published: Friday, October 23, 2009

A baseball team dies -- does Clermont care?

Frank Jolley

Staff writer

Baseball fans in New York cried when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants moved to California after the 1957 season.

It's likely the only people crying about the demise of the Clermont Mavericks are the team's owners and the 20 or 30 die-hard fans that supported the franchise during its only two seasons of existence.

That's right, the Clermont Mavericks -- the Florida Collegiate Summer League champions in 2008 and runners-up in 2009 -- are no more. Team owners Tim Dye and Dan Decker made that official Friday in an e-mail sent to FCSL officials.

I can hear countless crickets chirping, but I don't hear a word from baseball fans in south Lake County, bemoaning the loss of "their" team.

What a shame.

I bet there will be plenty of complaints next summer about the lack of affordable family entertainment in south Lake County.

Oh well.

You had it and let it get away.

Many people likely will point fingers at team owners -- err, former team owners -- Tim Dye and Dan Decker for deciding last week to pull out and cut their losses. In reality, they are the only two people who are blameless in demise of the Mavericks.

Dye and Decker gave the Mavericks life and kept it alive for two seasons by shelling out more than $100,000 to keep the Mavericks in Clermont.

That's more than $100,000 out of their pockets.

A few local businesses stepped up to offer support through sponsorships, but that was only a pittance compared to the contributions made by Dye and Decker.

They did their part and gave fellow residents something to do on sultry summer evenings and something be proud of -- a championship baseball team.

Unfortunately, their generosity was wasted on empty seats and a community that was more willing to take than give.

Neither are looking for a pat on the back, but Dye and Decker certainly deserve one. They never expected to make a penny off the Mavericks -- it's hard to turn a profit when you don't charge admission-- but they were hoping for some kind of support from the community.

Dye and Decker aren't rich, like their brethren in Major League Baseball. They're working men, local business owners, struggling to keep themselves afloat in the current economic climate.

They formed the Mavericks in 2008 and took a financial bath. Still, in spite of the economy, Dye and Decker did what they thought was right thing in 2009 -- they gave the Mavericks an opportunity to defend their 2008 FCSL title.

Their hope for the second season was that fans would finally show up and support a championship team. Dye and Decker continued working to get city officials behind the franchise, to provide some kind of financial support.

Again, they weren't looking to turn a profit on the taxpayer's dime -- they were hoping to lighten the impact on their personal checkbooks.

Dye and Decker said the spoke to city leaders countless times during the team's existence. Each time, Dye said they were rebuffed and told the city didn't have the money to spend on a baseball team.

Still, Dye and Decker soldiered on until it became clear the city was interested only in accepting the glory of having the city name in its moniker, but not in helping to keep them afloat.

The final straw, Dye said, was when he learned the city agreed to provide a sustantial amount of money to provide seating at the National Training Center's softball complex. It was a slap in the face after being told the city didn't have the money to support athletic endeavors.

"All we tried to do was get a little bit of help to provide our community with free family entertainment," Dye said. "We never asked for the city to pay the bills or even to pay most of the bills, but they always said they couldn't help us ... the budget was too tight and there wasn't any money available. "(Clermont Mayor Harold Turville) enjoyed the benefits of referring to the Mavericks in a 'we' context, like he had something to do with them, but he never attended a game unless it was in an official capacity. Clermont is the largest city in Lake County and it won't support a baseball team.

"It's really sad when you think about the players who gave up their summers the last two seasons to play in Clermont and nobody here seemed to care or appreciate that kind of commitment."

Amen.

To those who supported the Mavericks and their players, Dye and Decker say "Thank you."

For those who always had a snarky comment for the team, get a life!

Can you honestly say you have done anything to help your community?

Have you spent more than $100,000 on a community-oriented project and expected nothing in return?

Did you sacrifice time and effort to help young people achieve their dreams?

If you can answer "yes" to any of those questions, you deserve a pat on the back. If you can't, then you are part of the problem.

The Mavericks served a purpose in Lake County. The team provided affordable family entertainment during the summer. It gave college players with aspirations of playing professional baseball with an opportunity to refine their skills in the hope of reaching their goals.

But that's not going to happen next summer. At least, not in Clermont. The baseball field at East Ridge High School, home -- err, former home -- of the Mavericks, will be empty.

The Clermont Mavericks are no more.

Frank Jolley is a sports columnist for the Daily Commercial. Contact him at frankjolley@dailycommercial.com.