As the Liberty prepare to suit up for another convivial Opening Day in this small midwestern city of about 250,000 people, legendary minor league outfielder Chris Wright reflects on the end of an era.
"We have a baseball culture here in Toledo. Doesn't matter how old you are, how much money you make, what your experience is," he said. "If you can play, you can play. That's it. It's all about the team first. And, to a man, everyone I've ever seen come through here, young and old, has had some of their best baseball memories here with the Liberty."
"In my 10 year career here, I've not only seen this club draw nearly a million fans a year. I've also seen prospects like John Molyneaux, Ichizo Sugiyama, and Albert Krant. Not to mention veterans like Albert Gaona, Joey Newhouse, and Mark Wareham. And you know what? They all loved it here. All of them. Especially the ex-major leaguers. There are no hierarchies here, no cliques, no guys with million dollar contracts. Just players, grinders, guys who love the game. And the fan support is phenomenal. I mean we literally draw four times the area population into the the stadium every year. Isn't that wild?"
"Speaking of veterans," he continued, "I remember when Mons Raider finished up his career with the Liberty. Absolute legend, never seen a harder worker. He helps us win the 2045 and 2046 CPL Championships, then retires right then and there after the celebration. And you know what was really special, a month or so later? He had all of us on a group call the night his name was announced for the BBA Hall of Fame. That was an awesome moment, let me tell ya."
"But all that is coming to an end," Wright said, his mood darkening. "These new age limits mean that those things will never happen again. It means that, yeah, even my career is likely done."
"I feel bad for the fans, really, because Toledo will just become another cog in the player development machine. It just won't be special anymore. Even if the Talons get back on track with their farm system, there would only be maybe one or two top guys coming through here at any given time. The rest will be filler. And that's it."
"It sounds cliche, but it really is the end of an era."
Chris Wright holds numerous all-time records with the Liberty, including career batting average (.291), on base percentage (.396), games played (889), runs scored (640), and career WAR (33.3). He has helped lead Toledo to 1,072 wins and 6 of their 10 Championships during his tenure (2044-present).
