Part 5: Departure of baseball, 1988 style

This week, WTVM sports anchors Dave Platta and Andrew Whittenberg are running a series on the departure of the Columbus Catfish.

The Catfish will leave Columbus for Bowling Green, KY after this season is over.

But the Catfish aren't the first team to leave Columbus. In 2002, the RedStixx left, moving to Eastlake, OH, and becoming the Lake County Captains.

And before the RedStixx, there were the Columbus Mudcats, who where known as the Astros from 1970-1988. The Mudcats still exist, though as the Carolina Mudcats.

Back in 1988, it was feared the Astros would be sold and leave town. And Dave Platta did a 5-part series on that situation.

I've shared parts one, two, three and four. Here's part five.



I really enjoyed watching Dave's series from '88. Not that it had a happy ending, because it didn't.

The current series that Dave and Andrew are doing won't have a happy ending, either.

You win some, you lose some.

That's baseball.

Part 4: Bye-bye baseball

After this season, my baseball team is leaving.

I call it "my" team, but I don't own it. The folks that do own it are moving it to Bowling Green, KY.

Fans like me in the Columbus area will be without baseball. The good news is, not many people will be affected.

Why do I say that?

Because if you don't care, you aren't affected.

I'm affected, because I care. But most folks in the area don't care, because most folks in the area don't go to the games.

But I'm a fan, and I go.

And so do sports reporters.

Sure, it's there job. But I've seen some of them at games when they aren't working. For instance, it's not unusual to see Andrew Whittenberg of WTVM and WXTX sitting behind home plate on his day off if the Catfish are in town.

Sure, he's got a life. And one of the ways he enjoys life is to take in a ball game.

Andrew works with Dave Platta, who's been doing sports in Columbus since the mid-1980s.

Dave's a baseball fan, too. He enjoys covering the games, because, despite the fact it's work, it's also fun for him.

The sports guys will be two of the local fans who will miss baseball when it's gone.

We've been through this before. I've only been in the Columbus area since the mid-1990s. And I was here when the Columbus RedStixx left. I wasn't here when the team before them, the Columbus Mudcats (nee Astros) left.

Dave was. He did a 5-part report on the Columbus Astros in 1988. When he told me about it one day earlier this season, I told him I'd love to see it if he could locate it.

Well, the series was located, and WTVM is sharing it, not just with me, but with everybody. They have the entire series posted on their Website. You gotta dig a little for it. But it's not too hard to find.

I'm posting the series here, too. I've already shared parts one, two and three. Here's part four. Oh, a warning. Part four has some noise in it. Think nails on a blackboard. It's not that bad, but it's annoying. Still, all in all, I enjoyed it.



The Charleston Wheelers still exists, though they went through a couple of transformations. They became the Charleston Alley Cats, then finally, the West Virginia Power.

The Catfish beat the Power for the South Atlantic League title last year in a 3-game sweep. But in Columbus, winning it all isn't enough.

And, if everything isn't enough, nothing is.

Dodgers play five former Catfish vs Braves

The Braves and the Dodgers opened their spring training games against other Major League teams yesterday (the Braves beat the University of Georgia on Wednesday) with the Dodgers winning 5-4.

One thing people noticed was the way the Braves bullpen couldn't hold a 4-2 lead in the 9th.

I noticed that the Dodgers played five young players who previously played minor league ball in Columbus: Chin-Lung Hu, Xavier Paul, Andy LaRoche, Matt Kemp, and Delwyn Young.

Hu was 1-for-1 with a run scored, a walk, but was caught stealing.

Paul was 0-for-1, reaching base on a fielder's choice, but was stranded.

LaRoche was 1-1 with a walk.

Kemp was 2-for-3 with a strikeout.

Young ... who, in the 2003 season, I saw knock a good dozen branches off of a single pine tree with towering shots down the right field line ... with a walk and a strikeout, but reached base five times, being stranded each time, twice in scoring position.

All wore the Columbus Catfish uniform -- except Young, who played in Columbus when the team was the South Georgia Waves -- when the local team was a Dodgers affiliate.

I enjoyed watching each of these players play ball in Columbus over the past 5 seasons, and look forward to their days in the Majors. Or continued days in the Majors, as the of these five played Major League Games in 2007 for the Dodgers.

I can hardly wait for baseball season to begin.

No, the Catfish aren't affiliated with the Dodgers any longer. That's fine. They're a Rays affiliate. And many of the 2007 Catfish will be playing in the Majors soon.

There's some good ball players on your nearby minor league team. Do check it out.

And, if you make it to a Catfish game in 2008, maybe I'll see you there. I'll be in my usual seat behind home plate.