Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Don't Put High-A in Richmond!
Today I found out from the Richmond Times-Dispatch that there is a good chance that a team from the High-A California League will want to move to Richmond. There are two such teams, both of which have stadium problems (not issues!). Sound familiar, Richmond? They may be switching to the High-A Carolina League.
I did some wikipediaing around and found that the two teams are the High Desert Mavericks, a Seattle Mariners farm team, and the Bakersfield Blaze, a farm team of the Bush-League Texas Rangers. They say that the Blaze will go to Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the Mavericks to Richmond, Virginia. According to the Bakersfield Californian, the parent Rangers are unhappy with Sam Lynn Field, because, among other things, it faces southeast or east so that the setting sun glares into the eyes of the fielders. It seems that Bakersfield isn't doing anything about it. So you think the Texas Rangers are going to do any better in Richmond? There are stadium problems in Richmond, too, such as an uneven field and poor drainage. This is the reason the Richmond Braves are leaving.
The same deal with the High Desert Mavericks. Their stadium also needs repair and the people of Adelanto, California, will not provide it. They may be moving to Fayetteville, North Carolina, although the Californian says Fayetteville cannot provide the required stadium. Further, as I mentioned earlier, the Red Sox bought out the Houston Astros' Carolina League affiliate Salem Avalanche. They currently have the Lancaster JetHawks in the California League. Are they going to move the JetHawks east?
In any case, a High-A is a terrible deal for Richmond. The population of Richmond exceeds the total of all the populations of all the cities in the Carolina League! (1.2 million to 1 million, according to a commenter on an earlier InRich.com article). Richmond will be the hippopotamus of the Carolina League if the Blaze moves to Richmond. And it isn't really High-A anyway. A long time ago minor league baseball tried to find a letter that was better or A'er than A, and so they wound up stuttering: AA, AAA level baseball. AAA should be renamed A, AA should be B, High-A should be C and Low-A should be D. Would Richmond really be happy with a Class C Team?
I think Richmond should reject any High-A (i.e, C) team. Richmond deserves better. They should watch the New York Mets and the New Orleans Zephyrs, a geographically unhappy pair. The Mets want Syracuse instead, and if that happens, the Toronto Blue Jays would get the Zephyrs. Richmond should try to get the Blue Jays to bring the Zephyrs to Richmond. If that happens, I would like to see the team named the Richmond Martins in honor of the birds frequenting 17th and Grace at this time of the year.
If this falls through, a year or two without minor league baseball is far better than having to settle for a puny little Carolina League team.
I did some wikipediaing around and found that the two teams are the High Desert Mavericks, a Seattle Mariners farm team, and the Bakersfield Blaze, a farm team of the Bush-League Texas Rangers. They say that the Blaze will go to Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the Mavericks to Richmond, Virginia. According to the Bakersfield Californian, the parent Rangers are unhappy with Sam Lynn Field, because, among other things, it faces southeast or east so that the setting sun glares into the eyes of the fielders. It seems that Bakersfield isn't doing anything about it. So you think the Texas Rangers are going to do any better in Richmond? There are stadium problems in Richmond, too, such as an uneven field and poor drainage. This is the reason the Richmond Braves are leaving.
The same deal with the High Desert Mavericks. Their stadium also needs repair and the people of Adelanto, California, will not provide it. They may be moving to Fayetteville, North Carolina, although the Californian says Fayetteville cannot provide the required stadium. Further, as I mentioned earlier, the Red Sox bought out the Houston Astros' Carolina League affiliate Salem Avalanche. They currently have the Lancaster JetHawks in the California League. Are they going to move the JetHawks east?
In any case, a High-A is a terrible deal for Richmond. The population of Richmond exceeds the total of all the populations of all the cities in the Carolina League! (1.2 million to 1 million, according to a commenter on an earlier InRich.com article). Richmond will be the hippopotamus of the Carolina League if the Blaze moves to Richmond. And it isn't really High-A anyway. A long time ago minor league baseball tried to find a letter that was better or A'er than A, and so they wound up stuttering: AA, AAA level baseball. AAA should be renamed A, AA should be B, High-A should be C and Low-A should be D. Would Richmond really be happy with a Class C Team?
I think Richmond should reject any High-A (i.e, C) team. Richmond deserves better. They should watch the New York Mets and the New Orleans Zephyrs, a geographically unhappy pair. The Mets want Syracuse instead, and if that happens, the Toronto Blue Jays would get the Zephyrs. Richmond should try to get the Blue Jays to bring the Zephyrs to Richmond. If that happens, I would like to see the team named the Richmond Martins in honor of the birds frequenting 17th and Grace at this time of the year.
If this falls through, a year or two without minor league baseball is far better than having to settle for a puny little Carolina League team.
