City councilor makes a pitch: minor league baseball in Hub

The Red Sox have written baseball on the souls of generations of Bostonians, but now that they have won a long-desired World Series championship and the price of tickets has soared, a city councilor is worried that the next generation's passion for the game could fade.

Saying he wants city youths to experience the joy of live ballgames more often, Councilor John Tobin of West Roxbury has hit upon what might seem like a radical idea in the capital of Red Sox Nation: He wants to bring a minor league baseball team to Boston.

In a letter to Mayor Thomas M. Menino last week, Tobin suggested that the city could attract a new team from the Canadian American League, which is considering expanding in the coming years.

''People are crazy about the Red Sox and crazy about baseball. It's a thing that's been passed down from generation to generation, the love of the game. And I want my kids and the next generation of kids to love the game just as much as I did," Tobin said yesterday. ''I'm fearful that if people don't have access to it, they'll find another hobby, and that would be a shame."

Tobin is not in favor of using public money, but he believes private investors could come up with the cash ''in about 7 seconds" if the idea generates interest, and if the right location for a stadium is found. A new Can-Am League team would cost about $750,000.

''In Boston, you grow up dreaming about playing for the Red Sox, and in high school, when you realize you can't hit a breaking ball, you dream about owning the Red Sox," he said.

A number of Sox fans interviewed downtown last week thought the idea was great. Ken Goldberg, 42, of Sharon, who was thumbing through baseball cards at a shop near Downtown Crossing, said he would love to bring his 10- and 13-year-old boys to a minor league game in Boston.

''They would definitely rather sit close at a minor league game than in really bad seats at Fenway, that's for sure," he said.

Ann Marie Noonan, 26, a student at Suffolk University Law School, said she didn't mind sleeping outside overnight to get World Series tickets last year, but she'd also like to see a ballgame in Boston without having to plot a ticket acquisition strategy ahead of time.

''You could just pick up and go to a game," she said.

''It'd be nice to make it more accessible to a wider demographic," added her friend Kate Polizzotto, 23, also a law student at Suffolk.

Others were less enthusiastic.

''I think it's kind of crazy," said Frank Middleton, 35, who works for the National Park Service, as he ate a hamburger near Park Street Station yesterday afternoon. ''I just don't think there's really a market for it."

Seth Gitell, a spokesman for Menino, said the mayor has not discussed the idea with Tobin and has a number of questions about it -- in particular, where a minor league team would play. Tobin said he didn't know, but he hoped ideas would emerge if the concept caught on.

Founded in 1936, the Can-Am League folded just six years later because of World War II. A second incarnation began in 1946, with teams from the northeastern United States and Canada, but shut down again after the 1951 season ''due to the rise of television and professional football," according to the league's website. It was resurrected again in 2004.

League officials said they have never seriously considered pitching their tent in the shadow of the Green Monster.

But they said they would entertain the idea if the right proposal came along.

''It could be a great success or a miserable failure," said Dan Moushon, the league president.

Miles Wolff, commissioner of the Can-Am League, said the organization's top concern -- besides finding a location and a strong ownership group -- would be how a Boston team could affect other nearby teams in the league. Four are within easy driving distance of the city -- the Brockton Rox, the Nashua Pride, the North Shore Spirit in Lynn, and the Worcester Tornadoes.

The Can-Am League is an independent organization that is not affected by Major League Baseball rules governing its affiliated minor league teams. But any decision to expand the league would have to be approved by the Can-Am League's board of directors, which includes a representative from each team, Wolff said.

Moushon said any proposal would also have to include a professional-quality stadium with about 4,500 seats -- and one suitable for a sophisticated baseball market.

''People in Boston expect a certain level of stadium," he said. ''You can't just have a field and put in some bleachers and say, 'We have a stadium.' "

And though the Boston area clearly has plenty of baseball fans, would a Can-Am team attract them?

''It's tough to get a ticket to the Red Sox," Wolff said. ''But are they going to get any media coverage? And advertising is very expensive in the major league markets."

Tobin, though, pointed out that a few successful minor league teams operate in close proximity to major league franchises.

A day at Fenway can certainly scorch the wallet. Decent seats cost $45 to $95 apiece. A hotdog costs $3.75, and parking can run from $10 to $30 -- or more for a big game.

An afternoon at the Brockton Rox' Campanelli Stadium, by contrast, costs about the same as a movie. Tickets range from $4 to $8. A Wicked Hot Dog at the Rox' Campanelli Stadium is $1.50, and parking is $3.

As a former vendor at Fenway who attends at least 15 games a year, plus spring training sessions and the occasional away game, Tobin took pains to make clear that he meant no disrespect to the Red Sox.

He predicted that the Sox would welcome a minor league team to Boston because it would make more people excited about baseball.

Steve Sierra, 37, a pile driver from Revere who was shopping downtown last week, imagined what would happen if the Sox had a losing streak while their neighboring minor league team started winning.

''It might light a match under the Red Sox because maybe fans would jump ship," he said.

His friend Ben Engel, 41, also of Revere, shot him a look.

''I don't really think that would happen," he said.

In response to an e-mail asking for his reaction, Red Sox principal owner John W. Henry had little to say on the subject.

''I've never heard of Can-Am," he wrote.