Orioles Baseball Leaving Bluefield

[No_Brains]

This is an interesting breaking news story we had here today in Bluefield, WV.
Cal Ripken Jr. had also played with this affiliation here in Bluefield. This is big. Hate to see this happen.

As WVVA-TV first reported to you this afternoon, the longest active relationship between a Major League Baseball team and its minor league affiliate has come to an end. After 53 years, the Baltimore Orioles have ended their affiliation with Bluefield. So after Tuesday's season finale at Bowen Field, the Bluefield Orioles will be no longer. The team held a press conference to announce the news this morning.
A statement was released by Orioles President of Baseball Operation Andy McPhail.
"On behalf of the Orioles, I wish to express our deepest appreciation to the town and residents of Bluefield for their support of the Orioles organization and over a thousand players who have worn the Bluefield Orioles uniform in the last 53 seasons. While extremely difficult, we believe the decision to end our affiliation with Bluefield is in the best interest of the franchise moving forward. The history of Orioles baseball is not complete without Bluefield, and we have enormous respect and gratitude for the club and the community that helped launch the careers of legends such as Cal Ripken Jr. and Boog Powell. We hope and expect that the next organization in Bluefield enjoys as long and as productive a relationship as we have enjoyed."
Tune into WVVA News tonight at 11 for more.


source: www.wvva.com

just thought i would post this. since it is baseball

 

[SamCdbs]

Wow.

Rookie league, at least in the Appy League, is very different from the rest of minor league baseball. Its just kids right out of high school, a short season, and teams run by community voluenteers. Players staying with locals. No beer. Esentually HS fields with no bells and whistles. AFAIK there really is no "owner", nobody makes money off of it.

The Orioles, probably the worst franchise in sports, do have a smart system in the minors, with all of their other minor league teams around Baltimore (Norfolk, Virginia; and Bowie, Frederick, Salisbury, and Aberdeen, all in Maryland).

Hopefully Bluefield can find a team. Princeton, only 12 miles away, split the market when it got a team 10 or so years ago.

 

[AntAltMike]

Princeton, only 12 miles away, split the market when it got a team 10 or so years ago.

Well, if we can split the atom, then we can split the Bluefield market. I might set up a little 10 watt TV transmitter there just so that I can bump Glendive out of the bottom of the Neilsen list.

 

[DodgerKing]

I must be missing something, but how is this any different than any other affiliation? Major league teams change affiliates all of the time.

 

[Jimbo]

I must be missing something, but how is this any different than any other affiliation? Major league teams change affiliates all of the time.

The fact that they have been associated for 53 years has something to do with it, I'm sure.

 

[Ramy]

So what was the reason for leaving?

 

[Jimbo]

So what was the reason for leaving?

Never really heard a reason ....

Fwiw, I've been there ....

TurnerVision, my C-Band provider was based there

 

[SamCdbs]

Missing something: The Appy League (and, AFAIK, the Pioneer League as well) is run differently than the rest of the minors. The teams are more or less non-profit small town deals, with community volunteers operating the whole deal without much expectation of profit. Bluefield is not guarenteed a team, nor is the Appy League guarenteed to have 10 teams. It could very well be that no major league team wants a rookie operation in Bluefield, and that some team will not use the slot for some other town. Towns come and go in the league all the time. You do not have to buy a franchise from an existing town, you just have to get a deal with a major league club to put a team in your town.

Reason: The Orioles have a team in the NY-P League, which is a "short season" league like the Appy and Pioneer, but which has more lax rookies-only restrictions of those leagues. It also has a team in the GCL , which is a "complex league", which is a deal where players play, with no crowd in attendance, at the spring training site.