2008 Recap #10: Front Royal Cardinals - A season of transition
The folks in Haymarket were not the only group to be completing their first full season running a club in the VBL. The 2008 season was the first full year at the helm for Donna Settle, Greg Brill and Company up at the Bing. The new ownership group took over towards the end of the 2007 campaign and then went to work on the 2008 campaign.
Any conversation about Front Royal MUST begin with the facilities as Bing Crosby Stadium truly is a state of the art facility. The recent make over of the "Bing" was an incredible success for both the town of Front Royal and the folks of Warren County. A must see for a VBL fan that enjoys a different look. The day we picked up Wayne Dowling from the airport least season we stopped at the Bing on the way back to Luray to show him the place. I was quick to mention that not all of them are like this...
Skipper Bob Brotherton was back for another season running the club on the field. Bob is always a great conversation and this proved to be true again at the All-Star game at Covington. Skip led his team to a late season run in 2007 that took the Cards from out of the playoffs all the way to the #6 seed. The momentum carried into the post season as they upset the #3 Luray Wranglers in game 1 but eventually lost the series 2-1.
Brotherton had the team in a similar position this season but they came up short in their late season push to make the playoffs. Our visits to the Bing brought a few things to light for ATV-60...
1. Buck and Jacob Smith completed the ATV-60 Loop in the same manner that my youngest son Chris and I had done years ago with the Northwest League. Buck was kind enough on a number of occasions to talk to reporters about what the journey meant to him and his son and for this I will always remain grateful. By the way Buck, if you are reading this your 2 copies of the latest story are in the mail to you!
2. Kip Ritenour - Ace reporter and Sports Editor for the Warren County Sentinel. There were a number of people that conducted interviews and wrote stories about the efforts here at ATV-60 but Kip gets the nod (With John Galle) for taking the time to read through the site and get an understanding of what we were trying to accomplish. Kip- give me a call if I can ever be of help to you down the road...
3. Greg Brill - Greg switched this season from PA at the Bing over to the Web-Cast so it limited our time to visit during our stops at the Bing but it is about Quality not Quantity. Greg was very supportive of the ATV-60 all season long and even took the time to share some thoughts with a write-up near the end of the season. Good Luck with your ventures down the road...
There were a number of nights that we crossed paths with the Cards and here is a quick look:
1.June 3RD- ATV-60 Tour Stop - Home - Win 9-5 over Waynesboro
2.June 5TH- Home - Loss 2-0 to New Market
3.June 8TH- Home - Loss 6-4 to Winchester
4.June 13TH- Home - Loss 7-3 to Haymarket
5.June 18TH- Away - Loss 5-0 @ New Market
6.June 20TH-Home - Loss 5-4 to Luray
7.July 2ND- Away - Loss 14-3 @ Luray
8.July 11Th- Home - 1ST Pitch with Buck & Jacob - Loss 9-4 to Haymarket
9.July 16TH-Home - Win 12-5 over New Market (W/Linda Keen)
10.July 19TH-Home-Loss 5-4 to Luray (Diane & Morgan finish)
11.July 23RD- Away - Washed out vs. New Market
8 Trips to the Bing - 2-6
3 days on the road- 0-2-1
Overall 2-8-1
Best of Luck to Donna, Greg & Company as they move forward !
Any conversation about Front Royal MUST begin with the facilities as Bing Crosby Stadium truly is a state of the art facility. The recent make over of the "Bing" was an incredible success for both the town of Front Royal and the folks of Warren County. A must see for a VBL fan that enjoys a different look. The day we picked up Wayne Dowling from the airport least season we stopped at the Bing on the way back to Luray to show him the place. I was quick to mention that not all of them are like this...
Skipper Bob Brotherton was back for another season running the club on the field. Bob is always a great conversation and this proved to be true again at the All-Star game at Covington. Skip led his team to a late season run in 2007 that took the Cards from out of the playoffs all the way to the #6 seed. The momentum carried into the post season as they upset the #3 Luray Wranglers in game 1 but eventually lost the series 2-1.
Brotherton had the team in a similar position this season but they came up short in their late season push to make the playoffs. Our visits to the Bing brought a few things to light for ATV-60...
1. Buck and Jacob Smith completed the ATV-60 Loop in the same manner that my youngest son Chris and I had done years ago with the Northwest League. Buck was kind enough on a number of occasions to talk to reporters about what the journey meant to him and his son and for this I will always remain grateful. By the way Buck, if you are reading this your 2 copies of the latest story are in the mail to you!
2. Kip Ritenour - Ace reporter and Sports Editor for the Warren County Sentinel. There were a number of people that conducted interviews and wrote stories about the efforts here at ATV-60 but Kip gets the nod (With John Galle) for taking the time to read through the site and get an understanding of what we were trying to accomplish. Kip- give me a call if I can ever be of help to you down the road...
3. Greg Brill - Greg switched this season from PA at the Bing over to the Web-Cast so it limited our time to visit during our stops at the Bing but it is about Quality not Quantity. Greg was very supportive of the ATV-60 all season long and even took the time to share some thoughts with a write-up near the end of the season. Good Luck with your ventures down the road...
There were a number of nights that we crossed paths with the Cards and here is a quick look:
1.June 3RD- ATV-60 Tour Stop - Home - Win 9-5 over Waynesboro
2.June 5TH- Home - Loss 2-0 to New Market
3.June 8TH- Home - Loss 6-4 to Winchester
4.June 13TH- Home - Loss 7-3 to Haymarket
5.June 18TH- Away - Loss 5-0 @ New Market
6.June 20TH-Home - Loss 5-4 to Luray
7.July 2ND- Away - Loss 14-3 @ Luray
8.July 11Th- Home - 1ST Pitch with Buck & Jacob - Loss 9-4 to Haymarket
9.July 16TH-Home - Win 12-5 over New Market (W/Linda Keen)
10.July 19TH-Home-Loss 5-4 to Luray (Diane & Morgan finish)
11.July 23RD- Away - Washed out vs. New Market
8 Trips to the Bing - 2-6
3 days on the road- 0-2-1
Overall 2-8-1
Best of Luck to Donna, Greg & Company as they move forward !
