http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ The Home For Baseball Insiders Mon, 25 Mar 2013 16:56:43 EST en-us http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/baonlinelogo4.gif http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/ 96 9 1 http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/season-preview/2013/2614870.html Content: One of the most fascinating aspects of professional baseball, particularly at the minor league level, is the diversity of ballparks, how they play for hitters and pitchers, and the role that plays in the outcome of various events. Depending on the park's features, a team may gain an advantage from righthanded power hitters taking aim at a short left-field porch, speedy outfielders covering a vast territory, or groundball pitchers paired with a slow playing surface limiting the number of hits. We often talk in generalities when discussing minor league parks, focusing on the league in which a team plays. For example, we might say the California League is a hitter's league. Or the Florida State League favors pitchers. But to what extent are those statements true? Which parks in those leagues push the needle the farthest? Which parks are the exceptions? To answer those questions and more, Baseball America gathered home and road data for all 120 full-season minor league teams dating back to 2010. Distinct patterns emerge over the course of three seasons—encompassing more than 200 home games and 200 road games for most teams—and differences in weather conditions and varying talent levels from year to year tend to . . . Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:15:33 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/season-preview/2013/2614870.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/minors/season-preview/2013/2614869.html Content: VISALIA, Calif.—Michael Pineda spent time there in 2009. Likewise for Chris Tillman two years earlier. For the past three years, however, the Mariners have been as likely to jump a top starting pitching prospect straight to Double-A as send him to High Desert, their high Class A affiliate since 2007. Case in point: Righthander Taijuan Walker, Seattle's top pitching prospect, vaulted from low Class A Clinton to Double-A Jackson as a 19-year-old in 2012. Same went for 21-year-old righty Erasmo Ramirez the year before that. Neither Danny Hultzen nor Carter Capps, both 2011 draft picks from college, logged even an inning with High Desert. So does the California League's reputation as a hitter-friendly circuit—particularly among its southern clubs—prompt organizations like the Mariners to skip their frontline pitching prospects over the league? Since High Desert debuted in 1991, the Mavericks have ranked in the bottom three in ERA in the 10-team league 18 times in 22 seasons. Games in High Desert have featured 14.7 runs per game since 2010, compared with the Cal League average of 10.8. Theirs is the only park in the full-season minors to feature more than three home runs per game. Triple-A Albuquerque ranked second with 2.8. . . . Tue, 19 Mar 2013 11:46:51 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/minors/season-preview/2013/2614869.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2013/2614850.html Content: The World Baseball Classic has always been right in Baseball America's wheelhouse. No one covers the game around the globe like we do, and we always viewed a world cup-style tournament for baseball as a great engine for the game's growth. We were in on the ground floor of reporting the creation of the tournament, way back in 2005, when we broke the news that the first World Baseball Classic would be staged in 2006. "Tentatively called the 'World Baseball Classic,' the tournament will be staged across three weeks next March and will be the first full-scale event involving major league players representing their home countries," our Alan Schwarz wrote in February 2005. "Olympic tournaments included only amateur players from 1984-1996, after which professionals have been eligible. Because of scheduling conflicts, however, international competition has generally involved minor leaguers." Schwarz, who now works for the New York Times, went on to enumerate the many logistical concerns that Major League Baseball and the Players Association had to overcome to make the event happen. And as our John Manuel wrote, having major league teams make their best players available for the event has always been the World Baseball Classic's most serious challenge. . . . Fri, 08 Mar 2013 13:09:46 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2013/2614850.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2013/2614812.html Content: Mario Alioto has a special connection to bobbleheads. Alioto, the Giants' senior vice president of business operations, says San Francisco was the first major league team to give away a head-bobbing doll when he oversaw the promotions department in 1999. Fans at Candlestick Park that season received a Willie Mays replica—one that the Hall of Famer still claims doesn't look like him. Still, even Alioto is taken aback that such promotions have not only endured, but they have grown. Fans still line up outside AT&T Park four hours before the gates open on days when a bobblehead is on the promotional calendar, leading the team to increase the number of dolls this season to 40,000 for each of its giveaways. "When I look back on all these years, I can't believe they are popular like they are now," Alioto said. It's a craze that has grown so much in the past 13 years that more than 80 bobblehead giveaways are scheduled at the 30 major league ballparks this season (see sidebar). The Giants have a lot more to sell to fans than bobbleheads, of course. Coming off their second World Series title in three years, they return the bulk of . . . Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:05:56 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2013/2614812.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/news/2013/2614728.html Content: If not for the California Winter League, recent Rangers signee Brett Anderson might never have received a second chance in affiliated ball. The erstwhile shortstop flamed out as a position player, batting .197 in three years in the Tigers system and drawing his release at age 20 just prior to a second engagement in the short-season New York-Penn League in 2011. Anderson's 6-foot-3 frame and arm strength, however, made a conversion to the mound seem like an avenue worth pursuing given his youth. Anderson's initial forays into pitching proved to be about as cursed as his Tigers career. He blew out his elbow and required Tommy John surgery just three pitches into a workout for the Mariners in 2011. Following an 18-month recovery he got back on the mound in the CWL, making six appearances for the Bombers and earning a minor league contract with Texas. Rangers pro scouting director Josh Boyd said that Anderson topped out near 94 mph this winter and showed a feel for a hard cutter. "With Brett, it almost comes down to the simple factors," Boyd said, "He's a good athlete with a good arm and a repeatable delivery. He has a fresh arm because . . . Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:45:01 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/news/2013/2614728.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2013/2614747.html Content: You know, we will never figure out a perfect way to do the Top 100 Prospects list, because there's no way for us to know with certainty which players are going to fall by the wayside due to poor performance or misfortune. But I like to think we have become significantly better over the years at building our list, which is why it continues to be regarded as the best ranking of its kind in the industry. This issue features Baseball America's 24th Top 100 Prospects list. Stories of the first Top 100 Prospects meeting are handed down in legend now, with the key decision-makers sitting down in a room to battle it out spot by spot from 1 to 100. Having been in more than a few Baseball America meetings where the decision about the No. 12 college team for the week, or the No. 19 rookie, or where to eat lunch can become the subject of intense debate, I can't imagine how many hours it must have taken to get through all 100 spots on that first list. The other thing it's difficult to remember is that back then, even we didn't know as much about prospects as . . . Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:23:30 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2013/2614747.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2013/2614710.html Content: It's college baseball season again, which means it's time for the annual wave of college marketers gone wild. Inevitably, a few of our nation's august institutions of higher learning decide every year that the name on the stone wall that marks the entrance to their campuses just won't do any longer. The go-go world of the 21st century demands a shorter, hipper moniker, one with lots of letters that no one outside the campus zip code can understand. Texas Christian? Just call us TCU, please. New York Tech? We're NYIT, thanks. Long Island? Too wordy. We're going to go with LIU-Brooklyn. Let me just say that I don't begrudge any university the right to choose whatever marketing scheme it likes in order to sell itself. I think most of them are stupid, but what else are they going to spend that ever-escalating tuition money on? Just don't ask us to be part of your sales team. Rules Of Style First, let's go over our rules for how we refer to colleges and universities. I'm not sure how many readers are aware of this (or care), but Baseball America and most other publications have a style guide that provides uniformity to . . . Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:17:44 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2013/2614710.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2013/2614703.html Content: CINCINNATI—The public school system in Cincinnati has endured a bit of a slump since producing major leaguers like Pete Rose, Jimmy Wynn and Dave Parker. A new partnership between the city and Major League Baseball may go a long way toward reviving the tradition. MLB will contribute $1.5 million toward the construction of the Reds Urban Youth Academy, a state-of-the-art facility that will provide year-round baseball instruction and educational opportunities for kids ages 6 to 18. The $5.5 million project is scheduled to be completed in 2015 and will be modeled after the four other academies already in use. The announcement of the project preceded commissioner Bud Selig naming Cincinnati as the host of the 2015 All-Star Game during a press conference that featured several former and current Reds stars and front-office officials. And while the news of the mid-summer classic coming to Great American Ball Park may have stolen the headlines, the Urban Youth Academy has the promise of making a long-lasting impact on the city. "Playing baseball is part of growing up in Cincinnati. Our ownership group has local ties," Reds chief operating officer Phil Castellini said. "It was logical that our group would try to do this." . . . Tue, 12 Feb 2013 16:08:54 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2013/2614703.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2013/2614598.html Content: VIERA, Fla.