Minor League Baseball

[Korkie]

I thought about this while reading the minor league stadium thread. Do fans in minor league towns, especially AAA cities such as Nashville, Indy, Sacramento, Columbus, Buffalo, etc., watch their team on TV, wear team gear and develop favorite players and such? Seems like a stupid question, but with the turnover of a minor league roster it seems as if it maybe hard to develop a true rooting interest. I've never been to a AAA game, but all the AA ballgames I have been to just feel like a casual night out and centered around the kids, not so much about fan loyalty to the team.

Also, do most minor league city fans root for that team's MLB parent club or does it not really enter into it?

[rockchalk]

I've always wondered the same thing. Also, do many MLB teams broadcast games in affliate cities?

[CaolinaJoe]

I live in a Single A town, Kannapolis. Also not far from AAA Charlotte.

I would say there are no real attachments to the teams player wise. It's more of an outting to go to a game and not an event, if you understand what I mean.

As far as gear, you see some. But then again, I'm deep in the heart of NASCAR land, and they dominate paraphanalia.

[FiddySicks]

hell no i never watch Sacrament rivercats games on TV. i go to them all. im a season ticket holder and i dont miss many games. when i cant make it to a game, and im lucky, on the very rare occasion that fox carries them, i definately watch games. i tape them if i can. going to the games is way better though, if you go enough, you accually get to know the players and they get to know you.

[Joshawaggie]

I hardly ever make it to games, but I follow the team pretty closely through the newspaper. I dont have any attachments to the players.

[the_cynic]

I've only been to a handful of Salt Lake Stingers games, most of them being back when they were the Buzz. I can remember Salt Lake had the highest attendence back when the Buzz first started out but nobody hardly goes anymore. It's just hard to route for a team where you don't know a single damn player. I'm just looking forward to the day when the Wasatch front actually gets an NFL team.

[Mac the Knife]

I live in a Single A town, Kannapolis. Also not far from AAA Charlotte.

I would say there are no real attachments to the teams player wise. It's more of an outting to go to a game and not an event, if you understand what I mean.

I think this is true across the board. Here, where we have two teams within driving distance (one AAA, one AA), there's no regular TV broadcasts of either their games or the parent club. Hell, there's barely a mention of 'em for that matter outside of a "...and in the minors tonight, Mudcats 7, Barons 3..." tag at the end of the local newscast.

Minor league baseball has morphed into an outing moreso than a game. A 'viewing experience' if you will. Don't bother learning the players - they'll change frequently. Just enjoy the show.

[Brass]

Believe it or not, I've seen fans get attached to players in the American Legion League!

[pcgd]

while in indy a couple weekends ago, I saw alot of indians caps.

[Discrim]

I never saw a Kenosha Twins game. I did have a K-Twins hat though, and on rare occassions will see someone wearing a Kenosha Twins shirt or something...nowadays the nearest teams are Kane County and Beloit as far as the minors, and Schaumburg, Gary and Joliet if you count the Northern League. Can't really answer the question, though if you wanted to sell me a River City Rascals jersey, I'd gladly take it best uniform in the minors, i say

[gosioux76]

Here in Albuquerque, the Isotopes are a fairly big draw. It's hard to say whether that's due to any personal attraction to the team or the fact they have a gorgeous ballpark with relatively cheap tickets.

I've only been here around 7 months, so it's tough to say. I went to nearly 10 games in a two month span after moving here, mostly on giveaway tickets.

There's no abundance of Marlins gear (the parent club) around here, so there doesn't appear to be that connection.

I think much of the attraction here comes from the fact that the city lost the AAA Albuquerque Dukes a few years back, so they're bound to support their team since they know what it's like to lose one.

[mjrbaseball]

Here in Northeast Pennsylvania, major league loyalties are divided, but minor league followings are strong.

At the TV station where I work, we cover the local teams heavily:

* Baseball - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons and Williamsport Crosscutters

* AHL Hockey - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

* AF2 Arena Football - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers

Major league support in this area is pretty much divided. In baseball, the Phillies hold a slight edge over the Yankees, with a few Mets and Pirates fans mixed in. But all root for either the Barons (AAA Phillies) or the 'Cutters (A Pirates) or both.

In hockey, it used to be all Flyers around here, but since the Baby Pens came to town, a substantial number have switched to Pittsburgh. A few Flyers fans root against the Baby Pens when the Phantoms come to town, but not many.

AF2 really doesn't correlate, because no one around here follows the big Arena league at all. NFL fans are divided between Eagles and Steelers, with a few Giants and even fewer Jets fans.

However, I would say 90% of the time, the lead on our local sportscast is high school sports. HS football, basketball and wrestling are huge around here. Not as much as Texas HS football or Indiana HS hoops, but close.

College sports barely show up. There are the diehard Penn State fans, and Notre Dame supporters are everywhere, but no one else matters. No one cares about the local Division-II or D-III schools except the students and alumni. (Also, when a local player makes it with a big-time school, such as Gerry McNamara this year with Syracuse, that team overrides everthing. You would think Orange is the official color of Scranton.)

As for broadcasts ... Phillies, Yankees and Mets games are broadcast once in a while on local TV channels, and we get their cable channels here (Comcast, YES and MSG). They all have full radio affiliates here, as do the Eagles, Steelers, Penn State football and Syracuse basketball.

[mac]

I thought about this while reading the minor league stadium thread. Do fans in minor league towns, especially AAA cities such as Nashville, Indy, Sacramento, Columbus, Buffalo, etc., watch their team on TV, wear team gear and develop favorite players and such? Seems like a stupid question, but with the turnover of a minor league roster it seems as if it maybe hard to develop a true rooting interest. I've never been to a AAA game, but all the AA ballgames I have been to just feel like a casual night out and centered around the kids, not so much about fan loyalty to the team.

Also, do most minor league city fans root for that team's MLB parent club or does it not really enter into it?

I live in columbus where the clippers are the farm team for the yankees, and let me tell you that most people do not root for the yankees just because of the clippers, hell hardly anybody roots for the clippers. Cooper Stadium is in the middle of a somewhat bad neighborhood, so not that many people from out of the city get out there very often. They are talking about a new stadium in the arena district (nationwide arena where the bluejackets play) and if that gets built and looks anything like the one they have in toledo then I think a lot more people would go. But there really is no fan loyalty to the clippers.