Riders, Hounds to trade mascots for 2016 season
FRISCO, TEXAS (April 1, 2016) - The Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, have announced a trade with the Midland RockHounds, the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, effective immediately. Deuce, the North Texas prairie dog and RoughRiders long-time mascot, will join the RockHounds this season in exchange for Midland's mascot Rocky.
The idea for the exchange has been in the works for several years but fell through in the past, mainly because of contractual obligations between Rocky and the city of Midland. However, the Riders' interest in the lovable RockHounds mascot continued to increase, especially after the Riders' acquisition of their Team Dog, Brooks, this past season. Early Friday morning, the two sides finally came to terms on a deal solidifying Rocky as the RoughRiders' newest addition.
"Rocky is a natural fit to our organization for obvious reasons," said Jason Dambach, the Riders' Executive Vice President & General Manager. "He'll bring a unique spirit to the ballpark and will be a great compliment to Brooks at the ballpark. We are excited to have Brooks and Rocky train together very soon. Every time we have visited Midland in the past, we were always greeted by Rocky at the front gate giving us a warm, West Texas welcome. We are looking forward to bringing him across the state to our fans in Frisco this season and introducing our second K-9 mascot."
Rocky is ecstatic about joining forces with Brooks and also is very excited about his increased amount of living space in Deuce's former home, the custom burrow below the surface of Dr Pepper Ballpark. Fans will have an opportunity to meet and greet Rocky in an official pre-game event at Dr Pepper Ballpark on Opening Day. More information on Rocky's meet and greet will be released in the upcoming days.
Over the years, Deuce has become a staple of game days in Frisco. While his presence will be greatly missed, he will now reside in a part of the state known for its abundance of prairie dogs.
"We want to thank Deuce for his time in Frisco," Dambach said. "He contributed greatly to our past success, and we are happy that he will have the opportunity to be closer to his prairie dog relatives in West Texas."
An official 'Welcome Back' party is being scheduled for Deuce, who will be in attendance May 7-10 when the Riders host the RockHounds for the first time this season. To purchase tickets for Opening Day on April 14, Rocky's first official game as a member of the RoughRiders, visit RidersBaseball.com or call (972) 731-9200.
About the RoughRiders
The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and play their games at beautiful Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas. They also have a front office full of pranksters and would like to wish each and every one of you a very Happy April Fools Day! The team was founded in 2003 and has finished first among all Double-A franchises in attendance in each of the last 11 seasons (2005-2015), and fans have been entertained by Deuce each and every game! In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg and Scott Sonju. The new ownership group has spearheaded numerous major franchise improvements, from a completely new team identity to massive additions and upgrades to Dr Pepper Ballpark, including a giant new video board, sound system, sports bar, team store, improved food service and menu, and a complete overhaul of in-game entertainment, but Deuce will not be actually be going anywhere. The various ballpark improvements earned the Riders and the City of Frisco "Best Ballpark Renovation" of 2015 by Ballpark Digest in the under $6 million category. Deuce is still awaiting the additional burrow space that Greenberg and Sonju promised when the team was purchased. More than 130 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball, including All-Stars Chris Davis, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Gonzalez and Ian Kinsler. What did they all have in common? They all shared some cotton candy with Deuce. A coincidence? We think not. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders and Dr Pepper Ballpark, please visit RidersBaseball.com or contact Nathan Barnett at (972) 334-1976 or via e-mail at [email protected]. If you believed a word of this press release, take a deep breath, relax and know our loveable prairie dog, Deuce, is not really going anywhere. Happy April Fools' Day!
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