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Melissa interviews Michael Villafana, general manager of the Holly Springs Salamanders, about his path from sport management and marketing at Seton Hall to baseball roles in St. Paul and Worcester before moving to North Carolina and joining the Salamanders at Ting Park. Michael explains the team’s summer-league model using college players from across the US, the vital host-family program, and his day-to-day focus on sponsorships, ticketing, and marketing within a small staff. They discuss making history with the Coastal Plain League’s first female player, catcher Alexa George, and how the organization builds fan connections through autographs, promotions, and player interaction. Michael shares career advice, the team’s refreshed brand identity, and what to expect at games — free parking, shaded seating, wide concourse, playground, and concessions — with tickets and schedules at salamandersbaseball.com.
00:00 Welcome to the Ballpark
01:33 Michael’s Baseball Journey
02:55 How Summer League Works
03:49 Recruiting Talent Nationwide
04:30 Host Family Program
06:51 GM Duties Behind the Scenes
09:34 Making League History
11:32 Building Fan Connections
13:26 Funniest On-Field Moment
15:06 What Makes a Great Player
15:27 Players Meet Fans
15:54 Entertainment Like Bananas
16:42 Career Advice Sports Jobs
18:44 Creating Memorable Moments
19:25 Team Vision and Rebrand
20:35 Ballpark Lightning Round
22:46 Tickets and Social Links
23:34 Bonus Fan Experience Tips
24:33 Family Friendly Ballpark Perks
26:52 Wrap Up for All Ages
Creators and Guests
What is What’s Up, Wake?
What’s Up, Wake covers the people, places, restaurants, and events of Wake County, North Carolina. Through conversations with local personalities from business owners to town staff and influencers to volunteers, we’ll take a closer look at what makes Wake County an outstanding place to live. Presented by Cherokee Media Group, the publishers of local lifestyle magazines Cary Magazine, Wake Living, and Main & Broad, What’s Up, Wake covers news and happenings in Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, and Wake Forest.
[00:01:07] Speaker 10: Rescue Wood Rehab in Fuquay-Varina is proud to be your local custom woodworking shop for furniture, home decor, and more. Visit us and maybe spend some time with our shop dog, Amber. Rescue Wood Rehab is more than wood, it's an experience. rwrnc.com.
[00:01:23] Speaker 8: Summer travel is coming. Make sure your car is ready with Cary Car Care. Family owned and operated, they'll keep you safe on the road all season long. Give us a call at [919] 380-0040 to schedule your summer service today, or visit with us at carycarcare.com. Cary Car Care, it must be right or we'll make it right.
[00:02:22] Melissa: Step up to the plate because today's episode is an absolute home run. We're heading to the ballpark to talk all things summer nights, crack up the bat energy and community baseball with the man who helps call the shots behind the scenes. He's the general manager of the Holly Springs salamanders, a team that's been knocking it out of the park.
Ting Park that is since 2015. From building a roster that's more stacked than loaded basis to creating an experience that keeps fans coming back inning after inning. He's got his eye on the whole field. So whether you're a diehard baseball fan or just here for the ballpark vibes and hot dogs, chatter, you're in the right place because today we're not striking out.
Let's give a warm welcome to Michael Villafana. Hi Michael.
[00:03:07] Michael Villafana: How's it going?
[00:03:08] Melissa: I am so excited that you were here today. I was. I was telling you be as you came in this morning that I've interviewed a hockey guy. It's time for a baseball guy. I've had a football guy, so it's baseball's turn. Let's start out.
Tell me a little bit about yourself. How you got to be involved with baseball and how that brought you to Holly Springs?
[00:03:27] Michael Villafana: Yeah, absolutely. I went to college to be a sport management major, so I knew once my athletic career was done in high school, I wanted to still work in sports, but obviously not as a professional athlete.
So I knew that wanted to stay involved and, and. Going to the business side of sports was, was the way to do it. So, um, I ended up gonna Seton Hall in New Jersey. I got my four year degree in sport management and marketing. And then I've kind of been working in, in baseball ever since. So I had worked for a team in St.
Paul, Minnesota, which is where I'm originally from. For, for four years. The St. Paul. So they're the Triple E affiliate of the Twins. Um, after that I moved out to Worcester, Massachusetts for a year. Worked for, for the Worcester Red Sox for a year. And then had the opportunity from there to, to move down here to North Carolina, um, and, and start up a brand new summer ball team in Greenville, north Car, Carolina.
