(11-22-2019 08:40 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-20-2019 01:56 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(11-20-2019 01:38 PM)TardisCaptain Wrote:  Well now the politicians are starting to get involved. This article mentions that an Idaho congressman is joining 100 other politicians in a letter to MLB.

https://localnews8.com/sports/2019/11/20...-question/

I'm sure a letter is just the start of their involvement. Local communities have put a lot into their facilities to attract teams.

I wouldn't mind if Idaho Falls and Ogden joined the Northwest league that has two proposed teams shutting down. Ogden has a ton of support in the community. But I'd still feel bad for other members of the Pioneer League. Orem probably won't be saved as they are already on shaky ground. I know that Colorado Springs is loving their team and hopefully it should find a landing spot (if the elimination of the Pioneer league goes through). I'm not certain how the other teams in the league are doing.

Before anyone starts decrying government intervention into a private business, blah blah crap, remember that probably 95% of baseball facilities have been paid for at least in part by Governments.

The Government has every right to, and SHOULD intervene in this, since they are a major stakeholder in Professional Baseball.

Or, MLB and it's owners could reimburse the taxpayers for every penny we have subsidized all levels of baseball (including infrastructure) and decline the anti-trust exemption.

The government can't force MLB to keep paying for minor league franchises that don't pay the bills. Nor will they try to, for that very reason. Paying for public facilities doesn't obligate MLB to keep a franchise there - MLB or Minor - beyond the terms of the lease.

If fans really do care about their local Toledo Mud Hen or Backwater Sand Crab team, then they should show up and buy enough tickets to make them viable.

Regardless, this should be the death knell for their antitrust exemption. The exemption was built on the idea that a baseball game doesn't count as interstate commerce. The New York-based MLB deciding to kill a small league in the Rockies on a whim is, by definition, interstate commerce and the exemption should get the axe over this.

(11-22-2019 09:50 AM)panite Wrote:  

(10-19-2019 11:29 AM)bullet Wrote:  https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2787...n-40-teams

"Major League Baseball is in negotiations with its minor league teams about efforts to "reorganize elements of the system" that could reduce the number of affiliated teams from 160 to 120, according to reports....

According to the reports, the 40 teams at the lower levels that are not included in this venture would be reclassified into a "Dream League," which would be run jointly by MLB and Minor League Baseball and would include players who were not selected in the draft, which under this proposal would be moved to after the College World Series and reduced to 20-25 rounds from the total of up to 40 in its current format...."

This could impact how much MLB relies on colleges as "farm teams."

Collège baseball becomes the "FREE" farm team system just like the NFL and the NBA. :stirthepot: :stirthepot: :stirthepot: :nono: :coffee3:

Yep. And for you libertarians, guess who gets to foot the bill for baseball development now?

(11-22-2019 08:40 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  The government can't force MLB to keep paying for minor league franchises that don't pay the bills. Nor will they try to, for that very reason. Paying for public facilities doesn't obligate MLB to keep a franchise there - MLB or Minor - beyond the terms of the lease.

Neither MLB nor MLB clubs own these minor league franchises in the first place. MLB clubs just send players and coaches there and pay the salaries of the players and coaches. The agreement they are negotiating with minor league clubs is the agreement that governs the assignment of players and affiliations with MLB clubs.

Apparently MLB wants to limit itself to providing players and coaches to four minor league teams per MLB team. Don't see how governments have any business forcing them to provide more minor league players to more teams than that.

There is no problem at all with MLB saying, we're only going to supply players and coaches for 30 AAA teams, 30 AA teams, 30 A teams, and 30 rookie/short season teams. But if MLB was requiring that AAA teams they don't own must be in 30 specific cities, AA teams in 30 specific cities, etc., that would be different. MLB would probably say that they are negotiating where those teams will be located and not dictating the locations.

(11-22-2019 08:40 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-20-2019 01:56 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(11-20-2019 01:38 PM)TardisCaptain Wrote:  Well now the politicians are starting to get involved. This article mentions that an Idaho congressman is joining 100 other politicians in a letter to MLB.

https://localnews8.com/sports/2019/11/20...-question/

I'm sure a letter is just the start of their involvement. Local communities have put a lot into their facilities to attract teams.

