Letter to players
Key information before the season starts

Welcome to Marion, Ky.! We are glad to have you and wish you a successful season here with one of the four teams in the Ohio Valley League.

Marion's first venture into any kind of organized baseball since 1949 was in 2008 when the Bobcats joined the KIT League. We are optimistic in our efforts to provide you, the player, with a quality opportunity to improve your baseball skills and provide our community with good entertainment in a comfortable stadium at a reasonable price. It is our sense that sports fans and the people of Crittenden County are thirsty for baseball and should respond accordingly.

Marketing efforts such as commercial promotions, church nights, old-timers night, merchant nights and our Field of Dreams program are important for our attendance. The grandstands hold 250, and there is room for 100 lawn chairs and 90 temporary bleacher seats. Our concession stand adequately serve the hungry public with food and drinks.

We expect to play a 48-game schedule. All away games are planned to be on a daily, round-trip basis with no overnight stays away from Marion. We travel in two 15-passenger vans, with Fulton being the longest travel point. Pitchers on their rest cycle are not expected to go on the road trips, but may, if desired. Meals on road trips are paid for by the Bobcats. After home games, food is usually available in the concession stand free of charge.

Game times throughout the league are typically 7 p.m., but the Bobcats' official first pitch is at 7:05 p.m., right after the national anthem. Sunday afternoon games will likely begin at 2:05 p.m. There are exceptions for double headers, so consult your schedule for those differences. (The schedule will be released in late winter or early spring.) Each single game is scheduled for nine innings, and double headers are two seven-inning games, typically beginning at 5:05 p.m. The designated hitter will be used, and there is a "no slide rule" similar to the NCAA rules. It will be the umpire's sole discretion whether player contact is malicious.

Most restaurants close at 9:30 p.m. or earlier, and the groceries at 10 p.m. Among restaurants are LaPotosina Mexican restaurant, Marion Pit BBQ, Hickory Heaven Barbecue, Just-A-Burg'r, 88 Dip, The Front Porch and Main Street Grill and Italian Pizzeria. McDonald's and Dairy Queen, generally, are open until at least 10 p.m. in the summer. Deli meals are also available at Five-Star Food Mart, Conrad's and Food Giant in Marion and Salem Food Market in neighboring Livingston County. Besides the grocery stores, food items are available at Liberty Fuels and Five Star Food Mart, which is a 24-7 convenience store.

Banks open as early as 8:30 a.m., and stay open as late as 5 p.m. Noon is closing time on Saturday. Both local banks have Internet banking and are full-service. CVS Pharmacy and Glenn's Apothecary near the hospital have convenient hours, closing at 9 p.m., and 5:30 p.m., respectively. CVS is also open on Sunday until 6 p.m.

Tabor's Towing and Repair is open until 5 p.m., weekdays and Saturday until noon for vehicle service. Gas is available 24-7 at Five-Star (Marathon) and Liberty Fuels with credit and debit cards. Liberty Fuels' ATM is the most reliable in town. Food Giant and Conrad's Food Store also have an ATM. Pamida is like a miniature Wal-Mart. M&Mac (Napa) Auto Parts and Tabor's across the street are good for minor auto adjustments and repairs. R&R Automotive on U.S. 60 six miles west of Marion is recommended for more complex problems.

Accommodations for friends and family are available at the Royal Inn Motel on Sturgis Road next door to Marion True Value. There are also bed and breakfasts—Grace House on Sturgis Road at the north edge of town and Marion Inn on U.S. 641 about two miles south of the courthouse in Marion. Reservations are desired. Additional accommodations can be found at the Country Hearth Inn and Regency Inn in Eddyville and Hampton Inn in Kuttawa, all fewer than 20 miles south of Marion on U.S. 641.

Upon your arrival in Marion, prior to 4 p.m., please check in at the Marion Welcome Center next door to city hall at Marion Commons one block south of the courthouse. There should be a representative of the Bobcats there to meet you and get you squared away, introduce you to your host and get you to your quarters. Any other time, call General Manager Gordon Guess at 270-704-0953 or 270-965-2750.

Most host families will provide bed clothes and washer and dryer facilities; however, it is recommended that players bring sheets and pillow/cases and blanket as desired just to be on the safe side. The bed size is a single Hollywood-style. For obvious reasons, some lodging out in the country are serviced by cistern water without a washer and dryer, hence, the the need for commercial services in Marion.

One of those rural housing locations is Back Trails of West Kentucky, a hunting lodge a few miles away near the Cumberland River. It was formerly a two-story farm home overlooking the river bottoms there. It has seven bedrooms and can house 21 people comfortably. It is being improved by adding a game TV in each room as well as a big screen TV in the living room. There are also two washers and dryers and showers and a kitchen in place.

Those laundry facilities are available 24-7 at the Carousel Laundry on South Main Street across from Marion Pit BBQ and Palmer Laundry on West Gum, just a block from Tabor's Towing and Repair.

You may wish to bring a television, although most units are so equipped. Utilities are provided.

Part-time employment is extremely limited.

Players are responsible for their meals when not on the road.

Reporting date is Saturday, May 28 at the Marion Tourism Bureau. Practice will begin as early as the following day.

Housing assignments will be finalized before your arrival on May 28.

Finally, and importantly, whenever you are quartered within the host's home, keep your sleeping and living area orderly and, especially, your clothes picked up off the floor. Remember, everyone in Marion is watching you and you will be held on a pedestal, even idolized by the youth here. Good conduct and good baseball make for a good role model and earn respect that you cannot buy. And as this is the South, "please" and "thank you" work very well here.

I'm sure there will be many questions as this is only a starter. We're looking forward to your arrival in Marion.

Gordon B. Guess, Bobcats GM