Alan’s TTIM Stories #72

“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.”
Terence Mann – Field of Dreams

A finely stitched baseball is captured by a leather mitt, the crack of a wooden bat or a loud ping off aluminum, grass-stained and dirt covered uniforms, sunglasses helping locate a pop fly against the summer sun, a pitch that dances before passing over home plate, and thousands in the stands making their approval known by reverberating noise. In diamonds across the country the game delights and energizes large metropolises and tiny towns from T-ball youngsters to major league veterans. Careers are made and economies are boosted.

Frank Perdue dreamed of bringing pro baseball to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The region is known for flat, rich agricultural lands for truck farming and roadside produce stands galore. Also, there are natural wonders between the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, a healthy tourism industry, and charming villages. One village, Salisbury, population 33,000, county seat of Wicomico County, is packed with institutions and attractions – Salisbury University, Salisbury Zoo, Ward Museum of Wildlife. And since 1996 – professional baseball.

Frank Perdue, a life-long resident of Salisbury, is better known for chickens. Perdue Farms was founded by his father, Arthur, in 1920, same year as Frank’s birth. Frank grew the business into the third largest provider of poultry products in the US ($8 billion in 2021). Success is partly due to a bombastic advertising campaign “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.”
 With a dash of marigold blossoms.

In 1995, the Albany Polecats were purchased and became the Delmarva Shorebirds, part of the Maryland Baseball Limited Partnership that also owns the Boxie Baysox and Frederick Keys. Delmarva name came from the peninsula dividing the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean (Del – Delaware, Mar – Maryland, and Va – Virginia). The mascot, Shorebirds, recognized the natural wonders of the region.

The team belongs to the Class A, South Atlantic League (Champions 1997 and 2000) and affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles. Home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium east of Salisbury along Route 50, the road to Ocean City. The stadium also houses the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame Museum. Noted alumni of the Shorebirds include Erik Bedard, Mike Bordick, Zach Britton, Manny Machado, Pat Hentgen, Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts, and Scott Williamson.

With all the positive aspects of Minor League Baseball, a few questions of relevance linger. A question remains on the return on investment of public-financed stadiums. Muti-million-dollar contracts don’t exist at this level with players barely getting by on meager salaries. Will the potential of NIL revenue encourage more players to choose college baseball?

Thousands of baseball fans can enjoy an afternoon or evening at the ballpark for dramatically less money than a major league experience to watch stars of the future with some outrageous entertaining antics. Minor League Baseball offers an opportunity for aspiring ballplayers, an economic advantage for a small town, along with civic pride. Frank Perdue saw the potential. Go Shorebirds!

Sources:
Historic Baseball (com)
Wikipedia
Wikimedia Commons
milb.com
Field of Dreams quotes

Follow announcements of Alan’s TTIM Stories at Facebook.com/alan.vandervoort or Instagram & Threads vandervoort_author, with all available posts at www.alanvandervoort.com. Novels by the author include: Sandhills – A Novel and Key Largo Summer, found at Booklocker.com and other online booksellers.