New circuit will include Pirates, Railroaders, Oilers
When the season starts next spring for the Marion Bobcats, things will be a bit different both on and off the field.
Between the lines, a new manager will be calling the shots in the dugout after Steve Fowler's resignation two weeks ago. Fowler guided the team in its first three years to a 62-84 record. A replacement has yet to be named, but General Manager Gordon Guess said he is in negotiations with a former Bobcat player interested in managing the club.
Off the field, the Bobcats will be playing in a new league. In fact, four of the five KIT League teams from 2010 decided to part company with the 6-year-old summer collegiate baseball league, which has struggled with stability outside of the four Kentucky teams. In fact, the lone club in the 2010 season based outside of the Bluegrass State folded at mid-season and was run by the league office in Paducah, Ky.
Marion will join Tradewater, Fulton and Owensboro in the yet-to-be-named league.
"We are still discussing the league name," Guess said of the respective owners.
The Bobcats general manager said the clubs voted to leave the KIT League in order to play in a restructured circuit designed to better meet the concerns of team owners. The new collegiate league will keep the same on-field rules as the KIT League, such as the use of wooden bats. Players must also be college-eligible to play in the league.
One immediate advantage, according to Guess, will be the geographic concentration of the clubs. In the past, Marion and the three other Kentucky-based teams in the KIT League were forced to play opponents in far-flung places like Farmington, Mo., which was almost 200 miles from the nearest Kentucky franchise. In fact, the logistics were so difficult that the Farmington team played many of is "home" games in Mayfield, Ky.
"It was even too far away for them, as they used Mid-Continent University as a home base when they were playing Marion, Fulton and Tradewater," Guess said.
Guess said the league is in talks with parties from both Paducah and Mayfield interested in joining the new league.
"Sept 8 is a meeting of interested parties," Guess added. "Looks promising if we can overcome challenges such as playing fields, adequate seating, iring general managers and the like."
As for the league's name, Guess has turned to the local newspaper, The Crittenden Press, to help with labeling the circuit. On the newspaper's Web site, an online poll is asking voters which geographic moniker they would best like to be incorporated in the new league's name: Ohio Valley, KIT, West Kentucky or Mid South. To vote in the online poll, click here.
