In this July 2022 file photo, club manager Scotty James leads members of the Jamestown Tarp Skunks in singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame.” PJ file photo by Scott Kindberg
A few years ago, Randy Anderson was behind the wheel of his truck for the Jamestown Memorial Day Parade. In the bed of the pickup was Wiffy, the mascot of the Jamestown Tarp Skunks. Behind the vehicle walked the players of the city’s entry into the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.
And riding shotgun was Scotty James, the team’s clubhouse official.
In terms of response to the parade route, there was no doubt as to who was the most popular.
“Wiffy got a lot of applause, the players got a lot of gracious applause, but nobody, NOBODY, got more recognition than Scotty James,” Anderson recalled in 2022. “It was like riding with Queen Elizabeth. Scotty puts his hand out the window (waving at people on the streets) and someone will call his name and he’ll say, “What’s up?”
“We got to the end of the parade,” said Anderson, president of the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame and a board member of Jamestown Community Baseball LLC, “and the players (asked), ‘Does everybody in this town know Scotty?’
me me me
At 6:30 p.m. on April 23 at the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown, local sports historian Greg Peterson will share stories of some of his greatest baseball moments with Mike Biloni, former general manager of the Buffalo Bisons who also served in that same capacity with the Jamestown Jammers of the New York-Pennsylvania League in 1994.
Titled “Greg Peterson Unplugged Part 2:” — he debuts his first event in April 2023 — Peterson will include interview videos he’s produced over the years, with Billoni serving as the emcee. Christian Dolce, Tarp Skunks General Manager and Director of Business Sales and Operations will also be in attendance.
“There are many facets to this,” Peterson said earlier this week.
What separates this trip down memory lane from last year, however, is the inclusion of what Peterson calls “a tip of the hat to Scotty James for his dedication to Jamestown baseball.”
And like that ride in Anderson’s truck 23 months earlier, Scotty will be the star of the night as he continues to recover from recent health issues. Peterson expects the community to fill the Carl Cappa Theater.
“He was the face of baseball,” Peterson said of Scotty. “There was one constant. Players come and go, managers come and go, and owners are known but unknown. The face of fans in the baseball community is Scotty. Not only on the field as a batsman and manager of the club, but also in the stands encouraging the fans. He’s everywhere, the ubiquitous Scotty James.”
me me me
One night two years ago at Russell E. Dietrick Jr. Park, Anderson watched as Scotty showed not only his love for America’s pastime, but his love for people.
“He has such a good heart and everybody knows he has a good heart,” Anderson said at the time. “He never does anything because it’s ‘good for Scotty.’ He is concerned about other people all the time. (He always asks), “How can I help? How can I make this team better? What can I do?’ This is Scotty. It is a credit to him and to the upbringing he received.”
To confirm this, Anderson recalled the summer night in 2022 when, after watching Scotty compete in a mascot contest between innings with “Wiffy” (Jamestown’s mascot) and Elmira’s ball boy, he too witnessed an act of kindness that truly resonated.
“Scotty went to the thrift store and bought a miniature tarp skunk and came back and gave it to the Elmira kid,” Anderson recalled. “I watched it happen. Scotty is a good sport on top of that.”
me me me
Admission to “Greg Peterson Unplugged Part 2,” which should run about 90 minutes, is free.
“Everything will be floating around during the NY-P League (city) days,” Peterson said. “The managers of the other teams are often (former) Premier League players. I would seek them out and do interviews with them and, inevitably, I would ask them to give me their best humorous story, and they did. You’ll see some of that tonight.
Attendees will also be able to say hello to Scotty, and the first 100 fans will receive a Scotty James baseball card.
“It’s going to put everybody in a different tax bracket if they own it,” Peterson said with a smile.