—As the Washington Nationals prepare to begin another spring training at Space Coast Stadium, an intriguing game is playing out behind the scenes among local political, business and tourism leaders. Brevard County has been the spring training home for a major league baseball team every year since 1993. But that streak could be broken as early as 2014, as officials in the Fort Myers area have been courting the Nationals, trying to persuade last year's National League East Division winner to move to the west coast of Florida. The $7.1 million in construction bonds on Space Coast Stadium will be paid off in April. That milestone frees up the Nationals to end their contract to hold spring training at Space Coast Stadium after 2013 without significant financial penalty. It also potentially frees up more than $1 million a year derived from the county's 5 percent tax on hotel room rentals for purposes unrelated to the stadium or promoting baseball. At the same time, Andy Anderson, the new chairman of the Brevard County commission, is pushing forward with a multifaceted plan to keep the Nationals in Viera—and perhaps attract a second major league team here to share the stadium and . . . Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:36:00 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2013/2614598.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2013/2614589.html Content: It has been a good year for current and former minor league ballparks in the movies, with several playing prominent roles in major theatrical releases. The Pacific Coast League's Fresno Grizzlies were a significant plot device in the holiday release "Parental Guidance," which stars Billy Crystal and Bette Middler as grandparents who have to deal with a culture clash when taking care of their grandchildren. As part of Crystal's backstory in the movie, however, he is an aging broadcaster with the Grizzlies who has never been able to get past Triple-A and land a major league job. As he becomes unwilling to adapt to more modern ways, he gets fired from his job with the team. The production spent a day at Fresno's Chukchansi Park last August, with a capacity crowd of 12,000-plus coming out to see the sights and sounds of a movie and serving as impromptu extras for what ended up being the film's opening scene. Crystal threw out the first pitch at the game as well. It was a connection with his production company that brought the movie to Fresno. Samantha Sprecher, the vice president of development for Face Productions Inc., is a Fresno native. Most of . . . Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:05:08 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2013/2614589.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2013/2614597.html Content: Jeff Eiseman has been on hand for the many stops and starts of the movement to build a new ballpark for the Augusta GreenJackets. As a longtime vice president for Ripken Baseball, which purchased the South Atlantic League franchise in 2005, Eiseman was the point person for the GreenJackets' efforts to replace Lake Olmstead Stadium in downtown Augusta over the past six years. Each time a deal appeared within reach, however, a financial roadblock sank the project. The GreenJackets are again on the verge of getting a much-needed new home, this time as part of a new $165 million mixed-use development that includes plans for a new $28 million ballpark in North Augusta, Ga. And Eiseman is again in the thick of the negotiations, this time with a soon-to-be-official new job title: team owner. Eiseman and veteran minor league operator Chris Schoen are heading the Agon Sport & Entertainment investment group that has reached an agreement with Ripken Baseball to purchase the Augusta ballclub. The sale is pending review by the South Atlantic League, Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball, and Eiseman said he expects the purchase to be completed sometime this February. The ballpark still has some local . . . Thu, 17 Jan 2013 10:31:52 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2013/2614597.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2012/2614511.html Content: Sorry, fantasy players. Your secret is no longer safe. We know that the best fantasy baseball competitors read Baseball America. They tell us so, and it makes sense. To win in fantasy, you have to get to good players before your opponents, and one of the best ways to do that is to find out about them before they get to the major leagues. Writing about up-and-coming players has been Baseball America's bread and butter since we started doing this in 1981 as a humble monthly tabloid. It remains the core of our DNA now that we have added to our (now biweekly) publication with books and the Web. Smart fantasy players saw value in this, even though we don't often put a specific fantasy spin on what we write. Well, that changes now, as we bring our point of view to the fantasy game. The first Baseball America Fantasy Guide hits newsstands on Jan. 8—with none other than Mike Trout on the cover—and we think you'll like what you see. First and foremost, this is a magazine that can get you ready for your fantasy season, with everything you expect to find in a preview publication. But we think . . . Sat, 29 Dec 2012 11:53:31 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2012/2614511.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2012/2614487.html Content: NASHVILLE—Just four years ago, Minor League Baseball president Pat O'Conner kicked off the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas by urging his constituents to come together as a group and approve the plan to bring every team's Web properties under the umbrella of Major League Baseball Advanced Media. The Baseball Internet Rights Co, which was approved that week and launched before the start of the 2009 season, appears to have validated O'Conner's theory that the minor leagues could attract bigger and better advertisers working as one. With all but a handful of teams on board, BIRCO announced its first profitable year following the 2011 season. O'Conner is again asking the minors to come together, this time to create an industry-wide marketing program that he predicts will attract the major corporate sponsors that MiLB has failed to land under its 20-year-old group marketing program. O'Conner announced the new marketing program—which he called Project Brand: 160 teams, one brand—and the committee of minor league executives that spent the past seven months crafting it, during the Winter Meetings opening session. "As we celebrate 20 years of our national marketing program, we realize the program has served us well and accomplished things no one thought . . . Wed, 19 Dec 2012 11:50:51 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2012/2614487.