Like Apprenticeship Programs or Artistic Pursuits: Minor League Baseball reporting 2017

they should send one to Dusty

apparently the 'ligament' is removable

Effective immediately, the Replay America Tour shows scheduled at Minor League Baseball Stadiums including the show scheduled at Prince George's Stadium on Friday, August 4 have been canceled. Poor ticket sales across the entire Ballpark concert tour, was the determining reason for the cancellation. These shows featuring Billy Ocean, Taylor Dayne, Starship, the Motels and Naked Eyes were anticipated to bring thousands of people out to a ballpark environment for the enjoyment of throwback music favorites from the 1980's but just didn't generate the interest needed to support the costs.

http://i.imgur.com/v0aQt85.png

featuring a league-record 44 combined strikeouts

M's minor leaguers take $683 Uber to game
Four Mariners minor leaguers took a seven-hour Uber trip from Phoenix to Albuquerque, New Mexico, at a cost of $683 to make it to a game.

amusing action in Winnipeg (American Association) last Saturday night

It's the bottom of the 14th inning and the Kansas City T-Bones are completely out of pitchers, having already used their entire bullpen and then their centrefielder to get through a pair of innings. So they bring in starting pitcher Matt Sergey, who is coming off a 105-pitch performance in Fargo 48 hours earlier. As a result, the righty ends up using his left arm to throw — and promptly walks the first two Goldeyes batters he faces.

After a sacrifice bunt moves them over to second and third, Sergey is asked to intentionally walk Goldeyes hitter Mason Katz to set up a bases-loaded, one-out force play situation. But instead of just making a routine wide toss to his catcher, Sergey — we remind you, he's using his wrong arm to throw — sails one to the backstop.

Shawn Pleffner trots home with the game-winning run on a wild pitch intentional walk...

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/baseball/goldeyes/goldeyes-win-12-11-in-14-innings-one-of-craziest-games-ever-434749703.html

ICYMI, in pitching diversity news

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/07/16/242525472/stacy-piagno-became-the-third-woman-to-get-a-win-since-the-1950s

Missoula Osprey to Retire Lyle Overbay's Number on July 28

Dodgers prospect Alex Verdugo hit a 385-foot homer at AAA tonight: 360 feet off the bat, 25 feet off Zach Borenstein's head. Holy Canseco. pic.twitter.com/2KzTtvcTpF

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 26, 2017

I'll be making my first visit to a Pawtucket game in 2 weeks.

dayton dragons outfielder jose siri extended his hitting streak to 36 games last night, breaking the midwest league record of 35.

the previous record-holder, tony toups of the 1977 waterloo indians, was there, which is kind of cool

Behold, the most GCL play ever. pic.twitter.com/DJ8aKcuv1Y

— Josh Norris (@jnorris427) August 10, 2017

aahahahahaha

the new york-penn league has selected 56 players to participate in its all-star game tuesday in troy, ny

exactly zero of them are from the staten island yankees, who have the best record in the league

not that i don't approve, but wtf

Columbus 5, Pawtucket 4

37-yo Eric Kratz catching for the Clippers.

They sing Sweet Caroline in Pah-tucket, but no Green Monster replica. (Greenville has one.)

padres infield prospect gabriel arias was added to the class a fort wayne tincaps roster on saturday

he is the first affiliated full-season-team player born in the year 2000

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHxjzmkXYAAw38U.jpg

http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/08/21/249782410/photo-of-the-day-salem-keizer-volcanoes-take-photo-of-2017-solar-eclipse

360° video here, which is p. cool if you make it look up

reportage

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2017/8/22/16184140/salem-keizer-volcanoes-total-solar-eclipse

The Salina Stockade lost again last night. They're now 16-71. Here's how they got their .184 winning percentage.https://t.co/LDSXM01c4t

— Ben Lindbergh (@BenLindbergh) August 23, 2017

Don't miss #AlternativeFacts Night at UPMC Park TONIGHT. First 1K get a 2016 SeaWolves championship ring.

