The Sports Report

Kremer: New Slammers Score with Breyman, Community Outreach

Watch: General manager Chris Franklin introduces Mike Breyman as the new manager of the Slammers during a news conference at ATI Physical Therapy in Bolingbrook.

Mike Breyman was fumbling with the buttons on his Joliet Slammers jersey, preparing to pose for a photograph during a news conference Tuesday at ATI Physical Theraphy’s headquarters in Bolingbrook. An awkward moment quickly turned into a bit of light-hearted humor when an onlooker alerted him that one of his buttons was misaligned. No wonder the new manager’s jersey wasn’t fitting him properly. No worries, either. “That’s what we call a ‘Breyman-ism’—I may make words up, just so you know,” he said. Breyman, 31, was introduced as the new Slammers manager during a get-acquainted shindig that served notice the news Slammers ownership team headed by CEO Josh Schaub already is on the ball on several fronts. No doubt, Schaub picked the location …

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The Sports Report

Kremer: Fate of Slammers Hangs on Quality of Experience

Watch: CEO Josh Schaub, GM Chris Franklin, Frontier League commissioner Bill Lee and Joliet city manager Tom Thanas talk Slammers baseball and downtown revitalization in a Patch video.

Whether the new Joliet Slammers ownership team is more successful than the old remains to be seen. What I learned during Tuesday’s media day shindig in the Hall of Fame Room at Silver Cross Field is CEO Josh Schaub is going to step up to the plate ready to swing at almost any pitch. Schaub promised to hire a new manager that he hopes one day will become the face of the Slammers’ baseball team, if not the entire organization. An announcement on the hire could come before Christmas. He also promised to make Silver Cross Field an entertainment destination site and that means you can expect to see a variety of different shows on the field, the list ranging from concerts to weddings. Yes, very soon you will be able to tie the knot at home plate…

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Joliet Native Chosen as Slammers GM

Chris Franklin has been involved in professional minor league baseball for seven years, including four as GM of the River City Rascals in Missouri.

Chris Franklin, Joliet native and general manager of the River City Rascals, has been tapped to helm the Joliet Slammers. Franklin, 31, has more than seven years of professional baseball experience, including four as general manager, according to a news release issued Tuesday announcing his hiring. During his GM tenure with the Rascals, based in O'Fallon, Mo., the Frontier League team went to the championship series three times in three years and won in 2010. He has worked with former Joliet General Manager Steve Malliet in Joliet and River City.  Franklin's first task here, the release said, is to hire a coaching staff and ticket sales representatives. Interestingly, Franklin held the latter job himself in 2006 for the then-Joliet …

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