Four Muskrats move up to the Majors

LACONIA — It’s been a good season for the Winnipesaukee Muskrats. The team of elite college players have the final game of their regular season Saturday with a shot at the playoffs, and a win count that already exceeds that of 2021. And during last week’s draft, they learned that four former Muskrats will be joining Major League organizations, bolstering the claim that the team’s fans get to see pro-level play for just a few dollars.

While that’s cause for excitement, Carey and Martin Hough, the general manager and one of the board members of the team, respectively, are most encouraged by what’s happening just outside of the field of play.

The Muskrats have been Laconia’s franchise in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a wooden bat summer league for college players trying to attract Major League attention, since 2009. While they’ve succeeded in fielding competitive teams in many of those years, it’s proven to be a stickier challenge to attract fans to the ballpark.

Part of that challenge, said Carey, who has been involved with the team for seven years and GM for the past three, is due to the location of the Muskrats’ home games. While some other teams in the leagues have fields that are right in the center of a town or city, Robbie Mills Field is located on the outskirts of Laconia, off Meredith Center Road.

As Martin said, “You don’t find your way to the game by accident.”

Once they’re there, though, it can be a near-sublime experience. The field is atop a hill between lakes Opechee and Winnisquam, frequently catches a breeze in the evenings, and is among the best places to watch a summer sunset. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department manages the property, and the pride they take in doing so is evident.

The challenge, disrupted by the pandemic, has been to get fans to come and have that experience. Last year was a slight improvement, though, and this year is noticeably better than last.

“We’ve had solid crowds, about 20 to 25% better than last year,” said Martin. Laconia’s team is drawing an average of about 250 fans per game this year. That still puts the Muskrats at the back of the pack, with the top teams regularly pulling more than 1,000 fans per game.

Yet the Muskrats are encouraged. Attendance this year has been up, even in the early games in June, when it’s hard to get baseball fans to the field. Just about every game has had a decent crowd, with one drawing more than 400 fans. In addition to individual ticket sales, season passes, a steal at $125 per family, have also steadily increased this year.

Those fans have enjoyed more than just hot dogs and sunsets. They’ve also had a chance to watch players with professional level skill.

Just last week, three from last year’s roster were selected in Major League Baseball’s draft. Pitcher Trevor Kirk was picked by the New York Yankees, Reese Sharp was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, and, in the 10th round and the 302nd overall pick, catcher Gus Sosa was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies must like what they see in Laconia, because they also scooped up Matt Alifano, part of the 2022 Muskrats, as an undrafted free agent.

Carey and Martin said they think several different factors are coming together to spur attendance. There’s the field and the quality of play, there’s attention paid to the value of the concessions and the merchandise, and the fact that it’s always been an affordable night of family-friendly entertainment, in a world where it seems like everything else is less affordable.

Word-of-mouth is starting to catch, as families having a great night at the ballpark share their new favorite thing with their friends.

“People are telling others about their experience and bringing their friends with them,” Carey said. “Social media is helping.”

For the Houghs, it feels like an engine primed and starting to catch, as the crowds will start to gain their own momentum.

“It’s always a challenge for us to get people up early and often,” Martin said. “Once people get into the rhythm of it, they’ll come back to four, five games, which helps improve the experience.” More fans means more cheering, and more children to participate in the between-inning games.

Bigger crowds help as well with back-of-the-house operations. Right now the gameday operation is driven by a handful of interns and four families — the Hough, Mazzei, McNeil and Prescott families — who do everything from take tickets, flip burgers, and don the “Marko the Muskrat” costume to mingle with fans.

As more fans come, so do more prospective volunteers, and Parks and Recreation will be better able to argue for funding for improvements to the playing field, such as an improved scoreboard and a warning track in the outfield. And if the operation gets more help, it will help encourage yet improved attendance, and the cycle of betterment continues.

At this point, it’s a bit of a long shot for the Muskrats to make it into the playoffs this year. But no matter what, it looks like there’s reason to figure out how to get yet more people to see the ‘Scrats next year.

“We want to make sure the Lakes Region of New Hampshire knows what it has,” Martin said.