Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Baseball has enough problems already trying to attract new fans and keeping the ones they've got. Wiping your feet off on the face of the ones you already have isn't going to help.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Meh, most of the lower minor leagues are extremely watered down with future car salesmen and carpenters. It will be good to get the young elite talent playing with others that are actually talented enough to play at a high level.
I will welcome this.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mth123
Its what every business does. When the cost of labor goes too high for comfort, reduce headcount or relocate to a low cost country like Mexico, which is probably where a lot of these displaced minor leaguers will end up.
Dream Leaguers sound like the equivalent of unpaid interns at your average non-sports business.
MLB minor league system does seem a bit antiquated. In a given yr a team brings up, what...4 minor leaguers...but there's probably a couple hundred minor leaguers? Do you really need that many to develop 4 players a yr? I don't know the answer but if the system works for communities like Cedar Rapids then I guess it's a good thing. It's still not clear exactly what's going to happen here so we'll have to wait and see. Areas like Cedar Rapids are vulnerable. We're fine here in Cincinnati and likely Dayton has nothing to worry about either
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sea Ray
MLB minor league system does seem a bit antiquated. In a given yr a team brings up, what...4 minor leaguers...but there's probably a couple hundred minor leaguers? Do you really need that many to develop 4 players a yr? I don't know the answer but if the system works for communities like Cedar Rapids then I guess it's a good thing. It's still not clear exactly what's going to happen here so we'll have to wait and see. Areas like Cedar Rapids are vulnerable. We're fine here in Cincinnati and likely Dayton has nothing to worry about either
This is basically how I look at it.
I think they should do away with everything but AAA and AA, personally.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sea Ray
MLB minor league system does seem a bit antiquated. In a given yr a team brings up, what...4 minor leaguers...but there's probably a couple hundred minor leaguers? Do you really need that many to develop 4 players a yr? I don't know the answer but if the system works for communities like Cedar Rapids then I guess it's a good thing. It's still not clear exactly what's going to happen here so we'll have to wait and see. Areas like Cedar Rapids are vulnerable. We're fine here in Cincinnati and likely Dayton has nothing to worry about either
The question here is the purpose of the minor leagues.
1. Is it to train prospects for the big leagues? If so, agree that a fraction of the players have a real shot at the bigs. I’ve seen estimates of 6,500 affiliated minor league roster players over the course of a full season.
2. Is it to provide baseball in many communities to promote interest in the game? The elimination of teams would seem to detract from this goal. However, I’d guess some teams lack support and have antiquated facilities.
Notably, under this plan each team would have the same number of affiliated teams. This helps smaller MLB markets (like the Reds) who recently needed to add a team to try and catch up.
I agree with Sea Ray that the system does seem to need modernization. It will be interesting to see how this all develops, I’m sure it will be subject to substantial negotiation.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
I am not a fan of these changes. I love minor league baseball - perhaps even more than I do major league baseball. The ONLY change I would like to see is that all organizations have the same number of short season teams.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
This idea almost seems sponsored by the NCAA, because college baseball is about to get much more attractive.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MikeS21
I am not a fan of these changes. I love minor league baseball - perhaps even more than I do major league baseball. The ONLY change I would like to see is that all organizations have the same number of short season teams.
You're about to get your wish - 0 teams
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kc61
The question here is the purpose of the minor leagues.
1. Is it to train prospects for the big leagues? If so, agree that a fraction of the players have a real shot at the bigs. I’ve seen estimates of 6,500 affiliated minor league roster players over the course of a full season.
2. Is it to provide baseball in many communities to promote interest in the game? The elimination of teams would seem to detract from this goal. However, I’d guess some teams lack support and have antiquated facilities.
Notably, under this plan each team would have the same number of affiliated teams. This helps smaller MLB markets (like the Reds) who recently needed to add a team to try and catch up.
I agree with Sea Ray that the system does seem to need modernization. It will be interesting to see how this all develops, I’m sure it will be subject to substantial negotiation.
One thought is that a percentage of those minor league fans would be home watching big league games on television instead. SInce TV is king, that would probably make more money for the big leagues. The big league teams don't get much out of attendance at minor league games.
