It’s official: Peru welcomes Pistol Shrimp to town

It’s time to dust off the old ball cap; Prospect League baseball officially is heading to Peru.

The Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp and the city of Peru signed a property use agreement for the field at Veterans Park.

Team and league officials spoke to the audience in attendance and answered questions at the Peru City Council meeting Monday.

As Mayor Scott Harl donned a Pistol Shrimp cap and face mask, he introduced Prospect League Commissioner Dennis Bastien to the podium. Bastien welcomed residents of the Illinois Valley to take part in what all parties hope will be a partnership that will last for a long time.

“I want to welcome all of you to be a part of this,” Bastien said. “We are something that’s pretty amazing. We televise every game, every night nationally. There will be games broadcast 30 times from right here at Veterans Memorial Park this summer.”

Bastien said the impact of a Prospect League team can be seen in the community.

He said the team generally brings in between $1 and $2.5 million dollars into the community that houses it. These funds come from visitors staying in hotels, eating in restaurants, filling up with gas and going shopping.

“Are we as big as General Electric? No, but we do bring a lot of business and a lot of people and money into the community,” Bastien said. “It’s something we are very proud of.”

The owner and field manager of the Pistol Shrimp John Jakiemiec was excited for his team to join the community.

When the Pistol Shrimp’s season was in jeopardy, Jakiemiec was left with very few options: to shut down for the season or find a new place to play.

Being a self-proclaimed baseball guy, Jakiemiec said he couldn’t fathom telling the athletes on his team they wouldn’t be able to play. This quickly brought the Pistol Shrimp to their new home.

“Having to tell 32 college baseball players who are aspiring for the next level who already lost a season last year [that] we have to take the summer season away from them was something I really didn’t want to stomach,” Jakiemiec said.

For Jakiemiec and the Pistol Shrimp, keeping things local has been a priority so far in their very short existence in the Illinois Valley.

They announced that the Locker Room in Spring Valley will provide the first Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp merchandise and serve as the first official fan store that they hope will have products out to market shortly.

Two weeks ago, Jakiemiec also announced Green River Lines in Peru will serve as the team’s travel partner .

The final Pistol Shrimp roster signing for the upcoming season will be local, bringing on Peru native Jake Dahl from Rockford University.

Under normal circumstances, Prospect League teams would include more local players, but given the unconventional upcoming season, the team was happy to at least fit Dahl on the roster.

While everything has happened fast, Jakiemiec said it was his initial visit to the Illinois Valley that reminded him of his hometown and when he decided this was the move he wanted to make.

“Everyone was super generous with their time, super complimentary about baseball and felt baseball would do really well here,” Jakiemiec said. “We feel really strongly that this, if all goes well, from our perspective, is the last place we will have to go to. This is going to be our long-term home; that is our sincere hope.”