re: Mississippi Braves are moving to Columbus Georgia

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Is it me or are minor league teams moving closer to their major league affiliates?

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MLB is quickly tearing down the boundaries that existed between MLB and MiLB.

Honestly, I think within 5-10 years, you will see most MLB teams owning their MiLB affiliates.

There's been a lot of pressure to raise MiLB salaries. It's hard for minor league teams to raise ticket and concession prices, so the money has to come from somewhere, and moving teams closer to their MLB "parent" can certainly reduce costs.

As far as the park in Pearl, did they just let it go to crap after it opened? I remember how well it was talked about when it opened and it's not THAT old, is it? Guess they will use it for college and high school games, etc.

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No shot. The stadium in Pearl is very nice.

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It might be very nice, and still not up to the new standards for minor league stadiums.

And according to baseball America, this about the facility.

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Nashville Sounds (Brewers).

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Sounds attendance has been solid… and the area (germantown) continues to improve. I think AA ball will stick here.

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Hopefully they don’t let it rot away like Shreveport did with their old ballpark when they lost their minor league team.

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They won’t. There’s a world of difference between Rankin County and the 3rd-world country that is Jackson.

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Only the Biloxi Shuckers, the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, had fewer fans per game in 2023 with 2,440 fans per game

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Those of us from Huntsville are not shocked!!!! Management was piss poor. Glad we have real management now with Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Angels

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This about the stadium standards for minor league teams now, not localizing anything.

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WRONG

A few years ago after the 2020 COVID year of no minor league baseball, when MLB took over control of minor league baseball, you saw a wholesale redistribution of teams and levels mainly to fit the purpose of localization:

--Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp of the AA Southern League were selected to move up to the AAA level, and be the new AAA affiliate of their parent club (Miami Marlins). Meanwhile the previous Miami AAA affiliate, the Wichita Wind Surge (former Zephyrs/Baby Cakes) WHO HAD JUST BUILT A STATE OF THE ART AAA LEVEL STADIUM, were demoted to the AA level.

-- The St. Paul Saints, a non-affiliated minor league team, were moved up to the AAA level and were tabbed by the nearby Minnesota Twins. The Twins ended their associated with the Rochester (NY) Red Wings as their AAA affiliate, and now have their AAA affiliate just across town. This despite playing in a ballpark that only holds just over 7,000 capacity.

-- In conjunction with Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minors after that 2020 season, the Houston Astros purchased an ownership stake in the non-affiliated Sugarland Skeeters, who played in a Houston suburb, and made them their Triple-A affiliate. Again, this included a team's AAA affiliate moving to a ballpark (Constellation Field) that only holds 7,500; the previous affiliate played in a top-notch ballpark in Round Rock (outside of Austin) that holds over 11,000.


And it's been going on even before that:

-- Well before the 2020 minor league reorganization, Atlanta moved their triple-A affiliate from Richmond VA to suburban Gwinnett County, GA.

-- It's also why you don't see any Canadian teams in Triple-A anymore; when the Zephyrs started playing in New Orleans you had teams in the PCL like the Vancouver Canadians, Calgary Cannons and Edmonton Trappers, and the International League had the Ottawa Lynx. Too far from parent clubs.