Blue Crabs Manager Predicts Success
By Megan Greenwell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Butch Hobson's baseball team does not yet have a single player, but that doesn't much matter.
"I'm predicting right now that we're going to win the championship this year," Hobson, 56, said after being introduced as the first manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
Premature bravado? Perhaps, but Hobson's r¿sum¿ indicates he might be up to the challenge. In eight seasons managing the Nashua Pride in New Hampshire, the team made the playoffs six times, the championship series four times and won the league title twice.
Add Hobson's three seasons as manager for the Boston Red Sox and team co-owner Brooks Robinson likes his chances.
"You'll see better baseball here than you'll see in Bowie, Aberdeen, Frederick or Camden Yards," said Robinson, a 15-time All-Star and Hall of Famer with the Baltimore Orioles. "Wait, sorry; I have to take that last part back."
There was no shortage of bold statements at Hobson's introduction ceremony Friday, which brought season ticket holders, corporate sponsors and team officials to Boston's, a sports bar and restaurant in Waldorf. Hobson donned an official Blue Crabs hat for the first time and spoke about the excitement of managing a new team.
"When you're managing another team, you always think, 'What would I do if I could start over?' " Hobson said. "Here, you get to start from the beginning. It's fun to start from the bottom up."
Hobson and Robinson promised that the team roster would be a mixture of recognizable names of rehabilitating major league players and those who would stick around long enough to become fan favorites. In January, the Blue Crabs will draft up to two players from each of the other seven Atlantic League teams. Others will join once they are cut from a major league squad.
The Atlantic League, which has teams in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or its class A, AA and AAA divisions, though big-league clubs recruit from independent teams.
Robinson described Hobson as a "hard-nosed, blue-collar baseball guy" who was selected from a field that included former major league players Wally Backman, Cecil Fielder, Ryan Minor and Gary Carter, a Hall of Fame catcher. Robinson and Hobson pledged to be involved in Southern Maryland life, especially with groups serving youths.
"I try to take my ball clubs and make them part of the family within the community," Hobson said.
Team officials said ticket sales have been strong for the inaugural season, which opens May 2 in Waldorf. The Blue Crabs will play home games at Regency Furniture Stadium, which will have seats for 4,500 with an additional 1,500 seats in corporate suites and the stadium's picnic areas.
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