MiLB and Indy Regular Season Thread

garnetpalmetto · Jun 27, 2017

MiLB has released their list of last season's Top 25 teams for licensed merchandise sales. In alphabetical order:

Charlotte Knights (Triple-A, White Sox)
Columbia Fireflies (Low-A, Mets)
Columbus Clippers (Triple-A, Indians)
Corpus Christi Hooks (Double-A, Astros)
Dayton Dragons (Low-A, Reds)
Durham Bulls (Triple-A, Rays)
El Paso Chihuahuas (Triple-A, Padres)
Fresno Grizzlies (Triple-A, Astros)
Frisco RoughRiders (Double-A, Rangers)
Indianapolis Indians (Triple-A, Pirates)
Iowa Cubs (Triple-A, Cubs)
Lake Elsinore Storm (High-A, Padres)
Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Triple-A, Phillies)
Louisville Bats (Triple-A, Reds)
Nashville Sounds (Triple-A, Athletics)
Oklahoma City Dodgers (Triple-A, Dodgers)
Omaha Storm Chasers (Triple-A, Royals)
Portland SeaDogs (Double-A, Red Sox)
Richmond Flying Squirrels (Double-A, Giants)
Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A, Giants)
Salt Lake Bees (Triple-A, Angels)
South Bend Cubs (Low-A, Cubs)
Tacoma Rainiers (Triple-A, Mariners)
Toledo Mud Hens (Triple-A, Tigers)
Trenton Thunder (Double-A, Yankees)

That comes out to 3 Low-A teams, 1 High-A team, 5 Double-A teams, and 16 Triple-A teams. I think this may be one of the first years in awhile that the Carolina Mudcats didn't make the cut.

BigMac1212 · Jun 27, 2017

Columbia only got in because of Tim Tebow.

garnetpalmetto · Jun 27, 2017

BigMac1212 said:
Columbia only got in because of Tim Tebow.

That might be the case if he played for the Fireflies last season. Considering these are for 2016 and he wasn't playing there until this season, I'd say these numbers are free of any Tebow influence.

BigMac1212 · Jun 27, 2017

garnetpalmetto said:
That might be the case if he played for the Fireflies last season. Considering these are for 2016 and he wasn't playing there until this season, I'd say these numbers are free of any Tebow influence.

Ren (to me): You IDIOT!

Winger for Hire · Jun 29, 2017

Best. Giveaway. Ever.

BigMac1212 · Jun 29, 2017

Winger for Hire said:
Best. Giveaway. Ever.

Not sure if honest sincerity or sarcastic humor.

Edit: I'm almost tempted to see my comment be turned into a Frye meme. "Almost" being the operative word.

BigMac1212 · Jul 2, 2017

With the Laredo Lemurs getting the axe bye the Indy AA, will the city try the upcoming Southwest League?

Taro Tsujimoto · Jul 3, 2017

Well, that's... certainly unusual. :amazed:

BigMac1212 · Jul 4, 2017

Taro Tsujimoto said:
Well, that's... certainly unusual.

Scary is the term I used.

garnetpalmetto · Jul 10, 2017

Given that they're still at an impasse with the city of Pawtucket over a new stadium, the Pawtucket Red Sox (Triple-A, International League) are going to start considering proposals from other cities. From what I'm seeing/reading, Worcester seems to be the most likely option. Worcester hasn't had professional ball since the Can-Am League Worcester Tornadoes left in 2012 and they're currently home of the Futures League Worcester Bravehearts.

John Price · Jul 14, 2017

Potomac Nationals deal for their new stadium fell through. Team is in serious jeopardy of moving away.

Winger for Hire said:
Best. Giveaway. Ever.

Got it

garnetpalmetto · Jul 14, 2017

G F O P said:
Potomac Nationals deal for their new stadium fell through. Team is in serious jeopardy of moving away.

Got it

They're one I've been keeping an eye on for awhile. With MiLB out of Bakersfield, Pfitzner is usually the stadium regarded as the worst full-season park in the minors. The problem is, if they were to relocate, where do they go? Two markets in the Carolina League's footprint (Kinston and Fayetteville) are now spoken for which, to me, leaves two option barring a stadium deal coming through either with Prince William County or some other nearby municipality (Loudoun maybe?):

-An extant South Atlantic League team (Charleston, Greenville, Columbia, or Greensboro?) trades up and sells off their Low-A franchise for relocation somewhere else

-Wilmington, NC (needs a new park, city has been reluctant to build one and voters reluctant to support one)

garnetpalmetto · Jul 19, 2017

Looks like there's a possibility the Mobile Bay Bears (Double-A, Southern League) may relocate. An investment group from Arizona, BallCorps LLC has entered an Asset Purchase Agreement to purchase the Bay Bears with plans to relocate them to either Baton Route, LA; the suburbs of Huntsville, AL; or Savannah, GA. If this goes through, it'll be yet another relocation in the team's history, having played as the Mobile White Sox (1970), the Asheville (NC) Orioles (1972-1975), the Charlotte (NC) O's/Charlotte Knights (1976-1992), the Nashville Xpress (1993-1994), and the Port City (Wilmington, NC) Roosters (1995-1996) before arriving in Mobile in 1997. Huntsville's been without MiLB since the Stars were sold and relocated to Biloxi, MS in 2015 and Savannah has been without since the Sand Gnats moved to Columbia, SC two years ago to become the Fireflies. Baton Rouge, meanwhile, has been without MiLB since 1957 when the Class C Evangeline League went belly up, taking the Baton Rouge Rebels with it.

