By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Professional baseball is returning to Hilo, with the introduction of the North American League — home to the Maui Na Koa Ikaika. The independent association is not to be confused with the Hawaii Winter League, which featured farm system players from Major League Baseball.
The addition of the Hawaii Stars and a team in Sonoma, Calif., and the ouster of two mainland teams owned by Michael Cummings, Na Koa Ikaika’s original owner, was announced in a press release earlier this month.
The Hawaii Stars will play their first game against the Na Koa Ikaika on June 5 at Iron Maehara Stadium, and their first home game is June 12 against Sonoma to start a six-game series at Wong Stadium.
Before the Hawaii Stars play a game, they need a roster of players and a manager. And a set schedule. And a general manager.
They have none of those. But at least the team has uniforms from SportsLine, which also fitted the Maui ballclub.
The Hawaii Stars management team doesn’t have a baseball background. Hawaii/Maui owner Bob Young is a lawyer on Maui. Na Koa Ikaika general manager Dan Partney owns a construction company on the Valley Isle.
But they’re ambitious and courteous.
Despite the late running start, Partney is extending open arms to Hilo’s baseball community and is hoping for a return embrace. Partney, who lived four years in Waimea and Waikoloa, said he understands the aloha spirit, a marketing strategy as good as any to lure customers.
Both Hawaii and Maui will have ticket distribution centers, able to print online tickets, similar to Hawaiian Airlines’ E-tickets.
There will be 32 games in Hilo this season, and 56 overall for the Stars. In terms of nickname originality, the Hawaii Winter Baseball team was the Hilo Stars, featuring Ichiro Suzuki in the 1993 debut season. (Duane Kurisu, brother of KTA vice president and TV personality Derek Kurisu, owned Hawaii Winter Baseball.)
“I can’t emphasize this enough that we want this to be Hilo’s team and it’s a comfortable family atmosphere,” said Partney, who repeated that sentiment more than once. “We want this to be a local thing. It’s local run and we want everyone involved to be local.
“We’ve received nothing but open arms from the people in Hilo and local business and the Parks and Recreation Department, and Mayor Billy Kenoi. They have a clear objective for us. They want us to succeed and they understand what we can do for the Hilo community.”
Long haul
Partney said the Hawaii Stars are in it for the long haul. Next season, the Stars will have 45 home games and 45 road games for a second season scheduled to end in late August.
“We’re looking at a five-year lease at Wong Stadium with an option,” Partney said. “This year, we’re introducing a team to Hilo. Like any business, we’re looking to make a profit. Our main goal this year is to break even.
“We wanted to take a chance and put our faith in the Hilo people instead of Mike Cummings. If we were to risk $75,000 to 100 grand, we wanted to roll the dice with the local community.”
Cummings left unpaid bills all over the place, and his tenure was well-documented by Maui News sports writer Rob Collias on his paper’s blog. The Maui Na Koa Ikaika didn’t play their final 27 games, including four home games, last season.
As part of the lease agreement, the Hawaii Stars will renovate Wong Stadium. In a similar fashion, Hawaii Winter Baseball built the batting cages.
There will be no shortage of players to fill the rosters of the Hawaii Stars or Maui Na Koa Ikaika. Tryouts are scheduled for May 21-22 on Maui. The MLB draft is June 4-6, which figures to limit the pool of high-caliber talent. However, Maui players have found homes in MLB farm teams in the past.
“We’ll do local tryouts first,” Partney said. “We have a list of 180 players who want to play for Hilo and Maui. It’s Maui’s third year and the team is pretty well set. We have some prospects released by major league teams.
“For the Hilo team, we contacted Kaha Wong. He’ll have his input and we want to get as much local talent first and build around that. We want the local guys to have the first shot, no doubt. We have guys from Kauai and Molokai as well coming in for tryouts.”
UHH model
The addition of a team in Hilo allows the two other ballclubs in the North Division the luxury of piggybacking games, instead of playing on Maui then flying out. The six teams in the South Division will only play each other, then division winners meet in the playoffs.
The two-team scenario is similar to the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii Pacific in the six-team Pacific West Conference, somewhat easing airfare travel costs. In fact, Partney modeled much of the Hawaii Stars’ operations on UHH.
“The tickets will runs $5 to $8, the same line as the Vulcans,” Partney said. “I’m aware of UHH’s average attendance (117 fans per game). I’m also aware that Hawaii Winter Baseball averaged 600 to 1,100 fans per game.
“We’ll keep the ticket prices comparable. We feel that’s fair. We’d like to draw an average of 500 plus to start this year. We really want the community of Hilo to understand that this is their team.”
One reason Hilo was picked over Oahu was cost, especially field rental. Partney was looking to lock down a game’s rent at Wong Stadium somewhere in the $500 neighborhood. He said prices at Les Murakami Stadium and Aloha Stadium run in the thousands of dollars, up to $4,000 a day.
“Wong Stadium is one of the nicest fields in the state of Hawaii,” he said. “I’d love to see a team on Oahu in the next couple of years, either at Les Murakami Stadium or Aloha Stadium. But the problem is the lease and cost.”
Big dreams
If one door is closed, Partney is the type to go in a different direction, turning door knobs until something opens. He and Young are already thinking one step ahead. They’re looking to start a winter league, too.
“We’ll host the Ishikawa Million Stars (a semi-pro Japanese team) on Maui from July 10-11,” he said. “It’s our first step to introducing Japanese professional baseball as well.
“We have our groundwork for the winter league laid out. We’re talking to a new partner in Japan and Canada for the winter of 2013. It’ll start in October and end in November. It’ll be pro Japanese ball and independent ball.”
Those are the two months when rain is Hilo’s constant companion. The Big Island Interscholastic Federation football season runs from September until November, counting the state playoffs. Both Hilo and Waiakea call Wong Stadium home.
The outfield grass often turns into a swamp when it rains with players tackling and trying to find traction. Partney would likely have to reach an agreement with other BIIF schools to allow Hilo and Waiakea a second home. Otherwise, a winter league would be a tough row to hoe.
That doesn’t figure to damper Partney’s enthusiasm in the least. And he’s well aware of Hawaii Winter Baseball’s track record, playing games from October to December and folding twice (1993 to ’97) and (2006 to ’08).
“We’re looking to create good competition and start good rivalries,” he said. “Any time you get a good rivalry, that right there alone helps the fan base. We’re expecting quite a few good crowds this year.”
Independent pro baseball
What: Hawaii Stars, North American League
When: June 12 season opener
Where: Wong Stadium
Local players: None yet
Info: mauiprobaseball.com