Minor League Baseball News

[Gothamite]

11 hours ago, pmoehrin said:

Portland is all in on getting an MLB team and I would say it’s all but a foregone conclusion they will get an MLB expansion team within the next ten years.

 

It is far, far from a foregone conclusion that there will ever be another MLB expansion team.  

 

If Portland is to get a team, they’ll move one from a market that can’t or won’t support the team they have.  

[pmoehrin]

2 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

It is far, far from a foregone conclusion that there will ever be another MLB expansion team.  

 

If Portland is to get a team, they’ll move one from a market that can’t or won’t support the team they have.  

 

Manfred has said on multiple occasions that the MLB is planning on expanding sooner rather than later.

 

I don't believe everything that comes out of the commissioner's mouth, but I believe that. That's not something that gets thrown around lightly. The MLB hasn't expanded in 20 years. That's the longest timespan between expansions since the league first expanded in '61.

 

To be frank, the I reason I know this is happening is that too many people who don't get this type of stuff wrong have told me this is happening. There won't be any announcement tomorrow, but expansion will be brought up at the Winter Meetings this year. I can guarantee you that, especially if the commissioner is talking about it openly.

 

You may get a vote as early as this year to start accepting bids. I don't think it will happen until next year, possibly even 2020 because there are a lot of logistical issues that need to be worked out as with any expansion. But the wheels have already been set in motion. It's just a matter of when not if at this point.

[LMU]

48 minutes ago, pmoehrin said:

 

Manfred has said on multiple occasions that the MLB is planning on expanding sooner rather than later.

 

I don't believe everything that comes out of the commissioner's mouth, but I believe that. That's not something that gets thrown around lightly. The MLB hasn't expanded in 20 years. That's the longest timespan between expansions since the league first expanded in '61.

 

To be frank, the I reason I know this is happening is that too many people who don't get this type of stuff wrong have told me this is happening. There won't be any announcement tomorrow, but expansion will be brought up at the Winter Meetings this year. I can guarantee you that, especially if the commissioner is talking about it openly.

 

You may get a vote as early as this year to start accepting bids. I don't think it will happen until next year, possibly even 2020 because there are a lot of logistical issues that need to be worked out as with any expansion. But the wheels have already been set in motion. It's just a matter of when not if at this point.

From what I've read they'll proceed once the Oakland and Tampa Bay stadium issues are resolved.

[B-Rich]

20 hours ago, sc49erfan15 said:

 

To be fair, New Orleans is every direction but south of the Mississippi River. 

 

Technically, it IS also south of the river.

 

The City of New Orleans/Orleans Parish has a jurisdictional section on the west bank of the river called Algiers.  Directionally, it is mostly south of the river:

 

 

 

[sc49erfan15]

9 minutes ago, B-Rich said:

Technically, it IS also south of the river.

 

The City of New Orleans/Orleans Parish has a jurisdictional section on the west bank of the river called Algiers.  Directionally, it is mostly south of the river:

 

Dammit, I knew you'd get me. How did I neglect to look at the actual city limits?

 

We actually stayed just across the river from Algiers (Bywater/St. Claude) for a conference back in April.

[pmoehrin]

7 hours ago, LMU said:

From what I've read they'll proceed once the Oakland and Tampa Bay stadium issues are resolved.

 

I have not heard this myself, but I have no reason to doubt it.

 

We’ve seen recent progress on both ballpark fronts as well and MLB has been talking expansion behind the scenes since as early as 2012.

 

Manfred going public with MLB’s desire to expand and the recent ballpark movements with Oakland and Tampa Bay are likely not conicendental.

[LMU]

17 minutes ago, pmoehrin said:

 

I have not heard this myself, but I have no reason to doubt it.

 

We’ve seen recent progress on both ballpark fronts as well and MLB has been talking expansion behind the scenes since as early as 2012.

