It’s been two years since Vermont’s Minor League Baseball team joined the Futures Collegiate Baseball League—a move that means “on the field” players are in college and not part of the pipeline that feeds minor league players to the big leagues.
The move, prompted by Major League Baseball’s decision to reduce the number of minor league teams they support, was disappointing for Vermonters accustomed to seeing potential future major leaguers play in the Green Mountain State.
However, in the first year of the league change, the Lake Monsters rewarded the fans who did come out to the ballgames with a championship title—the first for a Vermont-based team in a quarter-century.
The Lake Monsters still play their home games at UVM’s Centennial Field, one of the oldest baseball parks in the country, built-in 1906. And the team has a winning record so far in the early days of the 2023 season.
Vermont Public’s Mitch Wertlieb spoke with D.J. Knudsen, senior vice president of the Vermont Lake Monsters. The following is an edited and condensed version of their conversation for clarity.
Mitch Wertlieb: Now, two years in, how do you feel about the Lake Monsters playing in the Futures League? And perhaps more importantly, what has the fan response been like?
D.J. Knudsen: Well, it’s been fantastic. On the field, we’ve had great success. Off the field, we’ve had even greater success. We’re drawing a ton of fans. This year, we might end up reaching that 75,000 mark for attendance.
At the time you and I are speaking, the Lake Monsters are coming off a big win against the New Britain Bees, where the team banged out 19 hits and had a 13-4 victory. One of the players who had a big night at the plate is from Vermont. What can you tell us about Tyler Wells and perhaps other players that Vermont baseball fans should be keeping an eye on with the potential for a big season this year?
Yeah, now more than ever, we’re Vermont’s team. We have about eight guys from Vermont: Tyler Wells from Danville, Vermont goes to New Haven. We have Colby Brouillette from Georgia, Vermont, Ryan Eaton who goes to Manhattan. We’ve got some guys from Middlebury College. So, literally, it’s incredible, you know, we’re having Vermonters play for us. And we have guys from D-1 national powerhouses who will get drafted and play Major League Baseball, so it’s the best of both worlds.
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So just to be clear, even though there’s no longer this automatic pipeline — meaning, the Lake Monsters used to be the Single-A affiliate for the Oakland A’s — there is still a chance for a player who really tears it up to maybe make it to the big leagues one day?
Definitely. I think probably the first guy who could make it to the big leagues if he is healthy is Ethan Anderson. He played for us in 2021. He goes to Miami. He’s definitely on the radar to get drafted in the next couple of years. He’s a catcher, a switch-hitting catcher. And he’s also the top prospect that came out of the Futures League in 2021. So, you’re definitely gonna see some guys who are playing for the Vermont Lake Monsters playing Major League Baseball in a few years.
I’m curious about how much of the new rules adopted by Major League Baseball are also in play in the Futures League. Things like the new pitch clock, the automatic runner placed on second base to start extra innings, the prohibition on infield shifts, things like that.
Sure, actually, the only one that we enacted this year for our league is the pitcher’s clock. So the 20-second rule is in effect, which we actually violated twice on opening day. So the pitchers are still getting used to it.
But even some of the Major League players were not immune to that either!
Exactly. That’s really the only change. So we’re still using the regular bases, not the big pillow bases that Major League Baseball uses. But you know, it’s still America’s pastime, and fans are loving it. And the players absolutely love being in Vermont, especially the ones from out-of-state. They love Vermont, and Burlington is a pretty fun place to spend the summer as a college kid.
And are they housed by local families? I mean, how do they spend their summers here?
Sure, almost all of them are living with host families, which is unbelievable. These host families have opened up their hearts and their homes to accommodate these players from all across the country. And the host family program has been in effect, really, since 1994. This year, we actually have more host families than players. So, it’s quite an experience for everybody.
“We’re having Vermonters play for us. And we have guys from D-1 national powerhouses who will get drafted and play Major League Baseball, so it’s the best of both worlds.”
D.J. Knudsen, Vermont Lake Monsters
I have to touch on some sadder news now. Head Coach Pete Wilk was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. He’s undergoing treatment as I understand it. Can you tell us a little bit about how he’s doing? How’s he handling that tough news?
Sure, he’s our leader. We got that sad news from Pete, it came during the offseason. He’s battling right now. His spirits are definitely high. He was hoping to be up here for mini-camp, which started a couple of days before opening day. It doesn’t look like he’ll be joining us until maybe another week or two. But we’re obviously thinking about him every day. He’s still the manager. We can’t wait for him to get up here. But he’s definitely ready to come back to Vermont with his family and lead the Lake Monsters this summer.
And we’re going to do a play-for-Pete night at the ballpark where we’re going to wear green uniforms that all say “Wilk” on the back, along with his number, and we’re going to auction those off to help raise funds for his GoFundMe page.
When is that happening? What game is that, D.J.?
I believe it’s going to be on August 8.
And the thing that we’re really excited about this year, Mitch, is hosting the All-Star game. The All-Star game is happening on Tuesday, July 25. The last time there was an All-Star game at Centennial Field was July 18, 1986, almost 37 years ago. So, the great baseball fans in Vermont deserve it. And that’s going to have a big impact for the whole area, the entire region
A new graduate of NYU with a Master’s Degree in journalism, Mitch has more than 20 years of experience in broadcasting news. He got his start as a news director at NYU’s college station and moved on to a news director (and occasional DJ position) for commercial radio station WMVY on Martha’s Vineyard. But public broadcasting was where Mitch wanted to be, and eventually, he moved on to Boston, where he worked for six years in a variety of capacities for member station WBUR—as a Senior Producer, Editor, and fill-in co-host of the nationally distributed show. Mitch has also been a guest host of the national NPR sports program “Only A Game.” He has also worked as an editor and producer for international news coverage with Watch Radio in Boston.
