By Carter Cromwell

Baseball is back in Martinez in 2021, and it's nothing like it was.

"This is real," says Noralea Gipner, self-described chief volunteer for the Martinez Sturgeon, a first-year team in the Pacific Division of the Pecos League. "It was all make believe the last time."

"The last time" was painful for people who followed baseball in Martinez, particularly those like Gipner who were most closely associated with it. Gipner, city council member and vice-mayor at the time, and Mayor Rob Schroder formed the sub-committee that helped bring baseball to Martinez in 2018 under the ownership of Jeff and Paulette Carpoff.

But it all went away after just one season. The Clippers crashed in last place in the Pacific Association, starting 5-30 and finishing with a 29-51 mark. Then the franchise crashed a few months later when the Carpoffs were charged with and later pled guilty to running a Ponzi scheme associated with their company, DC Solar.

The city was left without a team and holding the bag for $30,000 worth of ballpark rental fees that the club owners never paid. Some in the community felt that upgrading the playing facility and fields to accommodate a professional team had been a poor use of the money.

"Everything was a sham. Their whole personality was a sham," Gipner said. "They were very arrogant and hard to work with and put us through hell during the negotiations about getting the club started. They broke nearly every deadline."

The city then worked with the Pacific Association on a replacement franchise for the 2019 season, but those efforts were unsuccessful.

"I was on the ad hoc committee to get another team here," Gipner said. "We were negotiating with potential owners, but there just wasn't enough time before the season to do it right."

So there was no Martinez club in 2019, but it looked like there would be one in 2020. The Pacific Association was interested and attempted to have Andrew Dunn commissioner of the Pecos League own the Martinez team and have it play in that league. However, the committee was not sure about the future of the Pacific Association, so it recommended that the team play in the Pecos League.

Soon after, the Pecos League dropped High Desert and California City and then purchased the San Rafael Pacifics to move into the Bay Area, along with Martinez.

"With Martinez, we have four teams in Northern California, and all are reasonably close to one another," said Dunn, who also has clubs in Santa Cruz and Monterey. "And the playing facility is first class." That would be Waterfront Park, part of Joe DiMaggio Fields, named in honor of the baseball Hall-of-Fame born in Martinez.

After hearing dueling pitches from both leagues, the council gave the nod to the Pecos League, and the club was looking forward to playing in 2020. Then Covid-19 hit, knocking out the entire season in California.

"It's been a long road, that's for sure," Gipner said. "The Pacific Association mainly the guy in (nearby) Pittsburg was trying to get us back. Then Andrew and I started talking sometime in 2019. I was helping him line up host families for players in 2020 before Covid disrupted things, and we started talking again when he knew he could have a team in 2021."

By then, though still directing her non-profit focusing on the homeless, Gipner was no longer on the city council so she had more time to devote to baseball and the Sturgeon.

"Andrew said "I need you to be me when I'm not here', so I said sure. How hard could it be?'"

Well, pretty hard sometimes. Very busy, for sure.

Gipner has had a hand in nearly every aspect of the club's activities, effectively becoming the team's general manager. She shops, organizes, cleans . . . whatever. She gets players to the Sunday farmers' market to talk up the club, sign autographs and, hopefully, sell tickets.

"I say I'm Andrew's helper, but when the city asked Andrew what I do, he said everything that's necessary," she said with a laugh. "It's an easy 30 hours a week, and usually more.

"I adore my city, and I've always been extremely involved with it," the born-and-raised, third-generation Martinez resident continued, "and I want people to enjoy it."

So far, they've seemed to enjoy the baseball. Attendance has been good, and a core group of fans has emerged. The Sturgeon, under manager Ron Witmeyer, have reciprocated, posting a 21-12 mark through July 25 for second place in the Pacific Division and assuring the club of a playoff spot.

Witmeyer is in his first season in the Pecos League after being hired in May and had no previous knowledge of the issues from 2018, but he's been pleased with the atmosphere, the support and the club's performance.

"I had no idea of what to expect when I came in, but it's been a great experience," he said. "The city has really backed the team from the fans to the city officials, to the groundskeepers, the host families everyone. They've gone out of their way to help and support. Also, we've got a good group of guys on the field a good mix of locals and players from out of the area."

And the fans have reacted positively.

"It was a shock when the Clippers left very disappointing," said Dennis Freeman, a lifelong Martinez resident who attended games with his wife, Olivia. "At the end of that season, we felt they'd be back, but then all that stuff with the owners came up, and everything went away.

"Personally, I wasn't sure that baseball was going to happen here again, but we're really glad it's back," he added. "We had a nice experience when we went to the opening game. The previous franchise had food and beer trucks come in for every game, but it's nice now that they have a snack bar with regular service. My wife and I have volunteered to work the barbeque station and snack shack at a game or two."

Barb and Clem Smaker, who've also spent their entire lives in Martinez, felt the same sense of loss and then renewal.

"We had gone to several Clippers games, and it was a total surprise when the franchise went down," Clem said. "We didn't know the Carpoffs or anything about their business. We didn't put them and baseball together, and then baseball stopped all of a sudden."

Barb said, "It was pretty shocking. We had no idea that might happen. It was an embarrassment . . . really disappointing. Some people had been vocal anyway about spending the money to upgrade the fields they didn't think we needed a team and then the thing with the Carpoffs came up."

Neither thought Martinez would get another team, so they were surprised and pleased when it came about.

"I enjoyed going in 2018, but more so this year," Clem said. "Maybe it's because the loss of the previous team and then going through the Covid-19 pandemic, but I seem to appreciate it more now. We're retired, and going to the games is a fun, inexpensive thing to do. I'm really impressed with the quality of play this year."

Barb added, "My gut feeling is that it's a more professional operation this year . . . it somehow seems that way. Before, the team seemed more recreational just a bunch of guys getting together and playing whereas the Sturgeon are very professional. The snack bar is great, and I see a lot of people wearing Sturgeon caps or jerseys. We're really enjoying the fan experience."

And that's just great with Gipner.

"Our goal is to make it exciting for the fans," she said. "At first, people asked me if we were going to run it like before with food trucks, wine and a local brewery here. But we said no that was a lot of make-believe money back then we'd just have a snack shack, and that's been working really well.

"The players and the manager are bunch of nice guys, and Andrew is as real as it gets. We're really glad to have this back."