Major vs. Minor League Experience

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

So I love baseball. Grew up in Buffalo, and was a huge Bisons fan. Went to at least 10-15 games a season with my dad. Pilot Field/North Americare/Dunn Tire/ Coca Cola Field was like a second home to me. Took a few vacations to the beautiful Rochester, NY to take in some road games.  Even took the bus and went to games alone when I was old enough.

 

When I turned 20, I moved down here to Houston. The Astros sucked at the time so I could get a ticket for like $5 and sit where I wanted as long as the Yankees, Red Sox, or Rangers weren't in town. I was excited to have a Major League experience. While I love Minute Maid Park, and came around to the Astros, I was kind of disappointed. I have about the same amount of fun at Major League game than I did in the minors. Not sure what I was expecting. Maybe it's because I love the game so much, and I'm there purely for baseball, so all the other bells and whistles I don't care for. 

[plenzmd1]

15 minutes ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

Maybe it's because I love the game so much, and I'm there purely for baseball, so all the other bells and whistles I don't care for. 

 

I like both the same..but i guess for an opposite reason. Until the playoffs, I have very little interest in the actual game on the field unless a no-hitter/great game/something special is happening. I go to have a few beers, walk around and chat and that's about it.

[May Day 10]

Minor league baseball.... mainly AAA is the lowest form of North American pro sports.  Bisons games are terrible.  Most of the top rated prospects go through full seasons of A and AA as opposed to much AAA. Guys there, you can tell are mostly going through the motions.  Competition is on the back burner.  Pitch counts are paramount and never deviated from.  If you have a team that goes to the "playoffs", September call-ups completely ravage your team and the lineup that plays in your "playoff" games does not have much in common with the lineup from the season.  

Going to a Bisons game now... baseball, I wouldnt even consider secondary.  Its like 3rd or 4th priority-wise there.  Its so secondary, they wont even tell you what the official scorer calls an error/hit (until its on the scoreboard and often changes once the scoreboard operator is informed later).  My dad keeps score and totals up at the end.  Every piece of baseball information is scrubbed from the scoreboard like .0005 seconds after the last out is recorded.  Nobody cares, and hardly anyone would attend without the daily "gimmick".

 

Back in War Memorial Stadium and earlier in Pilot Field's existence, it felt like much more of a baseball game.  I think the players cared more and we had many more "career minor leaguers" who had their place in AAA and would compete.  That is all gone now. 

 

MLB isnt even comparable at this point.  I would say A and AA is slightly better because players are really scrapping for survival.... but it isnt better by much.  They also change logos, uniforms, affiliations, and identities all the time.  Tradition has been thrown in the waste basket.  Everything has completely capitulated to their MLB overlords.

 

 

I think the erosion of minor league and community baseball is as much to blame for the suffering and cloudy future of MLB interest than the "speed of play" nonsense.  They have rooted decent baseball from small towns.  The NY Penn League used to be great until the ripped everything out for "communities" that really needed it, such as Brooklyn, Staten Island, Lowell, Norwich, CT, and State College.

Edited June 12, 2018 by May Day 10

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

40 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

Minor league baseball.... mainly AAA is the lowest form of North American pro sports.  Bisons games are terrible.  Most of the top rated prospects go through full seasons of A and AA as opposed to much AAA. Guys there, you can tell are mostly going through the motions.  Competition is on the back burner.  Pitch counts are paramount and never deviated from.  If you have a team that goes to the "playoffs", September call-ups completely ravage your team and the lineup that plays in your "playoff" games does not have much in common with the lineup from the season.  

Going to a Bisons game now... baseball, I wouldnt even consider secondary.  Its like 3rd or 4th priority-wise there.  Its so secondary, they wont even tell you what the official scorer calls an error/hit (until its on the scoreboard and often changes once the scoreboard operator is informed later).  My dad keeps score and totals up at the end.  Every piece of baseball information is scrubbed from the scoreboard like .0005 seconds after the last out is recorded.  Nobody cares, and hardly anyone would attend without the daily "gimmick".