So the Greenville Yard. It was a team that, that I started, um, under our ownership capital broadcasting company. And, um, after starting that team up after a year, had the opportunity to, to move here to Holly Springs and, and join this team. So absolutely love this area. Love Holly Springs and, um, obviously the Sal Salamanders are, are well respected in this area.
[00:04:39] Melissa: Yeah, we love our salamanders around here. So now let's talk about the salamanders. I wanna make sure I'm getting this right. It's a summer league, but it's com comprised of players that are like off season college players. Is that right?
[00:04:53] Michael Villafana: Correct. Yep. So our roster is made up of, of college players. Um, they come to us once their, their college season is done.
So depending on what level they play at, they get done maybe a little bit sooner than some of the division one guys that are playing the College World Series or anything like that. So we're, we're, we're made up of, of all college guys and, and they're. Coming to play for us for the chance to get extra reps to get scouted hopefully one day get drafted and, and play in, in major League baseball.
So that, that's their goal. And, and we try to make it as fun of a summer as as possible. And when they get to play in front of some really big crowds at our games it's sometimes crowds that they're not used to playing at, at their college team. So it, it, it's a really good experience for them.
[00:05:35] Melissa: Okay. So are they mostly local or are they kind of all over North, North Carolina and the United States?
[00:05:42] Michael Villafana: Yeah, we, we see all, all across the United States. We do get a lot of local players 'cause there's a lot of good local talent here in North Carolina and South Carolina and Virginia. But we, we, our roster is made up of, of guys from all across the country.
I know last year in. Actually this year we have a player coming from ade which is a college in Hawaii, so, um, wow. All the way, yep. All the way across the Pacific Ocean to, to come play at Holly Springs. So it's really exciting and, and we just try to get the best of the best. Um, that's our goal.
Mm-hmm. We want to compete in our league and if the best of the best is local, we'll bring them in. If it's all the way on the West Coast, we'll we'll do that.
[00:06:16] Melissa: So for the players that, um, are not from here, I've read that you guys have a really cool program and I actually heard about this program program because a friend of mine is a host.
Mm-hmm. For a player. Shout out to the Boyd family. Um, tell us about this. What is it called? The family.
[00:06:35] Michael Villafana: The host, families
[00:06:36] Melissa: host, host family. Yep. Yeah. What is that all about?
[00:06:38] Michael Villafana: Yeah. The host families are, are the lifeblood of, of any summer league baseball team. Um, obviously there, there's some guys that are local that can stay with their families or stay in their college dorm or whatever.
Mm-hmm. But it's those guys that are coming from outta state that, that need a place to stay when they play for us. So, host families, we wouldn't be able to run the operation that, that we do. So we're very grateful for them. But, um, our, our host families take in one or two players, depending on, on their living situation.
And they're responsible for providing a bed, a bathroom, and access to laundry. And then it's really up to each host family on how they want to integrate their player into their daily life if they wanna have every meal with them. More than welcome to do that. If it's, Hey, you can raid the fridge, wear whenever you want, you can do that.
Um, it, it's, it's really up to each host family on what they wanna do. But, um, there's so many stories of how a host family has made an impact on. Somebody who makes Major League baseball's life and, and, um, they, they attend their, their debut day or they attend when they get married. Um, there's, there's so many stories of how host families make a positive impact on these college kids' lives.
Um, because without the opportunity for them to take them in when they come play for a team like us, um, they wouldn't have that opportunity. So really, really appreciative of all the things that our host families do.
[00:07:52] Melissa: I know that, that the Boyd family has loved it. And, and my friend Kristen that I grew up with, she posts pictures with past players.
Mm-hmm. And they have definitely stayed in touch. And I just think it's incredible to do, you know, just to do something kind for somebody. Absolutely. What it boils down to,
[00:08:08] Michael Villafana: absolutely. No, it's, it's, these, these families are, are doing something that they, they don't have to do. Um, they're volunteering their house, they're volunteering their time.
