September 30th marks the end of Major League Baseball's (MLB) current agreement with Minor League Baseball (MiLB). There is currently no future agreement and not likely to be one. MLB presented the Minor League teams with a take it or go away proposal this week. Negotiations are said to be continuing, but no one expects anything to change.
MLB will simply forcibly take over overseeing the operations of minor league baseball in America.
The MiLB organization in St. Petersburg, FL will shut down and the Minor Leagues will then be run from MLB's HQ in New York.
MLB is contracting 25% of MiLB's teams. Beginning with the 2021 season each MLB team will be allowed only 4 affiliated Minor League Teams (1 AAA; 1 AA & 2 A). All short-season and rookie leagues are being terminated. Young player development will take place exclusively at each team's spring training facility.
MLB is also, dictatorially taking over all remaining Minor League teams marketing, sponsorship, merchandise and broadcast rights. MLB will split proceeds 50-50 with minor league clubs. With the razor thin margin some MiLB teams operate on losing, 50% of their local revenue to MLB may be the final nail in some team's coffins.
Teams being forced up a level will be required to pay a franchise fee for the right to play at the higher level. Teams being forced down a level won't be compensated for the drop.
Teams losing affiliation will be encouraged to join either amateur summer "wood bat" leagues populated by college players or become independent professional clubs. MLB will start 2-3 additional amateur wood bat leagues, but those leagues will be overseen but USA baseball and not directly affiliated with MLB.
Gone are the affiliation agreements, replaced with each Minor League team that survives being granted a license to operate (much like NASCAR teams). Each of the 30 MLB teams will now choose what existing teams they want to license OR may choose an independent team OR may negotiate with any city or town that doesn't currently host a MilB team (like Mobile). Look for a major shuffling of affiliations as MLB teams look to grab shiny new facilities in bigger cities and to bring their affiliates into a closer proximity to the MLB team.
Minor League teams will be required to pay MLB 8.5% of all ticket revenues as a license fee.
MLB claims to be planning to significantly raise Minor Leaguers salaries in the near future, meaning the cost of attending minor league games will certainly rise, as well. At what point does the allure of attending become outweighed by the rising cost?
Reportedly the contraction list that was published in the spring has changed, with some teams coming off the list and some being added. More than 40 current Minor League teams will likely disappear overnight. Currently it is expected that up to three independent league teams may be chosen by MLB teams as new affiliates. The list is still being finalized and is expected to be presented to the Minor League clubs at the very last minute.
The Barons are probably safe, with one of the newer stadiums in one of the larger cities. But where their affiliation lands is anyone's guess. The Baron's had been toying with a jump to Triple A for the last few years. That's not impossible under this new reality, but not likely. Where the Barons end up in the new pecking order is an complete unknown at this point.
The closest MLB team to Birmingham is obviously the Atlanta Braves who owned their AAA team housed in the Atlanta suburbs. If the Braves want to contract the radius of their farm system, the Barons could become the Braves AA affiliate. The other question is will the White Sox let the Braves take the Barons away from them. The Sox and the Barons have had a long-standing, harmonious relationship. Do the White Sox want to continue to maintain that or will they look closer to the Windy City? At this point it's anyone's guess.
Quote:MLB sources said the new list hasn't been finalized, and minor league owners said they don't expect to see it until the last minute. "They won't make same mistake twice," one team owner said. "There are probably 130 owners who are convinced their teams aren't going to be contracted, and 10 of them are going to be very surprised."
Here is an interesting excerpt showing the arrogance of MLB Commissioner Manfred:
Quote:MLB rejects the term "contracted" as it doesn't control whether the teams stay in business. Teams that lose affiliation will have three options: They can become independent professional teams; they can replace the MiLB players with college amateurs; or they can fold. MLB argues that the teams can still be viable because fans in towns with rookie or short-season Class A baseball go to the ballpark for the experience, not the players.
"Same schedule, same tickets, same age and quality of play," an MLB official told ESPN. "Literally nothing changes. Instead of low-level minor league players, it's guys that go to Vanderbilt, etc."
Minor League Owners response:
Quote:Several minor league owners interviewed by ESPN said it's an unacceptable alternative. They said fans -- and local leaders who chipped in to build multimillion-dollar stadiums -- come to see professionals, not amateurs.
"The people at MLB who say that just don't know what they're talking about," a prominent minor league owner said. "Ninety-five percent play in ballparks that were publicly funded to the tune of $20 [million] to $25 million per ballpark, and they never would've built them for amateur, college ball.
"The commissioner's office either doesn't understand or is trying to pull the wool over people's eyes.
Full article:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2979...nd-sept-30
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NBR: Minor League Baseball will cease to exist on October 1, 2020.
MLB
