“We lost Quincy,” Barnstormers manager Frank Klebe said. “We’re going to miss him. We love him. He brings a lot to the table for us. It’s going to hurt us until we find somebody to fill that type of role.”
Quincy Foster has left the Barnstormers to join the Yucatan Lions of the Mexican League. Lancaster has also signed outfielder Vince Blue.
Foster, who re-signed with the Barnstormers in March after being released by the San Francisco Giants during spring training, said he couldn’t pass up the chance to make more money down south.
“It’s a decision I’m making on my own,” Foster said. “If 99.9 percent of my teammates had a chance to do this, they would do it, too. I’m not going to turn down the money they’re paying me to stay here.”
While money was certainly a huge factor, it’s worth noting that Foster and manager Frank Klebe didn’t always see eye to eye. In fact, the Barnstormers considered trading the former All-Star to the Somerset Patriots last month.
Both Foster and Klebe said their relationship was not a factor in the player’s departure from Lancaster. Klebe said he and Foster had “family disagreements.”
Regardless of the reasons, there is this reality: One of Lancaster’s most popular players decided to leave town for what amounts to a five-week stint in the Mexican League, which ends its season on July 31.
“We lost Quincy,” Klebe said. “We’re going to miss him. We love him. He brings a lot to the table for us. It’s going to hurt us until we find somebody to fill that type of role.”
Foster said he talked with Klebe about a possible return to the Barnstormers in August, but it’s going to depend on the state of the roster at that point.
It’s possible – maybe even probable — that Lancaster’s baseball fans have seen the last of No. 4 at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
“He wants to come back,” Klebe said. “We’d love to have him back. Whether that all will work out in the long run, I can’t give an answer yet.”
Foster’s departure is the latest in a series of setbacks for the defending champs, who lost second baseman Bo Hart to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs last week.
I’m speechless.
He’ll be back.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Quincy took Yucatan’s offer to BASA and asked them to match it, or at least come close to it, and they decided against paying him more at this time.
Lancaster’s loss is Yucatan’s gain.
Wow, talk about even more potential loss of fan base. O’l Franky is up to his old tricks! Yeah cool, Vince Blue sucks! Great rock and roll name though.
Foster received close to four-times his monthly salary from the Mexican League. No Atlantic League team can or will match that figure.
Just when I thought things really had bottomed out………
Blue has big shoes to fill
For God sake people cut Quincy a break… the money offer came and he went.. so get over IT !! Give Vince a chance he’s one of our boys now and he deserves a little support from us.
As for loosing the “heart” of the team. I think Russ Cleveland can fill those shoes any day. Like I said yesterday, he is the first out of the dugout to meet/greet the RBI/HR man, then turns to us to get us going… and besides, I’m wearing his jersey at the moment and I so excited that I actually won something, an two jersey’s to boot.
blame it on NAFTA.
If all the Mexican leagues end at the end of July, we potentially have a lot of star players coming back
regarding the front page banner, a nice wide shot of the field from the Wheatland suite would be, well – errr, sweet.
You said it Scottie.
These guys play because they love the game, but they deserve to be paid too. The indy leagues don’t pay much and the AL pays better than the others. Don’t blame the players, they have lives off the field and nobody can live off nothing for long. Remember they don’t get paid in the off season. It’s hard to build consistency (as in agood job) when you know you are leaving again in a few months. I suspect that many of these guys have some family back up or they wouldn’t be able to keep playing (and staying in there for a hope to move on). Thank goodness for the host families and fans that support them in the good and bad times during the season. Being a professional athlete is not as glamorus as many think it is.
Good luck to Quincy, the Barnstormers will go on without him, that’s baseball……
Radical Stormerfan:
Did you happen to win the #9 Jersey?
