Rakeville Times: Rakeville's Secret Weapon

Jack Reed is man behind one of the most active seasons in EHCC history.  But despite all the trades, he never sacrificed what has made the Rockets a model franchise.

By Aviator McShadeless,
Rakeville Times

Some say it started at the 2012 Winter Meetings, when Rakeville owner Dave Claffey made the bold proclamation that his Rockets would win the EHCC Championships.  He was adamant about it.  A lot of folks disregarded the potentially drunken declaration, assuming the owner of a franchise that hadn’t made the playoffs the year prior - or the finals in their 11-year history – was just trash talking.  But Claffey wasn’t.  Not only did he have the best player in the on his squad, and one of the best pitchers, but he had the greatest weapon in the entire EHCC.

The run to the Rakeville Rockets first ever championship started in 2001, on a cool March morning in the coastal town of Bristol, Rhode Island.  Gillary’s Pub had just opened, and was all but empty when Jack Reed stepped through the doorway.  A former member of the Toronto Raptors front office, Reed had been out of sports since he resigned after the Damien Stoudamire trade in 1998.  He was an honest man, who hated how the young organization was treating it’s fans, and backed up that sentiment in writing.  It caused him to be an outcast among NBA owners, but a role model to Claffey.

“Professional sports is all about money,” said Claffey.  “It’s a business, so people treat it like a business.  They respect their customers only to the extent that they can continue profiting off of them.  But sports, professional or not, should be about so much more.  It was a world where our role models are nothing more than skilled laborers and entertainers, and the day we realize that, our youthful innocence disappears.  The day we realize sports is nothing more than a revenue stream is the worst day in a young man’s life.

“When Reed resigned from the Raptors,” continued Claffey, “he took a stand.  To that point, Stoudamire had helped build that franchise.  Thousands of Canadian children saw their hero sent packing, and he knew it wasn’t right.  While it’s a perfectly acceptable business move, it wasn’t right in his hear.”

The two talked about the emerging ACC Baseball League, and Claffey’s desire to have a team.  They talked about his basketball background, and how his skills could translate to the diamond.  Finally, Claffey told Reed what is goal was.

 “He told me how he wanted this team to be for the people of Rakeville,” said Jack Reed. “He wanted to win, but he wanted to win the right way.  He want to win with players who were proud to play in Rakeville.  Respected the Rockets organization and wanted to help build it.  Pride, not only in one’s self, but in the family and culture they were a part of.”

Many owners had claimed the virtues Claffey ascribed to, but only in so much as it would trick cities to build overpriced stadiums or fans to buy season tickets.  For Reed, they usually proved to be hollow promises.   

“I thought he was kidding,” said Reed. “The more we talked, I realized he wasn’t. He was the real deal.  I shook his hand at the bar and never looked backed.”

Over the years, Reed and Claffey worked hand in hand to build one of the most respected franchises in the EHCC, if not for it’s success, then for it’s unyielding commitment to developing the Rakeville culture.  Players like Pedro Martinez and  Javier Vazquez devoted their entire careers in a quest to bring a title to the city.  Others like Josh Beckett, Felix Hernandez, Joe Mauer and Miguel Cabrera continue it.  A group of heroes that may have never come together had it not been for the visionary that is Jack Reed.