Mark McGuire of the Albany Times-Union thinks the Tri-City ValleyCats success is just remarkable, despite the Astros affiliation:
Attendance has risen every season since the second; last year the team averaged 4,329 a night. The success is even more stunning when you consider:
Tri-City has had only three winning seasons since arriving in 2002.
The past three years the ValleyCats were an abysmal 82-140 … and attendance still rose 13 percent.
This is a Houston Astros’ affiliate. When was the last time you met an Astros fan from these parts?
The novelty of Bruno Stadium and the return of minor league baseball to the Capital Region have long worn off. Or at least should have by now.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