I wouldn't mind if Idaho Falls and Ogden joined the Northwest league that has two proposed teams shutting down. Ogden has a ton of support in the community. But I'd still feel bad for other members of the Pioneer League. Orem probably won't be saved as they are already on shaky ground. I know that Colorado Springs is loving their team and hopefully it should find a landing spot (if the elimination of the Pioneer league goes through). I'm not certain how the other teams in the league are doing.

Before anyone starts decrying government intervention into a private business, blah blah crap, remember that probably 95% of baseball facilities have been paid for at least in part by Governments.

The Government has every right to, and SHOULD intervene in this, since they are a major stakeholder in Professional Baseball.

Or, MLB and it's owners could reimburse the taxpayers for every penny we have subsidized all levels of baseball (including infrastructure) and decline the anti-trust exemption.

The government can't force MLB to keep paying for minor league franchises that don't pay the bills. Nor will they try to, for that very reason. Paying for public facilities doesn't obligate MLB to keep a franchise there - MLB or Minor - beyond the terms of the lease.

If fans really do care about their local Toledo Mud Hen or Backwater Sand Crab team, then they should show up and buy enough tickets to make them viable.

Oh, disagree very much. MLB occupies a very special place legally compared to other pro sports, as the Supreme Court decades ago gave MLB an antitrust exemption that no one else has. They use that very well to further the interests of the owners. Congress can quickly remedy that and subject MLB to the same antitrust scrutiny as any other professional league (and there's been a lot of it).

(11-22-2019 01:04 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 08:40 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-20-2019 01:56 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(11-20-2019 01:38 PM)TardisCaptain Wrote:  Well now the politicians are starting to get involved. This article mentions that an Idaho congressman is joining 100 other politicians in a letter to MLB.

https://localnews8.com/sports/2019/11/20...-question/

I'm sure a letter is just the start of their involvement. Local communities have put a lot into their facilities to attract teams.

I wouldn't mind if Idaho Falls and Ogden joined the Northwest league that has two proposed teams shutting down. Ogden has a ton of support in the community. But I'd still feel bad for other members of the Pioneer League. Orem probably won't be saved as they are already on shaky ground. I know that Colorado Springs is loving their team and hopefully it should find a landing spot (if the elimination of the Pioneer league goes through). I'm not certain how the other teams in the league are doing.

Before anyone starts decrying government intervention into a private business, blah blah crap, remember that probably 95% of baseball facilities have been paid for at least in part by Governments.

The Government has every right to, and SHOULD intervene in this, since they are a major stakeholder in Professional Baseball.

Or, MLB and it's owners could reimburse the taxpayers for every penny we have subsidized all levels of baseball (including infrastructure) and decline the anti-trust exemption.

The government can't force MLB to keep paying for minor league franchises that don't pay the bills. Nor will they try to, for that very reason. Paying for public facilities doesn't obligate MLB to keep a franchise there - MLB or Minor - beyond the terms of the lease.

If fans really do care about their local Toledo Mud Hen or Backwater Sand Crab team, then they should show up and buy enough tickets to make them viable.

Oh, disagree very much. MLB occupies a very special place legally compared to other pro sports, as the Supreme Court decades ago gave MLB an antitrust exemption that no one else has. They use that very well to further the interests of the owners. Congress can quickly remedy that and subject MLB to the same antitrust scrutiny as any other professional league (and there's been a lot of it).

Fine, let Congress do that. But either way, Congress has no power to compel MLB to maintain an elaborate minor league system.

(11-22-2019 01:15 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 01:04 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 08:40 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-20-2019 01:56 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(11-20-2019 01:38 PM)TardisCaptain Wrote:  Well now the politicians are starting to get involved. This article mentions that an Idaho congressman is joining 100 other politicians in a letter to MLB.

https://localnews8.com/sports/2019/11/20...-question/

I'm sure a letter is just the start of their involvement. Local communities have put a lot into their facilities to attract teams.