Um, they, they come and support. The boys during the summer. Yeah. Um, and they're normally the loudest fans in, in the stands. Um, and I can
[00:08:22] Melissa: imagine because the word family is in there. Exactly. They're their host family. They're, they're far away from their family, so they're kind of, you know, replacing them for a short period of time.
[00:08:31] Michael Villafana: Exactly. Yeah. Mm-hmm. They're, they're there to support, um, and, and they do a really good job of it and really appreciative of them.
[00:08:38] Melissa: I want to know about a day in the life of a general manager of a baseball team. What does a typical day look for you? I, I know that you guys are about to start your season, so thank you for making the time to talk to me this week of all weeks.
But what does a normal day look like for you?
[00:08:54] Michael Villafana: Yeah, so I, I am mostly focused on the business side of things. Um, so I, I'm kind of the day-to-day contact when it comes to sponsorships and partnerships with our organization. So a lot of it is, is meetings with potential sponsors or, or current sponsors.
Um, just trying to find ways to, to make sure that. Their partnership is beneficial for, for both them as a, as a company and for us as an organization. So, um, that's really kinda what I do on a day-to-day from a sponsorship side of things, um, I help oversee our, our ticketing department. Um, we, we only have a small staff of four, four full-time people.
So, um, everybody does a little, little bit of everything. Um, so I kinda oversee, see that, um, with our A GM and then also, um, kind of just assist with. Our marketing side of things. So, um, just make sure that we're, we're creating successful marketing strategies, plans, how are we gonna reach out for certain, um, whether there's a certain ticket package or just a certain theme night.
Um, we wanna make sure that, that we're brainstorming the best possible way to do it. So mostly focused on the sponsorship side side of things, but also oversee a lot of the other departments in, in the organization.
[00:09:58] Melissa: So really the, the coaching staff is who's out? Recruiting players and filling the roster and things like that.
And you're the, you're the day-to-day guy putting out the fires and making sure everybody is happy
[00:10:09] Michael Villafana: pretty much. Yep. Yeah. Gotcha. Our coaching staff does a really good job of, of building our roster year after year. Um, our, our head coach Brian Roundtree has, has. A ton of connections in, in the college baseball world.
And, and he does a really good job of making sure that we get a, a good balance of, maybe it's a veteran upperclassmen, junior, senior versus your, your incoming freshman, um, who, who's maybe a little bit more raw, but has a ton of talent. So we see a good balance of, of talent on our roster.
[00:10:37] Melissa: And do you ever get to sit and actually watch a game, or are you always running around?
[00:10:43] Michael Villafana: I, I, if, if I do have time to sit and watch a game in my head it's like, okay, what else should I be checking on? Or whatever. Yeah. Yeah. But, um, no, I'm, I'm normally walking around, um, trying to interact with, with, if it is a sponsor there, try to. Chat, chat it up with them or, um, our ticket holders. I'm always trying to, to, to gather information of, hey, what could we be doing better?
Or, um, what did they experience that, that maybe I just don't, didn't, don't know about quite yet. So, um, I try to, try to move around as, as much as possible. But, um, I'll, I'll, I'll always find some time, a couple minutes just to, Hey, watch the game, look around, see what people are already joining. Take a deep breath.
[00:11:19] Melissa: Yeah,
[00:11:19] Michael Villafana: exactly. Yeah, exactly.
[00:11:20] Melissa: So last summer was your first summer as general manager. I also read that last summer you guys made history by adding the first female player in the league when Alexa George joined as catcher. How did that come about?
[00:11:37] Michael Villafana: Yeah, so it, it was really exciting to have her last year.
Um, she actually had a contact with, with our ownership group, um, and had expressed like, Hey, I want to want, I wanna play in the Coastal Plane league. How could we make that happen? Um, and we, she sent over some video of, of her performing and, um, she was still, she was called senior at at that time. So, um, we.
We're like, Hey, come on. Give it a go. We'll, we will kinda have a tryout the first week or so of the season. Mm-hmm. And she really impressed incredible demeanor, um, incredible work, work ethic really, really strong communicator. Um, and she was also incredible with our fans. Um, and, and she, she stuck around the, the whole season.
Um, she would. Consistently play as catcher or dh. And, um, just, just a really, really good human to be around. And you, you never know what to expect when you, when you have a situation like that. But, um,
[00:12:36] Melissa: she was awesome. She was also, all eyes are on you as well. Yeah. Because you are making history, being the first doing something Exactly.
