Minor league baseball contraction? Say What???

Tri-City Valleycats can breathe a little easier this evening.

According to the Albany Times-Union, the 'Cats are not on a list of NY-Penn League teams that would be contracted or eliminated after the 2020 season.

A plan proposed, ironically enough, by Houston GM Jeff Luhnow, would have 42 minor league teams, including more than half of the NY-P League, contracted at the end of next year because some minor league ballparks aren't meeting the higher-than-they-should standards of the so-called Lords of Baseball.



Bruno Stadium, on the campus of Hudson Valley Community College, holds 4,500, but has had more than 6,000 fans for some games over the course of 18 seasons. Even if the 'Cats were forced to leave town, HVCC would still have the stadium for their varsity baseball & softball teams, and would host Section II high school games.

What apparently is in the cards for the 'Cats is moving to a full season schedule, starting in April 2021, which would mean sharing The Joe with HVCC. The Friday Night Lights high school miniseries, which has been plagued by weather issues, would likely be squeezed out, depending on the 2021 schedule.

What it all comes down to, of course, is money, and saving as much of it as humanly possible. There are already threats of lawsuits, and complaints from politicos representing some NY-P League teams, such as Lowell, have made their voices heard.

The Valleycats are one of five NY-P teams that would be saved, along with Brooklyn (which would replace Binghamton in the Eastern League), Hudson Valley, West Virginia, and Aberdeen. There hasn't been a full season pro baseball team since the independent Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs left town, and not one affiliated with a major league club since the A-C Yankees relocated to Trenton nearly 20 years ago. Tri-City is one of the bigger draws in the NY-P League,  but there are no guarantees that they would still be a Houston affiliate after 2020, even though, if memory serves, the team did extend their agreement with the Astros earlier this year.

Here's a thought. The Yankees, under the current plan, would lose their Staten Island team, which would raise a ruckus in the Bronx, especially considering the Mets would keep Brooklyn. The thought I have is that the Yankees, if they have to give up Staten Island, and if the Astros buy out the 'Cats, Yankee minor league baseball could conceivably return to the 518. Some of the bigger draws at the Joe, especially on weekends, have been when Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Lowell have come to town, due to their parent clubs having strong fan bases here.

I'm a firm believer in that if it isn't broken, you don't fix it, but the 30 MLB owners are, as usual, thinking with their wallets first. And they wonder why television ratings for the World Series weren't so great........