Baseball America is reporting that Major League Baseball wants to convert the New York-Penn League, which the Staten Island Yankees are a member, into a wood-bat, summer college league.
It’s all part of MLB’s plan to contract 42 teams from the minor-league system in a cost-cutting move. MLB’s Player Development Agreement (PDA) with the minors ran out on the last day of September.
All short-season leagues, including the New York-Penn League, are on MLB’s contraction list. The Staten Island Yankees are the New York Yankees' short-season Single A affiliate.
MLB’s plan calls for each MLB team to have only four minor league affiliates -- lower level A ball team which will train at the parent club’s spring training site in Florida or Arizona, long-season A ball, Double A and Triple A.
In late September, the MLB successfully converted the Appalachian League to a wood-bat summer college league. But that was a bit different because MLB owned and operated the league. MLB does not own the NY-Penn League.
The 10 Appalachian teams became part of MLB and USA Baseball’s Prospect Development Pipeline. Each team will play a 54-game regular season, and the two organizations will support staffing and administration. Former major leaguers will provide instruction. The 10 teams in the league will change their names and logos to “incorporate symbols and images important to their respective local communities,” according to MLB and USA Baseball.
A similar setup has been proposed to the New York-Penn League.
Staten Island Yankees president and operating partner Will Smith said it was too premature to assess the actual MLB plan since some New York-Penn League teams may be part of the 120 teams MLB plans to retain in the minors and grant new Player Development Licenses.
“I think it’s a substandard replacement for professional baseball,” said Smith, who is still hoping to remain part of the New York Yankees' minor league system when all is said and done. “MLB is creating this league with good intentions of keeping baseball in towns where they are taking away minor league baseball.”
Smith said there are too many unanswered questions right now to think if it will work or not.
For starters, there are less home games (27) compared to the 38 home games the Staten Island Yankees currently play, which means less revenue for the teams. Players are not paid in summer college leagues, but would have to be housed somewhere.
Right now, the Staten Island Yankees' rent is tied to attendance and utilities and other factors, according to Smith. He didn’t know what the particulars would be under MLB’s new plan.
A source, who is familiar with the minor league landscape and wood-bat summer college leagues, told SILive/Advance Saturday night that he didn’t think a wood-bat college baseball team stationed in Staten Island would succeed.
“I don’t see it working,” said the source. “Those college wood-bat leagues are usually found in far-away places in the middle of nowhere. To me, Staten Island is too close to the city and the Island is a big town.”
The source said if the New York-Penn League does turn into a wood-bat league for college players, coupled with the Appalachian League already converting, it would spell trouble for other summer leagues like the Cape Cod League, which has always attracted the best college players from across the country.
“The player pool is going to dry up with two MLB-run college leagues,” said the source. “Where is a kid going to want to play? If he has choice to go to some league in the Midwest or be a part of an MLB-run league I think he will choose the latter. That’s where all the scouts will be.
“In the end, MLB wants control over the player pool without having the minor league teams they are cutting,” said the source.
Smith said every team will have a chance or option to go with MLB’s new format if and when the time comes.
“Right now it’s too early in the game to see if it’s even feasible,” said Smith. “There are a lot of unknowns.”
"wood" - Google News
November 02, 2020 at 12:44AM
https://ift.tt/2TKj5bS
Will Staten Island Yankees become part of wood-bat, college summer loop? - silive.com
"wood" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3du6D7I
No comments:
Post a Comment