By Mark Halpern & Lawrence Lang
Rick Zolzer
The Voice of the Hudson Valley Renegades Of the Hudson Valley Renegades
By Mark Halpern & Lawrence Lang
A few weeks ago, Lawrence “Patch-man” Lang and I (Mark “Old Ops Guy” Halpern) wrote an article regarding the sale of the Single-A Baseball Club the Hudson Valley Renegades and did a direct interview with President Steve Gliner. This article is about the one true voice of the Hudson Valley Renegades.
We all know that baseball has become more of a business these days than a sport of just enjoyable fun. Fun is an interesting word to use. I mean, why go to the ballpark if it’s not to have some fun in more ways than one. For more than 25 years, Rick Zolzer, known as “THE ZOLZ,” has been the PA announcer for the Hudson Valley Renegades and for several years he is also serves as the Vice President of the club. The Hudson Valley Renegades are a High A full season team and a New York Yankees Affiliate.
MARK HALPERN: “Please tell me how you got to where you are in the Renegades Organization?”
Zolz: My first season with the Renegades was in 1994 when I was a part-time PA announcer. In 95 I worked fulltime for the club for one year and was fired after the season based on a very shaky relationship with the GM at that time. I returned as a Part-Time Announcer in 1999 while my real job was the head of special events and marketing for the YMCA in Poughkeepsie. A few years later, I was brought back fulltime to take over the Renegades Special Events and Promotions department. After several more years then GM Eben Yeager, elevated me VP, and that’s where I am today.”
When you go to a major league stadium, the PA announcers really can’t do more than announcing players names & sponsorship reads.
In Minor League Baseball, a good PA Announcer needs to have a personality, and that is something Zolz brings to the Ballpark every game. I have worked for the man personally, and he is the person who can make you hate him one moment but then love him the next. This is what it takes in baseball because if you can’t motivate your people, on either side of the coin you’re not going to last very long and he’s been around for 28 years and counting.
Mark Halpern: What is one moment from your time as the Renegades PA you remember the most?”
Zolz: “I got thrown out of a game in 1995. In any given game, no make that ten games, how many times do you see a balk called? There had been three balk calls in the first few innings. So, I start playing some funny tunes and noises that were subtly directed at the umps. Now back then, there used to be a phone that was in the first base dugout that the umpires could call up to the booth. So, I got into heated little chat with one of the umpires. You could hear the team and crowd ragging on this umpire, frankly with good reason. I said to the umpire “in all my years being in baseball; I have never seen so many balks called. I know you are trying to get noticed, but this isn’t the way to do it.” So, I turned my mic on so the fans could hear what I was saying to this guy.ner hea His partner heard only one half of the argument and went sprinting to the dugout to tell his partner what was going on – He said he would throw me out of the game if I did it again and I said to him “there is no way a guy who went to his senior prom 4 months ago can run me”…The crowd got angrier and he said enough – I knew I was at the line so I shut up turned off my microphone and we all got back to baseball. An inning later they call the 4th balk and I said nothing – Once the 5th balk was called, I said on the PA “Are you kidding me? The only way either one of you two gets to the big leagues will be if you buy a ticket!” At this point the guy on the bases reaches all the way down to his feet and tosses me out – I figured I was going to get fired so better make a statement on the way out. Instead of going down the back way in shame I go out the front window and wave to the crowd! At the bottom of the stairs a bunch of fans carried me out of the 1st base breezeway. The team was down at the time, came back to win the game then all chipped in to pay my fine. Local cable news got it on the air and it then ended up on live at 5 with Len Berman then being the bumper of the NBC Network news broadcast and finally in Sports Illustrated….Man I got a ton of millage out of that and last year I got a bobblehead to commemorate it
Halpern: “So in today’s world, you went “Viral?”
Zolz: “Yes, I definitely went “Viral” that night.”
Last year The Hudson Valley Renegades celebrated this moment by creating a Bobblehead of Zolz leaning out of his Press Booth and waving goodbye to the crowd. I am proud to say I not only have one, but it is autographed on my shelf.