I wouldn't mind if Idaho Falls and Ogden joined the Northwest league that has two proposed teams shutting down. Ogden has a ton of support in the community. But I'd still feel bad for other members of the Pioneer League. Orem probably won't be saved as they are already on shaky ground. I know that Colorado Springs is loving their team and hopefully it should find a landing spot (if the elimination of the Pioneer league goes through). I'm not certain how the other teams in the league are doing.

Before anyone starts decrying government intervention into a private business, blah blah crap, remember that probably 95% of baseball facilities have been paid for at least in part by Governments.

The Government has every right to, and SHOULD intervene in this, since they are a major stakeholder in Professional Baseball.

Or, MLB and it's owners could reimburse the taxpayers for every penny we have subsidized all levels of baseball (including infrastructure) and decline the anti-trust exemption.

The government can't force MLB to keep paying for minor league franchises that don't pay the bills. Nor will they try to, for that very reason. Paying for public facilities doesn't obligate MLB to keep a franchise there - MLB or Minor - beyond the terms of the lease.

If fans really do care about their local Toledo Mud Hen or Backwater Sand Crab team, then they should show up and buy enough tickets to make them viable.

Oh, disagree very much. MLB occupies a very special place legally compared to other pro sports, as the Supreme Court decades ago gave MLB an antitrust exemption that no one else has. They use that very well to further the interests of the owners. Congress can quickly remedy that and subject MLB to the same antitrust scrutiny as any other professional league (and there's been a lot of it).

Fine, let Congress do that. But either way, Congress has no power to compel MLB to maintain an elaborate minor league system.

This is more of a power politics issue than a purely legal issue. Even then, Congress could regulate baseball as interstate commerce and require that each team maintain a certain number of minor league affiliates. Not much different than dealership and distributor laws really. The case law on interstate commerce is pretty broadly in favor of Congressional power.

(11-22-2019 01:34 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 01:15 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 01:04 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 08:40 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-20-2019 01:56 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  Before anyone starts decrying government intervention into a private business, blah blah crap, remember that probably 95% of baseball facilities have been paid for at least in part by Governments.

The Government has every right to, and SHOULD intervene in this, since they are a major stakeholder in Professional Baseball.

Or, MLB and it's owners could reimburse the taxpayers for every penny we have subsidized all levels of baseball (including infrastructure) and decline the anti-trust exemption.

The government can't force MLB to keep paying for minor league franchises that don't pay the bills. Nor will they try to, for that very reason. Paying for public facilities doesn't obligate MLB to keep a franchise there - MLB or Minor - beyond the terms of the lease.

If fans really do care about their local Toledo Mud Hen or Backwater Sand Crab team, then they should show up and buy enough tickets to make them viable.

Oh, disagree very much. MLB occupies a very special place legally compared to other pro sports, as the Supreme Court decades ago gave MLB an antitrust exemption that no one else has. They use that very well to further the interests of the owners. Congress can quickly remedy that and subject MLB to the same antitrust scrutiny as any other professional league (and there's been a lot of it).

Fine, let Congress do that. But either way, Congress has no power to compel MLB to maintain an elaborate minor league system.

This is more of a power politics issue than a purely legal issue. Even then, Congress could regulate baseball as interstate commerce and require that each team maintain a certain number of minor league affiliates. Not much different than dealership and distributor laws really. The case law on interstate commerce is pretty broadly in favor of Congressional power.

They could also ban taxpayer money for being used in professional sports, etc.

Congress has some big sticks if they choose to use them.

Ugh - I hate defending the blood-sucking MLB owners, but after hearing quite a bit of commentary from people that really know minor league baseball and the evaluation of prospects well, the overall plan makes sense in the long-term. Ultimately, MLB teams are currently drafting players that they *know* have no chance of making the majors simply to fill out minor league rosters. That doesn’t make sense for MLB since they’re using resources on players that they know upfront won’t develop and, in turn, those players would have otherwise been Division I talent that could have received scholarships and get their college educations paid for instead as opposed to chasing a false dream. To be sure, the minor league teams losing their affiliations are the losers in this plan, but that’s a risk that they take when they’re not the ones paying for the player and coaching personnel.

