74 replies to this topic

[BSLChrisStoner]

MASN: Minor league restructuring still to be determined

https://www.masnspor...determined.html

[Why Not?]

I think there are going to be some totally unexpected shifts. I don't think Frederick survives. 

[BSLChrisStoner]

MASN: Aberdeen GM reacts to New York-Penn League news
https://www.masnspor...eague-news.html

[BSLChrisStoner]

Balt Sun: Orioles affiliates brace for next steps in minor league contraction in wake of pandemic

[Old Man]

I think there are going to be some totally unexpected shifts. I don't think Frederick survives. 

Could be, but I was thinking the Ironbirds and Shorebirds were probably gone, and thats a shame. This whole thing doesnt make any sense.

[Why Not?]

Could be, but I was thinking the Ironbirds and Shorebirds were probably gone, and thats a shame. This whole thing doesnt make any sense.

 

Aberdeen is likely to move up the affiliation ladder. They probably have the best facility among the Orioles' current minor league teams. It would not shock me if Aberdeen becomes the AAA or AA location. 

 

Bowie and Frederick are older, publicly-owned ballparks. Frederick's playing field has been sub-par for years. I think Frederick is very likely to be left out of the mix. PG Stadium isn't great, but the Orioles' having used that park as the alternate site last summer might bode well. Bowie must have most of the weightroom / training / dining facilities MLB wants. 

 

Low-A could wind up in Sarasota at the Spring Training complex. The Yanks putting their low-A team in Tampa reveals that there will be a low-A league in Florida or the Southeast. It would make sense for the Orioles to use Sarasota, having already invested in the facilities there. 

 

Norfolk isn't a given. The Tides' fate might depend on the geography of whatever new AAA and AA leagues are formed. 

[Old Man]

Aberdeen is likely to move up the affiliation ladder. They probably have the best facility among the Orioles' current minor league teams. It would not shock me if Aberdeen becomes the AAA or AA location. 

 

Bowie and Frederick are older, publicly-owned ballparks. Frederick's playing field has been sub-par for years. I think Frederick is very likely to be left out of the mix. PG Stadium isn't great, but the Orioles' having used that park as the alternate site last summer might bode well. Bowie must have most of the weightroom / training / dining facilities MLB wants. 

 

Low-A could wind up in Sarasota at the Spring Training complex. The Yanks putting their low-A team in Tampa reveals that there will be a low-A league in Florida or the Southeast. It would make sense for the Orioles to use Sarasota, having already invested in the facilities there. 

 

Norfolk isn't a given. The Tides' fate might depend on the geography of whatever new AAA and AA leagues are formed. 

I thought Bowie was built to AAA standards as there was hope it would be the AAA team.

 

I thought the same thing was done at Frederick, built to AA standards with the hope of moving up.

 

I thought Bowie was way nicer than the AAA Dukes stadium I had visited in New Mexico.

 

Ironbirds are a long hike for me, havent been there, so I really cant comment too much about it. is there stadium really that nice?

[dude]

Norfolk isn't a given. The Tides' fate might depend on the geography of whatever new AAA and AA leagues are formed. 

 

Given that the National's AAA moved to Fresno in the PCL in 2019, I'd guess they'd be super excited to see Norfolk available as their AAA affiliate.

[Why Not?]

I thought Bowie was built to AAA standards as there was hope it would be the AAA team.

 

I thought the same thing was done at Frederick, built to AA standards with the hope of moving up.

 

I thought Bowie was way nicer than the AAA Dukes stadium I had visited in New Mexico.

 

Ironbirds are a long hike for me, havent been there, so I really cant comment too much about it. is there stadium really that nice?

 

 

Bowie and Frederick were built with the notion that seats could be added down the lines to bring it up to AAA and AA capacity. But that was 30 years ago. What MLB is demanding now goes beyond seating. MLB wants weight rooms, indoor batting and pitching facilities, brighter lights and some other costly upgrades. 

 

My understanding is that Frederick lacks many of those requirements and getting them done will be difficult because you are dealing with local government. The wheels are going to move slowly for any upgrades. 

 

Yeah, Aberdeen is nice. 

[Old Man]

Bowie and Frederick were built with the notion that seats could be added down the lines to bring it up to AAA and AA capacity. But that was 30 years ago. What MLB is demanding now goes beyond seating. MLB wants weight rooms, indoor batting and pitching facilities, brighter lights and some other costly upgrades. 

 

My understanding is that Frederick lacks many of those requirements and getting them done will be difficult because you are dealing with local government. The wheels are going to move slowly for any upgrades. 