And I, I'm sure she felt that pressure too, but it sounds like she did become a fan favorite.
[00:12:47] Michael Villafana: She did. She did. Mm-hmm. Um, the, the, the moment that we announced that there, there was a ton of buzz of, of, Hey, mm-hmm we gotta get to a sound manage game to see Alexia and, um, she. Sh we, we did a lot of media requests with her and, and community appearances and, um, it was always a yes from her.
And she would always make sure that every last fan that was there to see her got to interact with her or sign a ball or get a photo. Um, and I think that that just showed a lot of her character and what she's about out.
[00:13:18] Melissa: How do you balance. Developing players, which I know, you know, that's more of the coach's job.
Mm-hmm. But as a whole, for the organization, developing the players, but also creating a, a fun atmosphere for your fans at the same time. Yeah. Because you know, to your point about having the college players, they're probably only on a team like the Salamanders for one season, maybe two. Mm-hmm. It sounds like.
Mm-hmm. Yep. So since. Since the roster kind of shuffles every year or every other year, how do you create that, you know, that team comradery, number one, and, and the feeling for the fans that you want them to keep coming back?
[00:14:01] Michael Villafana: Yeah, absolutely. No, it's, it is a good question. I think for us, we want try and make our players as available as possible to be able to connect with the fans.
Um, I think for, for us. Always do post game autograph signings.
[00:14:13] Melissa: Yeah. You guys are really good about that.
[00:14:14] Michael Villafana: Yeah. Our, our coach he makes it known from day one, Hey, we're signing autographs after every game. I don't care if it was a four hour game. I don't care if we got dumped on in the rain. Like this is about the fans and the experience that they have.
I love that. So he's, he's great with that and, and I appreciate him for that. Um, we obviously when kids are on the bases our players line the bases and give high fives, and we wanna make sure we're creating those memorable moments because like you said, these players might only be here for eight weeks, 10 weeks.
Um, and then they. Are gonna go back to their college and they might go play for another college summer league team. So, um, anything that we can do to make those moments, even if it's with a player that's only gonna be here for one year, um, is special. And, and for a kid who's four to seven, they might not understand that whole process, but when they get a side ball from a, from a player, they're not gonna forget that moment, no matter if that player.
It is done playing baseball in one year or it becomes a major leaguer. Um, they're gonna remember, Hey, I got a sign ball from a salamanders player.
[00:15:08] Melissa: Or got to run a base or, yeah, exactly. It's something they'll never forget
[00:15:11] Michael Villafana: Exactly.
[00:15:11] Melissa: Mm-hmm. Tell me about the experience of going to a salamanders game. And I asked this because when I used to take my kids when they were younger.
I loved that you guys have a playground right next to the ball field, so I can watch them play, watch a little bit of baseball, and enjoy both at the same time. What else can we expect when we come out to a game?
[00:15:34] Michael Villafana: Yeah, absolutely. No, the the, the playground is, is definitely a huge asset to, to the ballpark.
Yeah. Like you said, you can still enjoy the game, but watch your kids play on the playground. But, um, for us, I think it, it starts from, from the moment you get to the ballpark, um, we don't charge for parking at all, so
[00:15:49] Melissa: that's a huge plus. It
[00:15:50] Michael Villafana: is. It is. And we got two pretty big giant parking lots. Um, so easy to find a parking spot.
Um, it's a short walk up to our, our front gate. Um, so, so that, that, that, that's a huge plus. Um, and then at the ballpark we're very grateful for the ballpark that we play in. Um, the, the town of Holly Springs does a really good job of, of maintaining, um, the cleanliness, the, um, just keeping things updated.
Seats and, and drink rails and all that. So, um, but I, I think for us, our, our ballpark is, is good for our North Carolina summer because, um, a good chunk of our seats are shaded which is a huge plus. And then we have the big fans Yeah. In the ceiling to try to circulate some air during those, those hot summer nights.
Um, but, the, the other huge thing about our ballpark is, is there's a ton of space. Um, there's the playground, like you mentioned down the left field line, but, um, our concourse is super wide. So kids can run around, get their energy out. Um, it's not a full 360 concourse, but it's about. 300 degrees.
