LANSING - Anyone who has lived in Michigan for a few years knows the old joke: Michigan has two seasons - winter and construction.
Well, the flowers are blooming, birds are chirping and Interstate-496 has been closed down for renovations until August. But with the warm weather and frustrating commutes comes another season - baseball season.
The Lansing Lugnuts open their season tonight against the West Michigan Whitecaps at Oldsmobile Park, in Lansing. But last night, the team stopped by the Holiday Inn South, 6820 S. Cedar St., to meet fans and introduce themselves to Lansing.
“We’re very excited - we’ve been looking forward to it for a while,” infielder Blair Barbier said. Barbier was the captain of the Louisiana State University NCAA Championship team in 2000. “The fans are awesome - all through spring training the guys who have played here before had nothing but great things to say about Lansing and the fans.”
An excited crowd filled the conference room of the hotel as the team came in one by one, introduced by radio personality Dave DeMarco of WVFN 730-AM. DeMarco joked with each player, asking them about Lansing, their previous experiences with the game and what they hoped to accomplish during the upcoming season.
Fans hoping for autographs were also treated with a chance to walk around and meet the players and coaching staff. Those who didn’t bring a piece of memorabilia to sign had a chance to catch a ball thrown into the crowd by the team after the introductions.
“They’ve got a lot of new kids,” said Roy Asiller, a Lansing resident who has followed the team for the past three seasons.
He and a friend came out to see the new team and get a few autographs. Asiller was excited about the new team members and coaching staff.
“They look pretty good. Everyone I’ve talked to says Garcia should do pretty well,” he said.
The new coach in question is Julio Garcia, who also happens to be the Lansing Lugnuts’ fifth manager in six years. Taking over for Steve McFarland, Garcia has spent 13 seasons in professional baseball as a coach or manager at the minor league level for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was named Manager of the Year at Class A Frederick of the Carolina League in 1996.
Another big acquisition for the team is Luis Montanez.
Montanez was selected by the Chicago Cubs, the Lugnuts parent team, as the third pick in the first round of the draft. Named Baseball America and USA Today first team All-America selection, and selected by Baseball America as the best prospect in the Arizona league and to the publication’s rookie-level all-star team, hopes are high for Montanez in the season.
After a few autographs, handshakes and glasses of iced tea the conference room began to thin out a bit. And despite some of the team’s worries about the Michigan weather, being from locations such as the Dominican Republic or Australia, they all had good things to say about their experiences with the Lansing fans.
“Lansing’s very nice - the weather’s been good and I like the park,” said Adam Morrisey, an infielder who made his way to America from Australia to play baseball.
Morrisey told the crowd that baseball is becoming more popular in Australia, but most players try to make their way to the states.
“We’re a very strong team this year. The fans seem very nice - hopefully this will shape up to be a great season.”
The Lugnuts will kick off the season at 7:05 p.m. today at Oldsmobile park, 505 E. Michigan Ave. Box seats are $7, reserved seats are $6.50, and general admission seats are $5.50.
