Minor League Baseball: Pretty Much Cancelled
Hickory Crawdads Stadium
stadiumjourney.com
Sports fans have been anxiously keeping an eye on all the sporting leagues to find out when they will resume or begin their seasons. Most of this focus has been on the NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL, and the upcoming college football season. But what about minor league baseball? Everyone loves to head to their local minor league ballpark on a summer night to check out a game. Unfortunately, the answer is pretty much here, and it is not good.
Yesterday, Minor League Baseball cut hundreds of players around the league to ease financial burden caused from the pandemic. And according to Baseball America, that was just the first round of cuts. While this may not seem like a huge deal because players get cut every year after Spring Training, those players have the possibility to get picked up by other teams and make their way back into the league. These cuts are final, as the league was looking to decrease the number of roster spots per team, and minor league teams anyway. Therefore, many careers were ended earlier than they otherwise would have been.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans Stadium
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With the crazy past few months we’ve endured, many would have guessed that Minor League Baseball wouldn’t have a season this year. But there were still many others that were holding out hope. And while the minor league season isn’t officially cancelled, these roster cuts all but put the nail in the coffin for the 2020 MiLB season.
The other question that is out there is, “where does Minor League Baseball go from here?” Without a season, the players who are not cut will most likely be training around team facilities and may get some work in the Arizona Fall League later this year. Some of the most highly rated prospects may be able to hang around the big league teams if they get started back this year and be ready to play if needed. Minor League Baseball as a league will probably look a little different moving forward as well. With MLB commissioner already seeking to cut the 160 minor league teams to 120, some of the smaller level ballclubs might not exist next year. It’s anybody’s guess as to which ones might not make it, but like with everything else in these times, we’ll just have to keep waiting to find out.
Garett