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Last year the Dublin Leprechauns were 4-44 in their inaugural Pecos League baseball season.
This year 15 games into the independent baseball league season and they have almost doubled their win total, standing 7-8 in the 48-game season.
“We are competitive this year,” said Leprechauns Director of Baseball Operations Guy Houston. “It’s all about the pitching in this league. We’ve got 3-3.5 solid starters.”
The Pecos League is in cities that do not have Major or Minor league baseball teams and are not affiliated with either.
There are two divisions – the Pacific and the Mountain. The Pacific is made up of California teams, with the Mountain being the non-California teams.
This year joining the Leprechauns in the Pacific Division are the Bakersfield Train Robbers, Vallejo Seaweeds, Martinez Sturgeon, San Rafael Pacifics, Marysville Drakes.
The Leprechauns have players from Georgia, Iowa, Texas, Alabama, Hawaii, North Carolina, Louisiana, Washington, California, and Minnesota.
This is crazy baseball. The players are in town 60 days and play 48 games in that span in what is the equivalency of single-A baseball.
For some it’s about hanging on to the dream of playing professionally, while for others it is a way to hopefully get noticed by the bigger leagues.
“They say keep playing until they tell me I can’t play anymore,” said Houston.
It’s a process for the Leprechauns to build a program as they are new to the show and have to battle teams such as the Pacifics or the Sturgeon that have been around for some time.
The Pacifics won the Pecos championship last season.
“They have established booster clubs,” said Houston of Martinez and San Rafael. “That’s what we need to establish that next year.”
One of the major issues the team faces is housing. You bring in players from around the country for two months and it helps entice players to join the Leprechauns, is knowing the housing is taken care of.
“Housing is big,” explained Houston. “We try to get host families. (The players) are gone a lot because of playing 48 games in 60 days. But if you can get a room, have a place to sleep, do their laundry, and occasionally get a meal, you are set.”
The team has also rented a six-bedroom house in Pleasanton now known as Leprechaun Hall that houses a group of players.
The key as mentioned above is a strong booster club, usually made up of host families.
“That really helps San Rafael and Martinez,” said Houston. “They have a strong base of host families and that is an attraction to prospective players.”
The other major challenge facing the Leprechauns organization is building a fan base. This season they have been getting somewhere between 50-100 people per game.
Houston is working hard to get local businesses to come out, as well as youth baseball organizations.
“You have to give people a reason to go other than just baseball,” said Houston.
One such night coming up is Military Appreciation night on June 27 when the Leprechauns will be hosting soldiers from Camp Parks for the game with San Rafael.
There are also plans to involve an outing for Granada Little League. The team is always looking to partner with local groups to make it an event!
This year the team also has a concession stand with reasonably priced fares. A hot dog is $4, with a beer at $10 apiece. General admission is only $13 a game with group plans available.
The next two home games are June 25 and June 27 against the Pacifics.
The Leprechauns play their home games on Tuesday and Thursday at Fallon Field. For more information visit www.dublinleprechauns.com.
Leprechauns Youth Baseball Camps
The team has been running a series of youth baseball camps. There are four more dates left – June 25 and July 2, 9, and 16 – with each session running 9 a.m. to noon.
The cost is $45 per session with three separate age groups: 6-7, 8-9, 10-12. The sessions are set to cover hitting, pitching, fielding, and base running skills.
To sign up go to dublinleprechauns.com.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
