Minor League Baseball News

[McCall]

8 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

Not sure if it has been mentioned here, but San Antonio will be dropping from AAA to AA and won't be affiliated with the Brewers (per Brewer beat reporter Twitter).

Yeah I believe that was part of the initial changes announced. At least, I've seen it mentioned in pretty much every article; San Antonio and Wichita going back to Double-A (Texas League) and Fresno going down to the California League.

[The_Admiral]

It's a big promotion-relegation scheme, the arc of history bends toward the board yet again

[DustDevil61]

4 minutes ago, McCall said:

Yeah I believe that was part of the initial changes announced. At least, I've seen it mentioned in pretty much every article; San Antonio and Wichita going back to Double-A (Texas League) and Fresno going down to the California League.

Which, IIRC, also means that Fresno replaces Lancaster.

 

Between folding Bakersfield and High Desert in 2016 (I think) and likely seeing the Jethawks losing their affiliate, it seems like MLB is trying to get rid of hot-weather teams (if not already doing so) not named Las Vegas.

[AnPheitseog]

Rochester Red Wings go to Washington.

 

Seeing things that it's possible Fred Nats are promoted as well, but I doubt that.

[JH42XCC]

Considering that Salem-Keizer and Tri-City are both on the cut list, the Northwest League could bring up Billings and Idaho Falls from the Pioneer League to replace those two. Though, I would've liked to see the NWL relocate one of those teams to Grays Harbor, WA, and the other to Victoria, BC.

 

Another possible scenario is that the NWL stays intact with all 8 of their as-of-now-current teams.

 

(BTW, Montana is considered part of the American Northwest, according to wikipedia)

 

Also, with the Red Wings now as the Nats' Triple-A affiliate, what does this mean for Richmond? Do they re-up with the Giants as their Double-A affiliate? Do they drop down one level to High-A and join Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and potentially Aberdeen, Jersey Shore, and Wilmington (DE) in the new Mid-Atlantic League? Who knows?

[Dilbert]

24 minutes ago, JH42XCC said:

Considering that Salem-Keizer and Tri-City are both on the cut list, the Northwest League could bring up Billings and Idaho Falls from the Pioneer League to replace those two. Though, I would've liked to see the NWL relocate one of those teams to Grays Harbor, WA, and the other to Victoria, BC.

 

Another possible scenario is that the NWL stays intact with all 8 of their as-of-now-current teams.

 

(BTW, Montana is considered part of the American Northwest, according to wikipedia)

 

Also, with the Red Wings now as the Nats' Triple-A affiliate, what does this mean for Richmond? Do they re-up with the Giants as their Double-A affiliate? Do they drop down one level to High-A and join Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and potentially Aberdeen, Jersey Shore, and Wilmington (DE) in the new Mid-Atlantic League? Who knows?

Last I heard is that the Giants are staying in Richmond

[Dilbert]

Reading that the official affiliation announcement for MLB and MiLB will be on December 1. In that same report The Dodgers will remain with OKC and Tulsa. Spokane will become the High A and Rancho Cucamonga will move down to Low A. Dodgers will drop Great Lakes and Ogden.

[McCall]

11 hours ago, Dilbert said:

Reading that the official affiliation announcement for MLB and MiLB will be on December 1. In that same report The Dodgers will remain with OKC and Tulsa. Spokane will become the High A and Rancho Cucamonga will move down to Low A. Dodgers will drop Great Lakes and Ogden.

They own OKC, so that makes sense (though I've still never read why they bought OKC). And having Tulsa as your Double-A makes it easier for players to go back-and-forth between AAA and AA which is some consolation given that both are halfway across the country from the parent club.

[BigEd76]

FWIW Baseball America says the Spokane thing isn't 100% done yet, and they also reported the Mariners chain is the same four teams, just swapping Everett and Modesto

 

AZL > Modesto > Everett > Arkansas > Tacoma

[Brian in Boston]

4 hours ago, McCall said:

They own OKC, so that makes sense (though I've still never read why they bought OKC).

 

Peter Guber's Mandalay Baseball Properties purchased the then Oklahoma City RedHawks in 2010. After Guber joined the Guggenheim Baseball Management bid to purchase the Dodgers in 2012, it eventually dawned on the parties involved that it made sense to have the MLB parent club affiliated with a Triple A team owned by a member of their consortium. Ultimately, in September of 2014, Guber, Paul Schaeffer, and Larry Freedman of Mandalay Baseball Properties entered into an agreement to create a new ownership group for the Pacific Coast League franchise in partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The parent Dodgers subsequently ended their relationship with the Albuquerque Isotopes and shifted their AAA affiliation to the rebranded Oklahoma City Dodgers.   

[Dilbert]

4 hours ago, McCall said:

They own OKC, so that makes sense (though I've still never read why they bought OKC). And having Tulsa as your Double-A makes it easier for players to go back-and-forth between AAA and AA which is some consolation given that both are halfway across the country from the parent club.

Yeah but think about it this way. OKC and Tulsa are in a central location for the Dodgers, if they are playing on the east coast or west coast

[McCall]

40 minutes ago, Dilbert said:

Yeah but think about it this way. OKC and Tulsa are in a central location for the Dodgers, if they are playing on the east coast or west coast

Ahh. Clever. Guess that's why you get paid the big bucks around here.

[Walk-Off]

9 hours ago, McCall said:

They own OKC, so that makes sense (though I've still never read why they bought OKC).

 

When the Dodgers shifted their Class AAA allegiance from the Albuquerque Isotopes to the former Oklahoma City RedHawks, at least one report that I read at that time indicated that the Dodgers were wanting a Class AAA affiliate that played home games in a locale with a lower altitude than Albuquerque, even if the new team's base was even farther away from Los Angeles.  Such a desire makes at least some sense when one considers the relatively low elevation of the field at Dodger Stadium.

