Major League Baseball and its great teams and players have long inspired a mix of hushed awe and warm nostalgia.
Bill Mazeroski’s bottom-of-the-ninth home run that propelled the Pittsburgh Pirates past the New York Yankees in the 1960 World Series, to cite just one example, is still treated as a moment of almost religious significance. Then there’s the roll call of legends who are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame: Roberto Clemente, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, and on and on. For a couple of generations, these players were as familiar and well-loved as members of the family.
Arguably, however, it’s minor league baseball where fans are able to make the greatest, most immediate connection with teams and players. The stadiums are far less imposing, the tickets and concessions are cheaper and the players are more accessible to fans. And, who knows, there’s always the chance that the 22-year-old slugger who’s swatting them out of the park while he’s refining his technique will one day be spoken of in the same breath as Clemente, Mantle, Aaron and DiMaggio.
But minor league baseball is in danger of being evicted in many of the communities where it has gained a foothold. If a proposal by Major League Baseball is ultimately approved, teams like the Erie SeaWolves, the State College Spikes and the Williamsport Crosscutters might be swept into history’s dustbin.
In a nutshell, Major League Baseball is arguing that the minors are too sprawling, and too many of the players who fill the ranks on these clubs have absolutely no hope of ever making it to the majors. The powers that be in the majors basically feel like they are getting an insufficient return on their investment. Therefore, players less likely to blossom should be cut loose, and a quarter of the existing minor league squads should be eliminated, taking them from 160 to 120 after the 2020 season.
MLB further contends that the money that is not spent on some players could be poured into better training and salaries for the more-promising players who remain, and better geographic alignment among teams could be achieved. They also say some of the teams might carry on in a semi-independent league that would be loosely affiliated with the majors.
If you look at it strictly in terms of dollars-and-cents for the majors, it maybe makes sense. But look beyond that, and it doesn’t.
First, there’s always the possibility that some of the no-hopers that Major League Baseball is ready to write off could develop into superstars. Moreover, doing away with minor league baseball in many of these communities would effectively end the only opportunity local fans have to see professional baseball live and in person. If their interest in the sport is not nurtured through hometown teams and grassroots enthusiasm, many of them might be inclined to just tune out baseball altogether.
Above all, losing a minor league team would be tough for these communities economically. Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement, “Pennsylvania’s professional baseball affiliates help provide affordable, family-friendly entertainment and improve the quality of life in each of their communities.”
He continued, “Minor League teams support local businesses and host various forms of charitable work for their communities. … If these teams are cut, it also creates another issue for local authorities in regard to possibly having an empty stadium to maintain.”
This is one proposal that should be benched, and quickly.
— Washington, Pa. Observer-Reporter