Through the first five weeks of the inaugural season of the United Shore Professional Baseball League, 20 of the league's 25 games "have been sellouts with an average attendance of 3,200 at the 2,000-seat Jimmy John's Field" in Utica, Mich., according to James Hawkins of the DETROIT NEWS. In addition, 23 of the ballpark’s 24 suites "have been sold for the season and there’s been an uptick in ticket package sales." League Founder Andy Appleby said, "The phones are ringing off the hook almost to the point where it's hard for us to call people back, which is great." Appleby added that while the league has "been progressing as he envisioned, there have been a few minor operational tweaks made along the way." Appleby: "We're improving leaps and bounds every single night -- better game presentation, better food, better parking, better traffic control, better everything." Hawkins notes the league has a "steady stream of scouts attending games and had four players already sign to play affiliate ball" within MiLB. Appleby said, "From our player, league and baseball operations perspective, we couldn't have asked for more. What that does is helps us build our reputation not only amongst the fans, but among major league organizations, college coaches and then certainly players" (DETROIT NEWS, 7/6).
