It’s an unfair world out there, people — especially if you reside in the Pecos League.
The home of the defending champion Santa Fe Fuego, the lowest level of professional baseball this country has to offer definitely takes care of its higher-end clientele. The more successful you are, the more the league caters to you.
The good news for Santa Fe is that the Fuego are definitely in the proverbial penthouse. They have been since joining the league three years ago.
The league leader in attendance and merchandise sales since their inception, they will start their title defense at home on May 20.
Home. It’s a word that is often associated with the Fuego. The vast majority of the team’s games since joining the league have been at Fort Marcy Ballpark. The same will be true throughout the course of the 2015 season as the team will benefit the most from the league’s imbalanced schedule by playing 45 of their 70 games at The Fort.
They’re not alone in that department. League newcomer Garden City (Kan.) will play 44 games at home. Reality TV sweetheart Trinidad will have 39 of it’s 70 games at home.
By contrast, the Las Vegas Train Robbers will essentially be the nomads of the Pecos League by playing 59 of their 70 games on the road. That’s what poor attendance, a bad field, a lack of local government support and struggles with beer sales will do for you.
It’s a big reason the league contracted from 10 teams to eight during the most recent offseason. Gone this summer are financial dead spots like Raton, Taos and the Arizona teams from Bisbee and Douglas. Garden City and Las Cruces have been added, although the league’s love affair with Las Cruces is shaky at best.
Is the imbalance fair? Absolutely not.
In a league that pays its players just $50 a week and where travel usually means carpooling or cramming as many bodies into a tiny rental van as possible, the biggest advantage is staying at home. For most teams, the only night off of the entire summer is for the All-Star game in late June.
Such is life in a league that survives on a shoestring budget. With the league owning six of the eight teams, the bottom line is just that. It’s profits, money and catering to the teams that provide the most income.
The Fuego can certainly do that. Fort Marcy has become something of a destination spot for something other than Zozobra. The postage stamp-sized field provides plenty of offense, the team has been given decent talent and the nostalgia of low-level professional ball in historic downtown seems to have caught on.
For the third straight year, Fort Marcy will host the league All-Star game. During the homestretch of the regular season when games really matter, the Fuego will play 26 of their final 36 games at home — a span that includes a one-day break for the All-Star game.
So go ahead and revel in your home team’s friendly schedule, Fuego fans. Your club has earned it thanks to most of you for turning out more than any other town in the Pecos League. It’s your dedication that is providing the league’s own definition of “fair,” no matter how skewed it is.