Now I mentioned earlier that Zolz is a great events and promotions coordinator. He has been involved with countless promotions and sponsorships over the years. Like anyone who works there, Zolz is about fun; however, he is very business oriented. Whether running youth baseball camps during the summer or hosting a slew of special events during the on and off-season, Zolz has got a full plate.
Halpern: “Now that you are a New York Yankee affiliate and no longer a Tampa Rays affiliate, do you think companies (new and old) will be more willing to buy advertisements and other promotional sponsorships?”
ZOLZ: “I can tell you this, people who used to be a part of the Renegades corporate family with us back in the day have been calling me wanting to return to part of this exciting change. I am actually getting ready to go to a meeting with a long-time client after this.”
Nothing against the Tampa Rays organization, but when you put the most popular Baseball franchise in Baseball history anywhere, it will draw attention. Dutchess Stadium is about an hour and twenty min from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx so, you know that many of the people will be chomping at the bit to come to watch the Baby Bombers play.
With the former owners, The Goldklang Group selling the team to Diamond Baseball Holdings, Lawrence Lang was interested in knowing how Zolz felt about the sale.
Lawrence Lang: What was your reaction to the sale of the club, and what do you think of Diamond Baseball Holdings?”
ZOLZ: “I wasn’t surprised, it has been very tough on ownership over the last few years with covid and it very tough to make money. So, our old owners saw a great business opportunity and took it. For them and the community this is a great mood. I met Peter Freund of D.B.H. a couple of times at our Goldklang meetings, and he is a great guy, funny, and very savvy.
Whether they are Sports Franchises or mom and pop stores, companies have been suffering due to the pandemic. Many stores and businesses that have been around for years had to close their doors based on the ripples in the water from this issue. So, business decisions are what they are, and it is meant to be what’s best for the company. Lawrence and I are very excited to see what D.B.H. will do not only with the team but with the stadium. The stadium was completely refurbished with new seats, lighting, food areas, suite rooms for rent for games, and the esthetic is getting better every year.
Zolz is also in charge of the Fun Team which is a group of interns from colleges all over the northeast who help do all the wacky antics on the field, in the stands, and at the front gate during the season. Zolz and his crew work very hard to create an atmosphere that will create smiles and memories for families from all over the Hudson Valley.
So, who doesn’t love on the field games in between innings of a baseball game? Even games after the game are a important part of the show at the Dutch. For as long as Lawrence and I can remember all that fun and action is one of the main reasons they have been so successful all these years. From being an intern and working fulltime for the Gades I have seen so many games take place during a game that were a huge hit with the fans and there are a few that come to mind that I can remember in particular that always hit the mark.
Let’s Make a Deal – seems simple right? Zolz will say, “let’s make a deal” whether it’s a $2 bill, a candy bar that has not been unwrapped yet, or an ugly driver license photo, if you have what he is looking for you better get your butt to the PA booth. Here is where it gets funny cause Zolz will give directions to his booth, and people still fail to listen to him (are you kidding me in the words of Zolz) and can’t find it or bring the wrong item (and he will let them know on the mic). People who sit in front of the PA Booth have to take an extra step .He says to make it fair since you are so close because he will remind them they must go all the way down the stairs and come back up to win whatever he is looking for. From experience being up close, people are always jockeying for position to get up the stairs as if it was a Black Friday sale at Target to win. The best part is that if you screw up, Zolz will call you out and they will be promptly booed by the crowd. Let’s Make a Deal is a staple at the Dutch and ridiculously popular based on its simplicity.
Stroller Derby: This game takes me back to my days as a kid because it was my favorite game that Zolz and the fun team did, and the game still comes around once and a while to this day because it was such a great game. Three guys are given a stroller and a baby doll in a simple concept game. Their goal is to race each other to a changing station. They must change the doll diaper off, clean its bottom with a baby wipe, put a new diaper on, and then put the baby back in the stroller and race to the finish line. One night, an interesting case happened with this game and was something me and Zolz reminisced on this moment a while back because we both remembered it.
