Valleycats eagerly awaiting their fate
Tri-city Valleycats president Rick Murphy raked dirt on a Watervliet softball field Friday morning. The day ’s goal was clear, even if his franchise’s future is cloudy.
Murphy, general manager Matt Callahan and a small crew were set to complete the Valleycats’ annual “4 in 24” project, which usually involves renovating four local youth fields in 24 hours with funding from Hannaford and Blueshield. This year, it took almost four months to finish because of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions that
limited the number of volunteers.
“It ’s great for the community and it ’s something I know our staff looks forward to every year,” Murphy said. “Trying to adhere to New York state guidelines has made it a little more challenging on the operational side, but we’re happy to say we’re able to accomplish it before the snow f lies.”
The Valleycats are still waiting for another sort of deadline approaching Wednesday. That’s when the Professional Baseball Agreement expires between Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball. The sides could continue talking beyond Wednesday to reach a deal, or MLB could simply impose a system.
Murphy said he doesn’t know if the Valleycats will remain affiliated next season. They’ve been the New York-penn League affiliate of the Houston Astros for the past 18 years, but MLB’S plan is to contract the number of MILB affiliates from 160 to 120 and eliminate short-season leag ues like the NYPL.
MLB intends to take over the operation of the minor leag ues, according to national reports, but hasn’t presented a list of who the 120 affiliates will be.
“I’m hopeful that we will (learn by Wednesday),” Murphy said. “Obviously, each day that goes on, we get closer and closer to the 2021 season, and not knowing what that model’s going to look like for the Valleycats is obviously a challenge for our business.”
The Valleycats still don’t have a schedule to show sponsors or seasonticket holders. They don’t know if they ’ll remain a short-season club that starts in June or switch to a long-season format that could begin in April.
They laid off or furloughed eight of their 14 full-time employees after the 2020 season was canceled because of COVID-19 on June 30.
They hope to bring back those employees, or even increase staff depending on what they ’ll look like next season. Murphy said he’s “confident ” there will be professional baseball in the Capital Region next year – whether affiliated or independent.
“As a business, I’m comfortable with the brand that we’ve built in the market,” he said. “I think we’ve got a great staff. They ’ve worked hard. Whatever opportunity we have in the market, we’re going to maximize it. My hope is that it ’s af f iliated. I’ve said that all along. That ’s the only business model I’ve worked in in the 32 years I’ve worked in professional baseball. I’m hopeful that ’s the case. If it ’s not the case, then we’ll have to evaluate the business model and make business decisions based around that.”
If the Valleycats do lose their af f iliation, developments this week will seem especially relevant. MLB announced partnerships with three independent baseball leag ues – the Atlantic Leag ue, the Frontier Leag ue and the American Association.
Those leag ues are potential landing spots for minor leag ue teams that lose their af f iliations, including the Valleycats.
“I’m sure those mar
kets that aren’t part of the MLB affiliated model will be given opportunities,” Murphy said. “I’m sure these leag ues would love to have markets that have had professional baseball and long histories join their leag ues.”
Atlantic Leag ue president Rick White said the MLB partnership gives his leag ue “currency.” He said he doesn’t know who’s on the contraction list and stressed he’s not wishing for any team to lose its af f iliation.
“At the end of the day,
40-some odd teams are going to be eliminated from the affiliated ranks and we want them to know that we are a viable option,” White said. “I think
this helps to signal that we are a viable option.”
White said he’s not been in touch with anyone from the Valleycats.
Wednesday will also signal the end of TriCity ’s player development contract with the Astros, their partner for 18 years and three NYPL championships. Even if the Valleycats stay affiliated, they could have a new partner for closer geographical proximity.
“We’ve had a great relationship with the Astros for a number of years,” Callahan said. “It ’s funny, being in upstate New York, we’re the longest-tenured Astros affiliate, which is pretty unique. There have been a lot of great personal and professional relationships over the years with the Astros. But a lot of what happens next is out of our hands and to some degree out of their hands depending on the negotiations, and we’ll adjust accordingly.”