 

Back in War Memorial Stadium and earlier in Pilot Field's existence, it felt like much more of a baseball game.  I think the players cared more and we had many more "career minor leaguers" who had their place in AAA and would compete.  That is all gone now. 

 

MLB isnt even comparable at this point.  I would say A and AA is slightly better because players are really scrapping for survival.... but it isnt better by much.  They also change logos, uniforms, affiliations, and identities all the time.  Tradition has been thrown in the waste basket.  Everything has completely capitulated to their MLB overlords.

 

 

I think the erosion of minor league and community baseball is as much to blame for the suffering and cloudy future of MLB interest than the "speed of play" nonsense.  They have rooted decent baseball from small towns.  The NY Penn League used to be great until the ripped everything out for "communities" that really needed it, such as Brooklyn, Staten Island, Lowell, Norwich, CT, and State College.

I was really upset when the lost the Indians affiliation. Aside from the fact that I was an Indians fan at the time, they used their AAA team, so we actually had some decent talent come through. The Mets were a wannabe Yankees, and tried to build through FA, so we were dealt a **** team. I moved a year or so after that, so have only been to a handful of games under the Blue Jays. I hate the idea that jerseys now change to be replicas of the farm club. Other than the late 70s and early 80s, the Bisons have a history that goes back 100+ years with their own unique identity. But it's the Blue Jays version of the Bills Toronto series to expand their market.

[Fadingpain]

It depends on your mindset.  Minor league baseball is fantastic and preferable to major league baseball, if you have a fairly decent stadium and you can get tickets easily and cheaply.

 

Especially if your major league alternative is living in a town where you can't even get tickets without spending a fortune.

 

If you are into the purity of the game, I think AAA would actually offer a better all around experience.

 

If you follow the major leagues exclusively and care about the stars, etc., minor league can be a little disappointing.

 

But I was always impressed with the quality of play at the AAA level.  It's not that bad.

 

Contrast this with NHL hockey vs. American league hockey.  AHL hockey is a giant step down from the NHL and played in slow motion.  I could never enjoy the Amerks games I went to when I lived in Rochester for a year.

 

Huge drop-off from NHL to AHL.

 

Not as apparent with MLB to AAA ball.

 

 

[May Day 10]

to me, the difference between MLB and AAA is night and day.  Just the range and fluidity of the infielders is noticeable to the naked eye.  The pitching is also pretty obvious of an upgrade, as is the general speed of everyone.

 

The AAA games themselves also mean zilch, and the players seem to act/play that way.  This aspect seems to have eroded over the past 10-15 years.  

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

6 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

It depends on your mindset.  Minor league baseball is fantastic and preferable to major league baseball, if you have a fairly decent stadium and you can get tickets easily and cheaply.

 

Especially if your major league alternative is living in a town where you can't even get tickets without spending a fortune.

 

If you are into the purity of the game, I think AAA would actually offer a better all around experience.

 

If you follow the major leagues exclusively and care about the stars, etc., minor league can be a little disappointing.

 

But I was always impressed with the quality of play at the AAA level.  It's not that bad.

 

Contrast this with NHL hockey vs. American league hockey.  AHL hockey is a giant step down from the NHL and played in slow motion.  I could never enjoy the Amerks games I went to when I lived in Rochester for a year.

 

Huge drop-off from NHL to AHL.

 

Not as apparent with MLB to AAA ball.

 

 

Weird. I used to go to AHL games when Houston had a team when I first moved down here, and didn't notice much of a difference. Granted I started getting into it during the lockout, so I didn't have anything else to compare it to at the time. Lol. Although going to minor league games in the south is a weird experience. Because its like a mini convention of fans of all teams, because its such a niche sport. So most people usually just wore gear of whatever NHL team they rooted for. 

[May Day 10]

Its fantasy, but I think baseball would be saved if they somehow were able to scrap the entire minor league system (and the format of the draft).  Make all teams independently owned and operated... and created a whole promotion/relegation system.  MLB clubs with a lot of money could still own the rights to players, but loan or rent them to minor league clubs.  It would take an entire framework of rules and collective bargaining, but it could be awesome. 

