00:00From the time we cut the ribbon when we opened up the ballpark in 2000,
00:04I always sat out with the fans.
00:07That was really very important to me, to have that fan connection,
00:11to be in the community all year round.
00:14If I had to, I'd get out there and pull tarp.
00:16I wasn't a stranger to that.
00:17I never asked anybody on our staff to do anything I wouldn't do.
00:21And I think that's part and parcel of being a community baseball team.
00:25We've got a big community here on Long Island.
00:27It's 3 million people.
00:28And 9.5 million people have come through our gates.
00:33So, you know, staff's done a great job.
00:36We're very proud of the fact that Long Islanders have come here with their families
00:41to enjoy baseball on a nice summer night.
00:44And, you know, our attendance numbers are great.
00:48I've always said there's no mountain range between Nassau and Suffolk County,
00:51so we're the Long Island Ducks.
00:53Yeah, Rev Entertainment, and I handpicked them because they are baseball people.
00:57They are entertainment people.
00:59And if there's things that we can grow and carry my vision forward is to do more with
01:05the ballpark now that we have sports turf.
01:06I think that's important.
01:09They're great people.
01:10They have the passion.
01:11They carry that forward.
01:12They know that the objective here is to just stay the course and keep improving
01:17and just making sure everybody has a great time when they come to the ballpark.
01:21Well, I've always loved the game of baseball, and I love Long Island.
01:25I love the community here that I've lived my whole life here.
01:29So, you know, it's just part of between the Long Island YMCA,
01:35the Great South Bay YMCA, the Bolton Center and Bayshore, and the Ducks.
01:40That's my trifecta, and it's all about community and about quality of life.
01:44Well, you've got to start with some of our managers.
01:47You know, with Bud Harrelson, who was my partner for over 30 years,
01:51Gary Carter managed the team, Kevin Paez managed the team,
01:55Dave Lapointe has managed the team, all guys that had major league careers.
02:00Of course, Rich Hill was a big one.
02:02And through the league, we've had so many great baseball players
02:06that have been able to go back to the big leagues.
02:12I've had more players say that the most fun they've ever had playing baseball
02:16was playing for the Long Island Ducks.
02:19And that's guys that have played in the major leagues for, you know,
02:22five, six, seven, ten years.
02:24But found that they love, why they love the game of baseball right here on Long Island.
02:29Hey, listen, Jose Canseco, John Rocker,
02:32which people want to remind me about all the time.
02:35I remember that, yeah.
02:35Sure.
02:36You know, so yes, we've had so many notable players have come here
02:41and played Juan Gonzalez, played for the Ducks.
02:45I mean, but, you know, some of the greatest players that ever played for the Ducks
02:49were local guys like a Justin Davies or a Ray Navarrete.
02:53Or, you know, it's just those guys had a real passion.
02:59Even if they didn't really want to get signed,
03:03they wanted to continue to play here on Long Island.
03:05And that's what makes it so special.
03:07And that's what makes it so special.
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