New ‘Cats president has eye on top prize

North Adams Transcript
By Patrick Ronan

NORTH ADAMS -- Armed with a new president and in search of a new manager, the North Adams SteepleCats have a league championship on their radar.

The SteepleCats posted a 25-16 record during the 2009 regular season, which marked the club’s best winning percentage in its eight years of existence. But the regular-season victories didn’t translate into postseason success, as the ‘Cats were swiftly swept out of the first round by the Vermont Mountaineers. North Adams has qualified for the playoffs every year since the team’s inception in 2002, but has advanced past the quarterfinal round only once, in 2005, and has never made it into the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Championship Series.

City Councilor David Bond, a local business owner and the head golf coach at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, hopes to change that. He has taken over as president and chief operating officer of the SteepleCats, succeeding John B. DeRosa, who took the position in 2004 (See story, Page A1).

During a news conference Monday morning, Bond said one of his primary goals will be to put an end to the SteepleCats’ postseason futility. "We’d like to try to bring a championship to North Adams," he said. "The goal is to actually break through that barrier, jump over the hurdle and bring that giant [Fay Vincent Sr.] Cup here, so we can have a nice press conference in August."

On Sunday,DeRosa was elected to become the new president of the NECBL, which he called an "exciting responsibility" and a "privilege." Sean McGrath will remain the executive vice president and general manager of the ‘Cats, and will continue to run the baseball operations, which will include finding a new manager for the 2010 campaign.

Bond will spearhead the business and promotional aspects of the organization. He admitted that golf, not baseball, is his sport of choice -- he’s a certified PGA instructor and he owns The Range on the Curran Highway.

"Sean’s been the baseball guy in all of this," DeRosa said. "The president’s job is to raise funds and bring the people to the games." McGrath said there is one confirmed return to the team from last season, right-handed pitcher Charlie Law, whom McGrath called a "hands-down all-star." Last summer, Law was fifth in the league in total strikeouts.

McGrath said the biggest focus this off-season will be to bolster the bullpen, as the 2009 ‘Cats struggled to protect leads in the late innings. "We’re going to be a little more balanced this year," McGrath said. "When we have the lead in the seventh inning, we’ll have the arms to finish."

Besides finding players, McGrath hopes to have a new manager announced by the end of January. He said a "national job search" is ongoing to replace Jeff Verplancke, who served as manager from 2008-09 and compiled 45 wins to become the winningest manager in team history.

In early January, McGrath will attend the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Convention in Dallas, where he’ll interview several candidates. "That face time is essential for me," he said.

While McGrath works on filling the roster, Bond will work on filling the stands. He has already started brainstorming promotional ideas and giveaways, which he hopes will attract new fans to Joe Wolfe Field.