MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DONE FOR 2020
Pacific Coast League President Branch Rickey penned a love letter Tuesday to the game his family helped shape, romanticizing over summers past and seasons to come after Minor League Baseball announced the cancellation of the 2020 season.
MiLB made the announcement after Major League Baseball decided it would not provide players to minor league affiliates amid the coronavirus pandemic, a move that might be devastating for the Sacramento River Cats and other majorleague affiliates across the country, officials said. Major League Baseball is preparing to start its season under strict COVID-19 protocols, but resources needed to ensure the safety of players and staff would not have been available to minor league teams.
The River Cats, the reigning Pacific Coast League and Triple-A national champions, did not immediately comment on the news.
Rickey, whose grandfather helped break baseball’s color barrier when he signed Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945, issued a statement shortly after Minor League Baseball made its announcement, calling it a “momentous day.”
“There is some good to be gleaned from what is obviously an overall very disappointing announcement,” Rickey said. “The good that comes to my mind, immediately, is what a vivid jolt this becomes in reminding us how much we treasure our game, how much we want this season to be played, how badly we would like to be out at our favorite ballparks, and why we are going to so badly miss not having this season. It warms the heart to instantly bask in the nostalgia of what we love and reflect on how much baseball is a part of our family life.”
The Pacific Coast League has never canceled a season since its inception in 1903, although the 1918 season was suspended on July 14 because of World War I travel restrictions. The PCL is made up of 16 teams across 11 states from Sacramento to Nashville, Tenn., and from Tacoma, Wash., to San Antonio, Texas. California has two teams: the River Cats and the Fresno Grizzlies.
River Cats general manager Chip Maxson described the announcement as “incredibly disappointing news.”
However, Maxson revealed that the San Francisco Giants, the River Cats’ parent club, are considering Sutter Health Park as the alternate training site for their taxi squad. Earlier this month, Major League Baseball instructed teams to
find sites within 100 miles of their home stadiums to serve as training facilities for players who aren’t traveling with the big league team.
Maxson said talks with the Giants are underway and there could be a formal announcement in the next week or two.
In the meantime, the River Cats are planning to contact partners and ticket holders regarding refund options, and exploring the possibility of bringing other kinds of events to the ballpark.
Team officials in Fresno said they feared this day would come.
“While we have been preparing for this outcome over the past few months, today’s news of our season being canceled is, of course, devastating,” the Grizzlies said in a written statement. “We will thoroughly miss seeing all of our fans, partners, and supporters this year at Chukchansi Park.”
Minor League Baseball was founded as the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues on Sept. 5, 1901. There are 160 MLB-affiliated revenue-generating minor league teams in the United States and Canada plus 80 more nonrevenue rookie league teams in Arizona, Florida and the Dominican Republic.
The California League was founded in 1941. The league suspended operations from 1942 to 1945 during World War II, but it has returned each summer for the past 74 years.
The league consists of eight teams. The North Division includes the Modesto Nuts, San Jose Giants, Stockton Ports and Visalia Rawhide. The South Division includes the Inland Empire 66ers, Lake Elsinore Storm, Lancaster JetHawks and Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
Many of baseball’s alltime greats have come through the California League during their rise to the majors. The California League Hall of Fame includes Don Drysdale, Rickey Henderson, Reggie Jackson, George Brett, Ken Griffey Jr., Tony LaRussa, Kirby Puckett and Pedro Martinez.
California League officials acknowledged the cancellation of the season on Twitter, saying: “It’s a sad day in the Cal League as minor league baseball has been canceled this season. While it was heartbreaking to hear, our teams remain dedicated to serving the community even without baseball. Stay healthy and safe.”
Minor league teams have announced widespread layoffs and furloughs in desperate costcutting moves since the coronavirus pandemic forced teams to postpone their seasons. In April, Maxson told The Sacramento Bee he feared some minor league teams might not survive the shutdown. The River Cats had already laid off two-thirds of their full-time staff and reduced hours for those who remained.
“If there are no games in 2020, the time between games at Sutter Health Park will be more than 18 months,” Maxson said. “We are trying to operate as lean and as efficient as possible, but the reality is that no business is set up to go 18 months without revenue.”
The River Cats have led minor league baseball in attendance nine times in 20 seasons at their waterfront ballpark in West Sacramento.
“I would consider the River Cats to be one of the model franchises in minor league baseball, and I think I read somewhere they’ve laid off well over half of their staff,” Jeff Lantz, MiLB’s senior director of communications, told The Bee in May. “They know their business better than anybody, so obviously they’re taking every precaution so they don’t have to make a real terrible decision down the road.”
Despite the uncertainty and difficulties his franchises face, Rickey concluded his statement with a nostalgic view of the past and an optimistic view of the future.
“At its core, baseball is America, and baseball is all of us,” Rickey said. “For generations, our game has been part of our society’s rich tapestry, interwoven in times good and bad, preposterous and challenging, joyful and reflective. For the first time since its founding in 1903, a pitch will not be thrown in the PCL this year. The stadium lights may have dimmed on this season before a batter had stepped into the box, but that also means they will shine brighter when next illuminated — as will our communities.”