As a memorabilia collector, I came across some info today that really intrigued me of the now current Pioneer Baseball league.

In the past, each league had it's own baseball w/Milb Logo.

I just learned the Pioneer league has used multiple types of baseballs in years past. Does anyone have photos of these from attending?

1. Blue laced pioneer league balls w/MLB logo

2. Red laced pioneer league balls w MLB logo (was told these baseballs are actually bigger..... )

3. Regular MLB baseballs - self explanatory here, I was really surprised they used these for the league...

Apparently for 2025, they're using OT Sports baseballs, a surprise it's not Rawlings...

All of these are from Topperzstore EU

I get that travel costs are higher at Triple-A compared to most lower leagues. But are there other things (housing, facility, etc) that make it more expensive to own and operate a higher level club?

Unlike the rangers(hickory is considered average and a bit dated) the brewers have a great High A affiliate with a recently renovated facility in their backyard(to the point where it looks like a mini FFF) in the timber rattlers, could we see the timber rattlers make their way into Double A with Wilson eventually becoming the brewers high a team? The metrics for the shuckers have never been good and while they have a great location, I can imagine the heat(being in the heart of the sunbelt on the gulf coast) is not great for development and the team’s business has clearly been effected by it as well they have finished 30 out of 30 in AA attendance on at least one occasion.

Background

The fall of 2019 was hot with rumors of big changes to MiLB, and a Baseball America article outlining these changes set off a bit of a firestorm among baseball fans. We learned some of the reasons for the changes and got a general sense of how the minors would be restructured. There was a strong sense of outrage, not only among fans but from MiLB President Pat O'Conner and minor league owners from coast to coast. This culminated in a short article published by the New York Times on November 16, 2019, that was essentially a list of the 42 teams targeted for exclusion from the affiliated ranks.

Here is the list of the 42 teams, organized here by classification rank (at the time) from high to low:

1. Binghamton Rumble Ponies
2. Erie SeaWolves
3. Chattanooga Lookouts
4. Jackson Generals
5. Daytona Tortugas
6. Florida Fire Frogs
7. Lancaster JetHawks
8. Frederick Keys
9. Beloit Snappers
10. Burlington Bees
11. Clinton LumberKings
12. Hagerstown Suns
13. Lexington Legends
14. West Virginia Power
15. Auburn Doubledays
16. Batavia Muckdogs
17. Connecticut Tigers
18. Lowell Spinners
19. Mahoning Valley Scrappers
20. Williamsport Crosscutters
21. State College Spikes
22. Staten Island Yankees
23. Vermont Lake Monsters
24. Tri-City Dust Devils
25. Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
26. Bluefield Blue Jays
27. Bristol Pirates
28. Burlington Royals
29. Danville Braves
30. Elizabethton Twins
31. Greeneville Reds
32. Johnson City Cardinals
33. Kingsport Mets
34. Princeton Rays
35. Billings Mustangs
36. Grand Junction Rockies
37. Great Falls Voyagers
38. Idaho Falls Chukars
39. Missoula PaddleHeads
40. Ogden Raptors
41. Orem Owlz
42. Rocky Mountain Vibes

Immediate aftermath

Rob Manfred spoke to the press shortly after the list was published, saying "We provided to (MiLB president) Pat O’Conner, at his request, and with an assurance from him that he would keep it confidential, which he subsequently broke, a list of the facilities that we felt needed to be upgraded and if they couldn’t be upgraded that we were not prepared to operate in. Yes, we did do that."

Assuming this all accurate, the sequence of events was 1. rumors swirling about changes to the minors, 2. Pat O'Conner requests a list of teams in jeopardy from MLB, 3. O'Conner leaks the list to the Times. Needless to say, this exacerbated what was already a contentious relationship between MLB and MiLB.

In the months to follow, it was anyone's guess as to how this would proceed. It's hard to imagine now, but MiLB had MLB against the ropes. Public sentiment was strongly in favor of preserving the minors, and the story was picked up by about every sports media outlet and even featured on the Today Show. Lawmakers formed bipartisan commissions to oppose MLB and language included examination of their antitrust exemption. Presidential candidates were speaking out. It was a very bad look for MLB and Rob Manfred, and you can bet that there were meetings where MLB people were questioning if it was worth it. It felt like a David and Goliath fight for a hot minute, but there were a few things working in Goliath's favor.

What O'Conner and many of us minor league fans didn't fully realize at the time was that MLB held a trump card. In December, Manfred issued a statement saying "If the National Association [of Minor League Clubs] has an interest in an agreement with Major League Baseball, it must address the very significant issues with the current system at the bargaining table. Otherwise, MLB clubs will be free to affiliate with any minor league team or potential team in the United States, including independent league teams and cities which are not permitted to compete for an affiliate under the current agreement."