All three potential relo sites would need new stadiums built. Given Savannah's refusal to build a new park for the Sand Gnats just a couple years ago, I'd say they're probably off the table. If the team were to move to Huntsville, a current mixed-use development site, Town Madison, would be the intended site of a new park. One thing going against the sale is that the investment group has said they plan to flip the Bay Bears after 5-6 years. MiLB prefers stable franchise ownership to counteract the perception that MiLB teams are constantly on the move.

At present the Bay Bears are owned by the HWS Group who also own a few other MiLB teams (the Dayton Dragons, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, and Modesto Nuts). Mobile has had the poorest average attendance in the Southern League since 2015 (following Huntsville's relocation) and are again on track to be the poorest attended team in the League. They currently play in Hank Aaron Stadium which is about 20 years old.

BigMac1212 · Jul 19, 2017

garnetpalmetto said:
Given that they're still at an impasse with the city of Pawtucket over a new stadium, the Pawtucket Red Sox (Triple-A, International League) are going to start considering proposals from other cities. From what I'm seeing/reading, Worcester seems to be the most likely option. Worcester hasn't had professional ball since the Can-Am League Worcester Tornadoes left in 2012 and they're currently home of the Futures League Worcester Bravehearts.

Doesn't the 32-mile "territorial rights" mean that Worcester off-limits? I always thought Providence would be a good place for Pawtucket.

garnetpalmetto · Jul 19, 2017

BigMac1212 said:
Doesn't the 32-mile "territorial rights" mean that Worcester off-limits? I always thought Providence would be a good place for Pawtucket.

Who's Worcester within the territory of? I don't think there's anybody within 30 miles of there that has a team.

BigMac1212 · Jul 20, 2017

garnetpalmetto said:
Who's Worcester within the territory of? I don't think there's anybody within 30 miles of there that has a team.

Most likely Boston.

garnetpalmetto · Jul 20, 2017

BigMac1212 said:
Most likely Boston.

Firstly, Boston to Worcester is 46-47 miles apart. Secondly, the Paw Sox are owned by the Red Sox owners, so I doubt the Red Sox would have any problem waiving the territorial boundary even if they were within the area.

BigMac1212 · Jul 25, 2017

garnetpalmetto said:
Firstly, Boston to Worcester is 46-47 miles apart. Secondly, the Paw Sox are owned by the Red Sox owners, so I doubt the Red Sox would have any problem waiving the territorial boundary even if they were within the area.

"Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" why were you cancelled?

BigMac1212 · Jul 27, 2017

I will spoil the play for all of you: Inside-the-park GRAND SLAM!

How? Why? I don't know. 3rd base!

BigMac1212 · Aug 1, 2017

I'm so into baseball right now, I confuse the hockey team Syracuse Crunch for the baseball team Syracuse Chiefs. Who does that? :banghead:

Taro Tsujimoto · Aug 27, 2017

Was hit in the chest and his heart stopped. Scary stuff. Hoping for the best. :crossfing

BigMac1212 · Aug 30, 2017

Taro Tsujimoto said:
Was hit in the chest and his heart stopped. Scary stuff. Hoping for the best.

Scary. We need to pray for him.

garnetpalmetto · Aug 31, 2017

The mayor of Wichita, KS has said that an affiliated team will announce a relocation to Wichita by the end of the year. This is kind of surprising since Kansas hasn't had affiliated ball in a decade since the Wichita Wranglers relocated to Springdale, AR to become the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Wichita's historically been a member of the Texas League but offhand I don't know of any TxL team that's been dissatisfied with their current market. It's something that bears watching. A Pacific Coast League team? Is a Midwest League team feeling like making that League even more geographically spread out?

â€œBy the end of this calendar year, we feel confident that we will be able to announce a team, who the team is, all of the above,â€ Longwell told The Eagle Tuesday afternoon. â€œWe hope that we can complete all of those conversations by the end of this year and be able to announce a contract in place.â€

BigMac1212 · Sep 1, 2017

It would have to be when Tampa Bay & Oakland gets their acts together on their ballparks issue and MLB goes for the 32-team expansion. The Texas League would be the prime candidate for Class AA expansion, and Wichita would be the North Division's ideal candidate, unless they decide Columbia, MO would be a less risky alternative. That means the Independent Wingnuts would be kicked to the curb, but that's my speculation.

garnetpalmetto · Sep 6, 2017

With the end of MiLB's regular season, attendance numbers are in. That means let's take a crack at a "Common Sense" MiLB - common sense in that classification is pegged to attendance. The 30 best attended MiLB teams become AAA, the next best 30 AA and so on. Short Season A and Advanced Rookie will be lumped together as "Short Season Leagues" since there aren't exactly 30 teams at each of those levels. I did this two years ago and thought I'd give it another go especially given the relocations that took place this previous off-season.

AAA

AA

High A

Low A

Short Season Leagues

* = Relocation to Amarillo, TX scheduled for 2019 season
** = Relocation to San Antonio, TX scheduled for 2019 season
*** = Relocation to Colorado Springs, CO scheduled for 2019 season
**** = Buies Creek is temporary location until 2019 season when the team will move to Fayetteville, NC.

MiLB and Indy Regular Season Thread

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