball Seattle (LLC)" or "EBS", with the hope to bring professional baseball to the Pacific Northwest.
Seattle is not known as a baseball city. There aren't many parks within the city limits. The more popular sports are football, basketball and soccer as a direct result of the regular rain in the area. However, there has been a recent rise in interest over the last decade. Many believe it to be directly related to the BLB's California Kodiaks, whose Single-A affiliate plays here in Seattle. In 2005, the Pilots won their first ever Bush League Championship and interest in the sport continues to grow. The local fans fell in love with Pilot's Catcher Mike Del Rio and First Baseman Pat Linden. Even today, over 10 years later, the most popular BLB jersey's you see around town are Del Rio's Denver BC blue and Linden's California Kodiak blue.
E.P.S has decided to hold a contest in the Seattle Times newspaper to get names for the potential franchise, hoping to sway current team owners that their interest is very real. The group has already appointed some of it's potential front-office in long-time Washington Bats GM Pat McLaughlin.
Within hours of the announcement over 10,000 people submitted entries for the name competition. The the five most popular being: "Orcas", "Shamans", "Evergreens" and "Thunderbirds".
There is already a lot of hope and excitement in Seattle. However, there are many who believe this attempt will go up in smoke. How serious is this ownership group? How serious is the fan interest? Baseball in Seattle? Lots of questions remain.
"Who knows if it will happen," said McLaughlin. "We don't even know if the league is ready for more teams. Where would they play? The IL? DL? Would there be realignment? So many questions still, we are very early in the process. We don't even know if this ownership group can even stay clear headed long enough to get the proper paper work done."
The ownership group has said to be very serious and believe that the apprehension of the league based on their marijuana business is unwarranted. They believe Seattle is ahead of the curve and other states will soon vote to legalize the miracle herb.
"Also, don't forget, other cities have tried and failed to land BLB Expansions in the past," exclaimed McLaughlin. "Remember the Memphis Fighting Iguanas or the People for the Ethical Treatment of Salt Lake City?! No?.....Exactly."
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