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The Minor League Sports Bullshit and Miscellania thread

alkeiper

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Baseball America's list is behind a paywall and MLB.com's list is incomplete. But I think this is accurate.

MLB ORGTriple-ADouble-AHigh-ALow-A
Arizona DiamondbacksRenoAmarilloHillsboroVisalia
Atlanta BravesGwinnettMississippiRomeAugusta
Baltimore OriolesNorfolkBowieAberdeenDelmarva
Boston Red SoxWorcesterPortlandGreenvilleSalem
Chicago White SoxCharlotteBirminghamWinston-SalemKannapolis
Chicago CubsIowaTennesseeSouth BendMyrtle Beach
Cincinnati RedsLouisvilleChattanoogaDaytonDaytona
Cleveland IndiansColumbusAkronLake CountyLynchburg
Colorado RockiesAlbuquerqueHartfordSpokaneTBA
Detroit TigersToledoErieWest MichiganLakeland
Houston AstrosSugar LandCorpus ChristiAshevilleFayetteville
Kansas City RoyalsOmahaNorthwest ArkansasQuad CitiesColumbia
Los Angeles AngelsSalt LakeRocket CityTri-CitiesInland Empire
Los Angeles DodgersOklahoma CityTulsaGreat LakesRancho Cucamonga
Miami MarlinsJacksonvillePensacolaBeloitJupiter
Milwaukee BrewersNashvilleBiloxiWisconsinCarolina
Minnesota TwinsSt. PaulWichitaCedar RapidsFort Myers
New York YankeesScranton/W-BSomersetHudson ValleyTampa
New York MetsSyracuseBinghamtonBrooklynSt. Lucie
Oakland AthleticsLas VegasMidlandLansingStockton
Philadelphia PhilliesLehigh ValleyReadingJersey ShoreClearwater
Pittsburgh PiratesIndianapolisAltoonaGreensboroBradenton
San Diego PadresEl PasoSan AntonioFort WayneLake Elsinore
San Francisco GiantsSacramentoRichmondEugeneSan Jose
Seattle MarinersTacomaArkansasEverettModesto
St. Louis CardinalsMemphisSpringfieldPeoriaPalm Beach
Tampa Bay RaysDurhamMontgomeryBowling GreenCharleston
Texas RangersRound RockFriscoHickoryDown East
Toronto Blue JaysBuffaloNew HampshireVancouverDunedin
Washington NationalsRochesterHarrisburgWilmingtonFredericksburg

Full season teams left out:
Jackson Generals
Trenton Thunder (joining draft league)
Charlotte Stone Crabs (joining GCL)
Florida Fire Frogs
Burlington Bees
Frederick Keys (joining draft league)
West Virginia Power
Hagerstown Suns
Clinton Lumber Kings
Kane County Cougars
Lexington Legends

The Fresno Grizzlies are still in flux. If reports are accurate they could choose to become the Low A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

Three teams lose AAA status. Fresno, the San Antonio Missions, and the Wichita Wind Surge. Wichita spent one season in AAA and never got to play a game. Sugar Land and St. Paul join affiliated ball, and the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp get promoted to AAA!

From a personal standpoint this actually created a gain of drivable upper level affiliates, as Hudson Valley and Somerset are both within a two hour drive.
 
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King Kamala

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Bummed that Lowell Spinners lost their affiliation.


I get that they're THE independent league team but I wondering why and how St. Paul got bumped all the way up to Triple A? I thought people were concerned about Worcester Red Sox playing too close to the major league affiliate but St. Paul and Minneapolis are literally next door!
 

alkeiper

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Google Maps says an 18 minute drive between Target Field and where the Saints play. The closest AAA affiliate prior was the Gwinnett Stripers, a 45 minute drive from Truist Park. I imagine the Twins and Saints wanted it and that's all the justification they require.
 

King Kamala

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Yeah, I guess if they were averaging 8,000 a game as an independent league team less than 20 minutes away from Target Field, upgrading the quality of play isn't going to hurt attendance.
 

alkeiper

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Figuring out leagues here.

AAA: International League, Pacific Coast League. The addition of Jacksonville gives the IL 15 teams in their geographical footprint. Do they split up Memphis and Nashville?

AA: Eastern League (12 teams), Texas League (10), Southern League (8)

High A: Where things start to get tricky. Thirteen teams move here from the Midwest League, I assume the Midwest League continues. But they will need to add or subtract a team. I don't think there's an obvious choice. (Dayton and Lake County are furthest east). Wilmington and Winston-Salem come over from the Carolina League, WInston-Salem fits in with five teams that come up from the South-Atlantic League, Wilmington fits with three NY-Penn League teams and another Sally League team. Six teams come from the Northwest League. Leaving geographical alignments looking like this in summary...