Tix: https://t.co/DC1MpviqcJ pic.twitter.com/mq7D9e4Qil

— Erie SeaWolves (@erie_seawolves) August 25, 2017

lansing's nick sinay set a new midwest league record with his 38th hit-by-pitch . . . in just 73 games/265 plate appearances.

he also has drawn 27 walks, giving him the rare .219/.414/.265 line

http://deadspin.com/iowa-cubs-player-is-exceptionally-talented-at-being-a-w-1798628763

The New York Mets have announced that All-Star Pitcher Noah Syndergaard will continue his Major League Rehabiliation Assignment with the Brooklyn Cyclones on Thursday, September 7th when they take on the Staten Island Yankees in the 2017 season finale for the Cyclones. Game time is 6:00 PM with gates opening at 4:30 PM. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a Cyclones Wall Calendar and there will be post-game fireworks.

The Cyclones are offering a special $15 ticket with all proceeds to benefit Hurricane Harvey Relief through MiLB Chariities.

the florida state and southern leagues have cancelled their championship series due to the approaching hurricane. a certain small segment of the population is unhappy that these leagues will have co-champions

this is something that appears to happen about once every ten years

brandon mccarthy gets the start tonight for rancho cucamonga in game 3 of its california league semifinal series

Tigers convert Lakeland headquarters to public shelter from Irma

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2017/09/10/tigers-convert-lakeland-headquarters-public-shelter-irma/105469504/

Tigertown’s clubhouses in Lakeland, Fla., already are filling with families that will use its windowless, concrete walls as protection against winds that could, even in central Florida’s interior, surpass 100 mph.

Refrigerated trucks are filled with 4-5 days of provisions necessary to feed families, staffers, players and, most of all, first-responders who will be charged with clean-up and safety after the storm’s greatest intensity arrives, according to best weather estimates, about 2:30 a.m. Monday.

The 84-acre Tigertown complex’s dormitories and cafeterias will be a local headquarters for emergency personnel in Lakeland and Polk County.

the durham bulls are yr triple-a national champions

Bill and Brian Doyle-Murray hit the road for TV

http://deadline.com/2017/11/bill-murray-brian-doyle-murray-extra-innings-facebook-watch-1202207024/

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DOwzM6rW0AEere3.jpg

welcome to the atlantic league

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQYE8DkUMAIYM0U.jpg:small

feisty green bee with a plaid cap

https://i.imgur.com/tE3q9sS.jpg

stay classy, pat o'conner

http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2017/12/19/in-an-interview-minor-league-baseball-president-pat-oconner-diminishes-the-work-of-his-players

the potomac nationals, who have historically had the best/weirdest bobblehead giveaways in the minors, are having a fan vote to determine one of their 2018 bobbleheads

one of the options is Bobby Bo(nilla) holding a $1.19 million check Bobblehead

We're excited to announce LÜG Vodka - our collaboration with @AmericanFifth! #LugLife

⬇️ FULL STORY ⬇️ https://t.co/lTxhIyA24m pic.twitter.com/uFGjem0GR4

— Lansing Lugnuts (@LansingLugnuts) March 9, 2018

not enough for me to put Lansing on my unemployment road map

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/quantifying-the-effects-of-winning-in-the-minor-leagues-on-player-development

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/spending-bill-could-quash-minor-league-baseball-players-wage-claims/2018/03/18/d31cd76e-2b0a-11e8-8ad6-fbc50284fce8_story.html?utm_term=.947b4a41d948

@jazayerli
For the $6M annual pension owners are giving Bud Selig, they could have given every minor leaguer in baseball a raise of about $300 a month.

@jazayerli
$300 a month translates into maybe an extra $1.50 an hour. Which means that MLB could comply with federal minimum wage laws instead of lobbying Congress for a damn exemption, for little more than the cost of one man’s pension.

But they won’t.

