Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 30, 1993 TAG: 9306300043
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
That's on the diamond. It's different in the stands at creaking Municipal Field, where the Bucs are extending another streak. They are the only club in professional baseball that has 10 consecutive seasons of climbing attendance. Count on 11.
Entering Tuesday night's game, Salem was up more than 12,000 at the gate over a similar number of openings last season, when the club's season crowds totaled 134,598.
"With good weather, I think 150,000 is totally realistic this year," said Sam Lazzaro, the Bucs' vice president of operations.
Salem is closing in on 80,000 turnstile-turners, and the team hasn't even reached its tasty "Chicken and 'Fish" weekend. The Famous Chicken - who has gotten too big for San Diego - will turn Municipal Field into fowl territory on July 9. The following night, Hall of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter visits for the Bucs' Old-Timers Game.
There are plenty of reasons the Bucs are part of the nationwide renaissance of minor-league baseball. The weather is a factor. The ballclub, despite being eight games under .500 to date, has been consistent in one area that fans love, too.
The Bucs are aggressive, sometimes too much so. Often, it seems the instructions from manager Scott Little must be something like, "Don't stop until you see the whites of the catcher's eyes." Salem may lead the league in men thrown out on the bases, but when players are sliding, spectators are standing.
Pittsburgh's recent success in the National League East Division has been a plus, even though the front-office door at Three Rivers Stadium keeps revolving. Cam Bonifay is the fourth general manager in eight years, and even if that instability has damaged the farm crops, Salem still has seen almost 20 former Bucs reach the major leagues since 1987. The current Pittsburgh roster includes 13 former Buccaneers.
The major reason for the club's drawing power, however, can be found close to the top. When Rocky Mount resident Kelvin Bowles bought the club in 1985, his first personnel move was to hire Lazzaro away from Elmira of the New York-Penn League. In his eighth season as general manager, Lazzaro has made the Bucs successful everywhere but on the field.
The upstate New York native introduced promotions to local baseball. He put the Bucs on radio every night of the summer.
There's no secret to Lazzaro's success. He works hard - sometimes too hard as his stressed-out summer of last year proved - and he expects the same from his employees.
The Bucs' credo seems to be: Make money, and make it right. No doubt Lazzaro will be embarrassed when he reads this, but considering his contributions to making the sport a hit here, the Roanoke-Salem Baseball Hall of Fame should make him part of its next induction class.
Lazzaro said the Bucs' increased attendance this season is as simple as picking up the phone. The franchise has increased its telemarketing in the off-season to peddle season seats and the popular ticket books that can be used on any date. Salem's telemarketing ticket sales are up 27 percent from last season, capping a 400 percent rise since 1990.
A night at the old ballpark also can be a cheap thrill. Using the major-league guide for the cost of a family of four attending a game - four general admission tickets, parking, two beers, two soft drinks and four hot dogs - a Salem game runs $21.
Lazzaro also knows that what the Bucs sell besides baseball, concessions and souvenirs is crucial in a conservative market. Things may be cheap, but they won't be tawdry.
"Every year we get solicitations to bring Morganna in for a promotional night," Lazzaro said. "We won't do that. Not that there's anything dirty about what Morganna does. It just isn't quite along the image we want.
"Some people ask when we're going to have quarter-beer nights. Some clubs have had them in the past. We won't do that because when you do, you get people here who aren't looking for anything but a cheap drunk. And that's just the sort of thing that will drive a family out of the ballpark, never to come back again."
What Lazzaro hopes to sell is another pennant, but that pitch is not in his repertoire. A photo of a pennant flying from the last local Carolina League title, in 1987, hangs above Lazzaro's desk in the Bucs' offices just outside the ballpark.
It's a reminder that in minor-league baseball, winning isn't everything.
by CNB