Hagerstown Flying Boxcars announce stadium naming partner, unveil mascot
The Hagerstown Flying Boxcars hope to be a hit with the community when they begin their inaugural season in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball this year.
Meritus Health has joined in the effort, hoping to help make it a grand slam.
During a press conference and private event at Seven Ten in Hagerstown on Tuesday evening, Blackie Bowen, of the Flying Boxcars ownership group, announced the team’s naming-rights partnership with Meritus.
Their new downtown stadium, still under construction along Summit Avenue, will be called Meritus Park.
“We could not be more proud or honored than to have the association with this organization that we’re about to announce,” Bowen said. “They are among the largest employers in Washington County. They are probably the most important employer in Washington County, which you will understand. And they’re extremely, highly respected.”
The Flying Boxcars open their season April 25 against the York Revolution to start a seven-game road trip. Their home opener at Meritus Park is May 3 against the Long Island Ducks. It will be the first of 63 home games in the regular season.
“We really want this to be a place where people come together, welcome each other, cheer for the team, win as a team and live healthily,” said Meritus Health President and CEO Maulik Joshi. “That’s what it’s all about in bringing a community together.
“Our mission is simple: Improve the health of our community. And we have one value that is called ‘community-obsessed.’ And we are obsessed with our community because that’s who we are responsible to make a difference in. With the amazing Boxcars owners and staff and managers and the players, we really want to support this because it is a community-wide effort to make a difference.”
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Meritus also will be the official sports-medicine provider for the Flying Boxcars.
“That includes physical therapy, athletic trainers, orthopedic care, anything we can do to keep the players healthy,” Joshi said. “We are thrilled to be in the park."
Flying Boxcars unveil their mascot
Also Tuesday, Stryker was introduced as the Flying Boxcars’ mascot.
Who’s Stryker?
A video of Stryker’s fictional life was played during the event at Seven Ten.
His parents were technicians at Fairchild Aircraft in Hagerstown, where the C-119 plane — nicknamed the Flying Boxcar — was manufactured.
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Stryker grew up to become a phenomenal baseball player as well as the best test pilot at Fairchild. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s and became a captain.
“During the late 1960s, he was assigned to a unit, which allowed him the opportunity to finally fulfill his dreams of flying a C-119,” said the narrator of the video. “One fateful day, the captain, along with his co-pilot, embarked on a journey. On this journey, something mysterious happened. He never arrived at his destination.”
More than a half-century later, Stryker landed his C-119 at Hagerstown Regional Airport without any recollection of what happened.
“Now, the captain is back with a new mission,” the narrator said. “No longer is he flying the Boxcar. Instead, he is letting the world know the story of Fairchild, and he’s bringing back the sport that he loves to a city that needs it. His goal is to bring the magic to Hagerstown and put his hometown back on the map.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown Flying Boxcars announce partnership with Meritus Health