 

It would really place 'meaningful' and competitive baseball at all corners of the country (and Canada)... and you can probably work out teams in Latin American nations as they can field local talent at a lower level (and maybe work their way up a bit?).  

 

Imagine the Riches put some money into the Bisons and they were near the top of the International League, with a shot/chance at getting promoted to MLB.  That would be intense and a huge draw.  

 

 

I think USA baseball also needs to create a development program for youth.... much like USA hockey (and all other major hockey playing nations do).  Little League is very disorganized and crappy.  Instruction is poor and the way events are organized at a young age.... a kid may swing a bat a couple times and throw a ball once over the course of a 1.5 hour "game" where they dont keep score and everyone just tries to get through it.  Hockey is almost 90% skills based at the youngest ages.  Its much more fun and inclusive.  Kids will stick with hockey.  At baseball, I look at the fields for older kids and there isnt much participation.  All the bored 5-8 year olds move on to play soccer, hockey, or lacrosse.

[May Day 10]

16 minutes ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

Weird. I used to go to AHL games when Houston had a team when I first moved down here, and didn't notice much of a difference. Granted I started getting into it during the lockout, so I didn't have anything else to compare it to at the time. Lol. Although going to minor league games in the south is a weird experience. Because its like a mini convention of fans of all teams, because its such a niche sport. So most people usually just wore gear of whatever NHL team they rooted for. 

 

The AHL has also suffered, much like AAA baseball, but not quite as badly.  AHL is really the only minor league game in town (not including young CHL players and unsigned NCAA and European players).  So its an exclusive minor league.  They also do not have September call-ups and have a full and meaningful playoff and trophy.

 

However, the league has suffered from capitulating completely with the NHL.  Before, up until maybe the mid 90s, teams were much more autonomous.  We also had the IHL.  You would see a lot of 'washed up' NHL players pepper IHL and AHL rosters which was great.  Teams were rooted in tradition.  Now, roster spots are the utmost importance. Everything is an investment.  These teams are uprooted and moved, normally a handful every offseason.  Its actually comical.  

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

4 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

 

The AHL has also suffered, much like AAA baseball, but not quite as badly.  AHL is really the only minor league game in town (not including young CHL players and unsigned NCAA and European players).  So its an exclusive minor league.  They also do not have September call-ups and have a full and meaningful playoff and trophy.

 

However, the league has suffered from capitulating completely with the NHL.  Before, up until maybe the mid 90s, teams were much more autonomous.  We also had the IHL.  You would see a lot of 'washed up' NHL players pepper IHL and AHL rosters which was great.  Teams were rooted in tradition.  Now, roster spots are the utmost importance. Everything is an investment.  These teams are uprooted and moved, normally a handful every offseason.  Its actually comical.  

I was getting ready to buy Aeros Season Tickets, the year they left for Iowa of all places.

[row_33]

Jays started in 1977 when I was 11 and entered a decade of excellence in 1983 ending with 2 WS in 92 and 93, so my high school and under/post-grad studies were in the midst of every pitch counting for all 162 and some years the playoffs

 

nothing will compare that way again, i've been to probably 1500 games in Toronto and attended at 31 or so baseball stadiums for MLB games (many stadiums shut down and replaced since my visit)

 

my minor league watching has been a summer in Little Rock watching the Cards AA Travelers a dozen games, for which Ricky Ankiel was a feature that summer.

he was quickly sent up to AAA after a handful of games in AA

 

[Rob's House]

I have to care who wins to really enjoy baseball and with minor league ball I really can't get into it. It's like watching preseason football. 

[Augie]

A college buddy just booked his flight to come down here in a couple weeks. Braves are in town with a super cool entertainment area surrounding the stadium. He LOVES baseball. He was all-state in HS a billion years ago. I think 5 innings is plenty. (Like 12 holes is usually plenty of golf.) We just may have to Uber Home separately. I do like it on as background noise, but it’s hardly compelling, to me. 

[KD in CA]

I brought the kids to a local minor league game a couple weeks ago;  about 300 people in the crowd.  A couple buddies where there with their kids so enjoyed a beer, watched a little of the game and had no problem leaving when the kids got restless by the sixth inning.  Total cost = $60 and home in less than 20 minutes.