Northwest (6)
North and Mid Atlantic (5)
South Atlantic (6)
Midwest (13)

Low A: Florida State League (10), California League (7 so far), and then a combined league from the South Atlantic and Carolina Leagues (12)
 

King Kamala

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It doesn't seem like Eastern League got effected at all. I was reading a semi-recent article about attendance issues in baseball in 2019 and Double A's attendance has dipped the least in recent years.
 

King Kamala

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Portland Sea Dogs signed a 10 season deal to remain Red Sox AA affiliate through 2030.

I'd root for them and be partial season ticketholder regardless of affiliation but it makes it all the much sweeter though seeing guys develop throughout their entire career. From beginning to end in Dustin Pedroia's case...although I guess I would have preferred that end at Fenway and not as a hobbled old man back in Portland!
 

alkeiper

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Minor league baseball schedules are out. Extremely utilitarian this year. Teams are generally playing six game series with the same off day throughout the season. COVID is limiting the travel teams make, so there are some real quirks there. The Charlotte Knights and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp play each other 42 times this season.
 

King Kamala

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Portland Sea Dogs open on May 4th and per Governor’s approval, will have limited attendance this season. Can’t wait to get back to a game.
 

HarleyQuinn

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Colorado having their AA affiliate be the Hartford Yard Goats (... that's a helluva minor league name but no Rumbling Ponies!) is a little baffling when their other affiliates are in Fresno, Spokane, and Albuquerque.
 

alkeiper

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The independent Atlantic League will have a bit of a different look. Since the end of the 2019 season they've lost Somerset (moved to AA), Sugar Land (AAA) and New Britain (became a wooden bat college team). They're adding a franchise in Gastonia, NC, added the Lexington Legends and just announced the West Virginia Power. The Power and the Legends come over from the South Atlantic League. Gastonia was planned pre-pandemic, that's a suburb of Charlotte. Five other clubs form the league, the Lancaster Barnstormers, York Revolution, Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, High Point Rockers and Long Island Ducks.
 

King Kamala

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I just saw that Jarret Jack is playing in the G League Bubble (Gubble?), @Baby Shoes . It takes a lot of guts for a vet as tenured as this to do something like this when most would retire. Hope he finds a spot somewhere.
 

Baby Shoes

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That’s the first I heard on him. I know Michael Beasley and Lance Stephenson had put their names in the player pool and I thought that could make the bubble entertaining on a few levels.
 

King Kamala

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Minor league baseball schedules are out. Extremely utilitarian this year. Teams are generally playing six game series with the same off day throughout the season. COVID is limiting the travel teams make, so there are some real quirks there. The Charlotte Knights and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp play each other 42 times this season.
Triple A season has been postponed from April 6th to May 4th to allow MLB rosters to use Triple A ballparks for expanded roster practices. Single & Double A were already scheduled to open May 4th so this won't effect them.
 

King Kamala

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Sea Dogs haven't announced whether or not they'll have fans in attendance when AA season starts in May but barring astronomically stupid high prices, I'll be there for first game when fans are allowed back. I should have both vaccines by then.
 

King Kamala

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Sea Dogs are going to open at 28% capacity. Literally cannot wait
 

alkeiper

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The Toronto Blue Jays take residence in Buffalo effective June 1. The AAA Bisons are playing the season in Trenton, NJ. At home they wear Trenton Thunder uniforms, on the road they wear their Bisons gear. Since that makes Trenton a AAA city a trip to see an Ironpigs road game might be interesting. Trenton was supposed to be in the draft league this year, they intend to have a temporary replacement but have not announced one yet.
 

alkeiper

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alkeiper

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Yesterday I attended my first minor league game of the season. Two top pitching prospects, Deivi Garcia and Spencer Howard. Both teams combined for 28 strikeouts in 8 1/2 innings. Of course it prompted me to look up the league rates.

2021 Triple A East
IP: 2044 1/3
H/9: 8.3
HR/9: 1.3
BB/9: 4.5
SO/9: 10.3

For comparison, Armando Benitez
IP: 779
H/9: 6.3
HR/9: 1.1
BB/9: 4.7
SO/9: 10.9

Sixteen years ago the K/9 ratio in the International League was 7.0. The league had less runs scored per game. I can't even wrap my head around this anymore.
 
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