 

Yeah, Aberdeen is nice. 

So we make Minor league ball smaller with less teams, so we can pour money into the remaining teams?

 

Doesn't sit well for me, how about paying the minor league players not on 1st round money a better wage and per diem?

 

I mean brighter lights, weight rooms, etc, sounds nice, but at the end of the day, has to be paid by somebody.

 

I dont know, maybe I am just out of touch with reality.

[Why Not?]

Given that the National's AAA moved to Fresno in the PCL in 2019, I'd guess they'd be super excited to see Norfolk available as their AAA affiliate.

 

I agree it seems like a desirable location. 

 

But I think with everything being thrown into the mixer, we'll have some surprising outcomes. We've already seen two high-level teams leave traditional places and move to former independent-league locations (NYY AA Trenton to Somerset and MIN AAA Rochester to St. Paul). Previous assumptions about AAA cities vs. AA or A towns are out the window.

 

The Nats' AAA club could wind up in Fredericksburg for all we know.  

[JeremyStrain]

Bowie and Frederick were built with the notion that seats could be added down the lines to bring it up to AAA and AA capacity. But that was 30 years ago. What MLB is demanding now goes beyond seating. MLB wants weight rooms, indoor batting and pitching facilities, brighter lights and some other costly upgrades. 

 

My understanding is that Frederick lacks many of those requirements and getting them done will be difficult because you are dealing with local government. The wheels are going to move slowly for any upgrades. 

 

Yeah, Aberdeen is nice. 

Neither Bowie, nor Frederick have the room to put enough seats in to get to AAA requirements. Would have been done a long time ago in Bowie if they could. (Know from a fact first hand from people that would know, not a speculation).

 

Now if MLB is willing to loosen the requirements for each level, that might change some things. I could see that happen in this kinda broad move, but who knows. Bowie is a really nice stadium, but it's behind in a lot of the...fixer upper things...to stay to what MLB is kinda demanding. They put an HD video board in a couple seasons ago, but I remember the lighting was something that needed done, and not sure if that got upgraded or not, and some of the interior facilities need to be upgraded now, cause it's what, 26 years old now I think. Part of the problem is who is paying for those upgrades? MLB wants to order them, but then the teams don't want to invest the money and want to leave it to local governments? For a FRACTION of some of the stupid stuff MLB spends on, they could have upgraded all of these minor league complexes, and given all the minor leaguers a raise.

[Old Man]

I like going to Bowie for games, set up there along the woods, even on a hot humid day/evening, there typically is a breeze moving.

 

I dont care about big screen displays etc. I want to watch the game on the field, thats why I am there. But, then again, thats me.

[JeremyStrain]

I like going to Bowie for games, set up there along the woods, even on a hot humid day/evening, there typically is a breeze moving.

 

I dont care about big screen displays etc. I want to watch the game on the field, thats why I am there. But, then again, thats me.

Yeah it's mostly keeping up with the Joneses kinda stuff. Their videoboard was toast a few years ago though, and it was getting harder and harder to find parts to repair it, so that had to happen. When it happens 20 years later almost, it's gotta be a big upgrade.

 

Fascinating enough...apparently the official capacity is listed as 10k now, which WOULD be enough to go AAA. I thought it was funny the guys from Ripken Stadium were directly challenging Bowie as far as who was closer, but they have enough seats to be AA, and are a newer park.

 

When I worked in Bowie years ago, I think capacity was listed as a little over 7k, and when I asked (this was before Norfolk got AAA) why they didn't reshuffle and make Bowie AAA, and make Aberdeen AA, the answer I got from the top was that they couldn't squeeze in the extra 3k seats they needed to hit the benchmark. I don't know if it was something about the bench seating in Bowie only counting for so much, or they had to have 10k dedicated SEATS, not benches or something like that, but maybe they relaxed the rules already (or Wikipedia is wrong on the capacity).

 

If Baltimore is dumb enough to let any of these really close spots go, I'll put money down that WAS swoops in and scoops them up. If Frederick can add 600 seats it would hit the AA benchmark and could replace Harrisburg as their AA team. Having Fresno as their AAA seems stupid, but could see them go after Norfolk as mentioned above since it's closer if Balt. shuffled things around. Regency Furniture Stadium down in Waldorf is another decent A ball option, - 4200 seats, and newer, only 12 years old.

 

When all the chips fall I'll be really interested to see what comes out of this wooden bat league. Could be an alternative to the Cape League? Either way, Indy ball is about to be a complete game changer, will require some extra pro scouting to keep a closer eye on guys playing and developing, could be interesting.

