One of the Atlantic League’s original six teams in 1998, the Atlantic City Surf ceased operations according the Press of Atlantic City.
This is bad news for the Can-Am League, and bad news for independent baseball. The Surf last played in the Atlantic League in 2006, losing to eventual league champion Lancaster in the playoffs.
The Associated Press story included two interesting bits of information:
* Miles Wolff, the Can-Am League’s commissioner, said Monday that a deal to sell the Surf last week fell through. Without strong ownership and the money to back it, Wolff says it made no sense to continue to operate the club.
* Also … in a 2006 interview with Casino Connection magazine, AC owner Mark Schuster said he was cautioned against buying the struggling team, which had never turned a profit.
“Everybody told me not to buy this team,” he told the magazine. “I feel differently. I know there is a lot of work to be done, but this team can be profitable.
“Putting more people in the ballpark is always great, but you can also succeed if the guy who comes out here three or four times a year will come out seven or eight times,” he said. “You can make your money on concessions.”
York Daily Record/Sunday News Sportswriter Jim Seip has covered minor league baseball since 2001. He's covered the York Revolution since the franchise's first game in 2007.
Ryan Dunleavy must be all a twitter, as David Housel was under contract with the Surf, but is now a free agent on the prowl once again.
David Housel could do no wrong against York. He hit one of his four homers, his batting average jumped about 40 percentage points. Not quite a Revs killer, but he did stub their toes quite a bit.
BTW, checked on Dunleavy’s blog http://blogs.mycentraljersey.com/patriots/. He’s not atwitter. At least not yet. I’m hoping that’s the title of a Tuesday post: “All Atwitter.”
That would be best post of the year material.
Mark Schuster was not the most fun guy to talk to on the phone…safe to say that guy hated me.
I hate to see teams fold…but it’s also a little hard to feel bad for him.