 

Compare that to the all day odyssey and half a mortgage payment to take them to AT&T in the city for a Giants game and there is no comparison.  Yes, it's fun to go to the big league game, but it's really not worth the cost and hassle, at least for a regular season game.

[Augie]

I think a lot depends on the venues. Sarasota, FL has a nice little minor league stadium they renovated a few years ago. Easy in, easy out, a very pleasant experience. We would go to the Trop in St Pete to watch the Rays....maybe the worst venue in MLB. Worse experience in every way except you’d see better players. I’m more into he experience than the caliber of play.

 

Even in the same town with the same team, I skipped Braves games in Atlanta for years at Turner field. The stadium was OK, but the area around it was not. Moved to a safer area with a great walkable development full of entertainment options and I’ll hit a handful of games this year. I read their revenue was up 47% in the first year in the new stadium. THAT is a HUGE difference.  

 

 

[Gugny]

When I was a kid, we had the White Sox AA team in Glens Falls.  It's a big part of why I love baseball.  Any major league-affiliated league (A, AA, AAA) is going to provide decent baseball.  If you love the game, you'll see the talent and appreciate it.

 

One of my goals in life is to visit every MLB park.  I've been to about 1/3, so far.  Nothing compares to Citi Field and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Mets fan (in fact, I hate those mother !@#$ers right now).

 

A baseball-savvy crowd also makes the difference.  A couple years ago I went to a D-backs home game.  Talk about boring.  Phoenix is not a baseball town.  Fans were disengaged.  The atmosphere sucked.

 

A lot goes into a live baseball experience.  Fans, surroundings, music, announcing.

 

I wish we could get another minor league team, but the field/facilities have gone to ****.  We have, basically, a JUCO league.  I've been to a few games.  Decent baseball, but no crowd, no excitement.

 

If the setting is right, there's nothing like a day at the ballpark.  My son and I will be headed to Citi Field in early August and we can't wait.

 

Camden Yards is next on my list.

 

[Fadingpain]

Camden Yards is a really nice ball park.  I've seen a ton of games there and always enjoyed it.

 

I got to see Wrigley Field last year.  I think Wrigley has to be the best MLB experience there is, including Fenway.  And I'm a Red Sox fan.

 

The area all around Wrigley is totally cool and it is like going back in time to WWI days.  Just a huge fan of Wrigley.

 

 

[Gugny]

6 hours ago, Fadingpain said:

Camden Yards is a really nice ball park.  I've seen a ton of games there and always enjoyed it.

 

I got to see Wrigley Field last year.  I think Wrigley has to be the best MLB experience there is, including Fenway.  And I'm a Red Sox fan.

 

The area all around Wrigley is totally cool and it is like going back in time to WWI days.  Just a huge fan of Wrigley.

 

 

 

I went to Wrigley six or seven years ago.  After the initial feeling of awe wore off, I quickly realized that it's kind of a dump.  The baseball atmosphere was incredible, though.  I went to Fenway many, many years ago.  Early teens.  I don't remember a lot about it.  I'm supposed to be going to a Mets/Sox game, there, in September.  I hope it works out.

[Philly McButterpants]

Here in Reading, the AA Fightin' Phils are a collection of nobodies (or at best, soon to maybe be somebodies), so the organization tries really hard to make the whole experience delightful.  I was at a Dodgers game in LA over Memorial day weekend.  Yawn.  In MLB, the game is the attraction. And if it's a lousy game . . . . 

The Minor leagues try harder at keeping you entertained, the game is secondary.  

 

Related:  I haven't been to a Bison's game in 10-15 years.  Any locals have a report on how is the stadium holding up?  

[May Day 10]

1 hour ago, Philly McButterpants said:

Here in Reading, the AA Fightin' Phils are a collection of nobodies (or at best, soon to maybe be somebodies), so the organization tries really hard to make the whole experience delightful.  I was at a Dodgers game in LA over Memorial day weekend.  Yawn.  In MLB, the game is the attraction. And if it's a lousy game . . . . 

The Minor leagues try harder at keeping you entertained, the game is secondary.  

