On Warm Summer Nights, Fans Head Out to Watch Kinston Indians Baseball
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Kinston’s century-long relationship with professional baseball has been anything but a smooth ride. But with solid local ownership and a healthy relationship with the Cleveland Indians‚ the future is on much firmer footing going forward.
The first professional baseball was played in Kinston in 1908‚ though the city’s history is littered with collapsed leagues‚ lost affiliates and wartime disruptions. But since its re-entry into the Class A Carolina League in 1978‚ followed by its affiliation with Cleveland in 1987‚ Kinston has been a model of stability.
Today‚ the Kinston Indians – or the K-Tribe‚ as fans call them – are enjoying success on the field and at the turnstiles. The team won Carolina League championships in 2004 and in 2006‚ and was poised for another title shot after winning its division in the first half of 2007.
Shari Massengill oversees the club’s operations as the K-Tribe’s general man ager‚ though she deflects credit for the team’s on-field success.
“They’re sending us quality players‚” she says of the parent club.
Massengill is in her 11th season with the Indians‚ holding virtually every position in the organization before assuming the general manager’s job in 2006. She didn’t set out to become a baseball executive‚ though she’s quickly excelled at the role. In 2007‚ she was named the Carolina League Executive of the Year.
“I never dreamed I would wind up staying‚” says Massengill. “But it’s something you’re either going to love or hate.”
Massengill’s new assistant general manager is Jessie Hays‚ giving the K-Tribe one of – if not the only – all-female front office teams in professional baseball.
While the Cleveland Indians supply the players and coaches‚ it is the front office staff who is responsible for all of the other aspects of running the ball club‚ including scheduling promotions‚ working with the media and the community and delivering a quality experience for the 1‚800 fans who attend the average game.
“Everybody does a little bit of everything‚” says Massengill‚ whose full-time staff numbers less than a half-dozen.
Further solidifying the club’s future is the community ownership behind it. In 1994‚ a consortium of more than 60 mostly local investors – led by local restaurateur Cam McRae – purchased the team. The ownership group’s commitment to the K-Tribe was evident in 2003‚ when it refurbished both the field and the grandstand at 4‚100-seat Grainger Stadium‚ which has been hosting professional baseball for nearly 60 years.
“The tradition of professional base ball has been an integral part of the history and culture of Kinston for well over 50 years‚” says McRae. “The only professional sports team in North Carolina east of I-95 is something every one in Kinston should be proud of.”
Story by Dan Markham
Photo by Ian Curcio
