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Eugene Church · 02-05-2009, 05:21 PM

The Islandian Times

Friday, January 25, 2002

Pro Baseball Expansion is Coming!
The wait is over!

Pro baseball will yield to public pressure and expand this season. Yesterday afternoon at the Islandian Pro Alliance headquarters in Forest City Commissioner John Banford announced that the league would expand to 64 teams this season. Banford said the league would be divided into 8 eight-team divisions. The commissioner told the press that all the details would be disclosed next Friday.

In the press conference Banford explained, "Expansion has been on the minds of all the baseball fans since we inaugurated the IPA last year. We made a great step forward with the initial season and now we are going to take pro baseball to every part of Islandia. After much study, the overwhelming consensus was that the time is right now for expansion and there is no reason to do it piecemeal, a year at a time over a decade."

Also present at the press conference were the two co-chairmen of the league's expansion study committee, Jock Ewing and Jorge Trujillo. They had favored a much slower growth plan and only missed getting it passed by one vote. Asked if he was disappointed that expansion would be immediate and include 40 new teams, Ewing smiled and said, "Heck no. Like my old pappy used to tell me, 'you got to know when to fold 'em'. We played our cards, but the game didn't come out our way. There were just too many aces to beat. I guess we will just have to kick their butts on the baseball field."

Trujillo went on to say that this was a good decision and good for the Islandian Pro Alliance. "It is good that we will have one league under one umbrella. Rival leagues and bidding wars have been averted... and the baseball fans in every nook and cranny in the Islands will have a home team to root for. I'm looking forward to the new influx of competition."

In a phone interview this morning with The Islandian Times Gates Billingham, one of the pro-expansion leaders, said he was overjoyed with the commissioner's announcement and looked forward to competing in the new IPA. "This would never have happened without the hard work of many baseball enthusiasts. Our committee would like to thank Commissioner Banford for his support throughout the negotiations. Without him there would not have been expansion anytime soon. The entire baseball world, both fans, players and owners owe him a huge debt of gratitude."

02-05-2009, 05:21 PM	#673
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 35,944	The Islandian Times Friday, January 25, 2002 Pro Baseball Expansion is Coming! The wait is over! Pro baseball will yield to public pressure and expand this season. Yesterday afternoon at the Islandian Pro Alliance headquarters in Forest City Commissioner John Banford announced that the league would expand to 64 teams this season. Banford said the league would be divided into 8 eight-team divisions. The commissioner told the press that all the details would be disclosed next Friday. In the press conference Banford explained, "Expansion has been on the minds of all the baseball fans since we inaugurated the IPA last year. We made a great step forward with the initial season and now we are going to take pro baseball to every part of Islandia. After much study, the overwhelming consensus was that the time is right now for expansion and there is no reason to do it piecemeal, a year at a time over a decade." Also present at the press conference were the two co-chairmen of the league's expansion study committee, Jock Ewing and Jorge Trujillo. They had favored a much slower growth plan and only missed getting it passed by one vote. Asked if he was disappointed that expansion would be immediate and include 40 new teams, Ewing smiled and said, "Heck no. Like my old pappy used to tell me, 'you got to know when to fold 'em'. We played our cards, but the game didn't come out our way. There were just too many aces to beat. I guess we will just have to kick their butts on the baseball field." Trujillo went on to say that this was a good decision and good for the Islandian Pro Alliance. "It is good that we will have one league under one umbrella. Rival leagues and bidding wars have been averted... and the baseball fans in every nook and cranny in the Islands will have a home team to root for. I'm looking forward to the new influx of competition." In a phone interview this morning with The Islandian Times Gates Billingham, one of the pro-expansion leaders, said he was overjoyed with the commissioner's announcement and looked forward to competing in the new IPA. "This would never have happened without the hard work of many baseball enthusiasts. Our committee would like to thank Commissioner Banford for his support throughout the negotiations. Without him there would not have been expansion anytime soon. The entire baseball world, both fans, players and owners owe him a huge debt of gratitude." Last edited by Eugene Church; 02-05-2009 at 05:39 PM.