Also, the complaints about this hurting local small town fans probably doesn’t look good from a PR standpoint, but the reality is that the majority of the franchises at risk have attendance lower than 1500 per game and, in many cases, less than 1000 per game. It’s akin to when a college starts talking about dropping a sport (or multiple sports) due to attendance and financial issues, but then all of the sudden people start coming out of the woodwork to suddenly talk about how important those sports are to that school. The image of all of these small towns across America enjoying minor league baseball night in and night out exists as an *idea* in our heads (largely rooted in nostalgia), but it’s not really based on today’s reality.

The main issue with the plan is that attempting to do all of this in 2 years is asinine. They’re talking about structural changes that should honestly need to take a decade to implement. It also shows how MLB has the PR skills of the love child of Sean Spicer and Roseanne Barr. News flash: affiliations change and franchises get extinguished in minor league baseball every single year and no one says a peep. MLB could have “naturally” implemented this plan over the course of 10 years and we probably wouldn’t have noticed at all. Instead, they’re trying to cram everything into a 2-year period, which now makes them look like the money-grubbing owners that are out to kill the defenseless Pioneer League and other small town teams.

In essence, the MLB plan actually makes sense, but the proposed timeframe is totally unrealistic.

(11-22-2019 01:39 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Ugh - I hate defending the blood-sucking MLB owners, but after hearing quite a bit of commentary from people that really know minor league baseball and the evaluation of prospects well, the overall plan makes sense in the long-term. Ultimately, MLB teams are currently drafting players that they *know* have no chance of making the majors simply to fill out minor league rosters. That doesn’t make sense for MLB since they’re using resources on players that they know upfront won’t develop and, in turn, those players would have otherwise been Division I talent that could have received scholarships and get their college educations paid for instead as opposed to chasing a false dream. To be sure, the minor league teams losing their affiliations are the losers in this plan, but that’s a risk that they take when they’re not the ones paying for the player and coaching personnel.

Also, the complaints about this hurting local small town fans probably doesn’t look good from a PR standpoint, but the reality is that the majority of the franchises at risk have attendance lower than 1500 per game and, in many cases, less than 1000 per game. It’s akin to when a college starts talking about dropping a sport (or multiple sports) due to attendance and financial issues, but then all of the sudden people start coming out of the woodwork to suddenly talk about how important those sports are to that school. The image of all of these small towns across America enjoying minor league baseball night in and night out exists as an *idea* in our heads (largely rooted in nostalgia), but it’s not really based on today’s reality.

The main issue with the plan is that attempting to do all of this in 2 years is asinine. They’re talking about structural changes that should honestly need to take a decade to implement. It also shows how MLB has the PR skills of the love child of Sean Spicer and Roseanne Barr. News flash: affiliations change and franchises get extinguished in minor league baseball every single year and no one says a peep. MLB could have “naturally” implemented this plan over the course of 10 years and we probably wouldn’t have noticed at all. Instead, they’re trying to cram everything into a 2-year period, which now makes them look like the money-grubbing owners that are out to kill the defenseless Pioneer League and other small town teams.

In essence, the MLB plan actually makes sense, but the proposed timeframe is totally unrealistic.

I get the business aspect, and trying to shift more to college, but you still have communities that have made real investments in ballparks.

The Pioneer League, which looks like is being eliminated, is averaging 2500 - with lows in Orem of 1300, and two that are just shy of 4000

This proposal will empty large sections of the country from having any MLB affiliate baseball, and there is only so many independent leagues that can survive.

(11-22-2019 02:39 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  I get the business aspect, and trying to shift more to college, but you still have communities that have made real investments in ballparks.

The Pioneer League, which looks like is being eliminated, is averaging 2500 - with lows in Orem of 1300, and two that are just shy of 4000

How much has been invested in each of the towns where MLB wants to stop supplying players?

Orem, for example, just plays at Utah Valley University's baseball field.

(11-22-2019 01:39 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Ugh - I hate defending the blood-sucking MLB owners, but after hearing quite a bit of commentary from people that really know minor league baseball and the evaluation of prospects well, the overall plan makes sense in the long-term. Ultimately, MLB teams are currently drafting players that they *know* have no chance of making the majors simply to fill out minor league rosters. That doesn’t make sense for MLB since they’re using resources on players that they know upfront won’t develop and, in turn, those players would have otherwise been Division I talent that could have received scholarships and get their college educations paid for instead as opposed to chasing a false dream. To be sure, the minor league teams losing their affiliations are the losers in this plan, but that’s a risk that they take when they’re not the ones paying for the player and coaching personnel.