I think that more guys will go to or stay in college and get most of their development there. Unless a kid is a talent that can compete with 23 year olds, I'd imagine going to school would be the right place for him. The hidden savings here might be that a larger percentage of kids drafted will be college seniors who can be signed for cheap.
As a fan, I'm probably not real happy about these changes, but as a business move, I don't see much downside. If some overlooked guy does have bug league ability, he'll get his chance the same way a guy like Tim Adelman did.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
As usual, the health of a particular community, where minor league baseball has perhaps been an important feature of life for many decades, is not even on the radar screen, I suspect, of those making these decisions. People will spend more time in front of the TV, cut off from everybody else, atomized, more likely than ever to believe any level or degree of bs from the right or the left. Actually getting glad I don't have to watch this for many more years.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
I love going to games in Billings. It's a chance for me to see some of the future stars, granted many of them play there only briefly. The Mustangs play in a beautiful stadium, and it creates a fair number of fans walking around with Reds ballcaps. Get rid of the team, there are a ton on outdoors options in Montana. Most won't even blink at the loss, for me, the exreme laid-back aura will be sorely missed...and cheap ($2), good beer.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Holy over-reaction to a news report, Batman. Let’s keep in mind...this was a proposal by one of two parties involved in a negotiating process. There will be a counter-proposal. As is often the case in negotiating, it is possible that this proposal was extended for the purpose of impacting the expected counter-proposal.
Things we know (and have known for a while):
1). More money is going to have to come from somewhere to fund the pay increases that are coming for the minor league players, who are employees of the major league teams, not the minor league teams.
2). The major league teams would almost certainly like to see the minor league teams contribute more of their ticket money to help pay part of that cost.
3). The minor league teams would almost certainly prefer not to give the major league teams more of their ticket money than what they are already doing.
4). The two sides are currently negotiating.
5). It would not be surprising that if the major league teams were not getting a satisfactory compromise from the minor league teams on this issue of the increase in pay for the players, that they might come up with a proposal that would get their attention, like threatening to put a bunch of people out of business, and then see if that changes things.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Boston Red
This idea almost seems sponsored by the NCAA, because college baseball is about to get much more attractive.
It will but not by a great deal unless they raise the number of scholarships they hand out.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Quote:
Originally Posted by
redsof72
Holy over-reaction to a news report, Batman. Let’s keep in mind...this was a proposal by one of two parties involved in a negotiating process. There will be a counter-proposal. As is often the case in negotiating, it is possible that this proposal was extended for the purpose of impacting the expected counter-proposal.
Things we know (and have known for a while):
1). More money is going to have to come from somewhere to fund the pay increases that are coming for the minor league players, who are employees of the major league teams, not the minor league teams.
2). The major league teams would almost certainly like to see the minor league teams contribute more of their ticket money to help pay part of that cost.
3). The minor league teams would almost certainly prefer not to give the major league teams more of their ticket money than what they are already doing.
4). The two sides are currently negotiating.
5). It would not be surprising that if the major league teams were not getting a satisfactory compromise from the minor league teams on this issue of the increase in pay for the players, that they might come up with a proposal that would get their attention, like threatening to put a bunch of people out of business, and then see if that changes things.
Thanks for the insight and information.
But what I’m upset about, is that MLB is negotiating at all.
Minor league players are asking for safe and decent working conditions and a living wage. MLB can provide that to every MILB franchise and player without any sacrifice on their end. More importantly, it something they should do just out of common decency. A sports league that is worth tens of billions of dollars can and should make sure everyone involved in it has a decent workspace and a living wage.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Quote:
Originally Posted by
757690
Thanks for the insight and information.
But what I’m upset about, is that MLB is negotiating at all.
Minor league players are asking for safe and decent working conditions and a living wage. MLB can provide that to every MILB franchise and player without any sacrifice on their end. More importantly, it something they should do just out of common decency. A sports league that is worth tens of billions of dollars can and should make sure everyone involved in it has a decent workspace and a living wage.
Maybe I missed something but I don't see any reference to or examples of where these players being subjected to unsafe working conditions. What were these unsafe conditions?
Like any other business there are federal state and local laws that apply and there are people who enforce them. All they would have to do is make a phone call or two.