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/minors/news/2012/2614384.html Content: HOUSTON—Once in a while it will come out in public, but that's fine. Jeff Luhnow doesn't really make any attempt to hide it. His business background, which can seem somewhat buried on a resume that includes a seven-year stint running the Cardinals' drafts and now the leadership of an Astros front office in great upheaval, will bubble up. He'll be wondering aloud about whether a draft pick will sign and instead of addressing his college commitment, he'll bring up his BATNA. That's his "best alternative to a negotiated agreement," a term straight out of business school, which makes sense because the Astros general manager is an alumnus of one of the most prestigious. That Kellogg business education and subsequent career path have helped shape the philosophy with which he molds baseball's worst team with plenty of freedom to do so his way. Hired by owner Jim Crane at the Winter Meetings of December 2011—about three weeks after Crane's purchase of the team went through—Luhnow has had the freedom in the last year to take a blowtorch to Union Station, the converted railway terminal that the baseball operations department calls home in Houston. In the last 11 months, he has turned . . . Thu, 13 Dec 2012 10:56:21 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/minors/news/2012/2614384.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/executive-of-the-year/2012/2614372.html Content: The personal relationships are what Bob Richmond will miss the most, when his 30th and final year as president of the Northwest League comes to an end at the Winter Meetings in Nashville. Judging by the response of Richmond's many colleagues in the game about his winning the Minor League Executive of the Year honors, it is clear his presence will be equally missed. Pacific Cost League president Branch Rickey III described Richmond as a friend and colleague and, noting Richmond's law degree and experience brokering sales of franchises, described his skills as a league president as "multidimensional." "It's beyond what most league presidents can or would do," Rickey said. "Because of his law degree, he has gotten involved in the seeking out buyers and the helping in sales of clubs . . . He is truly multidimensional." Minor League Baseball president Pat O'Conner first looked up to Richmond as a mentor when he was breaking into the business as a young operator in the Florida State League in the early 1990s. As president, O'Conner views Richmond as a steadying presence and a wise leader. "I've never had to worry about Bob's leagues," O'Conner said of Richmond, who will continue . . . Fri, 07 Dec 2012 11:27:51 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/executive-of-the-year/2012/2614372.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2012/2614382.html Content: The logo changes—pardon me, brand identity paradigm shifts—have been coming fast and furious this offseason, so much so that my capacity for outrage is nearly tapped out. In fact, it all has me feeling pretty philosophical about the logo and nickname process in general, to the point that I've decided all these crazy logos and nicknames don't actually matter that much. Do you know how many bad logos and nicknames litter the minor league landscape? A lot, so many that to even begin naming them would be futile. Just to talk about the nicknames that include superfluous capitalization, or tacked on -Cats or -Dogs would be a subject unto itself. When fans or esteemed baseball observers talk about how bad these things are, though, the marketers always point to the other teams that have horrible nicknames and/or logos that have sold truckloads of merchandise. In the zero-sum marketing game, of course, I suppose that's all that matters. If the brand identity makes money, then it is successful. It's the same approach that brings you Bleacher Report pages at the top of every sports-related Google search—if a Web page is clicked upon then it is successful—and pathetic human beings on reality . . . Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:47:51 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/column/2012/2614382.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/manager-of-the-year/2012/2614366.html Content: NEW YORK—By all accounts, baseball lifer Dave Miley is well respected by players, bosses and opponents. He has been a big league manager and led clubs from Cedar Rapids to Greensboro. And through all the minor league stops—he recently completed his 26th season as a minor league manager by leading Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to the International League North title without playing a home game—the Tampa native has understood the basic tenant of being a manager not working in the big leagues: Make the players better. Miley, 50, does not hide the obvious. He knows everyone in the minor leagues has an eye on the next floor of the baseball elevator. Yet, that doesn't mean the focus isn't on the job that pays the bills. And if that means correcting a player in an aggressive way, so be it. According to Miley, he is paid to improve players, but it's also nice to walk out of whatever park with a victory. "He knows the drill. He understands the organization's objectives," Yankees farm director Mark Newman said of Miley's grasp of blending development with winning. "And he does it with poise and a very level head." David Robertson remembers getting the full menu . . . Tue, 04 Dec 2012 10:50:58 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/manager-of-the-year/2012/2614366.