Press Clippings

October 9, 2004 - Berkshire Eagle column by Howard Herman: Interesting items
in the lost and found

Lost: Professional baseball in Pittsfield -- at least for the foreseeable future.

On Wednesday, in case you missed it, Wahconah Park Inc. (better known as Jim Bouton and Chip Elitzer) decided not to pursue plans to renovate the old ballpark and bring independent professional baseball back to the city. Now, I only know what I've read and what I've heard, and I can't comment on the controversy over the public bidding laws and exactly how much it would cost Wahconah Park Inc. to go through the process. What is disappointing is the Wahconah Park Inc. didn't get a chance to succeed or fail on the merit of its business plan, succeed or fail because the team played well or badly and the park was either full or empty.

And what surprised me is how quickly the South County entity bailed out on Pittsfield and the supporters of Wahconah Park. And for that, Mr. Bouton and Mr. Elitzer have nobody to blame but themselves.

We in the sports media business criticize coaches when they leave teams or schools in the middle of their contracts and criticize players when they hold out seeking to renegotiate existing contracts. So, today, I criticize Wahconah Park Inc. for bailing out on a contract.

The partners signed the license agreement, Mayor James M. Ruberto signed the license agreement, and Parks Commission chairman Michael Filpi signed the agreement. Yes, there were some challenges facing the group, and as I said above, I don't know just how much of a challenge the bid laws were. I just think Wahconah Park Inc. should live up to its word.