"Because he was isolated in his truck, he was obligated to listen to me for 45 minutes," Gladstone says.
Hoiles led York to the Atlantic League playoffs in its inaugural season. He stepped down last month after compiling a 161-200 record with the Revolution, which later replaced him with former Orioles catcher Andy Etchebarren. Gladstone followed Hoiles out the door days later.
"When we put the season together, it was to win the championship, and we made the playoffs last year. Things just didn't work out on the field, and we continued working on things with this company," Hoiles says. "But it never distracted us from what we [needed] to do in York."
Now the relationship that started in the woods and moved to the ballpark is back in the woods with a fancy new title, the Hoiles-Gladstone Group.
"I've never really left the woods," says Hoiles, who considers himself a better hunter than fisherman. "The woods are always there for me."
Other participants are looking forward to it, if a phone call to McDonald, the top overall pick in the 1989 draft, is any indication.
"I've been lucky to hunt in Canada and the Midwest, but never Pennsylvania," says McDonald, an avid bowhunter who lives in Louisiana near Walker. "I'm looking forward to getting up there with a stick and a string. This is gonna be fun."
The second event in December, "Buckshot and Birds," will be at the same place but with different players, and firearms in place of bows.
Beyond that, Hoiles and Gladstone have talked to the Orioles' Nick Markakis and former Birds Mike Bordick and Rick Sutcliffe about hunting trips, and Boog Powell about a winter fishing trip in the Bahamas.
"We'd put him in the big chair in the back of the boat with a cooler beside him and let Boog entertain the whole ocean, not just the guys on our boat," Hoiles says.
They also hope to expand the roster beyond the Orioles to include members of the Ravens and the Washington Nationals.
After hunting all day, campers will be invited to enjoy some tasty adult beverages with the retired players while watching playoff baseball.
"It's a hard question to answer," Hoiles says when asked to describe his potential clientele. "We're just looking for sports enthusiasts who enjoy the outdoors and baseball fans who might be interested in hunting and hanging out with ex-baseball players who played locally. They get the best of both worlds, I guess."