 

Related:  I haven't been to a Bison's game in 10-15 years.  Any locals have a report on how is the stadium holding up?  

 

The stadium shows its age a bit.  Lots of 'rust' and a bit of degradation.  They did replace a good amount of the "premium" red seats with new green seats a couple years ago.

 

Its not bad though.  Concourses are good.  They have good food options and a stand for craft brews.  The "bleachers" has turned full into a bar-type area.  

When there is a large crowd, like for Star Wars Night.... it is very uncomfortable.  

 

I believe it is the oldest ballpark in the International League now?

[shrader]

We have a stadium in town where they have a summer league team for college kids.  It's maybe 2 miles from my house.  It runs for about 2.5 months during the summer.  We went to a game this past weekend.  The players are very into the games, which is nice to see.  We sat directly behind the visiting team's dugout and could hear pretty much all of their chatter.  They were down 1 in the top of the 9th and every single player was up on the top step chirping constantly.  I can't remember the last time I saw that. 

 

It's a fun time.  The game is obviously a lower quality, but the energy level and the rock bottom prices make up for that.  We'll try to go a couple more times this summer.

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

2 hours ago, May Day 10 said:

 

The stadium shows its age a bit.  Lots of 'rust' and a bit of degradation.  They did replace a good amount of the "premium" red seats with new green seats a couple years ago.

 

Its not bad though.  Concourses are good.  They have good food options and a stand for craft brews.  The "bleachers" has turned full into a bar-type area.  

When there is a large crowd, like for Star Wars Night.... it is very uncomfortable.  

 

I believe it is the oldest ballpark in the International League now?

Technically second oldest. But Pawtuckett did some major renovations about ten or fifteen years ago. 

11 hours ago, Gugny said:

When I was a kid, we had the White Sox AA team in Glens Falls.  It's a big part of why I love baseball.  Any major league-affiliated league (A, AA, AAA) is going to provide decent baseball.  If you love the game, you'll see the talent and appreciate it.

 

One of my goals in life is to visit every MLB park.  I've been to about 1/3, so far.  Nothing compares to Citi Field and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Mets fan (in fact, I hate those mother !@#$ers right now).

 

A baseball-savvy crowd also makes the difference.  A couple years ago I went to a D-backs home game.  Talk about boring.  Phoenix is not a baseball town.  Fans were disengaged.  The atmosphere sucked.

 

A lot goes into a live baseball experience.  Fans, surroundings, music, announcing.

 

I wish we could get another minor league team, but the field/facilities have gone to ****.  We have, basically, a JUCO league.  I've been to a few games.  Decent baseball, but no crowd, no excitement.

 

If the setting is right, there's nothing like a day at the ballpark.  My son and I will be headed to Citi Field in early August and we can't wait.

 

Camden Yards is next on my list.

 

In Houston we obviously have the Astros. Sugarland (about 30 minutes south) has an independent league team called the Skeeters. Brand new ballpark about five years ago. They do some crazy promotions. I went there, they asked if I wanted to enter to win a TV. I said yes, and they handed me a spoon. They burried a remote under the field before the game. Whoever dug it up won the TV. They also signed Roger Clements for one game. 

I have season tickets to UH baseball. Nothing fancy about the ballpark, but it's cheap, and the team has been in the conference championship 4/5 years and won it twice. So its good baseball. Except in the beginning where we play Northern teams that aren't at our level and we're winning games that aren't even close. Rice has a nicer stadium, but tickets are more expensive. The best part of being a college baseball fan is that the season starts in mid February. So you only go like 2.5 months without any baseball in your life.

 

The Astros host a college baseball classic every year with six different teams, usually including UH. $30 gets you an all weekend pass, and I usually go to almost all the games. This year I went to a game that didn't end until the 12th inning at 1am. 

[Mark80]

21 hours ago, May Day 10 said:

Minor league baseball.... mainly AAA is the lowest form of North American pro sports.  Bisons games are terrible.  Most of the top rated prospects go through full seasons of A and AA as opposed to much AAA. Guys there, you can tell are mostly going through the motions.  Competition is on the back burner.  Pitch counts are paramount and never deviated from.  If you have a team that goes to the "playoffs", September call-ups completely ravage your team and the lineup that plays in your "playoff" games does not have much in common with the lineup from the season.  

