Off-Topic Forum

early in negotiations, but I do not like the sounds of contracting 40+ teams in lower levels

I think my local AAA team is safe, but not sure about others...

fyi

https://ballparkdigest.com/2019/10/18/radical-milb-realignment-proposed-by-mlb/

Mark

Contraction is never a good thing. Hope it doesn't happen for you baseball fans.

Yes, that would be bad for all of baseball. Too many areas that wouldn't have a nearby team would be affected by this. And we'd lose our team - which has been a financial help to our county, not just our immediate local towns.

I wonder if they'd develop independent leagues, which would not have as much of a draw, at least initially, but Somerset, NJ, for example, has a nice stadium for a team without an MLB affiliation. So there must be a steady fan base to keep that up.

right, I do think independent ball could increase if these changes go through...as another change would be shortening the draft from 40 rounds to 25..so the guys drafted in those rounds could prove themselves through independent ball if they choose to

mark

Our AAA team is already moving after the 2020 season. One of the five proposals for 2021 is to move a low-A team into the 79 year old stadium, which might not be considered an "acceptable facility" for a affiliated team under these new guidelines. Another proposal is an Altantic League team, which hopefully would not have the same minimum standards (and which I would prefer anyway, since it's a longer season).

An interesting topic.  There wasn't any discussion in the article about how the impact on player contracts.  WIll rosters expand for teams that persist?  Will there be less amateurs drafted in future? 

I think individual player salaries will rise in the affiliated portion s of the minors.

Mark

I'm on the fence about this.  On one hand, I like the idea of shortened draft and less MILB teams because it "could" mean the best of the best are drafted and playing.  So many wash out after 2-3 years that it really isn't beneficial to teams to scout and spend time on them, and not beneficial for players that have no real chance of making it to waste their time working for peanuts. Having less teams in the MLB/MILB system should make for better players.  If it happens I don't think a lot of teams dropped will close up, I think there could be an explosion of independent teams, which could develop better players because they know they have to work twice as ard to get noticed.

On the other hand some of the reasons for contracting is a bit stupid.  One was the theory that they could save money in the minor league system and pay the players better.  I'm all for the MILB players getting better pay, but the MLBPA CBA should be working on that anyways, and MLB should already be paying the players better.  I wouldn't be against the MLB teams owning the MILB affiliates outright, which could help pay the players better too.  However they also want MILB teams closer to their MLB teams, which would I think kill certain MILB leagues and cause travel expenses to rise immensely which would negate the savings of cutting teams.

If I had my way, I'd have all MLB teams have 3-4 MILB affiliates, which the MLB owner would be at least part owner of.  Base pay of minor leaguers be 30k for A level, 50k for AA, and 75K for AAA.  If they have rookie league teams, then 20K pay (which with a shortened season still give players a chance to have time for a second job while still trying to reach their dreams).  Then I cut the draft down to 25 rounds, with any players not drafted and no college time left can sign possibly a futures contract, kinda like the NFL practice squad, but wouldn't have to pay them for a roster spot.  Those players can then go to independent league teams or elsewhere to try to earn a sport on that teams minor league teams.  If they can't after 2 years, they are released from that deal and free to sign with any team.  The 2 year buffer allows teams who have a bad draft a chance to make up for it, and for the players to see that their is still potential for a MLB career if they keep working hard.

Also while this isn't really connected with all this talk, I would get MLB TV to start adding MILB games to their package (basically combing the two for the same price), so fans can see future players before they make it to the big show.  If you have the team package you can see all your MILB teams, if you have the entire package, you can see any game.  If you have the free package, you can watch two free MILB games a day (like they do with the free MLB game a day).  By doing this it would also give some of the MILB teams some attention, which could result in more profit.

I would be disappointed if we lost our short-season A team up here in Vermont, but I wouldn't mind if more independent teams popped up.