Minor League Changes

We're beginning to learn the specifics of the minor league realignment and reorganization plan championed by commissioner Rob Manfred. Here in the Northeast, the Yankees say goodbye to Trenton after 17 years as their Double A club moves to Somerset, New Jersey, which earned its (pin)stripes with a long and successful run in the independent Atlantic League.

I've made many visits to Arm & Hammer Park over the past dozen years and always enjoyed it. While I'm not privvy to the clubhouse or other infrastructure that fans don't see, I've never found the park lacking in anything. An easy 10 minutes off the Jersey Turnpike, Trenton has been an important step to the majors for now-familiar names such as Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Luis Severino, Greg Bird and Austin Romine.

Another change comes one level lower, where the Hudson Valley Renegades, just an hour outside New York, becomes the new high Single-A affiliate, replacing Tampa, which will now play at a lower level. This is a big win for the organization, moving into a suburban area for the Yankee organization. 

I made my first visit to Dutchess Stadium in 2018, when it hosted a Rays short-season club -- and among the up-and-comers on the visiting Staten Island Yankees I got to see was Mike Ford. Yes, the very same Mike Ford who's been with the big league Yankees providing lefty home run power the last couple of seasons.

Minor league ball has plenty of appeal -- if you like sitting close to the action, seeing young talent on track for the majors and spending a lot less on tickets, food and parking. It's a sweet slice of Americana, our national pastime without the excess. Adding teams means that other locations are leaving the Yankee minor league map. Not only are the Yanks leaving Trenton, they're also cutting ties to Charleston, South Carolina, and, with the demise of the short-season New York-Penn League, Staten Island. Those changes will be painful. And I sympathize with those fans who feel shunned.

Of course, all this hinges on whether we'll minor league ball in 2021. While there's encouraging news regarding a Covid 19 vaccine, no one is sure if clubs will even be able to welcome in limited crowds next year, or whether fans will feel comfortable congregating even in an outdoor venue.

Cross your fingers that life will be a little closer to normal five months from now, And we can enjoy baseball in person again.

 

A quick follow-up: yesterday's presidential mascots depicted former Presidents William Howard Taft (on his back "Bill" and #27) and Calvin Coolidge ("Cal" and  30).