Also, the complaints about this hurting local small town fans probably doesn’t look good from a PR standpoint, but the reality is that the majority of the franchises at risk have attendance lower than 1500 per game and, in many cases, less than 1000 per game. It’s akin to when a college starts talking about dropping a sport (or multiple sports) due to attendance and financial issues, but then all of the sudden people start coming out of the woodwork to suddenly talk about how important those sports are to that school. The image of all of these small towns across America enjoying minor league baseball night in and night out exists as an *idea* in our heads (largely rooted in nostalgia), but it’s not really based on today’s reality.

The main issue with the plan is that attempting to do all of this in 2 years is asinine. They’re talking about structural changes that should honestly need to take a decade to implement. It also shows how MLB has the PR skills of the love child of Sean Spicer and Roseanne Barr. News flash: affiliations change and franchises get extinguished in minor league baseball every single year and no one says a peep. MLB could have “naturally” implemented this plan over the course of 10 years and we probably wouldn’t have noticed at all. Instead, they’re trying to cram everything into a 2-year period, which now makes them look like the money-grubbing owners that are out to kill the defenseless Pioneer League and other small town teams.

In essence, the MLB plan actually makes sense, but the proposed timeframe is totally unrealistic.

MLB has to work through their agreement with Minor League Baseball. Most of the changes are changes to the MLB-MiLB framework, like supplying the minors with 600 fewer players in the first year of the new setup (20 draft rounds x 30 teams). Replacing 2 year affiliation agreements with 5 year agreements.
Moving the draft from June to August, wiping out the Rookie League season.
Pushing the leagues to realign into smaller, more geographic leagues (I don't even know if MLB is serious about this, creating 3 leagues at each level, but it can only be done in one fell swoop)

These aren't things you can do one MLB franchise at a time, one affiliation agreement at a time.

(11-22-2019 03:24 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 02:39 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  I get the business aspect, and trying to shift more to college, but you still have communities that have made real investments in ballparks.

The Pioneer League, which looks like is being eliminated, is averaging 2500 - with lows in Orem of 1300, and two that are just shy of 4000

How much has been invested in each of the towns where MLB wants to stop supplying players?

Orem, for example, just plays at Utah Valley University's baseball field.

And Orem has lowest attendance. Ogden, which leads the league in attendance, plays in a city owned park and are primary tenant - city built in the 90's , and refurbished 10 years ago

Idaho Falls and Colorado Springs are privately owned (by same company that owns multiple Minor League teams, rest are city owned.

(11-22-2019 01:34 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 01:15 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 01:04 PM)CitrusUCF Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 08:40 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(11-20-2019 01:56 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  Before anyone starts decrying government intervention into a private business, blah blah crap, remember that probably 95% of baseball facilities have been paid for at least in part by Governments.

The Government has every right to, and SHOULD intervene in this, since they are a major stakeholder in Professional Baseball.

Or, MLB and it's owners could reimburse the taxpayers for every penny we have subsidized all levels of baseball (including infrastructure) and decline the anti-trust exemption.

The government can't force MLB to keep paying for minor league franchises that don't pay the bills. Nor will they try to, for that very reason. Paying for public facilities doesn't obligate MLB to keep a franchise there - MLB or Minor - beyond the terms of the lease.

If fans really do care about their local Toledo Mud Hen or Backwater Sand Crab team, then they should show up and buy enough tickets to make them viable.

Oh, disagree very much. MLB occupies a very special place legally compared to other pro sports, as the Supreme Court decades ago gave MLB an antitrust exemption that no one else has. They use that very well to further the interests of the owners. Congress can quickly remedy that and subject MLB to the same antitrust scrutiny as any other professional league (and there's been a lot of it).

Fine, let Congress do that. But either way, Congress has no power to compel MLB to maintain an elaborate minor league system.

