Boise Spuds owner Francis Nephi Grigg IV recently called a press conference with local and national reporters, calling it his "State of the Franchise". Here are his comments in their entirety:"Thank you all for joining me today. I hope you all enjoyed that fantastic Landis Series that just wrapped up, I know I did. I thought it was just a tremendous showing for our loyal fans across the globe. There's just not a better league in the world than the Brewster. The Boise franchise extends a congratulations to the Louisville Sluggers and the fight showed by fellow division-mates Edmonton was great as well.
Of course, that means the season is over but we're not taking much time to take a rest, as I'm sure many of you feel the same way. This is a twelve-month sport and the off-season is just as exciting and busy as April to November. Our front office, managers and coaches are already getting ready for the 2043 season but before the off-season officially kicks off here soon with league awards and free agency, I wanted to share some thoughts with you all about our Spuds.
First off, I'm so proud of the boys for their play this year. They were a hard-working group of ballplayers and to get back to the playoffs for the second straight season is incredible. When I purchased the rights to this club when expansion was announced in 2034, I could have never dreamed of being a playoff team with some of the most talented athletes in the league so soon.
And we couldn't have done it without the fans. We topped three million in attendance for the second-straight year! [gives thumbs up] We want to hit four million thru the gates one day and we'll be taking a step closer to that goal in the coming years with increasing our seating capacity at Grigg Memorial. This is on the hands of this club turning a profit in 2042. I plan on putting these and future profits back into the ball club, and not just in the way of stadium improvements or increasing the budget. I'll be investing $3 million into our international complex and an additional significant amount towards our international scouting staff. I am also pledging $5 million in a joint venture with the state of Idaho to improve youth baseball and softball programs in and around the city of Boise and other cities statewide. The passion around baseball within this community is what landed Boise the Spuds in the first place, so I thank each and every one of you.
Lastly, and you might have seen the news come across the wire just a short time ago, but I want to thank a few ballplayers while I have you all here. First, thank you to Hank Brewer for his commitment to the Spuds. I have no doubt that Hank is a future Hall of Famer and for him to spend the last three years here and take a chance on an up-and-coming club is has had such a positive influence on this club and our players. Our front office and Hank have mutually agreed not to exercise the final year option of his contract. I know fans and teammates will be disappointed to see Hank go, but both parties felt it was the best move. Hank, we are forever in your debt for your service to the Boise Spuds.
Now this might make me tear up here, but [takes deep breath] Yunosuke...you big ol' son of a gun. I love you, buddy! [laughs] You know, Yunosuke arrived at our ball club as a twenty-two year old phenom and he didn't know Boise from Bangladesh. We traded for him, hoping to land a future star we could build around and, boy, did we ever get one. He came out swinging as a rookie, no pun intended, and became one of the bright stars of the league and quickly was a fan favorite among all Spuds fans. You couldn't walk up a row in the stadium and not see a child playing with a Rally Godzilla toy. He's the franchise leader in home runs and games played...he's a Spud legend! And more importantly, he's like a son to me. There's a saying that goes something like "In your life, you will meet shooting stars. You will see them, make your wish and see them disappear." Yunosuke fulfilled all our wishes and then some. We're truly sad to see him go but we know his future is still bright and he'll not be forgotten here in Boise.
Thank you, everyone. I wish you all a great weekend and look forward to seeing you again at the Winter Meetings!"