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/team-of-the-year/2012/2614370.html Content: SPRINGFIELD, MO.—It was mid-November 2011, just weeks after the surprise retirement of Tony La Russa began to be felt in the high minor leagues, when the Double-A Springfield Cardinals called for a news conference to introduce a new manager. Nobody, however, expected this Adam Wainwright-like curveball. Into the room and the managerial role walked Mike Shildt, promoted all the way from the Rookie-level Appalachian League, where he was fresh off back-to-back titles for Johnson City. But he had never played in the minor leagues or coached for a full-season club. "I remember everybody's reaction was, 'Who is this guy?' " Shildt said before breaking into a laugh. By year's end, no one had to ask. Not after Shildt, 43, led Springfield to a club-record 77 wins and to its first Texas League pennant. What a year it was—so successful, in fact, that the Springfield Cardinals are Baseball America's Minor League Team of the Year. Second baseman Kolten Wong, righthander Trevor Rosenthal and a 19-year-old Oscar Taveras jumped straight from the low Class A Midwest League out of spring training and played starring roles. Taveras won his second consecutive batting title, and Rosenthal reached St. Louis in July. Wong batted .286/.348/.405. . . . Tue, 04 Dec 2012 09:13:05 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/team-of-the-year/2012/2614370.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/freitas-awards/2012/2614378.html Content: The Freitas Awards, named after longtime minor league baseball ambassador  Bob Freitas, are awarded to honor minor league baseball clubs that show sustained excellence in the business of minor league baseball. Franchises must have been in operation for five seasons before they're eligible to win. Billing Mustangs general manager Gary Roller doesn't spend time worrying about job titles. When asked what year he took over as GM, after spending his first decade with the team as an assistant GM, he couldn't recall. Roller's focus is simple: Provide a top-notch minor league baseball experience for the people of Billings. "All the credit goes to both our fans and our business partners," said Roller, who has been with the franchise since 1993 and took over as GM in 2004. "That's how we feel about it, anyway. Without them and the community in general, we wouldn't be here." The Mustangs have strong ties to Billings that have only strengthened over time. The franchise came to town in 1948, and it has since become a treasured institution. Proof of the city's devotion to the Mustangs came in 2006, when voters approved a new stadium to replace the aging Cobb Field, which was no longer . . . Tue, 27 Nov 2012 09:37:50 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/freitas-awards/2012/2614378.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/freitas-awards/2012/2614377.html Content: The Freitas Awards, named after longtime minor league baseball ambassador  Bob Freitas, are awarded to honor minor league baseball clubs that show sustained excellence in the business of minor league baseball. Franchises must have been in operation for five seasons before they're eligible to win. One of the most sought-after markets in recent minor league baseball history has turned into one of its best. The Greenville Drive has been a hit since the franchise moved from Columbia, S.C., in 2005, beating out several teams interested in the market that had been vacated by the Braves' Southern League franchise, which moved to a new ballpark in Pearl, Miss. The demand for Greenville proved so great that Minor League Baseball changed its protocol for dealing with open territories. The South Atlantic League team has been a success from day one, increasing attendance in each of its eight seasons and along the way demonstrating what a partnership between community and team can truly accomplish. The Braves left town after the 2004 season, failing to persuade local leaders to replace aging Greenville Municipal Stadium. An ownership group headed by Craig Brown swooped in and agreed to pay for a new ballpark in exchange for . . . Tue, 27 Nov 2012 09:28:36 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/freitas-awards/2012/2614377.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/freitas-awards/2012/2614376.html Content: The Freitas Awards, named after longtime minor league baseball ambassador  Bob Freitas, are awarded to honor minor league baseball clubs that show sustained excellence in the business of minor league baseball. Franchises must have been in operation for five seasons before they're eligible to win. In late May, anyone would have understood if the Northwest Arkansas Naturals general manager had paced the ballpark's concourse for hours with a scowl. The team lost its top two prospects to Triple-A Omaha, slugger Wil Myers and righthander Jake Odorizzi, leaving the cupboard pretty bare. But GM Eric Edelstein, thanks to his staff's preseason work, had a measure of optimism. And by season's end, the Naturals had drawn 321,254 fans—the second-best attendance mark in their five seasons in the Texas League, despite the club finishing dead last in the overall standings. "We have changed how we do what we do 100 percent," Edelstein said. "We were very heavy season tickets and walk-ups with a little bit of groups the first year. And groups have (become) a year-over-year grower for us." Group sales became key to the Naturals in 2012, as the club averaged 4,656 fans over 69 openings while playing in a market where . . . Tue, 27 Nov 2012 09:05:17 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/freitas-awards/2012/2614376.