27/01/2010 13:16
The countdown is officially on: 126 days until Opening Day.
The East Texas Pump Jacks officially released the team’s 2010 schedule today, giving fans across East Texas some new dates to circle on their calendar.
The season will open on the road, with the Pump Jacks traveling to Victoria for a two-game series beginning June 2. The Generals, an expansion team last year, ran away with the regular-season title before falling to the Coppell Copperheads in the TCL Championship Series.
Those same Copperheads will visit historic Driller Park on Friday, June 4, for the Jacks’ home opener.
The schedule consists of 56 games, 28 of them at home, both record highs for the Pump Jacks. The team played a 48-game schedule with 24 home games in each of its first two seasons. The complete schedule can be viewed on the Pump Jacks web site by clicking here.
All teams this year will play six days a week, with Sunday serving as a league-wide off-day. This summer’s schedule will be more balanced than last year’s, built entirely around two-game series. The Jacks alternate between home and road series for the first four weeks, not playing four consecutive home games until the end of the season’s first half, June 30 to July 3.
Following the TCL All-Star Game on July 5, the Pump Jacks will host one of only two four-game homestands this summer, from July 7 to 10. The Jacks also close the regular season with four straight home games, August 4 to 7.
All teams play an equally balanced schedule this summer, with five home games each on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and four each on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The 2010 regular season will conclude on August 7 – a day earlier than it did last summer. The league was able to compress more games into the summer in part because of the addition of a sixth team. The new franchise has yet to announce its location, although it is expected to find a home in the southern part of the league’s footprint. The team will be owned and operated by the Victoria Generals.
In other franchise news, the Copperheads have found a new home, one all too familiar to TCL opponents. The league’s only three-time champions have relocated to McKinney, where they will share the Ballfields at Craig Ranch with the Marshals. Owing to their move, the team will now be known as the North Texas Copperheads.
Adding to the excitement this summer is the TCL’s first foray into a split schedule. At the midpoint of the season, the league will declare a first-half division champion. All win-loss records are then reset to 0-0 for the second half of the season. The team with the best record in the second half will be named the TCL’s second-half division champion.
Both division champions will earn home-field advantage in the divisional round of the playoffs beginning August 9. The two remaining teams with the best records over the entire season also qualify for the postseason as wild card entries. Winners of the divisional round will meet in the best-of-three TCL Championship Series from August 13 to 15.
The split schedule was introduced to give teams an equal chance of reaching the postseason, while also maximizing excitement and fan interest. Even if a team struggles at the season’s outset, the club still can earn a playoff berth by winning the second-half title. This is especially valuable in summer collegiate baseball, where many squads open the season shorthanded because players are still participating in the NCAA playoffs.
The Pump Jacks are eagerly assembling the summer’s promotional slate. The team expects the return of fan favorites like fireworks and Thirsty Thursdays, as well as several giveaway nights. The Jacks are also working on some value-driven promotions, like last year’s Family Nights and Kids Eat Free nights.
Even though the season is more than 16% longer, the Pump Jacks have announced that season tickets will not increase in price. Grandstand season tickets are still $105 each, and just $85 each for children and seniors, a savings of 25%. Lower Box seats, complete with in-your-seat wait service, remain $225 each, or 20% off of face value. Upper Box season tickets are $180 each, which is like getting five games for free! More information about season tickets can be found here.
Season tickets can be purchased with the EZ Pay plan, making season tickets not just a great value, but easy to purchase as well. With the EZ Pay plan, fans pay just 25% of the cost of season tickets up front. The team will then charge a credit card in equal installments over the next three months… no invoices, no checks to write, and no visits to the office.
Every season ticket holder also becomes a member of the Pump Jacks Premier Club, enjoying all of its benefits. One of the most convenient advantages of the Premier Club is the Never A Wasted Ticket Policy, which allows members to exchange unused season tickets for grandstand tickets to any regular season game, subject to availability. Pump Jacks Premier Club members also receive priority in purchasing tickets for the playoffs, which the Jacks have reached in each of their first two seasons. More Pump Jacks Premier Club benefits will be added, with discounts, events, and other perks sure to be added before the summer.
Purchasing season tickets is easy. A season ticket order form can be downloaded here on the Pump Jacks web site. The form can be completed and mailed, with payment, to the Pump Jacks at P.O. Box 2369, Kilgore, TX 75663. Fans may also bring the form and payment to the Pump Jacks office at 1100 Stone Road, Suite 120, in Kilgore. If paying by credit card, fans may even fax the order form to the Jacks at (866) 511-5449. Or fans may call the Jacks at (903) 218-GO ET, and the Pump Jacks staff would be happy to make all the arrangements.
The Pump Jacks are expected to begin announcing more player signings as early as next week. The team has already released that 2009 All-TCL performers Russell LaFleur and Greg Fontenot will be returning for the 2010 season. To learn about new players as they are announced, and to follow all of the Pump Jacks preparations for the upcoming season, log on to the team’s official web site at www.pumpjacksbaseball.com. |
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