BEAVER TOWNSHIP — The Mahoning Valley Scrappers begin their fifth season as members of the MLB Draft League when they host the State College Spikes on June 4 in their season opener.

The brief two-game homestand also marks the beginning of their 27th season as an organization, a team that other Minor League Baseball clubs look to and emulate as they cultivate fan interest with their cutting edge approach.

Assistant general manager for sales-promotions Matt Thompson, who begins his 21st season with the team, told the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s meeting at Avion Banquet Center that the organization is looking to build off the momentum they generated last season.

“We are doing quite well,” Thompson said. “We had a great 2024 season and we’re looking forward to the ’25 campaign. Things really went well for us last year in terms of attendance, partnership-wise and our relationship with area businesses, so we are looking to keep that momentum rolling through this season. I enjoy doing this and the variety of what I get to come here and do because that way, I won’t get bored doing the same thing over and over again every day.”

Since the team’s inaugural season in 1999, the area’s 7 17 Credit Union has partnered with the team, recently announcing that they were expanding their sponsorship with the Scrappers.

“7 17 Credit Union has been my client for at least the past 15 seasons and last year, with some new leadership at the top and not just with us, people have seen some of the coverage so they kind of ramped up their community involvement and have been working on more high profile projects,” Thompson said. “The night that we did with them last year, that was a really exciting thing so we were very happy with it, they were happy with it so both sides have decided to expand on that and move forward with some cool, new things. In addition to their night, there are also some things that will span the entire season and some financial things like the introduction of the new Scrappers Affinity Credit Card. Those things that are going to extend beyond the ballpark and allow both of our organizations to have an impact on our community.”

Quinton McCracken returns as Scrappers manager, and Ron Mahay is back as pitching coach, with Roosevelt Brown serving as hitting coach.

Thompson said the coaching staff has been great to work with when it comes to off-field needs.

“It is nice to have some consistency,” Thompson said. “Quinton and Ron are familiar with the area, familiar with our front office staff and know what they are getting into here. Ron, in particular, because this is his fourth of five seasons of the MLB Draft League as our pitching coach. He really knows what his duties are in terms of what he is trying to do to try to help these guys maximize themselves while Quinton does the same on the managerial side. Both coaches are trying to help the players put their best foot forward in terms of getting drafted and their draft position. Plus, it’s a different lifestyle, a different kind of schedule and they are working on getting them on that schedule and what it means to have your job as a full-time baseball player.”

Once again, the team has assembled a jam-packed promotional slate for Eastwood Field, presented by Foxconn.

There are 10 specialty jersey nights, eight post-game fireworks shows, seven giveaways, seven ‘Buck Nights’ and a drone show, among other promotions.

“We are really excited about our promotion schedule this season,” Thompson said. “We have added some fun ones, all the different jersey ones that people really enjoyed including starting out again this season with a Margaritaville promotion. This year, however, we will not only be doing the jersey auction, but we will be doing the Margaritaville shirt giveaway as opposed to last year when it was in conjunction with a bobblehead.

“The two bobbleheads set for this year include the Major League bobblehead, which will be in conjunction with a Jersey night on June 28 then the Christmas Vacation bobblehead on July 25, which is our ‘Christmas in July’ promo so that will be a Scrappy bobblehead in the theme of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. We have another game on the 4th of July so we will have fireworks for that and have a lot of other great food-based promotions. We are doing our peppers and oil and cookie tables night once again, also adding another special jersey and food night with a Mahoning Valley favorite, Brier Hill, so people should be very excited about that.”

Next Monday, Brian Gorby, head coach of YSU’s men’s and women’s track and field-cross country teams, will serve as guest speaker.