"Elvic" has left the building

Just one week after capturing the New York-Penn League championship, and a day after renewing their player development agreement with the Houston Astros, the Tri-City Valleycats announced on Tuesday that Matt Callahan would be their new assistant general manager, succeeding Vic Christopher, who is not being retained after 7 seasons of being the public face of the team's high energy promotions department.

The move does have 'Cats fans scratching their heads and wondering why Christopher, a people-friendly guy if there ever was one, was being let go so suddenly. The team is preferring to keep most of the details private, which is only going to lead to more speculation. Did Christopher get a better offer elsewhere? No one knows, and, right now, no one's talking. The man had just gotten married nearly three weeks ago, while the team was in Brooklyn (where Christopher previously worked for the Cyclones) for their final regular season series.

Christopher was very involved in the team's on-field promotions, and engaged in a pro-wrestling-inspired "feud" with one of the team's bat boys a few years back as part of the entertainment. He also would don a Elvis Presley jumpsuit to become "Elvic", slapping an acoustic guitar to pump up the crowd late in games, especially when the 'Cats were trailing and trying to rally. His presence at Joe Bruno Stadium, and his energetic personality, are going to be missed next season. Callahan has a tough act to follow.

Verily, "Elvic" has left the building.