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What is a Cropduster?
I had no idea Olney was getting a semi-pro baseball team this summer until a neighbor and fellow parent of young children brought it up.
“Did you hear about this new Olney semi-pro team. The Cropdusters?”
Nope. I confessed I had not. What is a Cropduster? And what is “Summer Collegiate Baseball with an Olney Vibe“?
A Cropduster, in this case, references a single-engine, low altitude small plane used in larger scale agriculture to spray (“dust”) crops with pesticides in order to keep acreage growing robustly. Not only is this a hilarious name and logo (and jersey) for a minor league baseball team… but (to me, upon reflection), it kind of pokes the eye of the (often nanny state) Montgomery County Council. This is, after all, a County Council that attempted to ban “cosmetic pesticides” in 2016, only to have their ordinance thrown out in 2017 by a Circuit Court in Maryland. Turns out state law pre-empted the Montgomery County Council’s desire for more control on private property. Who knew? Maybe I should stop this article now before the team name itself is petitioned to be “changed” by some of these same ambitious county ‘regulators’.
Olney Cropdusters Join Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League
Reference and nickname aside, the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, which the Olney Cropdusters belong to, has been around for a while. Founded in 2005, teams have been a summer mainstay in Bethesda and in Alexandria, Virginia. The league itself is a legit 501c3 non-profit complete with a tax form 990 available on their website. Refreshing! In an age of ridiculous Major League Baseball (MLB) player salaries and franchise valuations, not to mention the corresponding fan costs, it is enjoyable to just go to a semi-pro game for $10 a car, no matter if you drive an SUV or a mini-cooper. For $10 you can’t even get a decent beer at Nationals Park. And you surely won’t park for less then $25. For $7-8 at the OBGC field, you’ll get some Lone Oak Brewery beer and keep beer money in the community.
The baseball itself, the game play, is a mix. It definitely is not top-level baseball but every young man is playing collegiate-level ball, which means they are really good. One inning I witnessed, the Cropdusters were down 7-0 but climbed back in to tie the game, mainly on a mix of pass balls (balls getting behind the catcher) and walks. Oh, and an infield error. Still, there are the home runs and the strikeouts. You get a mix of good and bad. The league itself has showcased future MLBers, like Brian Dozier.
Perhaps most of all, fans of the Olney Cropdusters, the Bethesda Big Train, etc. can take (some) small comfort in knowing that this form of minor league baseball isn’t being tarnished extensively (yet) through rank cronyism and outright corporate welfare via our tax dollars. But this past spring the rumblings did start.
Maryland Public Spending On Private Sports
Of all the corporate welfare thrown around in MD by Annapolis politicians, nothing is more eye opening then spending taxpayer money on frivolous stadiums, pro or semi-pro. In April 2022, it was announced that the Olney Boys and Girls Club (and by virtue of using the facilities, the Cropdusters) are the recipients of a $1 million dollar state of Maryland grant to “create a stadium with new dugouts, seating, lights as well as additional field improvements”. This news definitely upset me, as it should you, a tax-paying Maryland and MoCo resident. Semi-pro baseball is a fun activity to play and watch. It isn’t a “public good” in the least. This money could and should have been privately fundraised from the Olney community. Heck, Med-Star Health likely would have made a large donation.
That being said, if it ends at this $1,000,000 and not a penny more, it will be 1/600th of what the state of MD (specifically the state’s Stadium Authority) is egregiously promising the Baltimore Orioles in fresh lotto-backed bond revenues. Regressive MD Lotto ticket sales to the least situated of our MD residents to prop up a multi-million dollar pro sports franchise that already received taxpayer funds to build Camden Yards. “Equitable”? Our Montgomery County delegates to Annapolis won’t say. Maybe someone should ask.
The Cropdusters made the playoffs but lost their inaugural post-season matchup. Still, I look forward to another summer of semi-pro baseball in Olney. This time in new “digs” that I know my state tax dollars paid for. Perfect? No. But still a much more local (and more affordable) way to enjoy America’s pastime in MoCo and the greater DMV.
Greg
Your Roving Correspondent in Olney