The Florida Winter Baseball League, which was using independent league players and attempting to gain traction as a new domestic winter league in 2009, has suspended operations. The four-team league was working hand-in-hand with Global Scouting Bureau, which in a press release said it had been hired by the FWBL to "oversee formation, staff hiring, and eventual daily operations of the FWBL." However, Global Scouting Bureau dissolved the partnership after a series of "failed commitments."

The FWBL employs Ken Griffey Sr. as its commissioner and has his former Reds teammate, George Foster, on board as a manager. The league’s ranks of players have been filled with independent leaguers to date and no affiliated players had played. Major League Baseball is not involved with the FWBL.

A second fall league other than the Arizona Fall League has been attempted several times over the last 15 years, from two tries in Hawaii to leagues such as the Maryland and California Fall leagues. None of them has survived, and the FWBL may be on its way to joining the scrap heap.

The Pirates are in the process of purchasing the Reds’ high Class A Sarasota affiliate and relocating it to their spring training complex in Bradenton for the 2010 season, a pair of sources confirmed on Wednesday. The Reds’ high A affiliate would play next year in Lynchburg, which has hosted the Pirates since 1995.

Baseball America correspondent, and Cincinnati Enquirer Reds beat writer, John Fay first reported the deal on his Reds Insider blog.

The two organizations would essentially swap player-development contracts in 2010, a provision that is in the PBA and simply requires all four teams to approve the deal. Such an approval would essentially come down to Lynchburg, since the Reds own the Sarasota affiliate. (The Red Sox and Astros pulled off a similar swap in 1999. Boston swapped its low Class A Battle Creek affiliate for the Astros’ affiliate in Augusta.)

The Reds reasoning for the sale seems to be simple. They will debut their new spring training complex in Goodyear, Ariz., in 2010, and thus no longer have a need for a team in the Florida State League. Whether they seek to relocate out West to the California League after their affiliation with Lynchburg expires after next season remains to be seen.

It would seem that the Reds best opportunities in the Cal League would be in Bakersfield (Rangers) and High Desert (Mariners), a pair of clubs looking to relocate to new homes since their local municipalities have declined to upgrade aging ballparks. Lake Elsinore (Padres), Lancaster (Astros) and Stockton (Athletics) are each locked into PDCs through the 2012 season. The Giants have an ownership stake in San Jose and the Angels and Rancho Cucamonga are a geographical match and have been affiliated since 2001, negating any possibility of the Reds moving there. That leaves Inland Empire (Dodgers), Modesto (Rockies) and Visalia (Diamondbacks) with PDCs expiring after the 2010 season. 

Completion of the Sarasota sale is pending approval of the Florida State League, Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball. Both the National Association and the FSL have received the necessary paperwork.  

Both sources are confident that the Pirates’ McKechnie Field in Bradenton will be up to Minor League Baseball standards, essentially noting that if it is good enough for spring training it will likely meet PBA facility standards. In addition, the Pirates recently installed lights at the ballpark. However, part of the approval process is to provide MILB an opportunity to inspect the ballpark, one source said.

The Reds are in the process of selling their high Class A Sarasota affiliate to the Pirates, who would then relocate to their complex in Bradenton. The Reds would leave the Florida State League and take over the Pirates’ current Carolina League affiliate in Lynchburg.

Baseball America correspondent John Fay first reported the story on his blog, and Florida State League president Chuck Murphy has since confirmed it to me. Murphy said the move is for next season, and said the Bradenton ballpark is up to standard (noting Pittsburgh recently put in lights).

Murphy could not speak to how the Pirates’ could vacate their player-development contract with Lynchburg with a year remaining on the deal. (Hopefully I’ll have an answer on that shortly.)

Flying Squirrels has been selected as the name of Richmond’s new Double-A Eastern League affiliate.

If you ask me, the choice was made for all of the right reasons.

The target audience of minor league baseball teams are not the adults in Richmond who are forming petitions to protest the team name — and the choices suggested on that petition are at best no better than the ones the team nominated. Teams are looking to attract kids to the ballpark. Happy kids make for happy parents, a chain of events that usually results in spinning turnstiles.

A popular nickname and logo (Richmond’s will be designed by the talented Plan B Branding crew) can be quite lucrative for a minor league team. Just ask  Dave Oster and the Lake Elsinore Storm — whose unique logo is donned on Little League jerseys across the country.

“We’ve liked (Flying Squirrels) from the start,” Domino said. “That was my favorite from the start. At one point or another, I’ve tried them all out for size, and at one point or another they all felt good to me for maybe a day or so. But as the process went on, I completely 360’d back to Flying Squirrels and I’ve been there now for several days with it as my favorite . . .
“At the end of the day we all came back to what we thought would resonate with the kids the most. The kids are the core of the business for us.”

[...] Continue Reading »

I can decisively tell you the name the Richmond club will not unveil tomorrow: Hambones. The club has pulled it from the mix at the request of the NAACP, which had described it as offensive.

According to a report by the Associated Press, the "hambone is the foot-stomping, hand-clapping, thigh-slapping dance brought to America by slaves and later performed at minstrel shows for white audiences."

