#005 Joe Napoli - Toledo Mud Hens

President & CEO Joe Napoli joins host Brad Rieger to discuss the Toledo Mud Hens, the team's move downtown, and how the team serves as an anchor for economic development in the Glass City.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Hello, everyone, and welcome back. I'm Brad Rieger. And today on the podcast, we will be talking with Joe Napoli, the president and CEO of the Cludel Mud Hens and Walleye in Hensville. And today we're going to be talking about with Joe some of the historical aspects of the Cludel Mud Hens and obviously some of the current aspects of what a great experience it is to see a game at fifth third field. Joe, thanks for coming back. Yeah, thank you. So uh before we talk about the Mud Hens, I know you're a baseball guy from way back. You grew up in New York City, specifically Brooklyn. Yeah. I know you're a Mets fan, but why don't you take it from there?

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Yeah. So uh my dad and my godfather were Mets fans. We're Brooklyn Dodgers fans. So uh when the Mets uh moved into New York the early 60s, I was born uh in the early 60s and uh I was indoctrinated as a Mets fan. Um Tom Seaver, uh Bud Harrelson, uh uh it was it was a lot of fun being a Mets fan in the 70s. How old were you when they won the Pennant in 69? So I was I I don't remember that because I was only six, but I do remember the 73 Mets. Uh they they they have uh they're the worst team to ever go to the World Series. I think they were 82 and 80. The Oakland A's beat them in the World Series. Any uh Shea Stadium memories? Yeah, all good ones. Uh primarily my father and I would go to games uh when Tom Siever was pitching, and we would do that maybe two or three times a summer. Um my my uncle Tommy, my my uh godfather would tag along. So it was always a lot of fun. Did you play baseball? I did play baseball and basketball. What position did you play? Uh I played all the infield positions and and I loved, believe it or not, I loved to catch. I love, yeah. Um, but I was a you know a bean pole, so um the gear would you know basically fall off of me, but uh but I loved it. Yeah. Who was your baseball hero as a kid? Uh I'd say I'd say Tom Seaver. Yeah, receiver, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

All right, so pivoting to the the mud hens, Joe, been around since 1896.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Can you give us some high-level milestones and maybe some interesting tidbits of that history?

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Yeah, so you know, you go back to the 1880s and it was Moses Fleetwood Walker, was not a mud hen, but was a swamp angel. So first African-American player to play pro sports, uh pro-baseball. Uh, and then his brother also played on the team. Uh, so predated Jackie Robinson by 50, 60 years. Um, but that did not go well. I mean, it was all all the counts, it was horrendous how they were mistreated. Uh, but then when you look at the history of of the Hens, um I think there's maybe a dozen uh former Mudhens in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Uh you know, Casey Stengel and uh several others that made it to the hall. And then uh Jim Thorpe, the Olympic hero, actually played for the Mudhens. Wow. Yeah, yeah, played very well for the Hens, actually. So and then, you know, the last 20 years we've had a lot of guys make it to the majors. Uh Curtis Granderson, you know, comes to mind immediately. But uh yeah, it's been it's been the the baseball side of the business has been um uh you know tr just a a tremendous history there.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Yeah. And uh the affiliation with the Tigers, how long has that been?

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Uh it's been definitely the 80s. It's it's um, you know, now that you mention that, we I think we and Boston have the longest running affiliations with AAA. So we've got to be we're well over 30 years with the Tigers, maybe closing in on 40. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Give us a glimpse how that works, that affiliation, how much communication is between the two organizations. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

So it varies. It varies. There's there's a minor league development group that will work with Eric Ibsen on a routine basis. Um, you know, any of uh uh player development needs that they might have, they'll talk with Eric uh about that. Um unlike the hockey side, the Tigers provide everyone, all of the athletes, all of the coaches. Uh so that's um that's all part of the affiliation agreement. Uh it's worked out nicely for us. It's always been the case uh since they first created the farm system back in, I think it was the 50s, 1950s. Uh so that that the model works well. Um what what doesn't work well with that is we we never know how competitive the team will be. Sure. So uh there may be years where the team is not as competitive on the field because of a variety of reasons. Maybe uh they don't have um enough prospects in the system or more veteran players aging out. Uh but right now I I I think the last few years and the next couple are gonna be very good for Toledo fans. Uh lots of prospects in the Tiger system. It's one of the highest rated systems in all of Major League Baseball. I don't know if they're number two, number three, uh, but a lot of talent. So it should be a lot of fun to watch to the actual sport.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

When a high profile player from the Tigers gets uh assigned here for a rehab rehab assignment, I guess is what you call it. Yeah, uh is there additional uh preparation or logistics or how does that work?

