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Aren't the shithead Astros engineering this war on the minor leagues because it's not e~f~f~i~c~i~e~n~t enough for their management consultants?

I love that Bernie Sanders even chimed in on this. Granted, it's particularly because Burlington VT's team is slated for elimination, but he's still on the right side of the issue, which is that this is an attack on labor and small towns.

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What the actual fuck?

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

The percentage of draft picks coming from college has been increasing since the late 90's; more so in the early rounds (i.e., players most likely to make it to MLB). Those players probably need less seasoning at the MiLB level before making the jump to the majors. Verlander's a good example. 3 years at Old Dominion, selected 2nd overall in the draft, barely had a cup in the minors/13 starts before being ROY in the AL.


But it's a dumb move if MLB views MiLB strictly in terms of how it impacts player development. Minor league baseball's a great marketing tool for the game, especially in places without easy access to an MLB park. NHL might do better south of the border if they could stop their minor league affiliates from changing owners/team names/NHL affiliation or moving every few years.

I dunno, the AHL's been surprisingly stable by AHL standards as of late. Ever since the whiny babies out west got their California farm teams (all of which except for San Diego seem to be huge failures), everyone's pretty much staying put in terms of location and affiliation. Chicago-Rockford, Nashville-Milwaukee, and Detroit-Grand Rapids are all set in stone.

Developmentally speaking, the AHL has the same problem as baseball does. Here as there, the college game is producing more pros, and anyone worth a damn bypasses the AHL because they're already 22+ by the time they're out of college. And then there's major-junior, which is protective of its Canadian-born talent and won't let NHL teams send players up and down and screw with their plans. Case in point, Kirby Dach, who had accomplished all he was going to accomplish playing against boys in Saskatoon, but as a Canadian-born WHLer was ineligible to play in the AHL, so the Blackhawks had to invent some injury for him to go to Rockford on a so-called rehab assignment, so it was only by heroically recovering from "Dutchman's lament" or whatever they gave him that he could have any sort of runway from a teenagers' league to the pros. So really all you have is a league of future third-liners and past fourth-liners, along with a bunch of goons who are trying to get themselves over without actually demonstrating skills.

I try to make it to a Rockford game every year. It's a fun live experience because you can sit like ten rows up on the red line for a relative pittance and you get to go to Beefaroo before the game. But you can't shake the feeling that you're not really seeing tomorrow's superstars today, it's not like Alex Rodriguez playing for that farm team up in Appleton or whatever. The Hawks did graduate a lot of players from Rockford, but with the proviso that they logged most/all their time in the lockout seasons: Keith, Seabrook, Leddy, Shaw, Saad. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think a key skater has come out of Rockford without the NHL being shut down since Niklas Hjalmarsson.

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Good. Let minor league baseball survive or fail on their own. The players make so little they have to be adopted by townies who feed, clothe, and shelter them. This is so 300 people and a few local businesses and boy scout troops can spend a night outside.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Fuck small towns. Eliminate the Electoral College. Only idiots would live in a small town.

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His mind is not for rent to any God or government.

Does MLB need 4 levels of minor league development?

No. I see no reason why independent leagues couldn't pick up the slack...and the fodder.

I would assume congress would look at this after all the minor league tax payer funded stadiums that have been built around the country.

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Congress?

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MLB would probably lose the anti-trust exemption as it relates to MiLB, which I think is based on an act of Congress. Don't know if Congress could unilaterally revoke MLB's specific antitrust exemption. No doubt MLB would push it to the courts if they tried.

First sensible post you’ve had in years

MLB can eliminate the contract with MiLB as soon as they give up their anti-trust protection.

And teams who have bought their own AAA teams like the Braves, I can't imagine they are thrilled by this.

The teams like Houston want to just keep everyone at their spring training complex. Great. Lots of fun in July in Florida. The Cubs moved from Orlando to Myrtle Beach because of all the FSL rainouts.

And while you can point to the college players, what about the Spanish speaking players from poor towns who can't go to college? Part of the Rookie and A ball experience is acclimation. Sure they need more money, but they also need to learn how to become independent in a totally different culture.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Isn't that the wood-bat leagues?

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Going to foreign countries for labor. Waht else is new

Those too. But also Rookie ball and all of class A

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finally someone's talking some sense on this godforsaken board! If these so-called "small towns" were worth a damn they would have already grown into big towns by now. since they didn't the free market has obviously spoken so it's time to get rid of these Podunk outposts and get everyone into the mega-cities where they belong!

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I think people in small towns should have affordable live baseball. I don't think they should have weighted votes. BOTH CAN BE TRUE

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No, MLB does not need four levels of minor league development. However, in a media landscape where there are so many different demands on people's time and attention, I think subsidizing minor league baseball is not a bad idea because it builds interest in the major league product. Even if clubs are taking a loss on some of their minor league affiliates, those affiliates are still more effective than any sort of advertising they could direct towards those markets.

It's more like seven levels: AAA, AA, Advanced A, A, Short-Season A, Rookie. Maybe you could drop Short-Season A if you have to now that the wood-bat leagues have grown so much, but that's a northeastern circuit, and you'd have at least a dozen Democratic senators up MLB's ass if you don't make sure those teams keep some sort of affiliation.

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Counterpoint: "what about affiliated minor-league baseball for all who want it."

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Are you really suggesting that a bunch of toothless hillbillies have some natural right to a shitty baseball team? If they really care about baseball so much they should move to a big city. That's one of the reasons I live in Chicago. I like baseball.

Also, guns are bad. Only the government should have them. I live a mile and a half from a police station. If I call the cops they come in five minutes. I'm sorry that deplorables live in BFE and there are no special authorized people with guns to protect them within thirty miles. If they cared about their families they'd move to a city.

So, I agree and disagree with you. If people want baseball, gun protection, and full representation, they should move to a city, and get on board with impeaching Donald Trump. We even have dentists here.

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His mind is not for rent to any God or government.

Bernie Sanders: We're gonna take your guns and replace them with free college and minor league baseball!

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His mind is not for rent to any God or government.

Bernie seems to love to get cheap cheers for things like this. Why would he care about a bunch of minor league owners paying terrible wages being put out of business?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I would think Bernie would 100% support this. More kids would go to school, so more college is free for so many more people.

minor league baseball was better off without MLB ownership

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.