Like every other team, Rex would like larger crowds, less heat and rain

Jul. 7—The second half of the Prospect League wooden-bat baseball season began Tuesday, with the Chillicothe Paints, Danville Dans, Quincy Gems and Alton River Dragons having captured first-half division championships and secured league playoff berths for mid-August.

The Terre Haute-based Rex team finished 19-11 in the first half, a mere two games behind the Dans in the Wabash River Division. The Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp ended up 20-11, one-half game ahead of the Rex in second place.

So the Rex will need to either win the second-half division title or, if Danville wins again, finish with the second-best record in the division during the second half.

To accomplish that, Rex first-year manager Matt Chavarria and general manager Bruce Rosselli would like to see and hear crowds as large as possible to spur on the off-season collegiate players for home games at Bob Warn Field. During the first half, however, the Rex had the lowest per-game attendance in the 16-team league at 367.

The Clinton LumberKings were first with a whopping average of 2,423, while the Dans were fourth at 1,356. Six teams posted per-game averages of more than 1,100 for the first half of the season.

On the wikipedia,org website, the cities of Clinton, Iowa, and Danville, Ill., are listed with 2020 populations of 24,469 and 29,204 citizens respectively, while Terre Haute had 58,389.

So what gives?

The LumberKings joined the league in 2021, but the Clinton franchise had gone by that nickname in the Midwest League from 1994 through 2020. Before that, it had gone by other nicknames in different leagues dating back to 1895. The LumberKings play home games in NelsonCorp Field, which was built in 1937 and can hold roughly 5,500 fans.

Ted Tornow, general manager of the LumberKings, told the Tribune-Star that his team offers plenty of discount specials to draw spectators on certain nights — including Two for Tuesday (discounts on tickets, food and drinks), Retro Beer Night on Wednesdays, Thirsty Thursday (discounts on soda, water and beer) and giveaways on Fridays and Saturdays.

In addition, Clinton advertises its Saturday night home games as "Stay Late Saturdays" because a music concert always follows the diamond action. For Sunday home games, the LumberKings wear a different uniform each time.

"We do mix in some other things every now and then," Tornow added. "For the most part, our fans seem to enjoy it."

He said most of his advertising comes from the longtime traditions of newspaper/television/radio media, plus cable TV and social media, primarily Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Asked about the challenges of maintaining consistently high attendance figures, Tornow mentioned the reason that every other general manager contacted for this story mentioned — weather.

But other factors can negatively impact those numbers, especially with Clinton located along the Mississippi River.

"There are a lot of recreational activities that take place here — a lot of boating," Tornow pointed out. "We just had a bass-fishing tournament in town. We fight that every summer.

"The John Deere Classic [men's golf tournament] is going on [this past weekend] in Davenport about 45 minutes away. The minor-league baseball Quad Cities River Bandits are down there too."

On the positive side, Tornow said part of the allure of attending a LumberKings game is "we've been around since 1937."

"So people are used to seeing us here," he continued. "We're not a new thing. . . . It's a summer-time tradition here in Clinton."

Meanwhile, the Dans are the closest opponents to Terre Haute, with 57.5 miles separating Bob Warn Field from Danville Stadium (seating capacity of about 5,000). Unlike the LumberKings, Dans general manager Jeanie Cooke said her squad doesn't purchase media advertising.

"But we do partner with them in a lot of ways," she added. "For example, our radio station [WDAN-AM 1490] does the broadcasting of our games."

The Dans use "specials" almost every night, Cooke noted, varying from Veterans Night to Women's Night to FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) Night.

"We have nights for all the small towns around us as well," she stressed, naming Covington; Georgetown, Ill.; and Oakwood, Ill; as examples.

Although Two Buck Tuesday usually attracts a few extra fans, if the Dans play back-to-back homes games on Tuesday and Wednesday, Cooke said she usually sees a dip in attendance on the Wednesday. After all, the Dans cannot afford to give tickets away or sell them for super cheap all the time. There must be some profit.

"We try to maximize our population," Cooke explained. "Our fans are seeing some really good baseball."

Before the Dans became a charter member of the Prospect League in 2009, they were in the Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL), starting in 1989. The Dans won nine CICL championships, but they've never won any Prospect League titles. In 2013, they went 41-13 in the two halves combined. Then they lost two playoff games to end their season much quicker than expected.

On the bright side for the Dans, they haven't posted a losing regular-season record since 2012.

"We've had generation after generation of folks who have come here," Cooke said of Danville Stadium, which was built in 1946. "So it is part of the culture."

Then there are the Rex, who joined the Prospect League in 2010, one year after its inception. Bob Warn Field, which opened in 1978, has a much smaller capacity than NelsonCorp Field and Danville Stadium — approximately 2,500 onlookers.

Unlike the Dans, the Rex have emerged with Prospect League championships twice. Their regular-season marks for those years were a dominant 43-17 in 2015 (with Bobby Segal as manager) and 35-24 in a fast-finishing 2018 (with Tyler Wampler as manager).

The 2022 version of the Rex may or may not be as good as those squads. But general manager Bruce Rosselli would like the Wabash Valley to give them the benefit of the doubt, just in case . . .

Like Tornow with the LumberKings, Rosselli likes using newspaper, TV, radio and social media to publicize upcoming Rex games.

"Without a doubt, weather is always the biggest factor [on attendance], which hits us the front of the season every year [following a rainy spring]," Rosselli told the Tribune-Star, "not to mention people leave for vacation right after June hits or school is out. The other factor is the day we play. End of the week can bring in more than say a Monday."

Asked about the Rex's best years for attendance since he's been around the team, Rosselli replied: "It's hard to say, 2018 and 2019 were great seasons. But we still had rainouts and postponements, meaning no fans at those games.

"I know it has nothing to do with the team's record or what team we're playing. People love baseball and the fun things we have to offer during the game, such as giveaways. They love concerts and fairs. They love being outside having fun, but again weather [plays the biggest role for people attending] any outdoor entertainment event. If there's a threat of rain or lightning, it affects your attendance no matter what the team's record is. It goes with the territory. I don't worry about what I can't control, only what I can control. July always brings more fans at every baseball level, as it does each year for us."

The Rex got off to a good second-half start Tuesday evening with a 5-2 home victory over the Alton River Dragons . . . just in time for July. Attendance was listed at 307, but the game-time temperature was 98 degrees.