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MOOSIC — The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders announced the addition of three members to their ownership group Wednesday afternoon at PNC Field.
Former All-Star pitcher Andy Ashby led the group along with Charles Cohen, managing director and owner of Benco Dental Company, and Steve Somers, president and owner of Vigon International.
Along with his ownership role, Ashby will be the local ambassador for the Triple-A National Championship Game, which the RailRiders will host on Sept. 19, 2017, with New York Yankees legend Reggie Jackson. Mr. October will be the national ambassador of the game.
“When we talk about bringing in good people and people who can make a difference, this is an awesome opportunity when local ownership formed this partnership and talked to Andy about getting involved,” Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders chief operating officer Josh Olerud said. “I think it’s really endless what we can do with him.
“Like you guys just talked to him, ‘What’s our goal?’ I think it’s really to help brand the organization, tap into his baseball knowledge, into his resources and start building it from the ground up.”
Ashby, who played for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in 1991 and 1992, always wanted to return to baseball. A chance to latch on with the New York Yankees organization was an opportunity Ashby couldn’t pass up.
“I talked to my wife and she was like, ‘Ownership? Are you ready for that?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, but how do you know until you try it,’ ” Ashby said. “It’s an honor for me to be a part of this. Being here 25 years ago, it’s changed a lot, but for the better. I enjoyed it, the people were great.
“But we need to make sure people come to the ballpark, they fill these seats up and enjoy it the same way (us owners) enjoy it, being part of it. Because we do it for them.”
The former big-league pitcher sees this opportunity as something more than just a place to invest his money. Ashby wants to help grow the organization in whatever way possible. Whether it’s with on-field performance or fan interaction, the former Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher is ready to go the extra mile.
“I want to learn. I want to do what I can do to — I guess — become better as an owner. I want to be here,” Ashby said, who now lives in Pittston. “I think I bring a lot to the table, not only as an owner, but as a (former) player. I think there’s things I can (do). Maybe a guy is having a tough time on the field and I can just say one thing or something. I want to be an all-around owner.”
Olerud is looking forward to picking Ashby’s brain, and seeing the 14-year major-leaguer help take the organization to the next level.
“He started here, fell in love with it and now he’s a part of the community,” Olerud said. “To be able to lean on him with getting him involved, with anything from corporate interaction to youth development to picking his brain as to the 70-something stadiums he’s been to and the operations he’s seen.
“I think there’s a lot of knowledge there and I think as we develop our relationship with the front office I think it’s going to go in a lot of different directions.”
As an ambassador for the Triple-A National Championship Game, Ashby will help promote the game, through different initiatives and events, within the community.
“Getting (Ashby) on the broadcast, getting him to do some of those PR things I think are big, and Reggie’s going to be doing those same things on a national front,” Olerud said. “With those two guys being the voice of it, I think we have the right people in play to make it very successful.”
The Cohen-led Benco Dental Company is one of the nation’s largest independently-owned dental distributors. Cohen, who resides in Allentown, graduated from Wyoming Seminary and the University of Pennsylvania, and joined the dental company in 1989 as a territory representative.
Somers bought Vigon International, a flavor, fragrance and cosmetic company, in 1998.
“It’s unique,” Olerud said of the ownership group. “We have a really strong ownership board. Other than (Ashby) and Reggie, which both had unbelievable playing careers, everybody’s kind of got their tool in their tool belt.”