Mark Mason takes the reins as the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars’ first manager
Fans should expect a high level of play when the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars begin their inaugural season in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in 2024 in the new downtown stadium.
The Atlantic League offers a “second chance” for players to show they have major-league talent, said new Flying Boxcars manager Mark Mason during a “Meet the Manager” event Thursday at the Potomac Walk in downtown Hagerstown.
“The goal here is to get our players signed back to major league organizations, which is where they come from,” Mason said. “For people that aren’t familiar with the Atlantic League, players in this league are mostly all former major leaguers and Triple-A minor league players, so when you go to the ballpark and watch the caliber of play, it’s very close to big-league level, very close.
“These players are here trying to get signed back to major league organizations. These are not like college, non-drafted players. These are formidable, pedigreed players. It’s my job to procure all of these players. That’s my job, that’s what I do. It’s about recruiting good players with good character, people that understand how to go about their business in the community, interact with the fanbase and the sponsors and get everybody excited to make Hagerstown a destination for people who want to come with their families and have an amazing time.”
‘We expect to win’
Mason, 63, has a long baseball resume, including great success as a manager in the Atlantic League. He racked up 606 victories with the York Revolution in nine seasons from 2013-22, making him the fourth-winningest manager in league history.
In 2014, he was named the Atlantic League Manager of the Year, and in 2017, he guided York to the league title.
“Mark brings a veteran presence to the Flying Boxcars’ dugout with an extensive knowledge and success in the Atlantic League, and I look forward to working with Mark for years to come,” said David Blenckstone, the Flying Boxcars’ general manager.
The team’s 126-game regular season in 2024 begins April 25 and runs through Sept. 15.
2024 schedule: The Flying Boxcars’ inaugural season begins April 25
“You play every night,” Mason said. “It’s a grind for the players, so the players that are here and myself and my coaching staff — which we will announce at a later date — we do this because we love it. We love everything about it. We love the relationships, not only within the team but with the communities we’re involved in. The relationships that you make on and off the field are one of the main reasons that we do this.
“Winning is great. We expect to win. Do I get excited when we win? Yes. Do I get upset when we lose? Of course, because I expect to win. When you come to the ballpark, you’ll see a product that is going to give you 100%, something you’re going to be proud of. When you leave the ballpark, win or lose, you’ll never say, ‘They didn’t really hustle tonight,’ because the one thing about independent baseball is that I’m in charge of who stays and who goes. If I do have a player that doesn’t perform, we don’t have to ask permission to make a change.”
Who will play for Hagerstown?
Mason still has work to do to fill the Flying Boxcars’ 26-man roster.
“I have two signed and about 25 I’m talking to,” he said. “It’s a little early. I expect to have half the roster intact by mid-February. You have to wait. We want to sign some guys who get released from spring training, too. That’s the end of March.
“There are a lot of players who just got released in October, big-league guys, and they’re going to wait to see if they get a spring-training invite and all of that, so it’s a little bit of a waiting game. … We bring in players from all over the world here — Dominican, Venezuela, Cuba. We bring in the best available players.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown Flying Boxcars roster to include former MLB players