Going to a Bisons game now... baseball, I wouldnt even consider secondary.  Its like 3rd or 4th priority-wise there.  Its so secondary, they wont even tell you what the official scorer calls an error/hit (until its on the scoreboard and often changes once the scoreboard operator is informed later).  My dad keeps score and totals up at the end.  Every piece of baseball information is scrubbed from the scoreboard like .0005 seconds after the last out is recorded.  Nobody cares, and hardly anyone would attend without the daily "gimmick".

 

Back in War Memorial Stadium and earlier in Pilot Field's existence, it felt like much more of a baseball game.  I think the players cared more and we had many more "career minor leaguers" who had their place in AAA and would compete.  That is all gone now. 

 

MLB isnt even comparable at this point.  I would say A and AA is slightly better because players are really scrapping for survival.... but it isnt better by much.  They also change logos, uniforms, affiliations, and identities all the time.  Tradition has been thrown in the waste basket.  Everything has completely capitulated to their MLB overlords.

 

 

I think the erosion of minor league and community baseball is as much to blame for the suffering and cloudy future of MLB interest than the "speed of play" nonsense.  They have rooted decent baseball from small towns.  The NY Penn League used to be great until the ripped everything out for "communities" that really needed it, such as Brooklyn, Staten Island, Lowell, Norwich, CT, and State College.

 

AAA ball is the highest quality after MLB.  Most people in AAA either have been in, or will be in the majors.  Lower levels do have the highest rated prospects for the longest periods of time, sure, but they are also filled with a majority of players who never come close to making the big leagues.  With AAA the whole team is full of borderline MLB players and sometimes you get the stud prospects for a spell as well, but typically a short one.  Overall, it's a better quality product though.  If you're only interested in seeing top prospects, well, then AA is your best bet.

[May Day 10]

Maybe the overall pedigree of individual players is better in AAA (obviously).... but overall, the aspect of competition, which is the driving attraction of sports, is completely vacant.  

 

New York Penn League games are more fun to watch.  Maybe its because prospects are more desperate to claw up?  Maybe the roster is more fixed through the season?  Or maybe its guys who know they arent going to make it and are just making the most of being a pro.

 

AAA baseball (in the past 15 years) feels like 90% of the players don't want to be there.  

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

It truly depends on the farm team. A lot of AAA guys are there because they have a great bat and need to develop their glove, or vice versa. Sometimes they're just unlucky because of who they play under. If you were a Shortstop in the Yankees farm system any time within the past 20 years, you better learn another position or hope you get traded. I know the Bisons had a lot of guys when the Indians were good, that were down there to learn a new position. 

[Ned Flanders]

Growing up in Rochester, I would live and die with the Red Wings and we usually had some rising stars stay in town for two full seasons.  Don Baylor, Bobby Grich, Doug DeCinces, and Al Bumbry, and later Cal Ripken, were favorites and the fans really cared if the team won or lost on a given night.  I use to follow the standings daily and developed a love for the Orioles that continues to this day (not so much this year, haha).

 

Moving to the DC area over 30 years ago, going to Orioles and now Nats games, has replaced the minor league experience.  Seems when I go back to Rochester, we go to a Wings game and the experience, like others have said, is night and day.  Fans give an appreciative clap when the Wings make a good play but I don't sense the same passionate fervor that use to envelop the ballpark...they all seem to be just interested in getting to the next mid-inning promotion or gimmick.

 

Don't get me wrong, there's a certain charm, and favorable price structure, associated with minor league ball, it simply can't compare to The Show.

[Jay_Fixit]

I can only get into minor league ball if there’s a top prospect worth seeing. I do enjoy going but I definitely don’t pay attention as if I was at an MLB game.

 

Nothing better than a sunny Saturday night at Safeco with the roof open.

 

Until the 7th when the pigeons start shitting on people.

[Royale with Cheese]

7 minutes ago, Jay_Fixit said:

I can only get into minor league ball if there’s a top prospect worth seeing. I do enjoy going but I definitely don’t pay attention as if I was at an MLB game.

