Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
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Originally Posted by
JaxRed
BTW for all the people that used to say "Make Lexington a Reds franchise", in this crazy scenario it could happen. I assume Dayton stays a Reds franchise but what if they became AA like Akron? Then maybe Lexington becomes a Low A franchise available to Reds.
Otherwise known as "my dream scenario". I'd just be happy if Lexington were in the same league as a Reds MiLB team.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
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Originally Posted by
Boston Red
Good point. If the MLB institutes these changes, the NCAA should up scholarships allowed from 11.7 to 25 the next day.
If it got the top level talent into their game in cooperation with Major League Baseball, the NCAA might change their rules.
Obviously, I am not an NCAA rules expert, but if they give men 13 more scholarships at a school, aren't they also going to have to give 13 more scholarships to women? I know that's a drop in the bucket for most universities, but the colleges are cheap too. I am not a fan of paying college athletes, but for goodness sake, why can't they just give every college athlete a full scholarship? It's not as if the school really loses money on it. Ok, I know the real reason why.. because enough kids are willing to be college athletes, even at 1/2 scholarship or less.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Well the NY Times had an article and 4 of the teams that MLB wants to get rid of are Reds affiliates. Greeneville and Billings were locks since they were short season, and Daytona always made sense to me since the ballpark is ancient. But Chattanooga was a surprise to me.
Doug talks about it
https://redsminorleagues.com/2019/11...uld-disappear/
and NY Times article
https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...e5m-story.html
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
From NY Times article....
Anonymous Minor League owner that is part of negotiations:
“I cannot believe the arrogance of these people,” he said. “They don’t care about lawsuits or anything. They think they’re bullet proof. They’ve told us, ‘We’re doing this and there’s no discussion about it, and if you don’t like it, we’ll form our own minor leagues.’”
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Must-read article...thanks.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
I get how this hurts numerous minor league communities like Chattanooga and Billings but if their contract expires after the 2020 season, what legal recourse do these communities have? MLB owes them nothing in a legal sense after this coming year. How is MLB responsible for these communities building their stadiums with taxpayer money? As for the anti-trust exemption, that's often threatened to be taken away.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Just terrible and short sighted. This is a dumb group running MLB right now. Baseball will be a shadow of itself in 20 years if they continue doing what they're doing.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
I've refrained from speaking about discussions that I had with an old colleague who is still in the industry and privy to the actual proposal because I hadn't actually seen any teams' names being thrown out there and thought it could potentially breach his anonymity. And I still won't discuss much of what he showed me but I can say that Chattanooga was not on the chopping list when I spoke to him; Greeneville, Billings, and Daytona were on the list.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
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Originally Posted by
Kinsm
I've refrained from speaking about discussions that I had with an old colleague who is still in the industry and privy to the actual proposal because I hadn't actually seen any teams' names being thrown out there and thought it could potentially breach his anonymity. And I still won't discuss much of what he showed me but I can say that Chattanooga was not on the chopping list when I spoke to him; Greeneville, Billings, and Daytona were on the list.
I sure hope it is not (and unless “politics” are involved I would find it hard to believe). I’ve seen some complaints about the field and other stuff but that stadium is in a great location in a revitalized downtown.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
From CTrent:
“Four #Reds affiliates are on the chopping block in MLB’s plan for sweeping changes in the minors: Rookie Billings and Greeneville, High-A Daytona and AA Chattanooga.”
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Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Good riddance to all these minor league teams. The legit talent is stretched too thin and minor league ball is watered down. This will make the ball being played in my hometown (and future town) of Toledo much better.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
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Originally Posted by
RedTeamGo!
Good riddance to all these minor league teams. The legit talent is stretched too thin and minor league ball is watered down. This will make the ball being played in my hometown (and future town) of Toledo much better.
I’m not that blunt but I do wonder if a paradigm shift is needed.
If the goal is to groom players the best you can, would a shift to academy based minors be the way to go? There’s no substitute for game action so organized scrimmages etc would be played. But wouldn’t regimented one on one training be the way to go...especially for the low minor guys? I just can’t help but feel like a guy like Jon India - is busing him all over creation week in and out the best way to mold him?
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Fewer players in the minors makes sense, and that means fewer teams. And, if you know baseball history, the affiliate system basically ate and killed off what was a nation full of independent baseball clubs. The unintended consequence of this move could be that indy ball flourishes in the places MLB leaves behind - lower prices, opportunities for local players, possibly even community ownership.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
The culling of minor league teams makes sense in any number of ways, but I find it to be tremendously disappointing.
Reducing the number of teams, imposing uniformity and improving conditions are logical steps in the goal is the ruthlessly efficient production of baseball players.
As others have mentioned in this discussion, it's hard not to wonder what the value of exposing fans in out-of-the-way towns to professional baseball is. Having grown up rural Ohio and bounced around various parts of the country, I've always found tremendous comfort in going to local minor league games. Were there too many walks, the fields less than perfectly manicured and concessions limited? Sure. But it was still the church of baseball. There were still wooden bats, the 7th-inning stretch and home runs. There was still ample beer and popcorn. The between-innings entertainment was corny as all get out. And there was still high-fives in the stands when the hometown team had a big inning.
I realize my argument relies on emotion, but it's hard for me to see how this isn't penny-wise, pound-foolish. As popularity of the game lags, it seems the less baseball around will only further it's decline. The experience varies dramatically, but I think the shaggy dog quality and affordability of minor league games are the appeal. It feels like this is just another way where small towns are being forgotten in preference for cities. However, they spin it, this is no doubt about saving owners money. It's hard for me to give a **** about distant billionaires squeezing a few extra bucks out of their investment at the expense of towns with long baseball traditions.
Re: MLB Reportedly Pursuing “Radical Restructuring” Of Lower Minors
Quote:
Originally Posted by
BillDoran
The experience varies dramatically, but I think the shaggy dog quality and affordability of minor league games are the appeal.
Great post. I wanted to focus on this, because I think it touches on why life without the MLB affiliation might be good for a lot of these mom-and-pop operations. MLB is corporate and the development process means good players usually don't spend a full season with any one club. Billy Hamilton in 2011 and Tyler Mahle in 2015 are probably fond memories for Dayton fans, but those are rarities.
Summer collegiate leagues have teams filled with local players. And the player-fan bond on indy teams seems (to my viewing) a lot stronger than at minor league affiliates. The notion that this is "our" team is much more palpable. So, if baseball dries up in the places the get dropped by this MiLB cull, that would be a shame. Yet if a more local and organic version of baseball takes hold in those places, I think people will like it better. The sport of baseball might be better off if MLB pulls back its tendrils and lets something more independent find its footing.