 

Manfred going public with MLB’s desire to expand and the recent ballpark movements with Oakland and Tampa Bay are likely not conicendental.

Of course, the other rumor is that the next round of expansion will result in the death of the NL and AL to be replaced with geographically-based divisions to cut travel costs/player travel fatigue.

[TBGKon]

23 hours ago, LMU said:

 

Fresno's the new Las Vegas except replace God awful facilities to God awful location.

 

Portland should be up there except for A-they may be getting too big to settle for AAA, and B-the ballpark issue.

 

There was the proposed Escondido project a few years ago that fell through leaving the Padres to go to El Paso.

 

The only real options moving forward would be moving lower level markets up to AAA.  Spokane has a larger seating capacity right now than Tacoma.  Brooklyn and Staten Island could work if the Yankees and Mets wanted to put the AAA club in their backyards.  The Eastern and Southern Leagues would be much easier to pluck from as Hartford, Richmond, Birmingham, and Jacksonville could definitely support AAA baseball plus it would be easier to find A and AA markets as replacements.

 

22 hours ago, pmoehrin said:

 

Portland will never be considered for a AAA team again.

 

Any efforts relating to minor league baseball are being focued squarely on promoting and expanding the Northwest League.

 

Portland is all in on getting an MLB team and I would say it’s all but a foregone conclusion they will get an MLB expansion team within the next ten years.

 

The Mets and Yankees could and should work out a deal where they both play in the NYC metro area. In addition to being an upgrade for both of those franchises it would also open up two other markets. Why they haven’t is a question you’ll have to ask the teams about.

 

And yeah there’s plenty of potential AAA markets at the ready that you mentioned. All you need to do is pull one or two teams out of the PCL and you would solve a lot of problems.

 

Apparently that’s too difficult.

 

The Mets purchased Syracuse last year, so they're Mets AAA.  IIRC, the reason why both Staten Island and Brooklyn both exist is because of territorial reasons.  For one to exist, the other needed representation.  I think Short A level works fine for the bouroughs, but AAA prob wont fly.

 

Once expansion happens in the majors, youll see a trickle down effect.  I was too young to remember the expansion of the minors in the 90s but do know the Durham Bulls were single A Carolina League but got promoted to AAA for the Rays.  Im not sure who else were the expansion teams across the board, but maybe someone else can shed light.

[TBGKon]

27 minutes ago, LMU said:

Of course, the other rumor is that the next round of expansion will result in the death of the NL and AL to be replaced with geographically-based divisions to cut travel costs/player travel fatigue.

I know the traditionalist will hate this move, but I can believe how tough it is for baseball to have East/Central/West alignments.  It works for football due to limited schedules, but call me a supported of MLB realignment.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

9 hours ago, LMU said:

the other rumor is that the next round of expansion will result in the death of the NL and AL to be replaced with geographically-based divisions to cut travel costs/player travel fatigue.

 

Egad. The thought that this is being considered makes me so sad. There is a serious problem in American sporting culture involving a lack of respect for history. Baseball fans used to be above this sort of thing.

 

If I were trying to be a baseball fan now, I'd be consumed with frustration. I'm glad I retired when I did, with the introduction of interleague play. Who could ever have guessed that that travesty would be superseded by something that is so much worse?

 

 

8 hours ago, AstroBull21 said:

I know the traditionalist will hate this move, but I can believe how tough it is for baseball to have East/Central/West alignments.  It works for football due to limited schedules, but call me a supported of MLB realignment.

 

There is a simple way to reduce travel without showing a contempt for history.

 

When each league has 16 teams, it ought to have four 4-team divisions. Schedule only one visit per year to each team outside the division; each visit would consist of a five-game series. So a team would play 10 games against each non-divisional opponent, 120 games total. 

 

There would be 14 games against each divisional rival, . This makes 42 games, for a grand total of 162 games. Each team would visit every divisional rival twice, playing 3-game or 4-games series.

