Joliet Slammers plan for regular season

The Joliet Slammers on Monday announced discounted season ticket sales with expectations the team can return to a regular Frontier League schedule this year.

The Frontier League schedule has come out with the Slammers slated for 47 home games on a 96-game schedule that starts May 27.

“It’s a good step,” said Slammers General Manager Heather Mills, who said teams and the league are optimistic they will play ball in 2021.

The Slammers in 2020 played baseball despite a canceled Frontier League season, hosting a four-team tournament that played eight weeks at DuPage Medical Group Field.

The altered season gave the Slammers experience hosting baseball for fans during the COVID-19 pandemic, although games were sparsely attended.

To motivate attendance this year, the team is offering what it called “the lowest season ticket package in Slammers history” in a news release. A reserved seat for all Slammers home games is $300. Fans buying season tickets before April 15 with pay $225.

The discount reflects the economy, Mills said, noting many people have been out of work or working less.

A schedule was issued last year before the Frontier League season was canceled. The league and teams this year are optimistic the season will go on, Mills said.

“We are not expecting this season to be canceled,” she said. “What could happen is that the season gets pushed back.”

If some games are canceled, fans who bought season tickets will be reimbursed with “stadium loot,” the Slammers term for certificates used to buy items inside the stadium.

The Slammers season is scheduled to start with a road game in southwest suburban Crestwood against the Windy City Thunderbolts. The team comes back to Joliet on May 28 to play its first home game at DuPage Medical Group Field.

Mills said the number of Frontier League teams in Illinois should help in pulling off a season.

“The main thing about us is we have a lot of local teams in the Chicago market as well as in southern Illinois,” she said.

The Frontier League also added three teams in Canada before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, and Mills acknowledged that “can throw a wrench in the works. But those teams are optimistic.”

Mills used the word “optimistic” several times in describing the outlook for a 2021 season in what appears to be improving COVID-19 conditions while adding that the Slammers have learned to “be prepared for anything.”

“We know we can play baseball in a safe way,” she said. “We did it last year.”