 

Nothing better than a sunny Saturday night at SunTrust Park with views of tall buildings just outside.

 

Until the 7th when the pigeons start shitting on people.

 

Fixed it for you.

 

 

 

[Misterbluesky]

59 minutes ago, Jay_Fixit said:

 

Nothing better than a sunny Saturday night at Safeco with the roof open.

 

Until the 7th when the pigeons start shitting on people.

They need to string up fishing line at the base of the roof opening

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

1 hour ago, Misterbluesky said:

They need to string up fishing line at the base of the roof opening

In a hippie town like Seattle? It would never happen. 

[Uncle Joe]

2 hours ago, Jay_Fixit said:

I can only get into minor league ball if there’s a top prospect worth seeing. I do enjoy going but I definitely don’t pay attention as if I was at an MLB game.

 

Nothing better than a sunny Saturday night at Safeco with the roof open.

 

Until the 7th when the pigeons start shitting on people.

 

But the ninth should be tolerable this year the way Diaz is going. If they make the playoffs whose next on the drought list?

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

1 hour ago, Uncle Joe said:

 

But the ninth should be tolerable this year the way Diaz is going. If they make the playoffs whose next on the drought list?

1. Mariners 16
2. Browns 15
3. Marlins 14
4. Timberwolves 13
5. Sacramento Kings 11
6. Padres 11
7. Bucs 10 
8. White Sox 9
9. Carolina Hurricanes 8
10. NYJ 7

Edited June 14, 2018 by The Real Buffalo Joe

[That's No Moon]

I get to see a handful of Carolina league games every year. It's a relaxing time and you see the occasional top prospect come through by my God, nobody can hit in that league. I feel like every game I go to ends up 2-1 or 3-2.

 

Now if you are an autograph hound A ball is totally the way to go, the kids sign every thing. They haven't been jaded by success yet. It's not my thing but I tell the little kids to get everyone they can because you never know who that next star is going to be.

 

Also, A ball cracks me up to sit near the dugout because there are more than a few super young Latino players who don't speak much English. They tend to group together in the dugout and they assume the gringo in the front row doesn't speak Spanish. Lots of funny stuff to be overheard.

[LabattBlue]

All this talk about the BIsons makes me want to punch Bob Rich Jr.  Who remembers him waving the check around at the owners meetings when it was rumored that Buffalo was going to get a team.  Then he got cold feet. 

 

With all the TV money in MLB, regardless of attendance, I would think all teams are profitable.  Buffalo's attendance numbers would have been at the very least competitive with those who routinely finish at the bottom of the league in attendance.

 

So sad that we missed out on the chance to be a MLB town.

[PromoTheRobot]

On 6/12/2018 at 3:22 PM, May Day 10 said:

Minor league baseball.... mainly AAA is the lowest form of North American pro sports.  Bisons games are terrible.  Most of the top rated prospects go through full seasons of A and AA as opposed to much AAA. Guys there, you can tell are mostly going through the motions.  Competition is on the back burner.  Pitch counts are paramount and never deviated from.  If you have a team that goes to the "playoffs", September call-ups completely ravage your team and the lineup that plays in your "playoff" games does not have much in common with the lineup from the season.  

Going to a Bisons game now... baseball, I wouldnt even consider secondary.  Its like 3rd or 4th priority-wise there.  Its so secondary, they wont even tell you what the official scorer calls an error/hit (until its on the scoreboard and often changes once the scoreboard operator is informed later).  My dad keeps score and totals up at the end.  Every piece of baseball information is scrubbed from the scoreboard like .0005 seconds after the last out is recorded.  Nobody cares, and hardly anyone would attend without the daily "gimmick".

 

Back in War Memorial Stadium and earlier in Pilot Field's existence, it felt like much more of a baseball game.  I think the players cared more and we had many more "career minor leaguers" who had their place in AAA and would compete.  That is all gone now. 

 

MLB isnt even comparable at this point.  I would say A and AA is slightly better because players are really scrapping for survival.... but it isnt better by much.  They also change logos, uniforms, affiliations, and identities all the time.  Tradition has been thrown in the waste basket.  Everything has completely capitulated to their MLB overlords.

