Flashpoint: Talking minor league baseball, Shinola

The world of minor league baseball, the future of Shinola, and a book about Detroit’s people are the topics of this week’s Flashpoint. Devin Scillian is joined by Andy Appleby, CEO of General Sports and Entertainment, Jacques Panis, president of Shinola Detroit, and Aaron Foley, Detroit freelance journalist and author.

After the tickets, the drinks and the hot dogs, taking a family to a professional sporting event has become somewhat expensive and out of reach for some people.

Andy Appleby has been working to create a minor league baseball team out of Utica for nearly eight years.

Minor league teams are currently located in Battle Creek, Lansing, Midland, Traverse City, and Comstock. Appleby explained why Utica is a great place for a team to be located and why a minor league team is good for the metro area.

Devin asked what kind of players the team would be made of and if it would be worth watching. Appleby explained how the team would be formed and said that the minor league spectator experience isn’t just about baseball.

"It is more about the extravaganza," Appleby said. "From that perspective, I can envision us to have skydivers on Thursdays to deliver the first pitch to the pitcher, fireworks on Saturdays, maybe a dog that fetches the bat on Sunday."

The ballpark in Utica is expected to open by Memorial Day.

Shinola is a big name in Detroit.

The company’s products range from watches and bicycles, to leather goods and bound journals, and all of it is made in the U.S.

Jacques Panis, president of Shinola Detroit, talked to Devin about the success of the company in the four short years that they’ve been in business.

They discussed the workforce behind Shinola products and how the business is turning Detroiters into some highly skilled workers.

"Those are the people that are behind the magic," Panis said. "The Detroiters that we work with every single day, the people that are assembling the watches, and the people that are making the leather straps, the people that are doing the accounting, the creative, they’re all Detroiters."

The future of the company was discussed and the newest products that Shinola will soon offer.

The conversation with Andy Appleby about minor league baseball in Utica is available in the video above and the discussion with Jacques Panis about the future of Shinola is available in the video below.

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Aaron Foley, Detroit freelance journalist and author of "How to Live in Detroit Without Being a Jackass," joined Devin to discuss the book.

Foley says the book focuses on the "New Detroit" and how so many people are moving to the city without knowing a lot about the city.

"I think the one thing people do have to do is some of the newer residents have to realize there is life outside of downtown and midtown," said Foley. "There are stable neighborhoods."

The book has optimism about the city and Foley discussed the good things happening in the city.

The full discussion about the book is available in the video below.

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