Surely, MLB wouldn't abandon a century of precedent by allowing the PBA to expire, right? With MLB already looking like the villain, there was now less to lose in letting it go to the wire. But MiLB had amassed a tremendous amount of public and political support, and it was looking like a battle to watch. Then a novel coronavirus swept across the globe, and everyone's focus was drawn elsewhere. The minor league season was cancelled and as the summer dragged on, it was clear that MLB would simply allow the PBA to wither away and remake the minor leagues as they saw fit. MiLB as a united organization went belly-up and MLB offered Player Development Licenses to 120 teams that were now operating more like independent contractors. All 120 accepted their invitations.

5 years later

It's strange to read this list now. 36 of these 42 did indeed lose their affiliation. The Appalachian League went summer collegiate and the Pioneer became a partner league. The New York-Penn League simply vanished, with a few of the teams gathered into the new MLB Draft League. Other teams latched onto summer collegiate or indy leagues, while a few (JetHawks, Fire Frogs, etc.) just disappeared, despite MLB's assurance that each team would find some place to call home.

The list of 42 became 43 as the Somerset Patriots joined the previously rumored St. Paul and Sugar Land in the move from the indy ranks to affiliated ball. While some of the rumored level shifts (Bowling Green to Double-A) never came to pass, Triple-A had three teams (San Antonio, Wichita, Fresno) drop while adding Jacksonville and the former indy teams.

The six teams on this list who have never lost affiliation (Binghamton, Erie, Chattanooga, Daytona, Beloit, Tri City Dust Devils) managed to stay onboard due to quickly approved stadium upgrades, support from politicians/MLB owners, new ballpark deals, etc. But these teams being kept in left others out, and some of the more shocking departures came from teams not on the list. Somerset's addition squeezed out the perennially vital Trenton Thunder. Daytona Beach's admirable efforts to keep the Tortugas led to Port Charlotte losing the Stone Crabs and the Rays not having an FSL team. Beloit's stadium deal went through, and Kane County-a generational leader in the MWL-was shuffled to indy ball. The Dust Devils pushed the Boise Hawks to the Pioneer League. Some teams that were expected to be preserved from the lower levels (Tri City ValleyCats, West Virginia Black Bears, Pulaski) were left out as the pieces in the slider puzzle changed.

It was a strange sequence of events that led to even stranger one. I am not nostalgic for this icky time, but I also don't want to forget the nuances of how it all went down.

MiLB has removed the 2025 Florida State League schedule from the team websites. I haven't found an announcement, but it would have to be to determine if changes need to be made to accommodate the Tampa Tarpons' move to the backlot of the Yankees Training Complex.

We’re sure going to miss Nick

My five hats for the San Antonio missions

We're getting near the halfway mark of the 10 year PDLs that were started in 2021. I've been surprised by how little news we've had and surprised by how so many teams and cities have already either made the MLB-mandated upgrades or at least authorized them. But it's not 120/120, and seemingly (?) April 1, 2025 is the deadline for teams to meet requirements and keep their license or to get phased out.

Googling around isn't a perfect system and there are some teams (Salem, Montgomery, etc.) that I haven't seen reporting about upgrades one way or another, but I don't want to speculate that they are in danger. Maybe we can crowdsource a list of the few teams that seem to be in danger of not hitting the mark. So far I just have three:

Eugene Emeralds - Unless they pull off some buzzer beater, it doesn't look like a new ballpark is coming. The owner said that there is interest in minor league baseball from other cities in the region. So this could be a pretty straightforward relocation.

Modesto Nuts - They extended the lease for one more season, but is that just to give Ontario (CA) enough time to complete their new sports complex? There was some recent reporting about the Mariners exploring the option of helping to pay for upgrades, but that could be hot air. Plus, every other Cal League team looks good and there doesn't seem to be a clean way to add Ontario while also keeping Modesto.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans - This situation was looking a lot shakier earlier this year, but now the lease is extended for another year and at least some funds have been approved for stadium maintenance. It seems that the city and team are currently in negotiations to see if they can work out funding for full upgrades. I could see it going either way, but at least there is some progress. Pressure is certainly on, especially with $39 million already approved for upgrading the stadium in Frederick, and MLB likely eager to solve some of the geographic quirks with the SAL and Carolina league maps.

Any others?

The city of Ontario just broke ground on a new park ready for the 2026 season, saying they will be the new Dodgers affiliate. However, from my understanding, the Quakes have a 10 year agreement with the Dodgers expiring in 2030, as well as a new 15 year agreement with the city of Rancho Cucamonga expiring in 2039.

Anyone know how Ontario is getting the Dodgers affiliate status?

Thanks!

This is signed by the third baseman of the spokane indians in the late 60s-early 70s does anyone know who it is my grandpa can’t recall.

Game times for all 120 MiLB teams were loaded into the MiLB website yesterday. There are about 10 TBA games in the schedule - Sunday games in cities with NFL conflicts, Easter Saturday doubleheaders, and a couple of other random omissions. Otherwise, feel free to start working on your multi-city road trips...

https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-short-but-exciting-life-of-the-havana-sugar-kings/