[Old Man]

Yeah it's mostly keeping up with the Joneses kinda stuff. Their videoboard was toast a few years ago though, and it was getting harder and harder to find parts to repair it, so that had to happen. When it happens 20 years later almost, it's gotta be a big upgrade.

 

Fascinating enough...apparently the official capacity is listed as 10k now, which WOULD be enough to go AAA. I thought it was funny the guys from Ripken Stadium were directly challenging Bowie as far as who was closer, but they have enough seats to be AA, and are a newer park.

 

When I worked in Bowie years ago, I think capacity was listed as a little over 7k, and when I asked (this was before Norfolk got AAA) why they didn't reshuffle and make Bowie AAA, and make Aberdeen AA, the answer I got from the top was that they couldn't squeeze in the extra 3k seats they needed to hit the benchmark. I don't know if it was something about the bench seating in Bowie only counting for so much, or they had to have 10k dedicated SEATS, not benches or something like that, but maybe they relaxed the rules already (or Wikipedia is wrong on the capacity).

 

If Baltimore is dumb enough to let any of these really close spots go, I'll put money down that WAS swoops in and scoops them up. If Frederick can add 600 seats it would hit the AA benchmark and could replace Harrisburg as their AA team. Having Fresno as their AAA seems stupid, but could see them go after Norfolk as mentioned above since it's closer if Balt. shuffled things around. Regency Furniture Stadium down in Waldorf is another decent A ball option, - 4200 seats, and newer, only 12 years old.

 

When all the chips fall I'll be really interested to see what comes out of this wooden bat league. Could be an alternative to the Cape League? Either way, Indy ball is about to be a complete game changer, will require some extra pro scouting to keep a closer eye on guys playing and developing, could be interesting.

They knew they wanted Bowie to be the AAA team, before they built the thing as they were looking long-term growth.

 

For them to come up short, is just negligence for sure. Not sure, who screwed up. Not having space to add seats is stupid, when they knew what they were doing before they did it.

[Why Not?]

If Baltimore is dumb enough to let any of these really close spots go, I'll put money down that WAS swoops in and scoops them up. If Frederick can add 600 seats it would hit the AA benchmark and could replace Harrisburg as their AA team. Having Fresno as their AAA seems stupid, but could see them go after Norfolk as mentioned above since it's closer if Balt. shuffled things around. Regency Furniture Stadium down in Waldorf is another decent A ball option, - 4200 seats, and newer, only 12 years old.

 

But getting ANY upgrades in Frederick has been the problem. If the Orioles leave Frederick, it will be because the facilities are awful. The Nats will have those same issues.   

[JeremyStrain]

But getting ANY upgrades in Frederick has been the problem. If the Orioles leave Frederick, it will be because the facilities are awful. The Nats will have those same issues.

Yeah but so is Harrisburg, so if they are going to sink money into one of them anyway do it at the one that is closer.

[Old Man]

Yeah but so is Harrisburg, so if they are going to sink money into one of them anyway do it at the one that is closer.

Do they lose Nationals Fans in the Harrisburg area over this move, if it happens?

 

Yes, I am aware there are a lot of Oriole fans in middle PA.

[Chris B]

My somewhat-educated guess for the Orioles affiliate is:

AAA- Norfolk

AA- Bowie

High-A- Aberdeen

Low-A Delmarva

 

I've lived for minor league affiliation shuffle for the past five years so I love following this stuff. I actually put together this Google Sheets so I can track all of the changes - one of the sheets is also my guess for where every team/org lands in regards to what teams are affiliated with what orgs and what level.

 

https://docs.google....dit?usp=sharing

 

I'll also be updating as teams announce their minor league affiliations on BSL in this thread. The Yankees and Mets have kicked things off this week, and I expect most of the other teams will be announcing theirs in the coming weeks.

[Old Man]

My somewhat-educated guess for the Orioles affiliate is:

AAA- Norfolk

AA- Bowie

High-A- Aberdeen

Low-A Delmarva

 

I've lived for minor league affiliation shuffle for the past five years so I love following this stuff. I actually put together this Google Sheets so I can track all of the changes - one of the sheets is also my guess for where every team/org lands in regards to what teams are affiliated with what orgs and what level.

 

https://docs.google....dit?usp=sharing

 

I'll also be updating as teams announce their minor league affiliations on BSL in this thread. The Yankees and Mets have kicked things off this week, and I expect most of the other teams will be announcing theirs in the coming weeks.

I thought that Low-A and High-A were going into a single A?