The New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ new skipper has a straightforward plan for enticing more people to the ballpark this year.
“Homers and heaters never turned people away,” joked Brent Lavallee, who is taking the helm as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays’ Double-A affiliate this season.
“So throwing hard and hitting balls out of the park is great,” he told reporters during media day at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester earlier this week.
Lavallee got the promotion to the Fisher Cats after leading the Blue Jays lower level squad in Vancouver last season, a city where he happened to be born and raised. Before getting the big lead nod, he coached at Louisiana State University Shreveport.
Last year’s season was a bust for the Fisher Cats, who finished last in the Eastern League with a 52-84 record. The team has some returning faces, but Lavallee will also again coach two prospects who were elevated from Vancouver with him: outfielder Jace Bohrofen and infielder Peyton Williams.
“Really like what we have on paper right now, and just excited to get rolling and get out here and show everyone here in Manchester and across the world what this group is about,” Lavallee said.
The Cats will take on the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, an affiliate of the New York Mets, starting Friday evening, weather permitting, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
