Playoffs Washed Out – Season Over
Both OVL playoff semi-final games were rained out tonight, and OVL commissioner Cubb Stokes made the tough call to conclude the 2016 season. The Hoptown Hoppers are the 2016 regular season champions. Mother Nature won the 2016 playoffs.
Thank You
Our players will be heading home tonight and over the course of the weekend. We wish them safe travels and successful upcoming college seasons. Thank you for spending the summer with us in Madisonville. You will always be Madisonville Miners!
We also want to take the opportunity to thank our coaches. Jared Franklin, Matt Reed, and Brian Knisley did a great job this year, and we appreciate all of the effort they put into putting our team on the field. Thank you.
There are a host of others who deserve some recognition and thanks, so here we go:
- Team Bus Driver Bill Dawson is a super driver and even better person. Thanks for getting our players home safely each night Bill!
- Boyce Tate did another amazing job broadcasting our home games on Teamline. With no disrespect to the other OVL broadcasters, Boyce sets the standard. Thank you Boyce!
- Chad Ladd took over the stadium PA duties this season and handled it with a sense of humor and smile. We like him, even if he is a St Louis Cardinals fan. Thanks Chad!
- Marci Cox and Don Hundley split the scoreboard duties this season. If you think it’s easy, you can give it a try. They made the games fun and stayed cool under pressure. Thank you!
- The scorekeeper sucked again this year. You’d think after five years he’d know the difference between a wild pitch and a passed ball. Maybe next year.
- Melanie Proffitt took over the marketing and between-inning activities and jumped in with both feet. Thanks for your hard work, Melanie!
- The MNHHS Lady Maroons Basketball Boosters ran the concession stand again this season. They cook the best cheeseburgers and popcorn in the Ohio Valley League! Thank you!
- We thank our host families for opening their homes to our players. To a man, the players appreciate your kindness and hospitality. Thank you!
- Our board members and volunteers worked the gate and cleaned up the stadium after the games. We couldn’t pull it off without you. Thank you!
- Thank you to our sponsors, too. Your financial support of Madisonville Miners baseball keeps our team on the field. Thank you!
- We also thank the City of Madisonville for the stadium upgrades this season. From the renovated rest rooms to the replaced stadium and scoreboard lights, and everything else in between, we say Thanks!
- And then there’s our General Manager Tricia Noel. She did another amazing job juggling 1000 balls at one time. She’s quite simply the glue that holds the organization together. Thank you.
- Last but not least are our fans. We love you. You show up and get loud. You make road trips. You ring cowbells and throw balls to our players. You cheer our team and you get on … well, you know. Thank you for your loyalty!
It’s been a fun ride in 2016. It’s fitting that the season ended exactly where it started … with a rain out in Dubois County. If that’s not baseball karma, we don’t know what is. In between those two rain outs, we played hard every single night. We finished second in the regular season standings and with a 27-14 overall record. We rode a ten-game winning streak and sent ten players to the inaugural league All-Star Game. And we got to know #GreenBeans, #CleanPants, and the player simply known as the #All-Star (that’s you, Joe McGuinness).
We’re proud of the 2016 edition of the Madisonville Miners. Now we will take a few weeks off to rest before we start working on 2017. We’ll talk to you soon …
