While the Edmonton Capitals have had a pretty successful run so far, sitting in a tie for first place heading into the final week of the season, the same can’t be said for teams like Orange County, Lake County and Maui. The problems being had by those clubs, especially the last two, has some people wondering about the future of the league itself.
The OC Flyers weren’t even on the schedule at the start of the season, because they were forced to “go dark” for 2011 when they couldn’t find a place to play for the year. When it comes to the Lake County Fielders and Maui Na Koa Ikaika though, the problems run much deeper than a venue.
The Fielders made headlines last month when play-by-play guy Qumar Zaman aired out the team’s dirty laundry in a post-game rant that ended in him announcing his resignation from the broadcast booth. As it turned out, the owners were a little slow when it came to handing out paychecks and players weren’t getting “meal money” on the road…which doesn’t sound too bad, until you realize the team started the season on a six-week road trip!
The situation in Lake County turned ugly in a hurry – the coach was sacked after complaining about going months without getting paid and a bit of a protest was staged the next night, with some guys refusing to play and the interim coach using everyone else out of position. That didn’t go over too well with the big wigs and Pete LaCock was fired, while 23 players were either released or traded in the following days. Lake County’s problems didn’t end there though…READ MORE… (more…)
What a couple of weeks for the Lake County Fielders of the North American Baseball League!
Loading ...
