Every year seniors graduate, college athletes transfer but rarely does a reporter lose an entire program, but that was my case this summer with the defunct Pecos League franchise Iola Hormigas.
I was not surprised when it came to the Iola Hormigas’ departure. Iola seemed like a backup plan. The Hormigas wanted to make it work in Kansas City, Missouri — their original home. A larger population means more fans, but it also means there’s more things to do in Kansas City than watch a team unaffiliated to any U.S. minor league system. They already have that in the Kansas City Monarchs.
If they would’ve just been the Iola Hormigas from the beginning, then they may have fared better. It’s hard to root for a team that has jerseys with Weimar (a previous defunct Pecos League team) across the chest. I nearly bought a hat, until I saw KCMO written underneath a menacing cartoon ant logo.
The Hormigas had so much working for them. Talented international players, which Iola fans will rarely see that close. They had characters that made it fun, such as the Cajun outfielder Zach Trangmar, the San Diego Padres minor-league cast-off Ramses Velasquez trying to earn another shot at the big leagues or the gutsy Xander Nabors, who came through in clutch moments on the mound and in the batter’s box. They played with wooden bats, where every hit gave a natural and satisfying crack.
Iola got a bad deal and a bad reputation from the Hormigas’ failure to draw crowds. Opposing teams taunted them by saying more fans traveled to see them than Iola had home fans, which was often true. For most of the season, the Hormigas played their Sunday games in Kansas City. Not a lot of Iola fans can show up on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday to watch a 7 o’clock game that might not end until 10:30 or 11 p.m.
Like any breakup, maybe both sides could have tried harder. I liked those guys, and it hurts to lose something you like, but who needs them anyway? Iola can do better, right? There’s plenty of other semi-professional baseball team fish in the sea.
