FISHKILL – The Hudson Valley Renegades, a New York Yankees farm team, honored their club’s Vice-president and PA announcer Rick Zolzer, known as “Zolz” on Wednesday night. This month marks the 25th anniversary of Zolzer being ejected from the game by umpires upset over his antics.
The details of the attention-grabbing ejection can be found here. On Wednesday night, the club distributed bobbleheads bearing Zolzer’s likeness to the first 1,000 attendees through the gates.
Wednesday night’s celebration was dampened by traffic jams and thunderstorms. An accident on Interstate 84 snarled traffic in all directions, with backups extending for miles. Westbound traffic on I-84 was all but stopped, creating lengthy delays for people trying to get to Dutchess Stadium on Route 9D. On Route 9D, southbound travelers were backed up from the I-84 ramp all the way back to the village of Wappingers Falls. Several 9D motorists were seen making u-turns in traffic to travel north again.
“I have experienced an occasional traffic jam in the area on game day but not like this. I’ve been coming here since they opened the gates in 1994 and this is one of the worst I have ever seen,” said Michael Voorhis of Poughkeepsie. “It took me more than an hour to get here from Poughkeepsie. That never happens,” said the fan who managed to get there in time to et one of the novelty bobbleheads.
The weather also impacted attendance and delayed the start time of the game. A series of storms with rain, thunder, and lighting arrived at the stadium around the time the fans were allowed to enter at 6:00 p.m. The first pitch for the game between the Renegades and the Jersey Shore Blue Claws was scheduled for 7:05 p.m. but was pushed back to 7:30 p.m. after radar indicated the most severe weather had passed.
“When I made national news as the first announcer to be ejected from a minor league game, I never thought that I would still be in the same booth 25 years later, announcing for a team and game that I love,” said Zolzer. “The weather and traffic really put a damper on tonight’s experience for the fans, but we have no control over either one of those factors,” he said, adding “I received many calls and texts from people who had tickets for tonight’s game and most of them were people apologizing because they were staying home because of the weather. I get it.”
The Renegades hold a commanding lead over other clubs in the High-A East division but were unable to cap the Zolzer celebration with a win on Wednesday. The fans that endured traffic and braved the weather saw the score go back and forth, with the Jersey Shore team taking the win in a 7-6 ballgame.
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro, despite being a New York Mets fan, credited Zolzer for some of the success of the Renegades. The leader of the county said “Rick Zolzer is more than the voice of Dutchess Stadium… he’s its heart and soul! His energy brings excitement to any game, his passion ignites fans, and his jokes… well his jokes are ok too.”
