(12-11-2020 12:00 PM)Usajags Wrote:  

(12-11-2020 10:46 AM)NCeagle Wrote:  very excited about Augusta now being a Braves affiliate.

I wasn’t aware Augusta had a new stadium, went to the old one about 5 years ago, might have been the most fun I ever had at a minor league game, and it was rained out after the 5th inning or so.

I only got yelled at once to get off the field......

the new stadium is awesome! And the area that it is in is great with new restaurants, hotel, bars, etc.

(12-11-2020 10:09 AM)Usajags Wrote:  Need to get the SPHL and the FPHL to play some inter league games. There is some overlap of the footprint. Might be good for both leagues this season.

I get the feeling the SPHL is just a bit of a lower league based on player salaries. Then again I may have that backwards.

The T-birds had or maybe still has an ex-NHL player that is now a Kernersville FD member. He plays for the T-birds when he can schedule. It is obvious when he is on the ice due to his size.

(12-11-2020 02:29 PM)McLeansvilleAppFan Wrote:  

(12-11-2020 10:09 AM)Usajags Wrote:  Need to get the SPHL and the FPHL to play some inter league games. There is some overlap of the footprint. Might be good for both leagues this season.

I get the feeling the SPHL is just a bit of a lower league based on player salaries. Then again I may have that backwards.

The T-birds had or maybe still has an ex-NHL player that is now a Kernersville FD member. He plays for the T-birds when he can schedule. It is obvious when he is on the ice due to his size.

They are both considered “low-level” minor league hockey. Not sure about the salaries, but would think the players are probably pretty interchangeable. Although you will have the random ex-NHLer in there to throw off the numbers.

Just looked it up, SPHL weekly salary cap for 18 players is $5600, for the FPHL it’s $4400 a week for 18 players. Even with that difference, I wouldn’t expect there to much difference in skill. Players from both leagues are making between $200-$400 a week and and have off ice jobs.

(12-11-2020 02:42 PM)Usajags Wrote:  

(12-11-2020 02:29 PM)McLeansvilleAppFan Wrote:  

(12-11-2020 10:09 AM)Usajags Wrote:  Need to get the SPHL and the FPHL to play some inter league games. There is some overlap of the footprint. Might be good for both leagues this season.

I get the feeling the SPHL is just a bit of a lower league based on player salaries. Then again I may have that backwards.

The T-birds had or maybe still has an ex-NHL player that is now a Kernersville FD member. He plays for the T-birds when he can schedule. It is obvious when he is on the ice due to his size.

They are both considered “low-level” minor league hockey. Not sure about the salaries, but would think the players are probably pretty interchangeable. Although you will have the random ex-NHLer in there to throw off the numbers.

Just looked it up, SPHL weekly salary cap for 18 players is $5600, for the FPHL it’s $4400 a week for 18 players. Even with that difference, I wouldn’t expect there to much difference in skill. Players from both leagues are making between $200-$400 a week and and have off ice jobs.

Those numbers are what I remember. I think I was surprised the sphl paid a bit more on average than the FHL I live on the extreme east side of Greensboro so the drive to W-S is not that far but it is far enough. I wish Greensboro never had the NHL for the temp time S it killed some good hockey that died afterwards.

Here is the updated table of MiLB changes from minorleaguesource.com

2021 Minor League Baseball

Quote:Aberdeen IronBirds - Baltimore (2020 A - Short Season NY-Penn League Baltimore affiliate)
Asheville Tourists - Houston (2020 A South Atlantic League Colorado affiliate)
Bowling Green Hot Rods - Tampa Bay (2020 A Midwest League Tampa Bay affiliate)
Brooklyn Cyclones - New York (NL) (2020 A - Short Season NY-Penn League New York (NL) affiliate)
Greensboro Grasshoppers - Pittsburgh (2020 A South Atlantic League Pittsburgh affiliate)
Greenville Drive - Boston (2020 A South Atlantic League Boston affiliate)
Hickory Crawdads - Texas (2020 A South Atlantic League Texas affiliate)
Hudson Valley Renegades - New York (AL) (2020 A - Short Season NY-Penn League Tampa Bay affiliate)
Jersey Shore BlueClaws - Philadelphia (2020 A South Atlantic League Lakewood BlueClaws Philadelphia affiliate)
Rome Braves - Atlanta (2020 A South Atlantic League Atlanta affiliate)
Wilmington Blue Rocks - Washington (2020 Kansas City affiliate)
Winston-Salem Dash - Chicago (AL)

Winston-Salem Dash
Wilmington Blue Rocks
Rome Braves
Hickory Crawdads
Greenville Drive
Greensboro Grasshoppers
Asheville Tourists


That type of schedule will play nice in AVL. I foresee lots of sellouts at McCormick Field

MLB has firmed up the 120 minor leagues that will continue on, dropping 40 affiliates in the the process.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/3088...-alignment

I wouldn’t expect much this coming season(due to COVID) however, I could see new indy leagues pop up to fill some gaps in 2022.