 

 

I think the erosion of minor league and community baseball is as much to blame for the suffering and cloudy future of MLB interest than the "speed of play" nonsense.  They have rooted decent baseball from small towns.  The NY Penn League used to be great until the ripped everything out for "communities" that really needed it, such as Brooklyn, Staten Island, Lowell, Norwich, CT, and State College.

 

I live in Manchester NH where we have the Jays AA team, the Fishercats. Nice 6K seat downtown park along the river. Best part is the Sam Adams club in left field, open to anyone. We have Vlad Guerrero Jr. right now. He'll probably will go straight to Toronto soon.

[May Day 10]

11 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

All this talk about the BIsons makes me want to punch Bob Rich Jr.  Who remembers him waving the check around at the owners meetings when it was rumored that Buffalo was going to get a team.  Then he got cold feet. 

 

With all the TV money in MLB, regardless of attendance, I would think all teams are profitable.  Buffalo's attendance numbers would have been at the very least competitive with those who routinely finish at the bottom of the league in attendance.

 

So sad that we missed out on the chance to be a MLB town.

 

 

Bob Rich's worth also seems to have ballooned.  I'm not sure how it would have gone... but I would currently be a season ticket holder.  Talk about a good thing for downtown.  A MLB draw for 81 dates would be huge.  Its my dream.  I'm hoping that someway, somehow we get 1 or 2 fortune 500 white whales through this re-imagining of downtown and Pegula/Rich/etc land a team.  Pipe dream, I know.

 

Its not well known, but Mindy and Bob Rich had dinner with the owner of the San Francisco Giants.  The Giants' owner was complaining about working with the city, the weather/wind, and Candlestick Park.  Mindy, off the cuff proposed him moving the team to Buffalo, the Riches becoming some sort of team/facility "managers", and changing the team name to "New York Giants".  The idea was considered and there were a couple of serious meetings.  Not sure how close it came to happening (probably not very close), but it was a thing.

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

13 hours ago, LabattBlue said:

With all the TV money in MLB, regardless of attendance, I would think all teams are profitable.  Buffalo's attendance numbers would have been at the very least competitive with those who routinely finish at the bottom of the league in attendance.

In our first couple of season in Pilot field, we actually outdrew the Braves and White Sox. I believe I read somewhere that part of the problem was that we weren't gonnaget any of the TV money until the then current contract ended, about five years after we came into the league. Also, our TV market wouldn't have reached southern Ontario (already Blue Jays territory), would stop at the state border (Pirates), and I read that Rochester would have been about the limit going East before Mets/Yankees took over. 

[row_33]

12 minutes ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

In our first couple of season in Pilot field, we actually outdrew the Braves and White Sox. I believe I read somewhere that part of the problem was that we weren't gonnaget any of the TV money until the then current contract ended, about five years after we came into the league. Also, our TV market wouldn't have reached southern Ontario (already Blue Jays territory), would stop at the state border (Pirates), and I read that Rochester would have been about the limit going East before Mets/Yankees took over. 

 

the Bisons have local TV coverage of games?

 

 

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

4 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

the Bisons have local TV coverage of games?

 

 

They do once in a while actually. About 10 games a year. Used to be if the Mets were off, and the Bisons were home, SNY would show them when we were their farm team. But I'm talking about the hypothetical market if we had gotten a Major League team, or at least what it was back in the early 90s.

[Kirby Jackson]

17 hours ago, The Real Buffalo Joe said:

1. Mariners 16
2. Browns 15
3. Marlins 14
4. Timberwolves 13
5. Sacramento Kings 11
6. Padres 11
7. Bucs 10 
8. White Sox 9
9. Carolina Hurricanes 8
10. NYJ 7

Timberwolves went to the playoffs this year.

 

Also, I did the minor league thing last night. We went to the Baby Cakes game. Thursday’s they do $2 beers and you can bring your dog. 5 of us went (plus my dog). We tailgated, played cornhole and drank about 15 beers over the course of the night. It was a lot of fun.