As we have become accustomed to, begrudgingly, changes to baseball handed down from commissioner Rob Manfred continue to mount this offseason with the newest, and seemingly most controversial, being the suggestion of the removal of 42 minor league teams from an affiliation with MLB starting in 2021.

There are also other plans as far as adding in two independent league teams, some shifting of teams to different levels, and the extension of some short-season teams to full season, as outlined by Ballpark Digest. 

As a disclaimer and just to reassure me and anyone reading this, this is all still hypothetical at this point. It is an idea proposed by Major League Baseball but it has not become official yet by any means. 

As a lifelong fan and lover of Minor League Baseball (Go Quakes!), I can’t help but really take this one to heart. Of course, a lot of the other new changes like a runner on second for extras and, well that’s honestly the biggest one for me, are tough to swallow, eliminating over a quarter of the teams in the minor league system is even worse.

Not only will this lead to potential job losses for hundreds of minor leaguers, but also for front office staffs. It will also lead to a significantly smaller draft pool. The only benefit I can truly see coming from this would be a potential pay increase for current players, but I wouldn’t count on that happening right away either.

Of the 160+ teams (not including Arizona League, Gulf Coast League, or the Dominican Summer League), 42 current MiLB teams are in danger of becoming unaffiliated from Major League Baseball. These teams are listed in this New York Times article.  

Of the teams listed, there is just one Dodgers affiliate that landed on the proposed chopping block – the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer Rookie League. However, in addition to the Raptors, the remainder of rookie-level teams in the Appalachian and Pioneer Leagues will also be removed from affiliation. 

As far as Dodgers minor league affiliate opponents, the Burlington Bees (Angels), Clinton Lumberkings (Marlins), the Beloit Snappers (A’s), and the Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros) will be cut, although there are conflicting reports on the last two. These teams are currently in the Low Single-A Midwest League, in with the Dodgers Great Lakes Loons play.

The most notable affiliate to be cut for Southern California baseball fans – especially Rancho Cucamonga Quakes fans living in the Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys – is the Advanced Single-A Lancaster JetHawks (Rockies). As a result and to equal out the number of teams in the California League’s North and South divisions, a complete restructuring and realignment of the Cal League would be required. The obvious drawback to this is that the Quakes might be forced to make additional – and longer – bus rides for road games instead of their current relatively short bus ride to The Hangar, the current hitter-friendly home of the Lancaster JetHawks.

For Double-A and Triple-A, there are no opponents of Tulsa Drillers or Oklahoma City Dodgers scheduled to be cut, but there are reportedly four teams at the Double-A level that could be. No Triple-A teams will be removed from MLB affiliation, only shuffled to different leagues as necessary. 

Why are these teams making the list? Some are cited as being “inferior player facilities,” some are just too far from opponents and big-league affiliates and require too much travel for it to be worthwhile, and lastly, there are too many players in the league, which could explain the lack of pay raises for the minor leaguers despite the MLB minimum salary going up to $563,500 in 2020.

Understandably, fans, players, team social media pages, owners, politicians, etc., are unsettled by the proposal, voicing their opinions on social media via written statements, video, and the implementation of hashtags to make sure their voices are heard. In fact, on Monday, U.S. Senator and 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders sent a scathing letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred which included:

“Shutting down 25 percent of Minor League Baseball teams, as you have proposed, would be an absolute disaster for baseball fans, workers and communities throughout the country. Not only would your extreme proposal destroy thousands of jobs and devastate local economies, it would be terrible for baseball.”

(Click here to view the entire letter- courtesy of NBC Sports).

For some it’s about the incredible history of the home fields the teams play on, while for others it’s about the financial damage that could come should their local teams depart.

The Daytona Tortugas play at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Fl., a stadium that was once Jackie Robinson’s home field. This historical fact alone brings about feelings of confusion as to why this team, as well as the other 41, should leave their affiliation with MLB. Each team has its own history that was made by the town and the people surrounding them. 

Because of these people, these teams are able to thrive. As the Clinton Lumberkings management, staff, and board of directors said in a recent press release about the matter: “The communities in which these 42 clubs are located would no longer have affordable family entertainment to rely on, no longer be able to offer jobs for their residents, no longer contribute to the overall economic well-being to their region, no longer be an essential quality of life to their area, and no longer provide other positive factors too numerous to mention.” 

Obviously, the biggest part is that all of these teams are icons and the pride of their respective hometowns. Try explaining to the hundreds of youngsters that get to run across the outfield grass to the tune of ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ at The Hangar at every Lancaster JetHawks home game that minor league baseball isn’t important to them.

These minor league affiliates have fan bases that have been there since the start, buying season tickets from the inaugural season forward; fans that choose to represent their team by wearing their merchandise all over the world while on vacation (etc.).

Regardless of what is currently being proposed and reported, team representatives, including Chattanooga Lookouts President Rich Mozingo, want to reassure fans and minor league lovers everywhere that: “…we are way, way early in this process and there’s a long way to go before we get to the finish line.”

    *    *    *    *    *