Despite a heroic, last-ditch attempt by alcoholics to save the day, Oneonta -- a former collective-farm jewel within the Yankee northern tundra -- is losing its team after 44 years.
The news comes two seasons after MLB pulled out of the annual Hall of Fame Game in nearby Cooperstown. The NYP League should stand for New York Past.
This from the Mayor of Oneonta:
"It does seem strange to me that the league, which has had a successful franchise (in Oneonta) for 44 years, would be proactive about moving that franchise over a four- to five-month period without being even slightly sensitive to the concerns of a community that has supported them for so long. When I walk away from this thing, that's the bitter taste in my mouth... Don't we count for something?"
But wait... here's the cruelest part of the deal:
The announcement came two days after the New York State Liquor Authority
conditionally approved a ballpark beer license filed by Oneonta Concessions, LLC that would allow the O-Tigers to sell alcohol at Damaschke Field this summer for the first time since its affiliation with the NY-Penn began in 1966.
The beer arrived too late.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Beer arrives too late to save Oneonta baseball
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Very few things piss me off more than moving minor league teams away from the small towns & cities that don't have other pro sports and to suburbs of major-league cities. Upstate NY has been pillaged so much it sickens me.
IF YOU LIVE WITHIN AN HOUR OF A MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM, YOU SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO HAVE A MINOR LEAGUE TEAM.
This one happened like this: Oneonta loses their team to Norwich, CT, who lost their team to Richmond, VA, who lost their team when the Braves moved their AAA affiliate to Suburban Atlanta. Pisses me off.
Cal Ripken bought and moved the Utica club (PUN) to his hometown in Suburban Baltimore, where there are 2 MLB and multiple minor league squads nearby. Great that a team in MARYLAND is in the NEW YORK - PENN LEAGUE. Asshole.
Elmira, Utica, Albany-Colonie, and now Oneonta all had teams ripped away from the good people living there who don't have the opportunity to have any other pro team. And far too often, they get moved to suburbs of large Major League cities. Hide, Batavia!! Enjoy it while you've got it, Auburn! You're next.
And yes, this holds to our own favorite MLB city. Why does Staten Island and Brooklyn need minor league teams?? Take a subway ride and you've got slightly more than 1 MLB franchise to see.
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