They also dropped all league names. Now its TripleA East or Triple A West. Seems so generic. The packaging should be black and white with no color at all. Very disappointing.

(02-13-2021 08:25 AM)OsageJ Wrote:  They also dropped all league names. Now its TripleA East or Triple A West. Seems so generic. The packaging should be black and white with no color at all. Very disappointing.

Thought they said they hadn’t decided on names, would hope the leagues would retain the names they have had for over 100 years.

At this point the leagues do not have names. Hopefully that changes.

(12-16-2020 01:38 PM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  

Quote:Aberdeen IronBirds - Baltimore (2020 A - Short Season NY-Penn League Baltimore affiliate)
Asheville Tourists - Houston (2020 A South Atlantic League Colorado affiliate)
Bowling Green Hot Rods - Tampa Bay (2020 A Midwest League Tampa Bay affiliate)
Brooklyn Cyclones - New York (NL) (2020 A - Short Season NY-Penn League New York (NL) affiliate)
Greensboro Grasshoppers - Pittsburgh (2020 A South Atlantic League Pittsburgh affiliate)
Greenville Drive - Boston (2020 A South Atlantic League Boston affiliate)
Hickory Crawdads - Texas (2020 A South Atlantic League Texas affiliate)
Hudson Valley Renegades - New York (AL) (2020 A - Short Season NY-Penn League Tampa Bay affiliate)
Jersey Shore BlueClaws - Philadelphia (2020 A South Atlantic League Lakewood BlueClaws Philadelphia affiliate)
Rome Braves - Atlanta (2020 A South Atlantic League Atlanta affiliate)
Wilmington Blue Rocks - Washington (2020 Kansas City affiliate)
Winston-Salem Dash - Chicago (AL)

Winston-Salem Dash
Wilmington Blue Rocks
Rome Braves
Hickory Crawdads
Greenville Drive
Greensboro Grasshoppers
Asheville Tourists


That type of schedule will play nice in AVL. I foresee lots of sellouts at McCormick Field

FYI: The Wilmington you mention is NOT Wilmington, NC...it's Wilmington, DE. The Blue Rocks are former High-A members of the Carolina League so they're familiar with the area (Winston-Salem) but they're from President Biden's neck of the woods, not "our" Wilmywood. Wilmington, NC has had a collegiate summer league team for years and once had a SAL MiLB team...but they left town many years ago.

There are probably hundreds of empty minor league parks in this country sitting empty. Mostly paid for by tax dollars for a couple thousand people to go to a game 50-60 times a year. Relics Of a sport that is unfortunately past it’s prime. I love going to the ball park and watching a game, just don’t know if it’s economically feasible to run a minor league system without MLB money to support it.

Alabama alone has 4 empty stadiums that I’m sure of, a fifth that I’m pretty sure about. And that is modern stadiums, not to mention the ones that have set empty for 30 years but are still standing. They sit like individual baseball cathedrals, each with their own history and beauty. There has got to be a way to save and utilize these stadiums, build up the community where they live, and help the tax payers get a return on their investment.

(02-14-2021 12:09 PM)Usajags Wrote:  There are probably hundreds of empty minor league parks in this country sitting empty. Mostly paid for by tax dollars for a couple thousand people to go to a game 50-60 times a year. Relics Of a sport that is unfortunately past it’s prime. I love going to the ball park and watching a game, just don’t know if it’s economically feasible to run a minor league system without MLB money to support it.

Alabama alone has 4 empty stadiums that I’m sure of, a fifth that I’m pretty sure about. And that is modern stadiums, not to mention the ones that have set empty for 30 years but are still standing. They sit like individual baseball cathedrals, each with their own history and beauty. There has got to be a way to save and utilize these stadiums, build up the community where they live, and help the tax payers get a return on their investment.

I'm sure it would be an incredibly expensive endeavor, but if MLB wanted to build some goodwill, replant its roots around the country, and get kids to care about baseball again, those sound like the perfect sites to make something happen.