30-some teams are doing marketing outreach by adopting hispanic/latin identities/uniforms for portions of the season and some of them are actually pretty decent

https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*3JWrwE3u5iA_PCbJ8eHNWQ.png

https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*TIwlE9TJM6BjHcYDb6no1A.png

https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*n_cHuALRbPq-vrtrdP2jiw.png

probably gonna sell a bunch of caps

Congress passes bill depriving minor leaguers of minimum wage rights https://t.co/hNkzJ48Cuk

— HardballTalk (@HardballTalk) March 22, 2018

gross

https://theathletic.com/288633/2018/03/27/sarris-three-days-in-the-life-and-finances-of-a-minor-league-baseball-player (unlocked)

https://www.mlb.com/cut4/here-are-the-100-best-minor-league-player-names-heading-into-the-2018-season/c-270771028

BIG NEWS! 9x @NBA All-Star, former @WakeMBB star and Forsyth County native Chris Paul (@CP3) has become a part owner of our team!

MORE: https://t.co/egtDsy3tmo pic.twitter.com/Qn5v5X88jQ

— Winston-Salem Dash (@WSDashBaseball) April 10, 2018

not to be a total homer or anything but the 2018 memphis redbirds really one of the best AAA teams of all time? the 2017 version was already dominant, and they're even better this year. this year's model:

C Carson Kelly (either #1 or #2 catching prospect in baseball, good enough to start in MLB right now, blocked by Molina)
1B Luke Voit (AAAA, good enough to be on an MLB bench)
2B Max Schrock
3B Patrick Wisdom (not good enough to start in MLB, but a star in AAA and probably a good player in Japan in a year or two)
SS Wilfredo Tovar/Alex Mejia (eh)
OF Tyler O'Neill (all of these outfielders have a lot of talent. Garcia and Arozarena are good all-around players, O'Neill is one of those high K% guys with huge tree trunk arms, a new Randal Grichuk but probably better)
OF Jose Adolis Garcia
OF Randy Arozarena
also OF Oscar Mercado, who is good

SP Jack Flaherty (already good enough to be in any MLB rotation, may be an ace someday)
SP John Gant (could be a backend option right now in many MLB rotations, probably a #3 or #4 in a few years)
SP Dakota Hudson (flashes of brilliance, will be a major league something, either starter or reliever)
SP Austin Gomber (will probably be a MLB 6th or 7th inning kind of guy)
SP Daniel Poncedeleon (cool name, got drilled in the head and lived to tell about it and is cool)

with few exceptions, almost all of these guys will almost certainly be MLB regulars within the next few years, if not later this year.

It's not the high notes of the The Star-Spangled Banner that has Alishia Wolcott turning down a spot to sing at a Reno Aces baseball game this summer.

The 2016 University of Nevada, Reno graduate said no to her chance to sing the national anthem at Greater Nevada Field, the downtown Reno stadium where the Aces minor league baseball team plays, because she can't bring her gun.

Wolcott declined to sing or ever attend another baseball game in a letter to the team after learning of the stadium’s new policy in which everyone will be checked with hand-held metal detectors before entering the stadium.

what a patriot

The firing of Bryan Price--um, googling to see who he managed--led me to check in on my student Darren Shred for the first time in a while. He had the weirdest line last year. In 3.2 IP (Rookie League), he gave up no hits and no runs. He also walked six and struck out no one. He's also a perfect illustration of the old saw about every major leaguer having been Babe Ruth in high school--the best pitcher, hitter, and fielder on the team by a wide margin. As a hitter in grade 8, Darren was so far beyond everyone else it was ridiculous. In two years with Arizona, he has yet to bat. (Obviously a function of him being a pitcher, but I'm sure he'd get to the plate if he was noticeably better than anyone.)

honestly i don't think i care

i don't care either, i just find it amusing to see a pro sport admit that game outcomes don't matter as much as simply ending

clearly minor leaguers should skip spring training, sparing their clubs this horrible financial burden, and just show up for regular-season games. everybody’s happy!

MLB argues for minor leaguers to stay unpaid in spring training: "It is the players that obtain the greater benefit from the training opportunities that they are afforded than the clubs, who actually just incur the cost of having to provide that training” https://t.co/md2BqNjr0X

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 12, 2022

wow.

i'm glad people are presumably going to get paid, but i really wish some lawsuit would force these pro leagues to open their books

Minor league players, MLB reach settlement in minimum wage lawsuit

NEW YORK -- Minor league players and Major League Baseball have reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging teams violated minimum wage laws.