[AnPheitseog]

17 hours ago, Walk-Off said:

 

When the Dodgers shifted their Class AAA allegiance from the Albuquerque Isotopes to the former Oklahoma City RedHawks, at least one report that I read at that time indicated that the Dodgers were wanting a Class AAA affiliate that played home games in a locale with a lower altitude than Albuquerque, even if the new team's base was even farther away from Los Angeles.  Such a desire makes at least some sense when one considers the relatively low elevation of the field at Dodger Stadium.

And honestly, things like this make affiliations a lot more nuanced than I WANT THE CLOSEST TO ME.

[Brian in Boston]

With an eye towards landing an independent Atlantic League baseball team - as well as hosting concerts, comedy performances and other sports tenants, including a pro soccer team and Major League Rugby's Rugby United New York - New York City's Economic Development Corporation is planning to spend at least $5.1 million to upgrade Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Staten Island. The money would go towards replacing the current natural grass field with synthetic turf, installing new seating, and altering the field's configuration.

Glenn Reicin - co-owner of the former Staten Island Yankees New York-Penn League team and operator of the venue through his company, Nostalgic Partners - said he has not ruled out suing the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball over their abrupt dismissal of the "Baby Bombers" as a Yankees' affiliated minor league team.

NYC pledges $5 million to upgrade Staten Island Yankees stadium   

[BBTV]

On 11/21/2020 at 11:49 AM, _J_ said:

And honestly, things like this make affiliations a lot more nuanced than I WANT THE CLOSEST TO ME.

 

But it doesn't make sense.  As a west coast team, most of their games are in the pacific time zone and against San Fran, San Diego, and Arizona.  So in addition to their 81 home dates, the majority of their 81 road dates are relatively close by, so putting a team in the middle of the country doesn't make sense when the chances are they'd be calling up a player to LA, and if not, to a western-states game.

 

Also - there's not much difference between a 5 hour flight and a 3 hour one, so the "penalty" for putting a team close to LA doesn't nearly outweigh the benefits.

 

I do understand that it's different for the western and central teams who's opponents are spaced out pretty far as opposed to the northeast teams who are right down the street from each other, but it doesn't justify a team in the middle of the country (at least not if the reasoning is to be able to have those players equidistant to each coast.)

[rams80]

There's only so many AAA-quality markets to go around on the West Coast and OKC has a really nice ballpark.

[Brian in Boston]

"While lip service will be paid to the Dodgers moving out of a high-elevation and high-scoring environment and how it affects the subsequent development of players, the real key here is ownership. The Isotopes are currently owned by Albuquerque Baseball Club LLC, while the reported deal with Oklahoma City involves a team being sold and, though the new ownership hasn't yet been revealed, don't be surprised if the Dodgers are a part of it." 

- Eric Stephen, Yahoo!Sports, 8/22/2014
 

"The owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers have reached an agreement to buy a stake in the Oklahoma City RedHawks, and the team will change its Triple-A affiliation to Oklahoma City next year. The agreement announced Wednesday is part of a partnership in which Peter Guber will be executive chairman and managing director of the RedHawks, and partners Paul Schaeffer and Larry Freedman will manage the company's operations. The trio have held similar roles as principals with Mandalay Baseball Properties LLC."

- Associated Press, 9/17/2014

"When [Mandalay Baseball Properties] were selling the team and came to us where [the Dodgers] could own our Triple-A affiliate in a spectacular major league market, which is what Oklahoma City is now, that was too good an opportunity to pass up. This is a vibrant market we couldn't pass up."

- Peter Guber, 9/17/2014

After Peter Guber joined the Guggenheim Baseball Management bid to purchase the Dodgers in 2012, it dawned on the parties involved that it made sense for the Dodgers to establish a minor league affiliation with the Oklahoma City RedHawks, a Triple A team that Mandalay Baseball Properties - of which Guber was a principal - owned. After all, why maintain an affiliation with an independently-owned ball club like the Albuquerque Isotopes when you could bring ownership of your top tier minor league team in-house? Which is why in September of 2014 - as existing affiliation agreements between the Dodgers and Albuquerque Isotopes, as well as the Texas Rangers and RedHawks, were set to expire - Guber, Paul Schaeffer, and Larry Freedman of Mandalay Baseball Properties entered into an agreement to create a new ownership group for the Pacific Coast League franchise in partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The RedHawks were subsequently rebranded as the Oklahoma City Dodgers.


 

[TBGKon]

Does anyone know if there is/was a public link to the assessment of MILB ballparks?  I'm curious to see how some were judged and which outliers could be on the outs.

[Brian in Boston]

Facility-wise, I don't see how the Boise Hawks remain in the conversation for securing a newly-elevated High A Northwest League team. Memorial Stadium is a laggard amongst affiliated minor league ballparks when it comes to the quality of player development facilities... and it's not even close. Now, to be sure, the majority of the Northwest League's venues are wanting when it comes to measuring up to the better Carolina League and Midwest League ballparks with regard to player development facilities. Hillsboro's Ron Tonkin Field is currently the class of the NWL when it comes to such amenities... and it's on par with Midwest League stadia that are in danger of not making the cut. Still, Memorial Stadium would be looking up at all of the other NWL ballparks in such regards. In fact, most of the Appalachian League and New York-Penn League facilities that have been given the boot from affiliated minor league ball had better player development-related amenities than Memorial Stadium. Additionally, Boise is the geographic outlier when it comes to the NWL's footprint. Unless someone has offered to write an awfully big check for upgrades and guarantee that they'll be in place pretty damned quick, I just don't get it.