No Martinez Clippers Baseball This Year; City To Revisit Topic

MARTINEZ, CA — It's official, there will be no professional baseball in Martinez in 2019, as efforts to find a new owner for the Martinez Clippers were unsuccessful, city officials said last week. This comes after the owners of the Clippers, which had played in the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs for one season in 2018, filed for bankruptcy. Benicia-based DC Solar Inc., owned by Jeff and Paulette Carpoff of Martinez, was the Clippers' owner this past season.

DC Solar has other problems. The FBI raided the Carpoffs' home and business in December in connection with an $800-million Ponzi scheme in which the FBI alleges the Carpoffs took money from investors in solar generators, allegedly investing some of that money for personal use and using new investors' money to repay earlier investors.

The city said in February that the license agreement with the Clippers was terminated because DC Solar didn't pay fees for using city-owned Field 3 at Waterfront Park, the Clippers' home field for the 2018 season.

• ORIGINAL REPORT: City Terminates Martinez Clippers License Agreement

"While we are certainly disappointed that the possibility of new franchise owners fell through for the 2019 season, we are optimistic for the future of pro baseball in Martinez and expect the topic to be revisited in the fall," Martinez Mayor Rob Schroder said in a statement.

The Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs still has teams in Napa, Pittsburg, San Rafael, Sonoma and Vallejo.

Meanwhile, the city has told local residents that reservations are being taken for Field 3.

"For the coming summer, interest in Field 3 at Waterfront Park has never been higher, and our recreation staff have been fielding requests for some time already," Schroder said.

Bay City News Service