Terms of the settlement were not filed with the court Tuesday and details were not released. Two people familiar with the negotiations, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the release of details was not authorized, said the sides in recent weeks had been discussing a possible settlement in the $200 million range.

all very healthy behavior

springfield’s chandler redmond hit a solo homer, two-run homer, three-run homer and grand slam tonight

second time that’s ever been done in pro baseball (that anyone knows of, at least); the other was tyrone horne for arkansas (then also a cardinals double-a team) in 1998

that's weird; last night, just before you posted that, i was perusing the stats of Springfield's team. Mainly checking in on Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, and Malcom Nuñez, who have 61 years of life experience between the three of them, and also Moisés Gómez, who is a relatively ancient 23 year old with 23 home runs and a 1.106 OPS. didn't even see Chandler Raymond! he's 25. i'll probably never see him in a big league uniform but it's warming to see someone have an insane, career accomplishment kind of night

(shit, i forgot nunez was just traded to the bucs)

The Major League Baseball Players Association has launched a campaign to unionize Minor League Players across the country #1u #FairBall pic.twitter.com/DDq4Q8NOXI

— MLBPA Communications (@MLBPA_News) August 29, 2022

possibly a big deal?

also it is amusing that milb.com, the official website of minor league baseball, doesn't mention this in any way

and, the campaign is pretty much done? they got >50% to sign the union cards

And just like that, minor league baseball players are on the verge of unionizing.

More than 50 percent of minor leaguers signed authorization cards in support of unionization under the guidance of the Major League Baseball Players Association, the organization announced Tuesday. As such, the players union has asked MLB to voluntarily recognize it as the representative for minor league players. The league had yet to comment as of early Tuesday afternoon.

The announcement came just one week after the union made the surprising move to send out the cards to gauge interest, a move made to seize the momentum created by two-plus years of advocacy that pushed the low pay and challenging working conditions of the minors into a brighter spotlight than ever before. That minor leaguers would unionize never seemed imminent. That the MLBPA would serve as the organizing force behind their unionization was never obvious.

But as of Tuesday morning, their combined efforts had hurtled minor leaguers one step closer to unionization.

“Minor league Players have made it unmistakably clear they want the MLBPA to represent them and are ready to begin collective bargaining in order to positively affect the upcoming season,” Tony Clark, executive director of the players union, said in a statement.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/06/minor-league-unionization-mlbpa-authorization-cards/

thumbs up

That's an F7 on your scorecard, but a home run in Delvin Pérez's heart 🤣 pic.twitter.com/05EIE3gH1R

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) September 23, 2022

In 2002, 186 MiLB pitchers threw 150+ innings. This year, five MiLB pitchers threw 150+ innings. We want to honor great pitching seasons (and Painter's is a great season). So that has led to the BA MiLB Pitcher of the Year award.

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) September 29, 2022

When we said “World’s Largest Horseshoe,” we really meant it. pic.twitter.com/FfgZGCdKmZ

— Springfield Lucky Horseshoes (@ShoesBaseball) October 16, 2022

there once was a minor league team called the Fargo Divorcees

it was way back when. also, i just learned that Fargo used to be well known as a particularly easy and quick place to get a divorce

nice

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35998626/minor-leaguers-mlb-reach-tentative-deal-historic-1st-cba

4-HR game for Eduardo De Oleo of the Intercounty League's London Majors:

https://lfpress.com/sports/local-sports/london-majors-slugger-rips-four-home-runs-in-one-game#:~:text=De%20Oleo's%20historic%20four%2Dhomer,London%20Free%20Press

Not an important league anymore, but many major leaguers have passed through there, including Fergie Jenkins and Denny McClain.

https://www.theibl.ca/mlb-alumni

(Actually, come to think of it, some of these guys, including Fergie, played there after retirement.)_

on how loaded triple-a teams might fare in the majors (spoiler: not well)

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/terrible-mlb-teams-are-pretty-good-at-baseball