Sign of summer ball: Mill Rats add flags atop stadium
Mar. 31—The city of Johnstown got another signal Tuesday that Mill Rats baseball is coming to town next month — from the highest points of Sargent's Stadium at the Point.
With help from Johnstown Fire Department and its ladder truck, the team added three bold yellow Johnstown Mill Rats flags onto steel poles that stand more than 60 feet above the "Screen Monster" in left field.
"We've been looking at those poles every single day and there's nothing on them," Mill Rats director of game presentation Jeff Raymond said, noting it has been more than a decade since the poles displayed banners.
"Now, whether you're at the ballpark or driving down the street, you're going to know something really exciting is happening right here in the city."
The collegiate-level ball club, the latest addition to the 16-team Prospect League, makes its Johnstown debut May 27.
The team office just leased space across the street inside Suppes Ford's former used car office.
Raymond said the team custom-ordered the set of flags that were raised next door. At 8 feet wide, they'll be easy to spot, he added.
Firefighters Bill Buck and Lee Marsalko took turns scaling Johnstown Fire Department's ladder truck to hang each flag.
"Tallest ladder in town," Raymond said, noting that the truck was the only way to hang the flags.
The flagpoles were incorporated into the redesign of the former Point Stadium during its last renovation, which was completed 15 years ago.
Pennants were installed for a AAABA Tournament during the same period, but local officials said it's been well over a decade since the poles were used.
Raymond noted this will be the first summer in nearly 20 years Johnstown hosted an entire summer of baseball at the ballpark.
"And we're excited to get started," he said.
David Hurst is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TDDavidHurst and Instagram @TDDavidHurst.
