Lefties enjoying baseball honeymoon in Port Angeles

PORT ANGELES—The peaks of the Olympic Mountains keep watch in the distance. Fans wearing orange and blue navigate toward their seats, including a lengthy row of couches positioned along the third-base line. Food truck fare finds the hands of hungry customers as opening pitch draws near.

This is summer baseball with the Port Angeles Lefties, the West Coast League’s newest baseball team, and formerly the Kitsap BlueJackets.

“I love it here,” Lefties managing owner Matt Acker said as he strolled around Civic Field during a game earlier this month against the Bellingham Bells.

It was Acker’s decision to relocate his franchise to Port Angeles after ending the BlueJackets’ 12-year run as a WCL team following the 2016 season. It was a prolonged struggle for the BlueJackets, who routinely ranked last in the league in attendance playing games at Gene Lobe Field at the Fairgrounds.

Now, with the Kitsap County Parks and Recreation department contending Acker split town with a significant amount of unpaid debt, it’s understandable why the man running the show for the Lefties doesn’t like the picture he sees in the rearview mirror.

"I'm digging my heels in," Acker said regarding the county's debt claim. “I don’t mind having to fight.”

As an inaugural member of the West Coast League -- which began operations in 2005 and currently features 11 teams located in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia -- the BlueJackets finished with a career record of 240-332, making the postseason just once, in 2007.

Acker, who served as the team's manager from 2005-11 and became primary owner/general manager in 2014, said the club never figured out a way to consistently attract fans. 

"All the access people have to Seattle and Tacoma, you're trying to compete with that," Acker said. "There is no way."

Kitsap ranked last in WCL attendance from 2011-16, drawing a paltry 163 fans per game (4,398 total) during the BlueJackets' final season. The team finished in last place with a 15-39 record.

The empty seats were impossible for BlueJacket players to ignore.

"It was noticeable," said Port Angeles Lefties catcher Benny Kaleiwahea, who played for Kitsap last summer. "For fans, I think there was too much going on. If they are going to go to a game, they are going to go to the Mariners or the Rainiers."

Before the 2016 season ended, Acker announced he'd be starting a new WCL franchise in Port Angeles, while having the BlueJackets remain in operation as a Pacific International League team.

Jim Dunwiddie, Kitsap County Parks and Recreation director, contends Acker left town with "significant debt obligations" related to rental fees at Gene Lobe Field.

"The county has taken the appropriate steps to collect the debt," Dunwiddie added.

Acker said the amount of money the county is attempting to recoup is in the neighborhood of $14,000. Dunwiddie wouldn't reveal the exact debt figure, but said it's more than $14,000 and dates back to the 2015 season.

"I've been contesting it since the get-go," Acker said.

The reason behind Acker's refusal to pay off the debut, he said, concerns the county's handling of Gene Lobe Field. Acker said the county agreed to meet certain maintenance standards — such as routine watering and dragging of the infield — during the 2016 season. Acker said the county failed to meet those standards on a routine basis.

"I took pictures, I documented things that weren't done," Acker said. "Two weeks after the season is over, I get a call from a collections agency.

"It isn't right."

Dunwiddie had no comment in response to Acker's statements regarding field maintenance. 

Nearly a year after the BlueJackets played their final WCL game, the debt issue remains unresolved.

"To my knowledge," Dunwiddie said, "options beyond collections have not been discussed at any county level."

Now living in Port Angeles, Acker continues to put his energy into the Lefties' honeymoon season. At home games, Acker keeps his motor running high as he makes the rounds at Civic Field, keeping tabs on merchandise, concessions and ticket sales. 

When t-shirts are launched from an air gun into the stands between innings, Acker is the guy pulling the trigger.

"It takes a lot of work," Acker said, "but it's been a great response."

Through 24 home games, the Lefties rank sixth in the WCL in attendance at 1,234 fans per game (29,625 total).

"We couldn't ask for a better reception," said Lefties general manager Ryan Hickey, a Bremerton native. "We had 3,000 fans on opening night. It was nuts, but it was fun."

Despite the team sporting a WCL-worst record of 16-30 heading into the final week of the regular season, support hasn't waned.

"It's a great atmosphere," said Port Angeles resident and Lefties fan Steve Monger. "It's kept me coming back. They're bringing the town together."

Marten Pauwels, who played first base for the BlueJackets last season, said he and his teammates feel they have a proper home crowd.

"Even when we're down in the ninth inning," Pauwels said, "they fans are still there, cheering 'Let's go Lefties.' It's awesome."

"It's fun to have this type of atmosphere," added Lefties head coach Zach Miller, who played for the BlueJackets in 2008 and 2009. "From where I see it, the situation is similar to the first few years in Kitsap."

What a difference, then and now.

Additional reporting by Kitsap Sun freelance reporter George Edgar