 

Less travel; the A.L. and N.L. preserved; no more interleague play. The perfect solution.

 

You're welcome.

[The_Admiral]

21 hours ago, NicDB said:

If we're talking about new AAA markets, can the Brewers have a top level affiliate in Madison?  They would need a new facility, but the Madison Mallards are far and away the best supported college summer league club by over 2,000 fans per average attendance.  Madison (#80) is also a bigger media market than Syracuse (#85), El Paso (#92), and Reno (#112); and in the same class as Toledo (#78), Rochester (#76), Omaha (#74), and Des Moines (#69).

 

I'd rather see UW field a baseball team again. My only concern with Madison is that the college teams are too entrenched to compete with at a AAA level, affiliated minors surely demanding a lot more of the market than college wood-bat.

 

5 hours ago, LMU said:

Of course, the other rumor is that the next round of expansion will result in the death of the NL and AL to be replaced with geographically-based divisions to cut travel costs/player travel fatigue.

This would be...ill-received.

[pmoehrin]

22 hours ago, LMU said:

Of course, the other rumor is that the next round of expansion will result in the death of the NL and AL to be replaced with geographically-based divisions to cut travel costs/player travel fatigue.

 

At this point, I would call it just that, a rumor. It is far too early in the process to know if a proposal like that would have legs and even if it did it would still have to be approved by the Players Union who may have their own set of demands.

 

I wouldn't necessarily be against going to a more geographical alignment, but you could accomplish a lot of the same goals simply by expanding interleague play and eliminating/keeping the DH in both leagues. (Most likely keeping)

I was at the Red Sox/Mets series and there were a few thousand Met fans there for a meaningless September series. You only get that with local matchups and I fail to see how it's not a good thing for the health of the sport.

[MilSox]

On 9/20/2018 at 10:25 PM, the admiral said:

 

I'd rather see UW field a baseball team again. My only concern with Madison is that the college teams are too entrenched to compete with at a AAA level, affiliated minors surely demanding a lot more of the market than college wood-bat.

 

This would be...ill-received.

I dunno... Syracuse, Austin (Round Rock), and Durham all seem to do alright. UW would just be at the same competitive disadvantage as every other northern school.

[Sec19Row53]

11 hours ago, NicDB said:

I dunno... Syracuse, Austin (Round Rock), and Durham all seem to do alright. UW would just be at the same competitive disadvantage as every other northern school.

Title IX was the death of baseball at UW. Until you can figure out a women's sport to pair up with baseball for Title IX purposes, it isn't happening. 

[The_Admiral]

Why were all the other schools in the Big Ten able to field baseball teams?

[walkerws]

9 hours ago, the admiral said:

Why were all the other schools in the Big Ten able to field baseball teams?

Priorities. It's easy enough to match up baseball and softball. Not knowing what the focus of the department is, they might have thought baseball wasn't worth the effort. Buffalo has done this as well. 

[MJWalker45]

On 9/22/2018 at 2:09 PM, Sec19Row53 said:

Title IX was the death of baseball at UW. Until you can figure out a women's sport to pair up with baseball for Title IX purposes, it isn't happening. 

The other Olympic sports at Washington got them more publicity and support as well. The issue isn't matching baseball and softball, it's matching all sports scholarships equally. That's why Iowa State dumped mens soccer.

[Gothamite]

Exactly.  Universities can make priorities. I don’t fault Wisconsin for their choice any more than Iowa State for theirs. 

[Sec19Row53]

On 9/24/2018 at 9:23 AM, MJWalker45 said:

The other Olympic sports at Washington got them more publicity and support as well. The issue isn't matching baseball and softball, it's matching all sports scholarships equally. That's why Iowa State dumped mens soccer.

I don't care about Washington, I'm talking about UW

[MJWalker45]

17 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

I don't care about Washington, I'm talking about UW

I'm sure Wyoming has the same issues. ;)