BUTTE — With just one week to go in the season and a potential spot in the playoffs of the Expedition League, Butte’s Tommyknockers baseball team canceled its season after complaints from players about living conditions.
On Sunday, some players released a press release complaining of poor communication with management and some players sleeping in cars and having personal items stolen from them.
“Kids not having beds and places to sleep and just kind of, they didn’t know where they were going to be from week to week, and so we’re going to meet with Tommyknockers management and talk through what the issues are and how they can be improved or if they’re going to be improved,” said Butte Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher.
Last year, the city signed a three-year contract with the Tommyknockers to allow them to use Three Legends Stadium for their home games. The Tommyknockers have three more home games to play at the stadium.
“And I take it personally because I was a big part of going and checking out the Expedition League and thought it was a great thing for our community, so I want to make sure going forward that the promises made are promises kept,” said Gallagher.
The chief executive said that if these allegations are true that they reflect poorly on the city and he said that he will demand conditions improve if the team returns for another season.
“We want to see it work, but if the conditions don’t change, if they’re not prepared to make those adjustments, like I said, the utmost importance is the safety of those kids out there playing for us. We want Butte to be well represented, not a place where they said it wasn’t a good experience,” said Gallagher.
Messages left with the team’s General Manager Dane Wagner seeking comment were not returned.
