We return to another edition of “Friday 4,” where I usually discuss the four things I’ve been thinking about over the last week and the upcoming weekend in sports and the world. Only this week, it’s just one topic.
ONE
Worcester sports fans are really talking about one thing this week: the Worcester Bravehearts and Dave “Peterman” Peterson. We can go with the euphemistic “parted ways”, but when push comes to shove, the Bravehearts fired Peterman. Saying someone was fired is neither good nor bad; it simply is what it is.
I want to make something clear before I continue. I haven’t reached out to Peterman to hear his side of the story. I’m sure he would tell me, I just don’t want to bother a guy who lost a job he still wants, no matter the circumstances. I also haven’t reached out to Frank or Matt Vaccaro, because they don’t know me from Adam and likely wouldn’t tell me anything that wasn’t in the press release.
The first thing I want to talk about is the Bravehearts press release. It took way too long for them to release one. This is where having a real public relations person would have helped the Vaccaros, because this was an issue they needed to get in front of and begin some spin and damage control before someone else set the tone of the discussion. That’s literally PR 101.
Instead, their inaction allowed Peterman to announce it first and set the narrative.
I’m also laughing at the social media commenters thinking the Bravehearts press release was going to spell out why they fired Peterman. There was exactly zero chance of happening. Press releases from teams talking about dismissing of management never come right out and say why they were fired unless the team is trying to distance themselves from some illegal action taken by the person. I was expecting the Bravehearts to talk glowingly about Peterman, and that’s exactly what they did.
For comparison, I looked up the Railers press release on when they fired Jamie Russell to see how they worded it, and it’s full of sunshine and rainbows. I know exactly why Russell was fired, and trust me, if you don’t know why, you won’t get one clue as to the reasons in that press release.
As for the Bravehearts and Peterman, let me tell you something I also know to be a fact. Last season was the first time since the WooSox arrived in the city that I saw more of their games than the Bravehearts, and it was by a wide margin. Every year before, despite my never having paid to see a WooSox game and paying nearly every time for Bravehearts tickets, I saw a ton more Bravehearts games.
What caused it was the stadium-wide “all you can eat” at Bravehearts games, something that Peterman brought over from the Savannah Bananas, and the way they used to do business in the Coastal Plain League before they became a barnstorming team. For me, it wasn’t the cost of those tickets that was the issue, it was the waiting in long lines, lines so long that it made traversing the concourse all but impossible, and watching the game from the drink rail, my preferred viewing spot, very uncomfortable.
For others, it made the game no longer affordable for their families. And, again, waiting in long lines means they were missing lots of the game being played. So they paid more and saw less baseball. Not a great combination.
It should be noted that the Bravehearts have gotten rid of the stadium-wide “all you can eat” this season, and ticket prices have dropped accordingly. It appears the Bravehearts have switched their online ticket site, which you can now find right here, and have returned to the $9-$12 ticket range from before.
Now making a guess as to why the two have split, it’s easy to see that Peterman was very much into the Savannah Bananas and apparently wanted to steer the Bravehearts in that direction, focusing on the entertainment of coming to the ball park, maybe over the baseball. The Vaccaros, being baseball people, seemingly want the baseball to be primary and the entertainment to be secondary.
Who’s right, and who’s wrong? Well, in the long run, it’s the Vaccaros’ team and they make the call. I know you’ll probably see me at Fitton Field a few times this summer, and we can watch and see for ourselves.
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