Highlights TV Show Features WV Power Baseball

Highlights is a 30 minute weekly TV show featuring organizations, events, grass-roots efforts and people who move our state and community forward in a positive way.

The show is a collaboration with Kanawha County Schools, Suddenlink Communications, and Jim Strawn & Company.

The show airs daily at 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Suddenlink’s channel 17.

The show airing May 17, 2021 – May 24, 2021 features the WV Power Baseball.

We interviewed Andy Shea, Owner & CEO and Chuck Domino, President of the WV Power Baseball team.

We are starting a new chapter in the history of Charleston, WV baseball.

Andy discussed how the Power became a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

West Virginia joins their former South Atlantic League rival, the Lexington Legends, in migrating to the newly-christened MLB Partner League. The Power and Legends replace the Somerset Patriots and Sugar Land Skeeters, who moved to the Professional Development League landscape as a part of MLB’s new 120-team professional development system. The current eight-team ALPB slate has teams hailing from North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania.

Shea is the current President & CEO of the Lexington Legends, a position he will retain while also managing the Power. Since starting as a Ticket Sales Representative and parking attendant with the Legends in 2005, the Boston College graduate has worked tirelessly to build long-lasting and mutually-beneficial partnerships with many local and national organizations in the Lexington area, including the American Diabetes Association, American Red Cross, Big Brothers Big Sisters, LexArts, March of Dimes and more. Shea previously served as the Legends’ General Manager from 2008 to 2011 before being promoted to President, and then CEO in 2015. Shea is a native of Philadelphia, Penn., and lives with his wife, Kristina, and son, Drew.

Shea said “The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball is the premier MLB Partner League and we are sincerely grateful for the City of Charleston, State of West Virginia and Major League Baseball for helping make this happen. This day is truly great for professional baseball in Charleston.”

Established in 1998, the ALPB has seen nearly 1,000 players sign contracts with MLB organizations, with an average of 50-plus each season. In addition, more than 70 former players and coaches from the ALPB are now managers or coaches for MLB organizations. Besides providing top-tier talent on the field, the ALPB is focused on presenting family-friendly entertainment in state-of-the-art facilities. Over its 23-year history, more than 42 million fans have made their way through the gates of an ALPB ballpark. All stadiums are required to be maintained at a Triple-A standard or better.

Domino, a native of Pittsburgh, has been named Executive of the Year nine times at various levels and by various publications and organizations over his 39 year career in Minor League Baseball. Nixon has had extensive experience in the food and beverage industry and in Minor League Baseball as an Executive and Consultant spanning 25 years.

Most recently Domino was the Chief Executive of the Richmond Flying Squirrels for 10 years while consulting with numerous other teams including the Atlanta Braves Minor League teams and the highly successful operations of the Charlotte Knights, Hartford Yard Goats and Omaha Storm Chasers. He was previously the President of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs and Reading Phillies and is still the President of the Reading Phillies Charitable arm – Baseballtown Charities. Domino first met Andy Shea in 2014 when Andy hired him to consult for the Lexington Legends.

He talked about the safe, clean and family-fun atmosphere they will create at Appalachian Power Park.