R.I.P. Pro Baseball in Pennsylvania

I've heard the Nuttings are doing away with snow.

 

By the time they're done it'll be called "Four-and-a-Half Springs."

 

Speaking of... (because I rarely have any takes, just amusing anecdotes from 31 years of living)

This was the final stop on a bachelor party with a baseball nut: Baltimore (Sat. afternoon), Aberdeen (Sat. night) and Reading. Since the other two guys were a little more straight and narrow than ol' Huss, they sort of tagged along as I beelined for the Yuengling pavilion in left. A hot August day and a few Lagers, and I was sufficiently happy.

We decided to take the full tour of the place, so we wander around to right and find ourselves to the entrance to the pavilion. No guard? Don't worry about us. We'll help ourselves.

The other fellas were happy to sit at a picnic bench and watch the big Phils on TV in between R-Phils pitches. I figured if I was there, I was gonna take advantage, so I went and stuck my feet in the pool. Chatted up a moderately cute mom who was doing the same (this was clearly in my pre-wife days) while watching her kid splash around the pool.

As a result, Redner's Supermarkets had three new employees for that one day. Thanks Redner's!

I can't remember if I openly campaigned for a trip to Al's Diamond Cabaret, though perhaps I should have.

 

Casinos won't be in PA for a long, long time.
The commonwealth figured out a way to mess it up.

 

I'm guessing it won't be good, once the big club calls up half the team.

 

And then moves the rest of them to Allentown...by way of Ottawa.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/baseball/14792528.htm

 

Was this guy's dad a car nut or something?

 

Can't speak to the specifics of this situation, but there's a constant tug of war between majors and minors along these lines. ML teams think the minors should be a player development exercise where the record doesn't matter...minor leagues are saying, hey, we have to sell tickets, we need to compete.

Most organizations are able to strike a balance between prospects and dead-enders, but there are years when it doesn't happen. There are also years when you have a gap in prospect talent and have to patch until the next wave progresses.

Most major league teams like to give their top affiliates one or two dead-enders. The minor league teams know the guys will be recognizable and produce and there's little or no danger they're going to be taken away by the big league club during the season. Gives the minor league team a chance to build some of the marketing/PR stuff around those players.