November 29th, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by Max Letaconnoux By now most baseball fans have heard the news that as many as 42 minor league teams may be stripped of their major league affiliations as part of the forthcoming MiLB restructuring. In the week or two since the news first crept out into the media, there has been an outpouring of sadness, disappointment, anger, and finger-wagging from fans, organizations and political figures alike.
Here are the 42 teams on the proposed MiLB chopping block (courtesy of BallParkDigest.com):
Eastern League (Double-A)
- Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- Erie SeaWolves
Southern League (Double-A)
- Chattanooga Lookouts
- Jackson Generals
Florida State League (High-A)
- Daytona Tortugas
- Florida Fire Frogs
California League (High-A) (1)
- Lancaster JetHawks
Carolina League (High-A)
- Frederick Keys
Midwest League (Low-A) (2)
- Beloit Snappers
- Burlington Bees
- Clinton LumberKings
South Atlantic League (Low-A)
- Hagerstown Suns
- Lexington Legends
- West Virginia Power
New York-Penn League (Short Season A) (3)
- Auburn Doubledays
- Batavia Muckdogs
- Connecticut Tigers
- Lowell Spinners
- Mahoning Valley Scrappers
- Williamsport Crosscutters
- State College Spikes
- Staten Island Yankees
- Vermont Lake Monsters
Northwest League (Short Season A)
- Tri-City Dust Devils
- Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
Appalachian League (Rookie) (4)
- Bluefield Blue Jays
- Bristol Pirates
- Burlington Royals
- Danville Braves
- Elizabethton Twins
- Greeneville Reds
- Johnson City Cardinals
- Kingsport Mets
- Princeton Rays
Pioneer League (Rookie)
- Billings Mustangs
- Grand Junction Rockies
- Great Falls Voyagers
- Idaho Falls Chukars
- Missoula PaddleHeads
- Ogden Raptors
- Orem Owlz
- Rocky Mountain Vibes
(1) Fresno Grizzlies would shift to Cal League from Pacific Coast League, with St. Paul entering PCL. Another current PCL team would shift to Class AA to make room for a new Sugar Land team.
(2) Pulaski Yankees would move to Class A; Johnson City had previously been mentioned as a candidate to move to Class A as well, but it’s not clear whether this plan is active.
(3) Brooklyn Cyclones would move to Eastern League; Hudson Valley Renegades, Tri-City ValleyCats, West Virginia Black Bears and Aberdeen IronBirds would move to Class A.
(4) Bowling Green Hot Rods would shift leagues, possibly to Class AA. Beloit’s survival depends on finalizing funding for a new downtown ballpark. If this happens, the Quad Cities River Bandits would be a target.
(Photo courtesy of Lancaster JetHawks)
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As you can see, this list of 42 teams includes organizations from the rookie leagues all the way up to Double-A but there has been no mention of what, if any, changes we can expect to see in Triple-A. The following are three adjustments that this author believes would make a positive impact on Triple-A baseball:
Even Out the Leagues
The 30 minor league affiliates within Triple-A are currently split between two leagues: The International League with 14 teams and the Pacific coast league with 16. There is also a lesser-known Triple-A Mexican League comprised of 16 unaffiliated teams within MiLB, but that is a subject worthy of its own article. The 16 teams of the Pacific coast league fall neatly into four divisions, each with four teams. The International League, however, divides awkwardly into three divisions, two (IL West and IL South) with four teams each, and one (IL North) with six. Moving a single team from the PCL to the IL would create an even split between leagues creating uniformity, and fairness of division size for all teams.
Introduce Regular Season Inter-League Play
Triple-A is the only MiLB class that sees any inter-league play. This interaction, however, is unfortunately limited to the Triple-A World Series played between the International and Pacific Coast League champions each September. The regular seasons, therefore, end up feeling slightly siloed and even repetitive as the same teams tend to play the same teams again and again. Introducing regular-season inter-league games would give local baseball fans a chance to see more teams and would create a more dynamic season.
Give Us a Proper World Series
As previously alluded to, Triple-A’s season culminates in a World Series played between the IL and PCL champions. This “series” however, is actually a single game played on neutral ground, not as one might hope – a series of games played at the home stadiums of the two contending teams. This year, for example, the Columbus Clippers (CLE) took on the Sacramento River Cats (SF) at AutoZone Park in … Memphis, Tennessee, on a … Tuesday. As is usually the case, there is probably a good and very business-oriented explanation for this practice, but if MiLB wants to strengthen attendance at baseball games, why make it harder for loyal fans to show up to cheer their home team to victory?
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It may be some time before we get our next glimpse into the future of the minors and until then all we can do is speculate. Although I am saddened by the idea of losing so much baseball as part of the proposed cuts, I remain hopeful that whatever changes are headed our way are going to help bring baseball into the 21st Century.
Fingers crossed.
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Do not be misled by MLB propaganda, this is all about reducing cost (players, benefits, coaches, etc.) and putting more money into the pockets of MLB and its teams. Follow the money! The person spearheading this money grab is none other than Jeff Luhnow, the man who’s presided over systematic cheating as Astros president and GM. If this turns out to be war between MLB and MiLB I believe we could see a court case testing MLB’s anti-trust exemption, or even Congress acting to remove the exemption.
Good stuff, Max. Like most, I am adamantly opposed to any “restructuring” that will cost people (players and ballpark staffs) jobs. However, a one-game World Series at MLB’s second-highest level is ridiculous.
Why is the number of minor league teams we have now the right amount? Why not add more, that would surely add more jobs if that’s what you want. There must be a balance between how much legitimate talent there is vs what it costs to subsidize the minor league teams. Maybe there’s another way for the teams that get cut to keep operating and find subsidies elsewhere, like the city or county they’re in that also profits from their existence.