So you can go all the way out to the right field, um, right center field area where you can stand over the, the bullpens and watch our, our players warm up and, and, and all that. So, um, for, for me, I think it's a very fan friendly ballpark. Um, there's, there's a lot to do. There's a lot of space. It's not, you're not cramped when you come to a game.
And I think that that bodes well for, for a lot of our fans.
[00:17:12] Melissa: And as a mom, you've just checked off pretty much all of my must haves for a fun Friday night, I'll tell you that.
[00:17:18] Michael Villafana: Absolutely, absolutely. And and obviously we, we got the concessions, we got the beer. Um, we, we got the, the alcohol. So hopefully well
[00:17:25] Melissa: now you're just, now you're just adding to it.
I'm gonna have to
[00:17:30] Michael Villafana: Yeah, we, we, we got it all. And that's, that's the goal. We wanna make this a one stop for, for both families, um, that maybe have young kids or if it's. Teenagers date night out. Like we, we wanna be the spot for, for people of all ages.
So what is I, I'm gonna, I'm gonna throw you a little curve ball here.
[00:19:11] Michael Villafana: Sure.
[00:19:11] Melissa: What is the most unexpected or or funniest thing that you have ever had happen at a baseball game, whether it's the salamanders or a past team that you've worked for?
[00:19:22] Michael Villafana: Yeah, I'll give you, I'll give you a pass team. Um, when I worked in, in St. Paul, we had to drag the field. It was a dirt, dirt field.
So after the third and sixth innings, we would drag the field just to get rid of any ball marks or anything like that. Um, just freshen it up. Just freshen it up. Exactly. So we had had a, like a, a, a rake drag system so that you pull by a rope, um, and you drag it behind you. I remember picking it up and running off the field so they can get the next inning started.
And I made it we'll say 15 feet off off the field. And I completely just tripped over the rope and face planted in front of the entire crowd. Oh no. Um, so I, I heard the crowd react. I heard my boss react. Um, so it was, it was just,
[00:20:07] Melissa: was that the same reaction or two different, like were they laughing?
I I can imagine that the, the crowd was probably like.
[00:20:14] Michael Villafana: Yes.
[00:20:15] Melissa: And then the laughter starts. Yes. Maybe once they realize that you're okay. Yes. But maybe your boss went straight to laughing.
[00:20:20] Michael Villafana: I, I think my boss went straight to laughing. But no, it's just a moment that you, you don't forget. And, and minor league baseball is, is, it's about the fun, it's about laughter.
It's having a smile on your face. And, um, yes, they, they might have been laughing at me or, or. Or had a smile 'cause they were laughing at me. But, um, if that's what it makes for them to have a good time, I will trip over that, that rope every time.
[00:20:42] Melissa: Yeah. Hey, don't say that. We might hold you to that. Yeah. Okay.
I know that the coaches might pay attention to things like stats, but. For you as a general manager, what do you like to see from a player maybe about their personality or you know, about how they play? What do you like to see?
[00:21:02] Michael Villafana: Yeah. Honestly, just have a personality. Like, there's, there's, so, oh yeah,
[00:21:06] Melissa: that is true.
Yeah.
[00:21:07] Michael Villafana: There's so many guys that they're, they're there to play baseball. Um.
[00:21:11] Melissa: And they're so focused. I can imagine. Yeah.
[00:21:13] Michael Villafana: Yep, yep.
[00:21:14] Melissa: Um, they've got their goals and, and their dreams. They're just so focused.
[00:21:17] Michael Villafana: Yeah. Yeah. And the, there, there's nothing wrong with that, but at the end of the day, it's, you're coming here to a new community that you, you don't know.
Mm-hmm. Um, and, and there's fans that are obviously paying a. Ticket prices to, to get in and see you. Um, just to, to be able to interact with them and, and have some fun. And, um, like I'm, I'm not asking our players to be Banana or Savannah Banana fans. I was about
[00:21:39] Melissa: to bring them up. Yes.
[00:21:40] Michael Villafana: Yeah. And do all, all, all of, all of their kind of.
Skits, but, um,
[00:21:44] Melissa: but they have raised the bar in terms they have of what, you know, kind of entertainment that we would like to see a little For sure. Little snippet of that anyway.
