AAA in A-town

by dajafi on Dec 23, 2005 12:07 PM EST in News

Marcus Hayes reports in today's Philadelphia Daily News that the Phils' Triple-A affiliation will shift after the 2006 season, leaving Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for Allentown, PA:

After next season, the Phillies are expected to end their affiliation with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after nearly 20 years and move into a new Triple A park that has been approved for construction in Allentown and is scheduled to be completed by 2007.

"Nothing is finalized, but after 2006, we probably won't end up with a working agreement with Scranton," said Mike Arbuckle, the Phillies' assistant general manager in charge of player development.

Craig Stein, owner of the wildly popular Double A Reading Phillies and co-owner of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws with Joe Finley, who also owns the Double A Trenton Thunder, agreed to a 29-year lease on a $34.3 million stadium.

Minor league sources indicated that the Baltimore Orioles affiliate in Ottawa could move into Lackawanna County Stadium, where the SWB Red Barons, the Phillies' Triple A club, have played since it was built in 1989.

This seems like the general trend with minor-league affiliates--get them as close as possible. I've always liked how the Seattle Mariners have their top affiliate in Tacoma, or the Red Sox with their AAA team in Pawtucket. I'm actually a bit surprised that no large market in baseball has done what the Philadelphia Flyers did a few years back, putting their top minor-league team literally down the block. Talk about roster expansion.

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Reading, too

And with Reading just a short drive down 222, this could be a lot of fun.

Now just move that Lakewood team to Lancaster and we're set.

by WholeCamels on Dec 23, 2005 2:22 PM EST reply actions

Lancaster Phils

Lancaster built a pretty nice ballpark last year and had a team in the Atlantic League. They had the third best attendance and it was a great atmosphere. I wouldn't mind watching future Phils play in my backyard.

We would need to work on the name. The Lancaster Blue Claws sounds just as good as the Lancaster Barnstormers(the actual name).

by WheresFregosi on Dec 23, 2005 4:27 PM EST up reply actions

Put 'em all in Philly

Make it real easy, like the Flyers do. Travelling up the turnpike, in either direction, is a pain.

by David S. Cohen on Dec 23, 2005 2:36 PM EST reply actions

Well...

except for Clearwater. Gotta have someplace warm to visit every March.

Seriously though, I wonder why teams like the Mets and Yankees haven't used this model. Yeah, they both now have low-A affiliates within the five boroughs--but those teams are making mad money, and obviously aren't cutting into the demand for big-league ball.

Additionally, the chance to follow your favorite Brooklyn Cyclone as he moves up the Mets' chain could further help at the gate, with sales of merch, etc. To be fair, the Yanks have their AA affiliate in Trenton, which is pretty close to the city, and the Mets I think are close as well. But then they're shipped to Columbus and Norfolk... strange.

by dajafi on Dec 23, 2005 3:04 PM EST reply actions

Coordination

And, coordinate the schedules so the minor league teams play a heavy schedule when the big league team is on a long road trip. Maybe the teams are scared of losing the gate at the big league stadium if there are other options. That's not going to be an issue in NYC where there are so many people. But in Philly, maybe it will be?

by David S. Cohen on Dec 23, 2005 4:03 PM EST reply actions