The reorganization of Minor League Baseball under new overlords MLB dominated page views on Ballpark Digest for the last week, as we pass along links to the most popular stories.
Here are the top five new stories of the week, as ranked by page views determined via Google Analytics.
- Fresno fights Grizzlies demotion. The city of Fresno is fighting a demotion of the Fresno Grizzlies (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) to the California League, and city officials say they’ve received time from Major League Baseball to find a solution.
- Wichita faces move to Class AA Texas League. With the final details of the reorganized Minor League Baseball imminent, the news that the Wichita Wind Surge is shifting to the Class AA Texas League is leaving some in that Kansas community disappointed.
- Pioneer League to live on as pro indy league. Great news for baseball fans in Idaho, Montana, Utah and Colorado: the Pioneer League will transition from a Rookie-level affiliated league to a pro independent league with unique ties to Major League Baseball.
- American Association unveils new branding. The American Association unveiled new branding for 2021 in a partnership with Baseballism, as the MLB Partner League upgrades its look for the first time since the modern version of the circuit began play.
- MLB Draft League to launch with five teams. After weeks of pitched negotiations and wooing, the new summer-collegiate MLB Draft League will launch with just five teams, with a potential sixth team to be announced in coming weeks.
The top story overall on Ballpark Digest the past week? Our Affiliate Dance page, where we track team by team the changes upcoming in Minor League Baseball in 2021 as a result of the MLB takeover of the sport.