The game started as usual as all three guys got the job done with changing. One guy got a little quick for himself, tripped over feet, and beefed it on the ground. The gentleman preceded to get up and try to cheat to win and Zolz called him on it and DQ him. The good old K-word came around karma. The gentleman forgot to dump his stroller and the baby fell out of the stroller and of all things the baby doll head came off. Hence, in Zolz fashion, he made a joke to send fans into laughter. Now the events after are what makes this game memorable. Just seeing the events that night makes this game rememberable because this game, anything can happen at any time, and if something does, Zolz will be there with the call.
Tennis Ball Toss: This game has been a staple at Renegades games ever since I remember going as a fan. This simple game usually happens after fireworks. The game is simple: hula hoops are scattered on the infield, usually down the first and third baselines, some at second base, and of course, Rascal, who is seated right in front of the pitcher’s mound with his big bucket. You toss the tennis ball from either the first or third base seats, and if you win, you get a prize. Prizes have ranged over the years from tickets, movies, gems to even a tv. Usually, if a big prize was given out one night, the hula hoop was placed way out behind second base (must work for the prize because Zolz wouldn’t make it that easy for you to win the big prize). Now, if a big prize was not given out a night for tennis balls, that’s where Rascal comes into play with his bucket. If you got it in his bucket, you won all prizes given out for that night. Now a sight to see his hundreds of tennis balls thrown at once on the field going in all directions, whether it was at the hula hoops, interns, Rascals, and his bucket, or even Zolz.
(because who wouldn’t want to peg him with a tennis ball if you had the chance? You might get the Medusa stone stare of death if the hit was pulled off, but he would laugh it off after the stare). This was just a simple game that was easy to pull off and has been a success ever since its inception. The only thing that sucked for this was as an intern and helping Rascal was to clean up something that still gives nightmares occasionally because it was a pain to clean up 1,000+ tennis balls and collect them for the next time.
Pokémon (The Grid): The last game that gets the crowd pumped up is Pokémon. Simple, you have a bunch of mascots out on the field, whether it was Captain America, Iron Man, Lego Batman, Mario, and Luigi, a Poop Emoji, Rascal, to occasional Intern who broke loose from its shed even the fan-favorite Pikachu was here for this game. Three Kids are given three giant pokeballs to throw around and try to catch all the mascots they can in a 60-second time frame by hitting the mascots with a Pokeball. What makes this game the good old term will take from pro wrestling: the oversell. What makes the game is the mascots overselling being hit by the Pokeball cause the game is there for the kids but also to put on the entertainment aspect as well because who doesn’t want to see mascots fall in theater-like performance and speaking from experience if you get the oversell to work you will stand out. The crowd will love you because you did your job.
Another advantage of being the great Zolz is that he has announced great names such as Josh Hamilton, Evan Longoria, Wade Davis, and other big names that have come through the Hudson Valley over the years. With the Renegades being a Yankee affiliate, there is a lot of hype about Yankee Prospect Jason Dominguez and when he will make his arrival and come through. Of course, Zolz is excited to see him, but he has another player he is very excited to see.
HALPERN: “Who are you most excited to see this season?”
Zolz “That is a very hard question. I mean, yes, I want to see Dominguez and Volpe and a ton of our guys play. However, I am excited to see Andres Chaparro. I watched this kid from when he arrived mid-season last year and have watched what he has done in the instructional leagues, and he not only has a glove, but his bat is also coming along, and he has some big-time pop. I truly hope we get to see a full season cause this individual is a heck of a ballplayer.”
Rick Zolzer is what baseball is about; from his talk and swagger, Zolz is famous at Dutchess Stadium. He plays the proper form of a Public Announcer before the game, but during the game, his antics and collaboration of the fun team and Mascots make the entire day a worthwhile trip and a fun experience. When you come to a game, and one of those Yankees hit a dinger, listen for Zolz’s signature “Yes You DID!” after the ball clears the wall.
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