Travelers’ new look hit, but jury still out on Otey

As a dedicated Arkansas Travelers fan who has toured parts of the Texas League, Phillip Hallum made sure to get to Dickey-Stephens Park a little early Thursday night.

About 45 minutes before the first pitch, Hallum and his two children, Wyatt, 8, and Anna, 17, strolled out of the team store with a bag of new merchandise.

Phillip bought the Travs’ black hat with the new primary logo emblazoned on the front while Wyatt had a gray one with the ‘A’ on top of the Travs logo. They were among the 5,547 who flocked to the park to watch the Travs, decked out in their all-new look, beat the Midland Rock-Hounds 3-2 on Alex Yarbrough’s ninth-inning sacrifice fly in the home opener in North Little Rock.

“We decided to come out early tonight so we could pick up some new swag,” said Hallum, who is from Little Rock.

Hallum and his children said they liked the new uniforms and logos, but one of the new mascots might take some getting used to.

Hallum, who went to see the Travs play in Springdale and Springfield, Mo., last season, wasn’t too thrilled about Otey, the swamp possum mascot the team unveiled two weeks ago and introduced to fans for the first time Thursday night.

Hallum is concerned the mascot could feed into a negative perception of the state that he said is reinforced by shows such as the Discovery Channel’s Clash of the Ozarks, a reality show that centers on a feud between two families who live in Hardy.

“I was like, ‘Really? A possum? C’mon,’ ” Hallum said. “We’re getting killed on the media with that Ozarks show, and this is not helping us with that.”

It was hard to criticize the Travs’ performance.

Arkansas stole seven bases and Yarbrough drove in runs in the seventh and ninth innings to spark the offense. Yarbrough’s single past a drawn-in infield scored Shawn O’Malley to tie it 2-2 in the seventh, then the Travs loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before Yarbrough’s sacrifice fly to shallow right field drove in Eric Stamets for the game winner.

“I was looking for something up in the zone so I could get a sac fly,” Yarbrough said. “I was hoping to get it a little bit deeper than I did, but luckily Stamets is really fast.”

The Travs stole five bases in the first three innings, and five different players had steals to raise Arkansas’ Texas League-leading total to 20.

The mentality being pushed by Manager Phillip Wellman in his first season with the Travs helped them tie the game in the seventh when O’Malley walked, stole second base, moved to third on a groundout and then scored on Yarbrough’s single to right.

“Somebody gives you a crack, we’re going to try to go through the door,” Wellman said. “There’s going to be times where we can’t and it’s probably not the wisest thing to do, but early in the game we’re going to try to set the tone.”

Travs fans left Dickey-Stephens for the first time this year pleased with the outcome as well as the makeover.

Jeff McMillan and his wife, Jennifer, drove from Conway to catch their first season opener. McMillan showed up wearing the blue Travelers hat with the “LR” logo on it and took a trip through the team store to check out the new merchandise.

“I think it’s a lot more bolder look than the old one,” said McMillan, pulling the old blue hat off his head.“This was a little plain. … I’ll buy one before I leave.”

Mike Rohrer, his wife Roxeann and their two children were looking for their seats along the first-base line not long after the gates opened at 6:10 p.m. Rohrer, from Conway, and his wife were already decked out in the Travs’ camouflage jerseys with their names on the back as they attended their first game as season-ticket holders.

The camo jerseys, which the team boasted are the first camo jerseys designed by a team in Minor League Baseball, will be worn on military appreciation days and other special dates.

“I love them,” Rohrer said.“It’s got the cypress tress and the Travs logo right inside the camo. … I like the new colors. I think it’s good. It’s time for a change, mix it up a little bit.”

Most fans milling around the concourse Thursday night seemed fine with the Travs’ new look, which was developed by General Manager Paul Allen and San Diego-based Brandiose. It is part of the first widespread image makeover since the team formed in 1901, and officials hope it will help spark declining attendance.

Players wore their home white uniforms with red sleeves and red caps for the opener, and fans seemed fine with the new look and the new merchandise.

“This is what they do. They swap out designs to get you to shop,” said Hallum, who already has a full collection of old hats and T-shirts. “Now we have to start off with some new ones.”

Today’s game

ARKANSAS VS. MIDLAND WHEN 7:10 p.m.

WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas WEBSITE travs.com PITCHERS Travelers: Drew Rucinski (RHP, 1-0, 1.80 ERA); RockHounds: Tanner Peters (RHP, 0-1, 5.06) TICKETS $12 box seats, $8 reserved ($5 children), $6 general admission ($4 children). Gates open 1 hour before game.

PROMOTIONS Free magnet schedules SHORT HOPS Right-hander Dane De La Rosa was sent from Class AA Arkansas to Class A Inland Empire to continue his rehab assignment. De La Rosa made two appearances with the Travs, pitching 2 hitless innings, allowing 1 earned run and striking out 2 while recovering from forearm inflammation.

TRAVELERS WEEK AHEAD

TODAY Midland, 7:10 p.m.

SATURDAY Midland, 6:10 p.m.

SUNDAY Frisco, 4:10 p.m.

MONDAY Frisco, 7:10 p.m.

TUESDAY Frisco, 7:10 p.m.

WEDNESDAY off

THURSDAY at Springfield, 7:10 p.m.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES No games scheduled

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Frisco 11, Northwest Arkansas 7

Arkansas 3, Midland 2

Corpus Christi 6, Tulsa 0

Springfield 8, San Antonio 5 (14)

TODAY’S GAMES

All times Central

Springfield at San Antonio, 7:05 p.m.

Frisco at NW Arkansas, 7:05 p.m.

Midland at Arkansas, 7:10 p.m.

Tulsa at Corpus Christi, 7:10 p.m.