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How many independent league teams are successful? Many teams and leagues come and go, such as the River City Rascals, which shut down for good after the 2019 season. The 42 teams would not only have to start paying players and coaches, they would have to hire people to scout and recruit them.
In an interesting sidebar regarding the two best indy teams, Sugar Land and St. Paul, MLB reportedly wants to scoop them up and make them Triple-A teams.
How many independent league teams are successful?
I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t follow them that close. I guess it depends on how we define successful. From what I understand a lot of the independent teams are in the Northeast due to the dense population. Perhaps State College would have a chance of making it. The Atlantic League is based in Lancaster, PA. (home of Tommy Herr)
FWIW, State College is far away from the densely-populated NE corridor. It is the middle of the state of PA, roughly 200 miles NW of Philly and 140 miles E of Pittsburgh.
PA’s governor wrote MLB a letter trying to save three teams to be eliminated from his state, including State College.
FWIW, State College is far away from the densely-populated NE corridor. It is the middle of the state of PA, roughly 200 miles NW of Philly and 140 miles E of Pittsburgh.
And that’s exactly how most of us in the rest of the state like it!!
Of course, it’s not good for drawing fans unless you’re a college football team. I don’t see much chance that an independent league team based there would make it, although the Jamestown team lasted a few years here (and looks to be coming back) and it’s about half the size of State College.
Isn’t Williamsport the place where MLB has sunk a ton of money into the stadium to host the annual MLB game during the Little League World Series?
I don’t know about a ton of money, but this article says that the State granted $600K and MLB provides a turf expert and equipment. Of course, MLB looks ridiculous pulling the NYPL team out of a city and ballpark they showcase, but that’s MLB…
https://www.sungazette.com/news/top-news/2018/09/bowman-field-grant-a-boost-for-final-improvements/
The Atlantic League currently has teams in:
Lancaster, PA
York, PA
Central Islip, NY
Bridgewater, NJ
Waldorf, MD
High Point, NC
Sugar Land, TX
And one traveling teamOther leagues include American Association, Empire Professional, Frontier League, Pacific Association, Pecos League, and United Shore League.
To be fair there are also a lot of independent leagues that have folded. I’m not saying State College and Johnson City could survive. I am saying they might.
The article linked by Brian is dated today but I was referring to the initial game between the Pirates and the Cardinals. The announcers went on and on about how much money MLB had put into the park to make it major league ready. They had done the same on a somewhat smaller scale at an Army base the year before. But I guess my main point is that doing away with a team that plays in a stadium featured in one of MLBs premium broadcasts doesn’t make much sense. I guess they are moving their interest to the London games which don’t have half the interest as Williamsport.
Four U.S. Representatives Announce Formation of Bipartisan Save Minor League Baseball Task Force. https://t.co/5OEVqkMi0u pic.twitter.com/ro5wtwrOYh
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) December 4, 2019
JC’s ballpark has twice been voted the best in rookie league baseball. Didn’t help them either.
https://www.milb.com/johnson-city/news/cardinals-voted-best-ballpark-in-rookie-league/c-245785136
JC also ranked 39th best baseball city in America
This Forbes article partially answers the question BHC started to look into:
“To further prove the point, more than half of the members of Congress who formally admonished MLB for its minor league subtraction plan voted last year for a spending bill that exempted teams from paying minor league players overtime.”
“Baseball is America’s pastime, and minor league teams have a major impact on small communities across our country,” said Congressman McKinley.
“While we understand the MLB has concerns: the idea that doing away with 42 teams is the only solution is not reasonable.
The Save Minor League Baseball Task Force will advocate on behalf of the communities that stand to be
most harmed by MLB’s plan
to eliminate 42 minor league franchises.
Sanders, like former MLB commissioner Bud Selig, says baseball is more of a public trust than a business. The Democratic presidential hopeful points to the league’s unique antitrust exemption from Congress and practice of using public funds to finance stadiums as reasons why franchises are indebted to their host communities.
Bravo Bernie!
MLB introduces a plan to eliminate 42 minor league teams… even with a compromise there are still teams that could be eliminated…. MLB still wins and might of used the large number of teams as a strategy to at least eliminate some and make it look like a compromise.
Selecting the community’s to be most harmed How can that be determined? Its more than just attendance numbers that effect communities.
I find it humorous that some on here are having to agree with Bernie Sanders on an issue. That is rich. lol
For minor league teams and those who love them, these winter meetings come down to one question: Are you on The List? Those that are are ready to take on #MLB – and fight off extinction. https://t.co/OfKoaOc4x7
— Gabe Lacques (@GabeLacques) December 10, 2019
I’d love for Rob to open the books so we can see those hundreds of millions of expenditures…
Manfred says MLB appreciates role of MiLB in cultivating fan base, resulting in subsidizing minor league franchises with hundreds of millions a year, but feels that facilities and travel need to be re-examined, and MiLB needs to negotiate about that.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) December 11, 2019
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred today took aim at Minor League Baseball owners who oppose a plan to contract 42 MiLB teams, saying they were unwilling to negotiate an acceptable new PBA or upgrade their facilities. #MLB #MiLB #sportsbiz https://t.co/EF4Vrk4Fb6
— Ballpark Digest (@ballparkdigest) December 12, 2019
Frankly I don’t think the condition of the stadiums has that big of effect on minor league attendance. Oh yes, a couple of places may be hell holes but their attendance would soon show that but 42 substandard stadiums?….come on.
MLB seems to be painting the facility issues as being bad for the players – clubhouses, weight rooms and the like – as if they expect us to believe they really care about the players – the same ones to whom they don’t want to give a fair salary. It is just smokescreen BS.
If they really cared about facilities, they would publish clear standards, assess how each team fits, give the offenders reasonable time to make changes, then boot the ones that don’t make it. There should be no surprises. Instead, MLB keeps it vague so they can do what they really want. Save money.
The quality of the stadium along with the great promotions such as $1 hot dog night, kids run the bases, etc greatly increases fan attendance at these parks. I grew up about an hour from Springfield, IL and I recall going to games there as a kid and loved the baseball aspect which caused my forever love of Ray Lankford. I also remember it was a dump, I believe it was called Lanphier Park.
On the flip side, I lived about 45 minutes from Dozier Park in Peoria around the time it opened, and that was the place to go because of how nice it was. That was a great place to go and folks would go for the great park as well as the promos and the lawn seating, so there was always a nice size crowd for a Midwest league team. If I recall correctly, Yadi, Dan Haren and Chris Duncan were all on the team the year I went to a lot.
So MLB basically told MiLB that they’re losing 42 teams and there wasn’t anything they could do about it. Then when MiLB makes public statements about what is happening MLB gets pissed. I never thought the guy who replaced Selig would or could be worse but boy was I wrong.
This is a good article looking at the story from the perspective of the 1,000 players whose jobs would be lost – and having no seat at the bargaining table.
https://talkpoverty.org/2019/12/12/major-league-baseball-crush-minor-league/
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