(02-14-2021 12:09 PM)Usajags Wrote:  There are probably hundreds of empty minor league parks in this country sitting empty. Mostly paid for by tax dollars for a couple thousand people to go to a game 50-60 times a year. Relics Of a sport that is unfortunately past it’s prime. I love going to the ball park and watching a game, just don’t know if it’s economically feasible to run a minor league system without MLB money to support it.

Alabama alone has 4 empty stadiums that I’m sure of, a fifth that I’m pretty sure about. And that is modern stadiums, not to mention the ones that have set empty for 30 years but are still standing. They sit like individual baseball cathedrals, each with their own history and beauty. There has got to be a way to save and utilize these stadiums, build up the community where they live, and help the tax payers get a return on their investment.

These the 5?
Hank Aaron (Mobile)
Paterson (Montgomery)
Rickwood (Birmingham)
Joe W Davis (Huntsville)
Hoover Metro (Hoover)
Eagle in Ozark looks to be much smaller than these others.

That would be them, the questionable one was the Joe, before doing research, didn’t know if Huntsville had torn it down or not. There is also Bloch Park in Selma.

About 20 years ago, a indy minor league put a team in Ozark, of course that was the summer after I left Ozark and didn’t get to enjoy that stadium.

There are also a few left standing that have been converted into football fields.

(12-10-2020 07:54 AM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  

(12-10-2020 06:07 AM)McLeansvilleAppFan Wrote:  In this mornings Greensboro newspaper I assume. It may be behind a paywall but I pulled it off the internet before I grabbed the paper in the driveway. Yes I still get a print edition and I am not a member of AARP.

https://greensboro.com/sports/greensboro...e-trending

MLB has announced all their MiLB affiliations now. For us NC folks there was some shifting. The LowA teams have been bumped up to A+ and the A+ teams shuffled to LowA

A+ Teams:
Asheville
Hickory
Greensboro
Winston Salem
Wilmington (Staying A+)
Greenville (Worst Carolina)
Rome (GA)
Myrtle Beach (Worst Carolina)


LowA teams:
Kannapolis
Fayateville
Down East (Kinston)
Carolina (Zebulon)

You are aware that is Wilmington, DE and not Wilmington, NC?

(02-14-2021 10:09 PM)SENOREIDA Wrote:  

(12-10-2020 07:54 AM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  

(12-10-2020 06:07 AM)McLeansvilleAppFan Wrote:  In this mornings Greensboro newspaper I assume. It may be behind a paywall but I pulled it off the internet before I grabbed the paper in the driveway. Yes I still get a print edition and I am not a member of AARP.

https://greensboro.com/sports/greensboro...e-trending

MLB has announced all their MiLB affiliations now. For us NC folks there was some shifting. The LowA teams have been bumped up to A+ and the A+ teams shuffled to LowA

A+ Teams:
Asheville
Hickory
Greensboro
Winston Salem
Wilmington (Staying A+)
Greenville (Worst Carolina)
Rome (GA)
Myrtle Beach (Worst Carolina)


LowA teams:
Kannapolis
Fayateville
Down East (Kinston)
Carolina (Zebulon)

You are aware that is Wilmington, DE and not Wilmington, NC?

Yes. It's been pointed out at least 3 times since December 10th.

(02-15-2021 07:18 AM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  

(02-14-2021 10:09 PM)SENOREIDA Wrote:  

(12-10-2020 07:54 AM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  

(12-10-2020 06:07 AM)McLeansvilleAppFan Wrote:  In this mornings Greensboro newspaper I assume. It may be behind a paywall but I pulled it off the internet before I grabbed the paper in the driveway. Yes I still get a print edition and I am not a member of AARP.

https://greensboro.com/sports/greensboro...e-trending

MLB has announced all their MiLB affiliations now. For us NC folks there was some shifting. The LowA teams have been bumped up to A+ and the A+ teams shuffled to LowA

A+ Teams:
Asheville
Hickory
Greensboro
Winston Salem
Wilmington (Staying A+)
Greenville (Worst Carolina)
Rome (GA)
Myrtle Beach (Worst Carolina)


LowA teams:
Kannapolis
Fayateville
Down East (Kinston)
Carolina (Zebulon)

You are aware that is Wilmington, DE and not Wilmington, NC?

Yes. It's been pointed out at least 3 times since December 10th.

My bad, I was reading from the beginning of the thread, and noticed it after I posted it. The Blue Rocks have a special place in my heart.