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.
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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It's not like this happened overnight. This has been rumored for at least a year and probably more. It's what happens when you have an outdated stadium and do nothing to upgrade it and only get a liquor license at the 11th hour.
Besides, nobody went to their games. So I doubt many people will be upset.
I'm a baseball fan with kids, and going to see the Ducks or the Cyclones doesn't cost me a few hundred to take the kids, get it?
First of all, thanks to the IIH crew to have deemed my rant worthy of a post.
To Steven:
So why should you have options and others have none? This is about access, plain and simple. Having the Ducks and the Cyclones and the SIYankees gives you more choices AT THE EXPENSE OF those people, people just like you, who happen to live in the smaller, isolated towns in Upstate NY. They don't have the choice to take their kids to ANY pro games with this trend because the Suburban towns are taking them away. Get it??
Your position is very similar to the voters of Mass. who basically just said "we already have a gov't health care plan. Why should we put someone in office who would give the same access to coverage to poor people in Nebraska?"
And if it's costing you a few hundred $ to take your kids to a MLB ballgame, either you have a huge family, or you're doing it stupidly. I'll explain:
MLB has the lowest ticket prices in the major sports. Stadiums are big, and there are many games. Even the Mets and Yanks have thousands of seats each game priced at $20 or under. Any other MLB park, save for Fenway, you can find $15 or cheaper seats. $11 tickets at Citi Field are probably competitive with what you're used to paying in the 'burbs. And since you're OK seeing the Ducks or Cyclones, it's obvious the team you go see doesn't matter. You just want a Day At The Ballpark With The Kids. Great. Take the subway, pack some sandwiches and juice boxes, and bam...you're probably around $80-$100 for a family of 4.
Oh, and how much did that sweet double-necked guitar you're holding in your avatar cost?
It should be added that those selfsame voters of Massachusetts who took away our healthcare are all Red Sox fans.
I wonder who the best team in Baltimore is...
So a city of 13 thousand people in a county with 60 thousand deserves their own team while a city of 8 million doesn't deserve four?
No, a city of 8 million deserves 2 teams of the highest level in the world, bringing in the top athletes anyone could possibly wish to see. It deserves the finest and largest facilities befitting Major League franchises. That's the benefit of living in in a place like that. Because New York City is a Major League City. It is not a minor league city.
The teams in rural areas do not serve only the residents in the towns and counties they are based, but a much larger geographical area. When I grew up in Upstate NY, the nearest mall was 50 miles away...that's just how it is. Similarly, we would drive the same distance to see a Single-A baseball game, and it was a thrill for me to know that these guys could someday be major-leaguers with baseball cards and everything.
You take that away from these places, you not only take away one of the few "something to do" activities that makes somewhere a good place to live, but you also take away a little piece of community identity.
As someone who lived in Oneonta for most of the last 4.5 years, I can tell you the community is the one that abandoned the team.
The attendance is an embarrassment (less than 700 average), the field is a relic, and the community shows little interest -- ever since the Yankees stopped being the affiliate, basically -- despite bargain-basement prices and a competitive team. In fact, you generally hear how $6-7 for a single-game ticket is a lot, or how it's unfair that the team no longer makes half the games free nights (corporate-sponsored, sure, but by companies that are largely laying off people now).
Also, there's a lot of whining about how it's not the same since the Yanks left. As if Yankee rookie ball is so much better than Detroit's.
Sure the process wasn't smooth or very honest, but the mayor is flat-out lying about the local support. It may have been there once, but it hasn't been for a long time.
Well it is a pain to get to the Bronx from Staten Island, and Coney Island needed another freak show.
By removing wholesome activities in small towns, the owners are directly contributing to the meth crisis in this country.
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