Devil Rays Senior VP/Sales & Marketing Mike Veeck
resigned yesterday to be with his family, according to John
Millea of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Veeck "abruptly
left his job" to be with his seven-year-old daughter, who
has been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, an incurable
deteriorating eye disease. Veeck will remain with the Devil
Rays as a consultant. Devil Rays Managing General Partner
Vince Naimoli "convinced" Veeck to become a team consultant,
working out of his home, and the two "agreed to discuss
Veeck's future later this year." Veeck will proceed with
plans to purchase a "small" share of the Devil Rays and to
sell his one-fourth interest in the St. Paul Saints. He
will retain his ownership of the Sioux Falls Northern League
franchise (STAR TRIBUNE, 5/26). In St. Petersburg, Marc
Topkin writes that Veeck "insists" that the drop in the
Devil Rays' attendance had "nothing to do with his
departure." Veeck: "According to public reports I have
failed on attendance. I seem to be the only one who is not
at all discouraged. Do I want more? You always want more.
I said I'm very realistic in what I was hired for." Jim
Browne, the team's Dir of Corporate Sales, has been promoted
to VP/Sales & Marketing (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 5/26). In
Tampa, Joe Henderson writes that there were "widespread
rumors of a strained relationship between Veeck and
Naimoli," but Veeck said that the two "generally worked well
together." Veeck: "Despite whatever people want to think,
except for a couple of disagreements -- which are related
directly to my inability to work within the system -- we got
along pretty darned good." Henderson adds that Veeck "also
blamed himself" for a 34% drop in this season's ticket
sales. Veeck: "We didn't address the senior citizen market
well. We didn't sell enough tickets, and that's my fault.
But nobody can fault my heart" (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 5/26).
SEND IN THE FANS: USA TODAY's Rod Beaton examines the
gate struggles of the Marlins and Devil Rays in today's
Sports Cover Story, and writes that FL is "taking its time
warming to baseball," as the game "isn't faring very well in
the nation's fourth-most populated state" (USA TODAY, 5/26).
