Baseball in Burlington

Dear Fellow Vermonter,

When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, like all of my friends, I obsessively followed the Brooklyn Dodgers. We knew the names of all the players, their batting averages, who they were playing, etc.

As mayor of Burlington I was pleased, in 1984, to help bring minor league baseball back into the city. The team, the Vermont Reds, an AA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, turned out to be very successful. It won a number of league championships, had very strong fan support and produced some great major league players including Ken Griffey, Jr. and Barry Larkin.

I am a strong supporter of minor league baseball. It's inexpensive family fun. It brings the players into much closer contact with the community than Major League Baseball, and is something that kids really enjoy.

Over the years there have been a number of changes to minor league baseball in Burlington. Today's team is the Vermont Lake Monsters which plays in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. They are a great team with some outstanding young players.

I recently had the honor of throwing out the first pitch at Centennial Field.