Saturday marked my third year to attend Astros Fan Fest as a part of the blogging community. Or as I like to call it, Fan Feast.
The meal started with an appetizer of Astros President Reid Ryan as he addressed a group of Season Ticket holders to start the day. He talked about the success of the farm system in 2013 and how the depth of the system will lead to the Astros' sustained success, "We're making a commitment to build this thing to last."
That was followed by a general discussion of the ballpark itself and the fan experience, including the opening of the roof for more games, the reconfiguration of the concession stands for increased efficiency (and the addition of more local foods), the use of former players in a variety of ways to enhance the fan experience and the all-out effort to get the games back on TV. (At this point, everything hinges on the judge's decision following a February 4th court date. No firm plans can be made until then.)
Ryan declared that he has been listening to fans, "We want to make this ballpark what you want it to be." When he mentioned taking down the signage out of left field, there were cheers and applause.
A Q&A followed and the tenor of this one as opposed to those I've been to in the past couple of years was much more upbeat. The season ticket holders in attendance seemed satisfied with Ryan's answers and encouraged by the direction the team has taken with fans. All in all, a solid appetizer ... tantalizing the palate and stimulating the appetite for more.
Reid Ryan - Fan Fest 2014
Photo by Jayne Hansen
The bloggers event took place a bit later in the day. The entree arrived and it was Reid Ryan. (Well, it won't be the first time I've had the shrimp cocktail appetizer
and the broiled shrimp entree.) Ryan covered many of the same things in his introductory remarks with the bloggers that he had addressed with the season ticket holders, but then branched off into a few other subjects.
Ryan indicated that the Astros have about a year to make a decision about their future Spring Training home. 2016 will likely be the final year that the Astros hold Spring Training in Kissimmee as they would prefer to move to the east coast of Florida (to the Palm Beach area) and make their new home a two-team facility. The State of Florida offers financial incentives to teams making their Spring Training homes there, but the team has initiated talks in Arizona as well, just in case.
Ryan then opened the floor up for questions and one of the things that came up was another possible move. The company that owns the AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks team is looking to sell the club. Ryan would love to have the Astros back in Round Rock, but the reality is that the Rangers have that facility locked up for the next five seasons. According to Ryan, all options are on the table and the situation should clarify itself more by the end of this season.
In conjunction with this, I asked if there were any plans for moving the Astros Advanced A team out of the California League. Ryan acknowledged that there were some challenges with the league: old ballparks, weather conditions and the logistical difficulty of moving players in and out quickly, but he went on to say that the Astros are not actively looking to move, but they are always looking to improve the situation for the Astros system.
It became obvious, when Ryan was asked about the fan experience, that he is passionate about giving Astros fans a special experience, "We want to do things that are unique, that say Texas, that say Houston." In renegotiating the concessions contract, he wants to go more local while keeping core items available and adding more craft beers. He's looking for the in-game entertainment to be much more than a series of sponsorship opportunities, helping fans better learn the players personalities and having interactive entertainment that will "build to a crescendo" and actually become a part of the home field advantage.
Ryan has a lot of ideas, but many of them have had to take a backseat as the team tries to get a TV deal worked out and addresses some of the other more pressing immediate issues. And some of his other ideas will have to be deferred due to the current layout and configuration of the ballpark. He described Minute Maid Park as landlocked and noted, "We're going to re-look at all the real estate in the building." An Astros history museum and Astros Hall of Fame are a couple of the things he'd like to tackle, eventually having an Astros Hall of Fame weekend.
Ryan would like to reach out to former players more, whether it's honoring them in an Astros Hall of Fame or creating an alumni association that will create more opportunities for players to connect with the fans through appearances, speaking engagements, etc.
Speaking of which, Ryan found it a "bitter pill to swallow" that Craig Biggio came so tantalizingly close to getting into the Hall of Fame this year, but fell just short. One of my favorite comments from Ryan came during this discussion, "We fly under the radar in Houston. I look at that as my job, to do a better job [to promote Houston]." Ryan is someone who does feel our pain when Houston gets snubbed or ignored. He gets it. And he wants to tell the world what is unique and wonderful about Houston and Texas. There was a lot of meat in that entree ... a Nolan Ryan All-Natural prime cut of beef.
Bo Porter - Fan Fest 2014
Photo by Jayne Hansen
Ryan was followed by a side dish of Astros Manager Bo Porter. Porter looked relaxed, loose and ready for the season. When I first met him at last year's Fan Fest, he was so much more intense. He's still intense and passionate, but he seems to be having more fun with it all.
The first thing that Porter had to say? "When you get to this time of the year, when you get to the Fan Fest and all the players are around, Spring Training can't get here fast enough." He didn't have much in the way of prepared remarks, mainly addressing the off-season transactions made to shore up the bullpen, anchor the rotation and to give the team a dependable on-base guy for the top of the order.
Seeing as I write from a minor league perspective, I asked Porter what a minor leaguer invited to Spring Training can do to stand out in the crowd of 60+ players in major league camp. He noted that all of the coaches get to see the players as they rotate through the various stations in Spring Training and that he will make sure that all of them will get a quality playing experience so that they can be fairly evaluated.
I also asked Porter his thoughts on instant replay. It turns out that he's a fan of the move. Not only will it help overcome obvious bad calls, it should help the pace of the game by eliminating most arguments, "But I think managers are still going to argue," he said. "A lot of times we go out to argue, we actually already know what the call really is, but we're arguing to protect our team."
Terri Schlather of Astros County and The Crawfishboxes asked Porter what he knew now, one year in to managing the team, that he didn't know going into last season that will help him going forward. Last year, he explained, he needed to do a complete player evaluation, not just their skill sets but their make up and how they handled failure. According to Porter, "This year, as I fast forward, I know our players that we have on the roster. I know their make up. I know their DNA. I know their skill sets which will allow me to challenge the team better."
Porter is encouraged by the roster he has been given to work with this season, and he has great hope for improvement on the field in 2014 and for the sustained success of the organization.
A little side dish of Bo Porter is quite satisfying. I don't know about you, but I'm too full for desert (Jeff Luhnow) right now so this Fan Feast is over for the time being. An account of the bloggers' chat with Jeff Luhnow will be coming soon!
