By Dave Warner

It’s a new year, and in less than a month, the Diamond Dawgs are ready to kick off their hunt for a third championship season. Scott Kinville and I sat down with Travis Heiser, President and General Manager in a wide-ranging interview about the team, and the upcoming season.

Heiser has been a staple of baseball in the Mohawk Valley for almost two decades, and he walks us through how he ended up owning the team.

This is his 18th year in the City of Little Falls and baseball. “My journey here has been interesting to say the least. I was a high school baseball coach and 18 years ago I received a phone call from Justin Gordon, who was the pitching coach at Temple University who asked me if I would be willing to come up and get involved with the team,” he said.

“He wanted me to throw batting practice and just be part of it. I left coaching high school baseball to come up here for that season, and it was great for me. Just being around college athletes again – playing a higher-level of baseball.”

His daughter was born that year, and it was a challenge. He was teaching full time and then coming up to the City of Little Falls for games. His daughter had colic and his wife was home dealing with that. “I’d be getting texts and calls saying, Sophia won’t stop crying.”

He made it through the season, but asked Miles Wolf, who was owner of the team, and also the Durham Bulls, if he could stay involved with the team, but change positions. “I asked if there was an opportunity for me within the organization to be involved, but not on the field.  At that point, they made me the assistant GM for the following year.”

It was a great experience for him and allowed him to learn the business side of things.

The next year, they flew him down to Durham North Carolina to see what his vision for the team was and the City of Little Falls, and what he could do to keep baseball alive there. “At that point, I was offered the General Manager job. I did that for a year. It was challenging for me because I didn’t have a degree in business or marking.”

The following year, the team sold to Dave Dittman and Heiser had no idea what would happen to him. “He kept me on board, thank God and he really became a mentor to me. He changed the dynamic of baseball in the Mohawk Valley in my opinion.”

The first thing Dittman did was change the name of the team, including Mohawk Valley in it to broaden its appeal. “To market it, we needed to make that change. We did Diamond Dawgs to play off the diamonds in our area. The colors green and black stayed, which were from when we were the Little Falls Miners.”

Heiser said he had the craziest ideas to get people to the field. “He had ideas that made me think, this guy is off his rocker. He wanted to do weddings on the field, and things like that.”

“Prior to Dave getting involved, we’d probably have 40-50 fans at a game, if that. Dave gets involved and really starts teaching me how to market a team, and get out in the community and get involved. That first two years with Dave – it just took off.”

“That’s where it really all started for us,” he stated.

Hesier said it then became all about affordable family fun, and he’s continued that thinking to this day. “You don’t have to be a baseball fan to come to the game.”

Dittman approached Heiser at one point and told him, “I think you’re ready. I think I’m going to sell it, but before I put it out there on the market, I really want you to have it.”

Hesier said he really had to think about it, because when he does something, he’s all in. “That was probably the one time I didn’t listen to my wife and I said, I really want to do it. She’s been really supportive since that. She knows how much I love the game of baseball.”

“It’s been a wild ride,” he stated. “People think it’s crazy for a teacher to buy a baseball team – yes it is.”

“I bought it because I really felt that Major League Baseball was pricing themselves out for the average family. You go to a Yankee or Mets game and it’s going to cost a family an average of a thousand dollars to go,” he said.

He also wanted local youth to be able to view high-level baseball here in the Valley. “I don’t think a lot of kids have an opportunity to see the Yankees of Mets.”

“I wanted to keep the team in the City of Little Falls, and I felt that if I didn’t buy it, the team would have been moved out of Herkimer County. There’s no doubt. When the Little Falls Mets left, it was a big void for the people here, not only for the City of Little Falls, but the entire Valley.”

When you look at the tenure of the team now, it’s been at Veterans Memorial Field longer than any other organization. Kinville stated, “The Mets were here from 1977-1988 and you’ve certainly passed that mark.”

Hesier mentioned that recruiting for the next season’s team is a 365 day a year load, but that some players he talks to before they even head home at the end of their play here. “A lot of the announcements that you see on our social media for the signing of a player – they’ve probably been signed prior to Christmas, we’re just releasing their names now.”

Coming into the beginning of the season, there are several team needs. “This year, we’re housing all of our players that aren’t staying with host families at Herkimer College. We’re using their dorms this year for those players that want that apartment-style housing.”

“The big need for us, is post-game meals. I post a lot of stuff on social media asking people to help out. When we play at home, we try to provide a good cooked meal for our players. I feel that’s important because when we go on the road, our players are fed by the opposing teams, but nine times out of ten, it’s concession food,” he said.

Heiser is also looking for some EMTs who love the game of baseball and want to be involved and help them out. Just one to be at the field in case any situation comes up. “Obviously, if there’s anything serious, we’ll call 911.”

Overall, he said they are excited about the upcoming year. “I think our fans are excited as well. We already have a lot of groups booked for almost the entire month of June and we’re booking into July. This season is setting up to be one of our most well-attended seasons, so we’re really, really excited.”

“We like our team, and our coaching staff is great as well. I think this season is shaping up to be one of our best,” he said.

To find out more about the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs, visit their website or email travis@mvdiamonddawgs.com.

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