I was surprised but pleased when I learned the Dodgers had moved their AAA farm team from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City.

Former Dukes manager Tommy Lasorda

On the one side was the long tradition in Albuquerque first with the Dukes and later with the Isotopes. Dissolving the relationship with the city of Albuquerque after a 44 year affiliation perhaps was not easy. Within that span of time was a 38 year run from 1963 through 2000. Over the years former Dodgers Mike Piazza, Paul Konerko, Pedro Martínez, Orel Hershiser, Eric Karros,, Raúl Mondesí, Chan Ho Park, Mike Scioscia, Fernando Valenzuela, Steve Sax, Davey Lopes, Steve Yeager and many others made their way to Dodger Stadium through Albuquerque. Tommy Lasorda managed in Albuquerque winning the PCL championship in 1972.

On the other side were the high expectations developed by hitters like Billy Ashley, Greg Brock and Jerry Sands excelling in Albuquerque and not being able to translate that success into success at the MLB level. Because of the launching pad in Albuquerque, Clayton Kershaw moved to the Dodgers directly from Class AA Chattanooga with the Dodgers not willing to assign him to the AAA roster in Albuquerque.

Dodgers former Director of Player Development De Jon Watson put the move into perspective when the announcement was made last month in Oklahoma City.

“This will be a great chance to evaluate our hitters and our pitchers at sea level for 71 games,” Watson said. “The facilities are immaculate. Talking to some of my friends in the industry, we wanted to be in the best place that baseball has to offer at the minor league level. This will be a great place to assess our players.”

Still, it was a surprise that the Dodgers relocated their AAA farm team to Oklahoma City. I wondered why they didn’t relocate to Fresno which is only about 220 miles from Los Angeles. Certainly Reid Ryan, President of Business Operations for the Houston Astros and son of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, was more than surprised.

“I think the Dodgers’ move really shocked everybody,” Ryan said. “A few months ago, I would have bet my house that the Dodgers weren’t going to be in Oklahoma City and the Rockies weren’t going to leave Colorado Springs and the A’s wouldn’t have left Sacramento.”

The Astros had been affiliated with the Oklahoma City RedHawks for the past four years and Ryan had hoped to extend that affiliation. However, while debating the possibility of building an AAA facility near Houston with the Astros ownership, a plan he didn’t favor, Ryan lost out as the Dodgers swooped in to not only become affiliated with the RedHawks franchise but to buy it. The Dodgers didn’t actually buy the franchise but came away with the next best thing. Mandalay Baseball Properties announced at a press conference on September 17th they were selling the Oklahoma City RedHawks to Dodgers minority owner Peter Guber.

Peter Guber is not only part owner of the Dodgers, he now also owns the Dodgers new Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City RedHawks. Guber is seen here with Dodgers legend and Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

The RedHawks play at home in the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Bricktown is an entertainment district just east of downtown Oklahoma City. In 2012 the Newcastle Gaming Center owned by the Chickasaw Nation bought the naming rights to the stadium. The ballpark opened on April 16, 1998 in front of 14,066 fans and has undergone several name changes, but through public pressure finally became the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in 2012. The average attendance at RedHawks games in 2014 was 6,045.

Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark
(Photo credit – Ensign Beedrill)

The team in Oklahoma City had been the 89ers from 1962 through 1997 making reference to the Land Run of 1889, which led to the founding of Oklahoma City. In 1998 the team became the RedHawks named after the red tailed hawk commonly seen throughout Oklahoma. The name change also coincided with the team’s return to the Pacific Coast League from the American Association.

The RedHawks play in the American Northern Division of the Pacific Coast League. They are in the same division as the Omaha Storm Chasers, the AAA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Storm Chasers have won three of the last four Pacific Coast League Championships. They are repeat AAA National Champions having again defeated the American Association Champions in a one game sudden death playoff.

There is no doubt about it that the RedHawks have their work cut out for them in this new division. However, they too have a history of successful players. Six RedHawks players have hit three home runs in a single game. Dodger first baseman Adrian Gonzalez became the first of six to accomplish that offensive feat on May 24, 2005 in Albuquerque against the Isotopes.

The Dodgers AAA affiliate is now far away from its extremely loyal fan base in Albuquerque. I can’t help but wonder how they will draw knowing the Isotopes outdrew the RedHawks by just over 2000 fans per game in 2014. However, that might not be a problem.

Jenni Carlson writing in The Oklahoman on the day Peter Gruber announced the pending purchase of the Oklahoma City franchise wrote: “With the Dodgers formally announcing they were moving their Triple-A affiliate to Oklahoma City, we put out the all-call for Dodgers fans in Oklahoma City. We asked for their stories of Dodger fandom, and they came out in force. Dozens of calls and emails came pouring in from Oklahomans who bleed Dodger blue.”

Here are a few of Carlson’s favorite responses:

Richard Wylie: “I was raised on a small farm in Southeast Kansas. I have been a Dodger fan since 1955. I was 7 years old. I don’t know why, but after Johnny Podres and Duke Snider and the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series for the first time, I was hooked.”

Lee Jackson: “My favorite memories are growing up in Southern California listening to Vin Scully on the radio calling Dodger games. He is the voice of my childhood summers. Going with my Little League team on ‘bat night’ and sitting out in the right-field seats cheering on my Dodgers. I still have the bat. Watching Orel close out (Game 5) of the World Series and seeing Tommy Lasorda running out to hug him.”

Kristen Lazalier,: “Our patriarch, Dr. James H. Lazalier, grew up listening to the Brooklyn Dodgers on the radio from his boyhood home in Muskogee, rooting on such immortals as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese and Gil Hodges.

“Dad instilled in our family a love for the Boys in Blue, through thick and thin, World Series triumphs and disappointments. He and my mom surprised me with a high school graduation trip to Houston in 1982 to watch our beloved Dodgers beat up on the Astros in the good old Astrodome. We even stayed in the Shamrock Hilton — the team hotel — and thrilled at the chance to meet the giants of the day, including Garvey, Baker, Cey, Yeager, Mota, Russell and, of course, the venerable Tommy Lasorda. My mom still has the photo she took of me with Steve Garvey proudly displayed in their home”.

Peter Guber in his comments summed it up beautifully. In a paraphrase he indicated it is a collaborative enterprise with the community. He said very clearly that if they were doing something upon which they could improve, the community should tell them. They will be listening. He concluded :”We are after your hearts, minds and feet. If we do that you will enjoy the success in your relationship with the Dodgers.”