Unlike the Cubs, the Joliet Slammers didn’t have to worry about the bleachers being ready for their home opener.
Typical to minor-league ballparks, Silver Cross Field doesn’t have bleachers. But Joliet’s Frontier League franchise had other timetables to get the stadium set for the start of the home schedule Tuesday.
Chris Franklin, in his third season as general manager, described a variety of tasks he and Slammers staff have had on their plate.
“Just trying to get everything ready for the fans, that’s what it’s really all about,” Franklin said on the concourse before the game. “From concessions, to the field, to the general seating areas, promotions, sponsors, ticket holders, host families, there’s a long list of things that we’re putting the final touches on.”
Truly, the largest difference this season on the field is a new scoreboard and video board beyond the left-center wall.
“I think we’ve just scratched the surface on what we can do with it,” Franklin said. “It’s a lot clearer picture. I like to refer to it as we went from a tube TV to a flat-screen HD. It just makes everything pop. We can have a little more fun with it.
“Every year you learn something new. There’s always different challenges that pop up. There’s always some unexpected challenges that you figure out and have to overcome.”
Tom Fremarek, the team’s director of food and beverage, has been piecing together the culinary puzzle for months.
“We’ve been working on it pretty much since last season,” Fremarek said. “Season ticket holder input, we took a lot of that. We added a lot of new items this year.
“One (food) stand we switched to bratwursts. We went a little north of the border, even though I hate the Packers. We’ve got real cheese curds from Wisconsin.”
Fremarek said a pesto chicken sandwich was added to the menu by popular demand.
“Really, it’s listening to the fans,” he said. “If you’re out on the concourse and you’re really talking to everybody, they’re going to tell you what they want all the time.”
With a game-time temperature Tuesday night of 52 degrees that went down during the game, fans might have wanted a hot beverage.
“It’s a little chilly, so we do have hot chocolate, but our cooler is loaded with beer, too,” Fremarek said.
Team owner Josh Schaub was on the concourse a couple hours before first pitch and was ready to see the Slammers win after they dropped three in a row to the Florence Freedom.
“All the food is cooking, brats are smelling good,” Schaub said. “Really, the work started back in September. This is just the end of all that work.”
“You want to go out and impress the fans,” Slammers manager Jeff Isom said of the home opener. “We put in a lot of work putting this team together. You want to put on a show for the fans. Give them a reason to come back.”
Isom believes a 6-1 spring training record and a favorable home schedule the first half of the season are reasons for optimism.
Tierney is a freelance writer.
Lake Erie Crushers 5, Slammers 4
Summary: Lake Erie (2-2) scored twice in the first inning that started with a first-pitch double by Taylor Stevens. The Crushers added three more runs in the fourth off Joliet starter David Kubiak to go up 5-0. Andrew Strenge (seven strikeouts) pitched five scoreless innings of relief.
Key moment: The Slammers (0-4) failed to score with two runners on and one out in the third. Russell Moldenhauer’s seventh-inning single brought in Nate Roberts to cut Lake Erie’s lead to 5-4, but Chris Serritella was thrown out at the plate with what would have been the tying run.
By the numbers: Jack Cleary was 2-for-3 with an RBI double. DH Moldenhauer was 2-for-4 with an RBI single. A crowd of 3,950 was on hand for Joliet’s home opener.
Up next: Lake Erie Crushers (Jason Wilson) at Slammers (Jordan Guth), 10 a.m. Wednesday.
