NYT Lists MiLB Teams Targeted For Extinction

[Guest]

 

This is a cost-saving move. It's contraction. Has nothing to do with facilities other than facilities can/will be a criteria against which the contraction is executed.

 

Having said that, this was absolutely inevitable. It was going to be hard enough for MLB to continue subsidizing minor-league ball even in their traditional manner. Any political momentum for MLB to increase expenditures on minor-league players was only going to hasten this move. It's sad, and I don't like it...I think it means less organized baseball is played across America (for now, only marginally less). But, it's unclear to me how much actual damage this does to the game in the long-run.

 

It may have been inevitable. It may indeed be that MLB doesn't need 160 affiliates. They possibly don't need 120 (the new level).

 

In fact, if the point is to simply identify enough young talent to fill their MLB rosters with players who know how to play the game, they may not need more than 30 minor league or development league teams. Maybe colleges will become more critical proving grounds. That would, almost certainly, mean we could significantly reduce the number of Latin American players (hard to see all that many of them spending 3 or more years in a US college program).

 

But is any of that good for the game? Does it increase, or even maintain, levels of interest in baseball? I don't know, but it's a risky approach at a time when fan interest levels are a significant enough issue that MLB is implementing pitch clocks and changing rules to address the "problem" of waning interest.

 

 

[Guest]

Here's something that the "Indy ball will get better" folks aren't taking into consideration... the very viability of indy ball is going to be very questionable going forward.

 

Remember that the bill that gave MLB the terms they needed in order to avoid having to pay minimum wages for minor leaguers specifically only applied the minimum wage exemption to minor league teams in affiliated leagues. 

 

It is quite possible (perhaps even likely) that independent teams WILL be required to pay minimum wages and not benefit from the team-friendly terms of that bill. That would put all but the most successful current indy teams right out of business and effectively preclude any of the 42 eliminated teams from having any chance of success.

[Mike Sixel]

Here's something that the "Indy ball will get better" folks aren't taking into consideration... the very viability of indy ball is going to be very questionable going forward.

 

Remember that the bill that gave MLB the terms they needed in order to avoid having to pay minimum wages for minor leaguers specifically only applied the minimum wage exemption to minor league teams in affiliated leagues.

 

It is quite possible (perhaps even likely) that independent teams WILL be required to pay minimum wages and not benefit from the team-friendly terms of that bill. That would put all but the most successful current indy teams right out of business and effectively preclude any of the 42 eliminated teams from having any chance of success.

Agreed.