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Maybe some safety protocols that would be placed uh, you know, uh on the on the club. Uh what we're usually hoping for there is that it's a high profile athlete that'll drive attendance. Sure. Um only superstars really drive attendance if it's an everyday player. Not so much. We'll we'll get some uh of the super fans that'll come out. Uh but if we get a a superstar player, we could literally sell out. Uh so it'd have to be uh, you know, a starting pitcher or a uh uh you know an all-star, yeah, like a Riley Green possibly on the Tigers. Toby Barrez came down last year, I think. Yeah, and I I don't know that that would have had somewhat of an impact, not much.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

Yeah, yeah. And the and the um the um feel that you want fans to have. Yeah. Like when they enter fifth-third feel. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

What do you want them to feel initially? So, so uh, you know, we we call we call it the fanatical experience. Uh we we've done that for years. We have a whole program built around it. We want every touch point, every age group, every touch point to have a phenomenal experience based on what their expectations are. So uh naturally visiting for the first time with with little ones would be a different experience than maybe visiting years later with uh you know your friends' group or uh your couple's group. But everyone, we want everyone to have an experience on their own terms. We work real hard to deliver that. And what we've learned over the years is again, both hockey and baseball, 15, 20% of the fan base uh are actual fans of the sport, and that 80% come out because it's a fun night out. It's uh it's an enjoyable place to be. Uh, and they're looking for a good time. So that could be, you know, a hot dog in a beer, or it could be I'm coming out because it's the Marvel superhero night. Um, you take your pick, but uh they come for a variety of reasons. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

So you how do you balance that idea of some of the traditionalists that just love baseball? Yeah, the slowness of it's kind of almost like an art form versus infusing energy and new ideas. Yeah.

unknown 8:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Not just for younger fans, but just fans in general. How do you balance that?

SPEAKER_00 8:49

Well, it it's changing, it's addressing changing fan expectations. So we constantly survey fans. We're we're constantly taking the temperature of fans. And um so it all depends. And and you try to appeal to the largest audience at all times. This the super fan always finds elements of the game to enjoy. Sure. Because they're they're hobbyists and the and they really love the the sport. No, no different than you know, the art lover that loves to go to the art museum or um you know, the science, uh, you know, someone that's into science that visits Imagination Station. So same thing here, you have the hockey enthusiast, the the baseball enthusiast, and then there's the rest of us, you know, that come because it's a fun night out, and you know, they'll check the promotional calendar or the special events, or maybe it's kids run the bases or fireworks. Uh, but what is it that is going to make it a fun night out for the group that they're coming with? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

And fifth, third field, what a venue to watch a game. And it's now going, it's heading towards 25 years. It's opening 2002. It just it's just a fantastic facility. Um, do you have a favorite part of the park that you like to watch the game?

SPEAKER_00 10:05

You know, I I I do. I I I I like to venture around. Um, so there are a variety of different perspectives. You could so if you walk the 360 concourse, uh, I mean, you could walk the concourse and stop every 50 feet and find a different vantage point that gives you a different perspective of the game. So it's very cool. You can stand behind home plate, look over uh the catcher and umpire's shoulder, uh, shoulders. You you could walk to right field and stand at the home run fence, totally different perspective looking in on the batter. Um, go up to the suite level and stand in one of the patios, uh, the party patios. Uh again, totally different perspective. And you'll get the skyline in front of you, you'll get the river from one perspective. So I love walking the park and choosing different places. If it's a playoff game and uh and it's intense, like hockey and and baseball, I'll I'll find a seat and and stay put. But other than that, I like to roam.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

And there's even over at Fleetwoods at the top, people can watch rooftop, right? It's like Wrigley.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

Yeah, it's very cool.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Yeah. Uh Joe, what about a uh our opening day? I mean, it's yeah, uh it is quite a party.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

