GBL leaders happy with where the league is

The Golden Baseball League started as a business model by two Stanford grad students, David Kaval and Amit Patel, and two years later, the league is doing just fine.

The GBL held its second annual all-star game in Chico, Calif. last night, and GBL commissioner Kevin Outcalt and Patel were involved in meetings with both the general managers and managers all day Monday.

"I think we're doing well," Patel said in a phone interview from Chico. "We were talking as a company that we would break even in year three. The biggest move we made was bringing in Reno, and the Reno team is drawing what the teams did in Surprise and Mesa combined. Reno has been a tremendous product.

"We're 10 percent over (ticket sales) from where we were last year, and we're playing 10 fewer games and have two fewer teams. We're extremely happy with Reno. They came out of the gate strong and that helped."

Patel also said he's impressed with the way Reno merchandise is selling.

"They are the strongest seller across the league," Patel said. "You see their merchandise all over town."

From a business point of view, the only blimp on the radar screen has been in San Diego where the league has already made a management change in the front office.

It's tough to be in a Major League market, but Outcalt said that the Surf Dawgs don't contend with the Padres for the entertainment dollar.

"What we compete against are all the other family entertainment - the movies and the beach," he said. "There are so many other things to do there, Marketing is so much more expensive there."

Outcalt said there is a continued effort in how to increase the entertainment and improve the product so that fans will want to return again and again. That was the main focus of Monday's meeting with the general managers. Reno's Dwight Dortch missed the meeting because he was attending his daughter's out-of-state softball tournament. Curt Jacey represented Reno at the meetings.

Outcalt said the league plans to expand from between two and four teams next season.

St. George, a former Western Baseball League franchise, has already been awarded a franchise for next season, and the team would play at Dixie State. Outcalt said that there have been discussions with Santa Clara University about putting a team there next year, too. Outcalt didn't reveal any other potential sites.

"Our discussions aren't complete," Outcalt said of the talks with Santa Clara. "We are focusing hard on the Bay Area."

The California League has a team in San Jose, but Outcalt believes they are two distinct markets.

"If we get good leadership (in Santa Clara), it will be just fine. Long Beach and Fullerton have done well and they are in major metro markets with Major League teams (nearby).

"In St. Louis, there are two Frontier League teams in the suburbs. There are lots of opportunities to go around (in the Bay Area)."

Outcalt, who worked in the high-tech industry for 20 years, also said that the GBL has explored the East Bay, but that a stadium would have to be built. He admitted that the league once looked at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, Calif. as a potential site.

Umpiring also is also being looked at by league officials, including umpire supervisor Dan Perugini.

The league went from three-man crews last year to two-man crews this year, and Outcalt and Patel both admitted that the experience factor is not as good as it was last year.

Outcalt said the GBL tried to model itself after the California League this year, which meant two-man crews. The umpires are paid $100 per game. It means in many cities, including Reno, they are using umpires with no or limited college experience.

"Last year we had a lot of ex-Major League and Triple-A guys (that had been released), and what we found is that is that the umpires weren't happy to be there and they were so experienced that they felt they were running the game," Outcalt said.

The commissioner also said there were more problems with managers and players a year ago. He said ejections are down this year.

"We're looking for umpires on their way up and who are looking to get better at their work," Outcalt said. "We're working on improving the quality and experience for the second half of the season."

That is the politically correct thing to say, but it's been proven time and again that the best way for umpiring to work is to identify your best dozen umpires and travel them around the league.

Outcalt said that the league is better on the field this year, too.

"I'm really pleased," Outcalt said. "The talent level is the best in independent baseball except for the Atlantic League. If you look at the roster experience, the talent level has been brought up to the top level.

"In Reno (for instance), look at the players that have had Double-A and Triple-A experience. Before, you would get the occasional player with that experience."

Reno has had five players purchased by Major League organizations, tops among independent team, according to Outcalt. The commissioner said that players are looking at organizations that can help them get back into affiliated baseball the quickest when they make a decision on where to sign.

"That's why Les (Lancaster) has been able to attract players," Outcalt said.