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/freitas-awards/2012/2614374.html Content: The Freitas Awards, named after longtime minor league baseball ambassador  Bob Freitas, are awarded to honor minor league baseball clubs that show sustained excellence in the business of minor league baseball. Franchises must have been in operation for five seasons before they're eligible to win. It may seem hard to believe now, but success was anything but guaranteed when Joe Finley and Craig Stein bought a baseball team and moved it to Allentown, Pa. For even though the veteran minor league operators were building a new downtown ballpark that they promised would rank among the best in the minors, the Lehigh Valley area was hardly uncharted territory, and locals skeptical about supporting another team could simply point to the memory of a half-built stadium on the outskirts of town as a reminder of past failures. Chuck Domino, the team president who had already helped build a winning franchise in nearby Reading among other places, spent the 18 months before the team ever took the field selling the idea of minor league baseball to local residents. "I remember during the course of the year and a half that I was involved up there before the stadium was built, I would go . . . Tue, 27 Nov 2012 08:46:04 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/awards/freitas-awards/2012/2614374.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2012/2614356.html Content: Despite public assurances by its owner that the team is not on the move, several baseball sources say the Eastern League's Binghamton Mets are the team that has been targeted for a renovated ballpark in Ottawa. Binghamton hopes to keep minor league baseball in town, however, with a short-season New York-Penn League franchise. Sources said city officials have already inquired about purchasing the Batavia Muckdogs. Several sources confirmed that Binghamton would indeed be the team on the move to Ottawa, a scenario first reported by the Ottawa Citizen early in the year and denied passionately and repeatedly by Binghamton owner Michael Urda to local media. A source familiar with the negotiations also confirmed the Citizen's report that Nolan Ryan-owned Ryan-Sanders Baseball is the ownership group that plans to purchase the B-Mets. Ryan-Sanders CEO Reid Ryan declined to comment. Urda did not return a pair of interview requests from Baseball America. The city of Ottawa announced in early September that it had reached an agreement in principle with the Eastern League to bring one of its franchises to town for the 2014 season. League president Joe McEacharn said several hurdles still need to be cleared before a deal is finalized, including . . . Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:01:30 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2012/2614356.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/minors/column/2012/2614311.html Content: Three cities faced weighty questions about building new minor league ballparks this fall, and all three came to very different conclusions. First was Bakersfield, which you can read about in more detail on the Business Beat. The city has had a team in the California League since 1982 but plays in outdated Sam Lynn Ballpark and averaged just 637 fans a game in 2012. The Cal League has steadfastly kept the team in town, however, with the belief that Bakersfield can be a great market with a new ballpark. At long last, the team's new owners announced a privately financed ballpark plan that they hope will have the Blaze in a new home for the 2014 season. Matters were more complicated in El Paso, Texas, and Wilmington, N.C., however, because officials there were asking for public money to build new ballparks that would bring a new franchise to town. In Wilmington's plan, taxpayers would have paid for a $37 million ballpark project through an increase in property taxes. The Atlanta Braves and Mandalay Baseball Properties planned to buy the Lynchburg Hillcats, and move the Carolina League franchise to Wilmington. In legal language, Wilmington voters dismissed the idea with extreme prejudice, . . . Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:57:35 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/minors/column/2012/2614311.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2012/2614310.html Content: Charlie Blaney has often said that Bakersfield could be the best market in the California League, if only it had a new ballpark. The former Dodgers farm director and third-year Cal League president will now get a chance to prove his point. The Blaze are building a new ballpark. The privately financed venue is expected to cost $20 million and is scheduled to open during the 2014 season as part of a larger mixed-use development that will include retail, entertainment and residential elements. The ballpark will feature the typical bells and whistles of modern stadiums—including luxury suites, group-seating areas, a playground and special-event space that can be used year-round—and has been in the works since local businessmen Gene Voiland and Chad Hathaway purchased the club from the Elmore Sports Group in early March. The Blaze plan on breaking ground early next year. They'll spend 2013 at Sam Lynn and could open 2014 there if the new venue is not completed in time for Opening Day. "If you and I were starting a California League today, Bakersfield would be one of the first places we would put a team," Blaney said. "It's centrally located in the state. It has its own . . . Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:46:56 EST http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/business-beat/2012/2614310.html