Quincy leaving for $8K a month really makes you think about the money……
Let’s pretend Lancaster averages 4,000 fans per game (according to the AL site they average closer to 4,700). Let’s say that average ticket price is $7 and that there are 15 home games a month. This tells you that there is roughly $420,000 per month in ticket revenue (give or take because of all the free tix they give out). If the average player salary is $2,500 (which is VERY high for this league) and there are 24 players (usually less in Lancaster) the team is spending $60,000 on salaries, leaving $360,000 before concession revenue and advertising etc. And please note, all my attendance numbers are low and my average salary is high.
Oh, and remember ODP makes revenue from the concerts and the off-season stuff like the ice rink and stuff.
Trust me, I know there is plenty of overhead when running a team…..
I don’t think anyone is blaming Quincy!. Q should get what he deserves! I think maybe if he was happy in Lancaster he might of stayed though instead of going to a place where the water isn’t even safe!
Who actually employs the players? The Barnstormers? ODP? BASA? Or are they considered independent contractors?
Technically, BASA employs the players.
No Ultimate, I won 17, Cleveland & 36. Scott just went to the York. I hope someone really “nice” will end up with that # 36 on their back. I think a young girl won Claytons’ jersey.
Rad – you stink.
I put $30 in and got none.
you got two.
I think someone has an ‘in’ with BASA
Put in 20 and got Jeremy Todds….that was the one that I wanted and I was very pleased! I was very glad to see that some of the bloggers got jerseys from the auction!
If anyone knows who got Jutt’s, say something here. My 6 year old us a HUGE Jutt fan and I’ve got some $$$ i can throw your way.
Thanks Radical for the jersey info. If anyone knows who the little girl is that got the #9, I would like to see if she is willing to sell it. Our family is huge fans of Clayton.
The only people I knew out on the field were fellow bloggers… We’re a tight knitt group aren’t we.
Hey Scottie I put $50 in Lira and scattered a few in other boxes of my favorite guys. Hey, I didn’t get Josh or DePriest or Hileman or Todd or…… it’s luck of the draw.
OK. What does the BASA stand for?… I think I asked this before but my mad cow disease is setting in, ha Ha .
Should be illegal for a Jersey-ite to come into our house and and take our jerseys. you need to hand them over immediately, Radical.
Hey.. I own this house and this town… after all. My last name is EVERYWHERE!
LANCASTER !!!
HaHaHa
My name is on toilet paper.
what’s you point? ha
After 21 years here and marrying a native.. I belong. My kids are native too that make me… a natural
You can have Foster back. He didn’t look too excited to be in the Mexican League tonight.
And any bad taste jokes (like the NAFTA one above) won’t be tolerated — I’m just informing you how Foster’s debut went down south.
Carlos,
I wondered how Foster’s personality would work out when joining a new team so late in the season. He’s a quirky guy who likes attention. If he doesn’t play well for Yucatan right away, he might not stick around long.
Jason,
All of us in Yucatan love quirky players who interact with the public; Foster does seem to have that extra oomph in his game that might lead him to success in the toughest pitchers’ park in the whole minor league system, but the key to win the fans’ heart (and the 8K in cash) is to show emotion on the field, not downright boredom.
Foster seemed blatantly bored to be in the field; granted, it was just a game, and one played in 96F weather, but every single player (including headcase Izzy Alcantara, a former Boston Red Sox prospect) showed that hunger for success last night, in what might be the most important series of the year for Yucatan.
For a team with four contact guys with speed and just three occasional power threats, Foster seems redundant. Hopefully, he’ll stick around and show that .300+ BAVG ability he had in Lancaster, but I’m not holding my breath.
Greetings from sunny Mexico,
Carlos.
Carlos,
Quincy was an intense player and fan favorite in Lancaster and I can tell you he cares a great deal about winning. Maybe he’s still adjusting to a new country and all new teammates.
I see he’s in the leadoff spot again tonight, so hopefully he makes a better second impression.
Keep us updated.
Foster tripled in his first at-bat. Maybe that will help.
Go FOSTER!!!
He looked decent tonight with the bat, striking out twice but hitting a key single; he went 1-5 with an RBI; he’s beginning to show more emotion — he even danced in the outfield between innings.
Carlos
is this a report from the Yucatan?!
if so, welcome Carlos!