[00:21:51] Michael Villafana: For sure. Mm-hmm. And, and I think for, for especially this year, um, we got our players to do a good amount of things last year, but I think even this year we're gonna get them more involved with our in between inning promotions and maybe some special skits, things like that.
So, um, I, I, I'm really excited to have that conversation with the players. On, on day one, when they get there to, to get them more involved. .
[00:22:11] Melissa: I have a high school senior who has always played basketball, been involved in sports, and he's come to an end of his, of his basketball years, I would say, but a lot of his friends are wanting to go the route that you went in terms of, um, having a sports management degree or sports marketing, something along, you know, carrying out their love of sports post education.
Mm-hmm. I wanna know what kind of advice you would give to a young person. Who does want to? Work in sports one day and be involved in some way. What kind of advice would you give to these young guys out here and gals?
[00:22:50] Michael Villafana: Yeah. It, it's a, it's a really good question, and I think for, for me, what I've learned is you don't need a sport management degree or a sport marketing degree to work in sports.
Um, what I would recommend. Is go get a, a business degree, go get a finance degree or a, a business management degree. And that's gonna do you just as good as getting a sport management or a sports marketing
[00:23:12] Melissa: degree. But would you have gotten your job with one of those degrees?
[00:23:14] Michael Villafana: Yes.
[00:23:14] Melissa: Oh, okay.
[00:23:15] Michael Villafana: I think I would've.
Okay. Um, and, and I think. Part, part of it is I, I did some internships in college, um, that helped kind of create the, the networking opportunities to, to land that kind of gave full time. That gave you a path. Yep.
[00:23:27] Melissa: Yeah,
[00:23:28] Michael Villafana: for sure. But it's also interviews, interview skills. Um, those are all very, very important things.
So I would recommend go get that business degree or something within a, mm-hmm. A business school. And then also just. Continue your, your, your public speaking skills, your interview skills. Um, find, find a mentor that you can rely on and ask questions to. Those are all gonna be really important things to, to land a job in sports,
[00:23:54] Melissa: it's really been a common theme.
Throughout this podcast, I interview people and I, I see that they're successful because they have followed their passion. Mm-hmm. So what I'm hearing from you is if you're really passionate about sports, then that will shine through and if you follow it, then you, you should find a way.
[00:24:11] Michael Villafana: Yeah, absolutely.
It's, it's, once I realized my athletic career was done, it was like, what, what do I enjoy about sports? And I thought of the moments when I was a child and I'd go to these games and you have your, your game winning hits and you have your, you're going in and you're enjoying your hotdog and you're dipping dots and just those like, memorable, memorable moments.
And um, for me it was like, how, what can I do now that I'm not? A player anymore to create memorable moments like I had as a kid. Um, and working in sports is, is the way to do that. So, um, for me, a successful day in the office is, is attending a game, seeing smiles on, on kids' faces or parents' faces and, um, have seeing them laugh like that.
That's what makes me want to go to work every single day to create those memories.
[00:24:51] Melissa: Yeah. What is your vision for the next few years with the salamanders?
[00:24:57] Michael Villafana: Yeah, I think it's, it's continued to grow, grow the, the organization. Um, we, we saw a really good ticket growth last year. Um, and, and attendance. Growth.
So definitely wanna continue that. Um, we did just unveil a brand new brand identity. This year, so we kind of refreshed the Salamanders logo. I
[00:25:15] Melissa: have been looking at the logo on your shirt. Yep. I, I, and it's really cool, and I don't think I've seen that one before.
[00:25:21] Michael Villafana: Yeah. So we, we just revealed it a couple weeks ago.
Okay. Um, and we, we wanted to keep the name salamanders that was mm-hmm. A staple of. Of the Holy Springs community. And, um, but after 10 years, it was like, I think we need a little bit of a refresh, maybe some updated cu colors, uh mm-hmm. Updated logo. And, and that's kinda what we, we wanted to do. So we're hoping we can take this, this kind of refreshed logo and, um, created a, a refreshed vibe around the ballpark.
So you'll see updated graphics on our video board and you'll see, um, updated jerseys this year. So, um, we, we obviously want to. Have that be a success. This year we'll have new merch obviously, and, and then, um, just continue to grow that year after year, the next couple years.