This is more of a power politics issue than a purely legal issue. Even then, Congress could regulate baseball as interstate commerce and require that each team maintain a certain number of minor league affiliates. Not much different than dealership and distributor laws really. The case law on interstate commerce is pretty broadly in favor of Congressional power.

Yes, the constitution gives congress commerce power, but I don't think the founders intended for the federal government to be able to dictate the internal structure of a business like that (IIRC, auto dealer laws are primarily state-level), and I don't think a conservative Roberts court would uphold that. But maybe we shall see.

From a common sense POV, baseball should be free to have as many or as few minor league teams as the like.

(11-22-2019 04:58 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 03:24 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 02:39 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  I get the business aspect, and trying to shift more to college, but you still have communities that have made real investments in ballparks.

The Pioneer League, which looks like is being eliminated, is averaging 2500 - with lows in Orem of 1300, and two that are just shy of 4000

How much has been invested in each of the towns where MLB wants to stop supplying players?

Orem, for example, just plays at Utah Valley University's baseball field.

And Orem has lowest attendance. Ogden, which leads the league in attendance, plays in a city owned park and are primary tenant - city built in the 90's , and refurbished 10 years ago

Idaho Falls and Colorado Springs are privately owned (by same company that owns multiple Minor League teams, rest are city owned.

A city-owned field is still going to be there and will still have a team. Seems doubtful that fans who pay $5 to go to a rookie league game will stop going, because the games would have the same quality of players whether the league is independent or nominally affiliated with an MLB club.

The operative question here is who has the authority to shut the team down?

It's not MLB that can do that. All they can do is remove their affiliation so it's a matter of freedom of association. If MLB doesn't want to associate then I doubt Congress will attempt to force them to do so.

The teams still exist as long as the local owners want them to exist. Whether they remain profitable or not is another question.

(11-22-2019 02:39 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(11-22-2019 01:39 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Ugh - I hate defending the blood-sucking MLB owners, but after hearing quite a bit of commentary from people that really know minor league baseball and the evaluation of prospects well, the overall plan makes sense in the long-term. Ultimately, MLB teams are currently drafting players that they *know* have no chance of making the majors simply to fill out minor league rosters. That doesn’t make sense for MLB since they’re using resources on players that they know upfront won’t develop and, in turn, those players would have otherwise been Division I talent that could have received scholarships and get their college educations paid for instead as opposed to chasing a false dream. To be sure, the minor league teams losing their affiliations are the losers in this plan, but that’s a risk that they take when they’re not the ones paying for the player and coaching personnel.

Also, the complaints about this hurting local small town fans probably doesn’t look good from a PR standpoint, but the reality is that the majority of the franchises at risk have attendance lower than 1500 per game and, in many cases, less than 1000 per game. It’s akin to when a college starts talking about dropping a sport (or multiple sports) due to attendance and financial issues, but then all of the sudden people start coming out of the woodwork to suddenly talk about how important those sports are to that school. The image of all of these small towns across America enjoying minor league baseball night in and night out exists as an *idea* in our heads (largely rooted in nostalgia), but it’s not really based on today’s reality.

The main issue with the plan is that attempting to do all of this in 2 years is asinine. They’re talking about structural changes that should honestly need to take a decade to implement. It also shows how MLB has the PR skills of the love child of Sean Spicer and Roseanne Barr. News flash: affiliations change and franchises get extinguished in minor league baseball every single year and no one says a peep. MLB could have “naturally” implemented this plan over the course of 10 years and we probably wouldn’t have noticed at all. Instead, they’re trying to cram everything into a 2-year period, which now makes them look like the money-grubbing owners that are out to kill the defenseless Pioneer League and other small town teams.

In essence, the MLB plan actually makes sense, but the proposed timeframe is totally unrealistic.

I get the business aspect, and trying to shift more to college, but you still have communities that have made real investments in ballparks.

The Pioneer League, which looks like is being eliminated, is averaging 2500 - with lows in Orem of 1300, and two that are just shy of 4000

This proposal will empty large sections of the country from having any MLB affiliate baseball, and there is only so many independent leagues that can survive.

That really depends on how legit the attendance figures are (lots of inflation)