"Our sole intent was to utilize the concept of Virginia ham and its history in the region," the team said in a release on Tuesday. "We were honestly unaware of any negative, derogatory or offensive connotations."

Baseball America rarely misses a chance to put together a list. So when we heard that Richmond had narrowed the list of names for its new team down to six, we decided to get in on the act.

But hold on . . . This is Richmond, Va., right? The Capital of the Commonwealth. "Give me liberty or give me death." The Confederate States of America. Where the giant cigarette stands tall.

Certainly, one of the candidates will represent the city’s rich history. So let’s review. The nominees are: 

Flatheads: A catfish that swims in the James River.

Flying Squirrels: You better duck.

Hambones: Daily ham specials at the concession stands.

Rockhoppers: It is kinda fun to say.

Rhinos: If it didn’t work in Winston-Salem, let’s try it here.

Hush Puppies: Richmond ain’t that South.

So, yes, it’s safe to say that there was an underwhelming response among us all-knowing minor league baseball experts. The offerings fail to incorporate any real historical significance or capture much local flavor.

But here’s the catch:

They’re naming a minor league baseball team, not the new symphony hall, or even the mayor’s dog. The more irreverent the better has long been the standard, and even the secret to success, in the minors. (The TinCaps was panned when announced last offseason, but Fort Wayne finished third in Midwest League attendance and sold team merchandise like it was popular.)

And let’s not forget that one of the most marketable teams on a national scale in the minors is the Muckdogs. The Fishercats and Storm do pretty well too–all three teams’ success has as much to do with unique logos that appeal to kids and Little League teams as it does their names. And Richmond’s new president, Chuck Domino, is the same man who brought you the Lehigh Valley IronPigs a couple years ago–a team that has quickly blossomed into one of the minors’ best franchises.

[...] Continue Reading »

For the first time in six years, minor league baseball did not set an attendance record.

The economic slowdown proved too great for even the debut of six new ballparks to overcome. Final overall attendance is expected to be announced later this week, but MILB spokesman Steve Densa confirmed today that a new record was not reached in 2009.

Replacing failing markets with new ones, and swapping aging ballparks with state-of-the-art facilities has been at the heart of minor league baseball’s recent growth. Last year, the sport rode the coattails of three new ballparks to overcome the recession and set a new standard by drawing 43,263,740.

[...] Continue Reading »

John Henry Moss, the founder and president of the South Atlantic League until he retired in 2007 after 50 years, passed away at a hospital in his hometown of Kings Mountain, N.C. Moss had suffered a stroke on June 7. He was 90 years old.

Moss’ impact on the Sally League, and minor league baseball as a whole, cannot be overstated. He grew the league to 16 teams spanning eight states. During his tenure, the league (originally named the Western Carolinas League before being changed to its current title in 1980) took hold in 43 cities and saw 115 ownership groups. Attendance has grown from 179,998 in 1960 to over 4 million.

He was elected president for life of the Sally League at the Winter Meetings in 1989 and a year later was named the King of Baseball—a title usually bestowed upon an executive nearing the end of his tenure, but Moss stayed at the helm of the league another 17 years.

"He’s the last of the last of the breed," former Asheville Tourists general manager and co-owner Ron McKee told Baseball America for a 2007 article honoring Moss upon his retirement.

"I do not think there is another league that owed as much to one person as the South Atlantic League owes to John Henry Moss," second-year SAL president Eric Krupa said.

The Eastern League’s quest to place a team in Richmond continues despite a summer of setbacks—including the collapse of Connecticut’s sale to a local ownership group and the cancellation of plans to build a new downtown ballpark.

Several teams and ownership groups are in the running for Richmond and a decision will be announced by the league’s self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline, Eastern League president Joe McEacharn said. The team will play at least two years at the Diamond, Richmond’s aging ballpark that housed the Triple-A Braves for 42 years before the club left at the end of last season for a new ballpark in Gwinnett, Ga.

"We have finished our exploration process, and we are in the decision-making stage as to which club and ownership group will be getting the nod to go there," said McEacharn said, who declined to name specific teams. "Multiple candidates have submitted their interest and commitment to go to Richmond, if chosen."

[...] Continue Reading »

Short-season Vermont owner Ray Pecor, Jr., expressed concern that this might be the Lake Monsters final season in town due to an outdated ballpark that no longer meets facility standards, according to a story in the Burlington Free Press.

Centennial Field, which debuted in 1922, is in need of upgrades to the playing field, the field lighting, dugouts, bullpens and both clubhouses, according to a report prepared for baseball officials that newspaper acquired.

According to the article, Pecor said he expects Major League Baseball (though I think he would first deal with MILB officials) to come down hard on him: “‘You have one of two choices. Either you sell this team, or we are going to take this franchise away, because we have put up with you long enough.’ I don’t want to be put into that position,” Pecor said.

Vermont ranked ninth in the 14-team New York-Penn League last season after drawing 91,351 fans—not a bad showing for a club in a relatively small market with an old ballpark. There is no mention of where Vermont would move to—only the veiled threats of relocating the team. There is also no comment from MILB officials; NYPL president Ben Hayes apparently did not return calls.

Let’s see what we can find out . . .