[00:26:02] Melissa: It is time for me to throw just a few more curve balls your way for our What's up, Roundup lightning round series of questions.
Before we go, this is our ballpark edition. If you had a walkup song, if you were on the team, what would your song be?
[00:26:20] Michael Villafana: I think it would've to be the intro to remember the name by Fort Miner. It's I
[00:26:25] Melissa: dunno. This one,
[00:26:25] Michael Villafana: it's a,
[00:26:26] Melissa: you must sing us a bar. Go ahead.
[00:26:28] Michael Villafana: Oh, no, I think it's the instrumental part of the, of the, of the song, but it just, it's just hype.
It's hype. Gets you a yes. Wanna I'm gonna the, at the ball
[00:26:36] Melissa: I'm gonna to look up. I bet I'll know it as soon as I hear
[00:26:37] Michael Villafana: it. I think you'll,
[00:26:38] Melissa: I'm, I'm the worst with remembering singer's names, but especially song names. Yes.
[00:26:43] Michael Villafana: Agreed.
[00:26:43] Melissa: So I will look that one up. Okay. Daytime or Friday night Under the lights, which kind of game do you prefer?
[00:26:51] Michael Villafana: Friday night under the lights.
[00:26:52] Melissa: Yeah. Always. It's hard to beat a Friday night game.
[00:26:54] Michael Villafana: It is.
[00:26:55] Melissa: Mm-hmm. Okay. Favorite ballpark food. This is why I personally come to baseball games is to enjoy the food. What is your favorite food?
[00:27:04] Michael Villafana: I think for me it's a nice cheddar jalapeno brat.
[00:27:08] Melissa: Ah,
[00:27:09] Michael Villafana: yeah, that's my, that might be my Midwest show in a little bit, but do you guys have that?
But
[00:27:12] Melissa: at the Salamanders
[00:27:13] Michael Villafana: Stadium we we're working on, on having some sort of brat this year. Mm-hmm. Um, but not, not last year, but hopefully this year. We'll,
[00:27:21] Melissa: okay. Alright. We're gonna have to try that out.
[00:27:23] Michael Villafana: Yep.
[00:27:23] Melissa: What is your favorite baseball movie?
[00:27:26] Michael Villafana: Ooh, that's tough. It's either Bull Durham or it is Moneyball.
[00:27:33] Melissa: Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I was gonna say Bull Durham. It has been so long since I've seen it though. Mm-hmm. That I always say Bull Durham, but then I'm like, I need to go back and watch it and just make sure
[00:27:42] Michael Villafana: Yep.
[00:27:43] Melissa: Make sure it still, it still holds. Yeah. Okay. One word that you would use to describe the Holly Springs salamanders.
[00:27:52] Michael Villafana: I'm gonna say fun. We're we, we try to provide the fun in, in everything we do from gates open to when the last fan leaves. Um, and I think we do a good job of that, especially with our in between inning promotions. We want people to have a good time, have fun at the ballpark, enjoy the baseball game, but also enjoy kind of the things we do between innings to make a, make it memorable.
[00:28:13] Melissa: Your first game is tomorrow night, May 22nd. Tell us where to find out about the full schedule and maybe even follow you guys on social media.
[00:28:22] Michael Villafana: Yeah, absolutely. Tickets. You can purchase tickets@salamandersbaseball.com. We got a brand new website. It's all, all spiffy and got all the, all the tools, so
[00:28:30] Melissa: it does look good.
[00:28:31] Michael Villafana: It does, yes. So yeah, visit that website and you can also follow us. On all of our social channels, Instagram X, Facebook and we do have a new TikTok as well. So follow us on all those for, for more updates on what we'll be doing this season.
[00:28:45] Melissa: Thank you so much for being here today. And best of luck, or is that, is that the best thing to say for a ball player?
[00:28:50] Michael Villafana: I think so.
[00:28:51] Melissa: I've interviewed theater folk and if I say good luck, they just cringe.
[00:28:54] Michael Villafana: Yeah.
[00:28:54] Melissa: But good luck for baseball's. Good,
[00:28:56] Michael Villafana: good luck works.
[00:28:56] Melissa: Okay, perfect. Well, good luck and I hope to see you out at the ball field.
[00:29:00] Michael Villafana: Awesome.
[00:29:00] Melissa: Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you.