Opinion: Name Change Proposal
September 29, 2010
by Anthony Bush
Player-General Manager of the Proctor Padres
In the spring of 1996 I was playing baseball for Bemidji State University and looking for an opportunity to continue playing when I returned home to Pike Lake for the summer. There were only two choices: the Duluth Xpress, and a Superior club that had just started the previous year, the Bayside Vipers. I called the Vipers first because Mike Davis, a high school teammate of mine, was playing for them. I was lucky to make the team considering I was not a Superior native nor a UW-Superior player. I have always felt grateful to the Vipers for giving me a chance to play.
Later, I transfered to UW-Superior and enjoyed three seasons for the Yellowjackets. I continued playing for the Vipers until 2006.
I left for the expansion Padres in 2007 because it was a chance to bring amateur baseball back to Proctor, where I have served as a high school assistant coach since 2004. While I still coach there and desire to see Proctor build a new baseball field, my loyalty to Proctor does not match my desire to see the Padres club have more success on the field and a greater role in the Twin Ports community. The move to Bulldog Park for the 2010 season reflects those desires. We now have what is arguably the finest home field in our league. We are gaining traction in other communities, namely West Duluth, while keeping a strong connection to Proctor, which is in the midst of a baseball revival with the recent success of the high school and VFW teams. My pledge will stand for as long as I operate the club: we will return to Proctor when a new field is built.
In the years since I had just two choices of teams to contact, there have been several expansion teams: the St. Croix Ravens (1999), the Superior Lakers (2004), the Proctor Padres (2007), and now the Twin Ports North Stars (2011). I am pleased to see the growth of baseball in the area over the years, but it is important to note the one thing these teams have in common is they are all spin-offs of the Vipers. The Vipers have weathered many storms in their 16-year existence, including losing players to the newer teams, four managerial changes, and three different home fields.
The latest storm, a player shortage, may spell the end of the Vipers. If so, we in the amateur baseball community who got our start with the Vipers ought to tip our caps to the managers who have worked so hard to allow us to play baseball all these years: Chad Pink and Jason Strandberg, Brad Lien, Nick Garramone, Pat Davy, and Bob Eastman. I am sure they would appreciate a kind word about what their efforts have meant to us. But we probably would make them more proud and honor their efforts to a greater degree if we kept the Bayside Vipers alive in Duluth-Superior, and I have a plan to do it.
I have been able to express my appreciation to the Vipers over the years. It was through my connections that allowed the Vipers to play their home games in Proctor in 2007, 2008, and the second half of the 2009 season. I started the Vipers Veterans Committee in 2008. The committee's purpose is to elect people for the Bayside Vipers Hall of Fame. I was proud to announce Brad Lien and Chad Pink were selected for the inaugural 2010 hall of fame class, and I cannot wait for the second-annual election this December.
While the future outlook of the Padres is in great shape, considering the move to Bulldog Park and the influx of young players, the Proctor Padres are willing to change their name to the Bayside Vipers and add the remaining Vipers players to the club. This gesture may be more reciprocal than magnanimous, in that we would hopefully add some veteran players to our roster, but I doubt there is as generous an offer out there that would allow the Vipers name to continue to exist in the Twin Ports.
After 16 years in either Superior or Proctor, it is my humble opinion the Vipers belong in the Twin Ports. We hope the remaining players will choose to come to Bulldog Park over retiring or playing outside the Twin Ports.
After 16 years in either Superior or Proctor, it is my humble opinion the Vipers belong in the Twin Ports. We hope the remaining players will choose to come to Bulldog Park over retiring or playing outside the Twin Ports.
email Anthony Bush at proctorpadres@yahoo.com
Opinion: New Field Needed In Proctor
August 25, 2009
by Anthony Bush, Proctor Padres Player-Manager
I propose a committee be formed for the purpose of building a new baseball facility in Proctor.
There are a myriad of problems with Terry Egerdahl Memorial Field in regards to its use as a baseball field. Among them are the setting sun in batters’ eyes, a batting backdrop of a white bus garage and silver football bleachers, an uneven playing surface that includes a drainage hump in the outfield, crumbling dugouts, a view from the concession stand that is obscured by a dugout, a temporary fence in the outfield, and the field’s location near the wooded area along Kingsbury Creek causes many foul balls to become lost or wet.
Baseball cannot be played on Egerdahl Field in the month of August because it is converted for football use. The temporary fence is removed, a goal post is installed in the outfield, and bleachers are placed on the field. Because of this, Proctor has no baseball field for a third of the summer.
A new facility would allow for several events the Egerdahl site cannot accommodate. With a new baseball facility, Proctor could be a host site for ticketed events such as regional high school playoffs and the annual Lakeview American Legion Tournament. With a new facility, Proctor could host a variety of tournaments for youth leagues, VFW, American Legion, and adult amateur teams. A new facility could be used for the entire time there is no snow on the ground instead of only half of the time, and the Proctor Padres could host a tournament during the Hoghead Festival. All of these possibilities would provide benefits to the community by keeping youth active in an outdoor recreational activity for a longer period than is currently possible and would bring in visitors from across the region, including the Twin Cities and Wisconsin.
A new baseball facility would extend the renewed sense of pride and enthusiasm for baseball that Proctor has experienced over the past few years with the steady play of the Rails varsity squads (2007 Region 7AA Final Four participants), the reemergence of adult amateur baseball (the Padres were established in 2007), and the success of the 2009 VFW team (region champions, state tournament participants).
Please contact me at 218-393-9687 or proctorpadres@yahoo.com if you are interested in adding a new chapter to the story of Proctor baseball.
Anthony Bush
1519 Belmont Rd
Duluth, MN 55805
Anthony Bush
1519 Belmont Rd
Duluth, MN 55805