Yeah. So when we first opened Fifth Third Field, we we picked a special game time, it was one o'clock, and people were a little puzzled by that. And we said, we well, we really want to turn it into a holiday atmosphere. And and it worked. So people took the morning off, they were tailgating in the parking lots. We opened the ballpark early, they showed up early, um, and it was standing room only, and it's been that way ever since. So uh it it's you know arguably, you know, uh the biggest party in town. Uh it's like an open house. People come and go for roughly two and a half, three hours. Uh, and then all the other parties in and around the ballpark, uh, the bars, the restaurants, the offices, people host parties. Uh it's it's just fantastic to see. We, you know, although we'll we'll probably have about 12 to 13,000 people walk through the ballpark at some point, they're never here at the same time, which is fascinating. So it is like an open house. And then there's probably another 7,000 to 10,000 people downtown who never make it. Just enjoying themselves. Yeah. Yeah. That's great for Toledo. It's very unusual for minor league baseball that experience. Major leagues, absolutely. Right. Minor leagues were probably of the 120 teams, there's probably three or four that have an opening day like we do.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Joe, do you have some favorite moments associated with the ballpark or with the mud heads in general? Even going back to NetScalden, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Yeah, I mean, they're they're typically, you know, more personal like my family. You know, my my wife and my kids, we have a lot of moments and along the the, you know, my parents who since passed away were here for opening day of fifth or field. Um, and then, you know, when you look at the fan engagement and our and our front office staff, uh, we all have some pretty humorous, you know, laugh out loud, funny stories that won't make it to the podcast. But um where, you know, that we share and remember. Uh, but I'd say mainly family, and then the the the fan engagement is is rather um humbling. So what I mean by that is, you know, people will say first date, uh, or they'll remember the first game, or they'll remember coming out with a family member that's since passed. And they share those stories pretty regularly. Uh and and those are the that's why we do what we do, right? It's really that connection, that human connection, and um no shortage of those. Yeah. And uh very heartwarming, uh, some very, you know, very sad and moving uh because they reminisce. And we uh you know we've had people break down into tears over some of those shared storylines. Um and then we've had some some you know really odd ones like can I spread my grandfather's ashes at second base? And like we think that's against the law, but um, if you were to sneak in at this time on this day, it might be able to happen.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Oh, that's wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Let's finish with walk-up songs. Yeah, yeah. You have a really interesting view of what uh constitutes a good walk-up song. What's the key?

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Yeah, so so walk-up songs, it all depends, right?

SPEAKER_01 15:02

So and you're a music guy, so we could spend the next we could spend uh the entire podcast.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Jason's gonna cut us off here, so we all have to keep it. So so I think the athletes that pick walk-up songs that are near and dear to their heart that tell the fan base a little bit about them, those are the most compelling ones. Some of the guys pick songs that the fan base has, they have no clue as to what the song is, so it doesn't resonate as well. So if someone was asking, I would say the model would be pick something that is true to you, but you're the fans can enjoy and relate to. Uh not everybody does that. Most do, most do, but some don't. Did any has any uh markers on caught your attention? Yeah, the ones that we have to delete. The ones that you're like, okay, come on, how did that get through? How'd that get yeah, how'd that get through? Who'd you pay to press that button? Um but uh no mo most most athletes pick songs that are, you know, you're like, that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 16:07

That that tells the story. You also in a previous conversation we've had, you said the first 10 seconds of the song is key.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

Yeah, yeah, because in some cases it's you know, the intro to a song might not resonate simply because it takes too long to get to the good stuff. Recognizable. Right. And then what about for you? What's your walk-up song? I it'd be a it'd be I'd rotate, you know, Bruce Springsteen, you know, and the E Street band. I I don't know, Promised Land and some other songs that you know have some storylines behind them that meaning are meaningful. I'd I'd have to come up with something that would resonate with fans though, because it's now it's dad rock. So it might be old. So the senior citizen crowded. Yeah, and the rest of you are like, who who what the heck is this?

SPEAKER_01 17:04

So I hope that's well, this has been great, Joe. Thank you for sharing your uh kind of your insights about the mud hens, and we always enjoy talking to you and thank you. Keep doing good things. Thanks. Thanks for joining us. We'll uh see you next time.