The airing of tonight’s MLB Draft signals the arrival of short season baseball and a new batch of promotions to look forward to over the coming weeks. Some of the best offerings across four leagues—New York-Penn, Northwest, Appalachian and Pioneer leagues—which include theme nights and giveaways are covered in this week’s Promotions Watch. (more…)
The Pulaski Yankees (rookie; Appalachian League) unveiled a logo and plans for upgrades to historic Calfee Park for the 2015 season. (more…)
Minute Maid Park renovations, a Spirit Communications Park preview and potential Appy League expansion head the top stories of the past week on Ballpark Digest, as measured by page views. (more…)
With MLB teams looking to add rookie-level teams, the Appalachian League could expand by two teams in 2016 after league officials considered 2015 changes. (more…)
We will indeed have a rookie-level Appalachian League team in Pulaski next season, as the New York Yankees are taking over the affiliation for the former Seattle Mariners farm team. No final name has been chosen, though it’s possible the team will end up as the Pulaski Yankees in proud Appy League tradition. Yankees GM […]
With the sale of Calfee Park and the Seattle Mariners ending their affiliation with the Pulaski Mariners (rookie; Appalachian League), the immediate future of pro baseball in the city is in doubt. David Hagan and Larry Shelor of the Christiansburg-based Shelor Automotive Group are buying the ballpark for $1 million and plan on spending $2 […]
Burlington Athletic Stadium, home of the Burlington Royals (rookie; Appalachian League), will see some upgrades this season and next. The ballpark is historic: it was originally built in Danville and then transformed piece by piece to Burlington, opening in 1960. It sat unused for many years while Miles Wolff worked to bring in pro baseball; […]
The Bluefield Blue Jays (rookie; Appalachian League) are once again selling ballpark beer at Bowen Field, but some residents are unhappy with the decision. Beer is a major revenue source for any Minor League Baseball team, and the decision by the Blue Jays to stop selling it certainly impacted the bottom line. And, even in […]
The three owners of the Pulaski Mariners (rookie; Appalachian League) are retiring, and a local ownership group wants to keep the team alive in coming years. “We have been committed to providing affordable, family friendly entertainment to the local community at a wonderful baseball facility that has its own history,” said Secretary/Treasurer Wayne Carpenter, one of […]
No surprise here: with a change in affiliation to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bristol Baseball, Inc. announced that Bristol’s team in the rookie Appalachian League will officially be known as the Bristol Pirates. “We are excited about adopting our big league club’s name as our own, especially with the success of Pittsburgh this season and the […]
You can expect a new team name and branding, as the Bristol Sox (rookie; Appalachian League) entered into a new player-development contract (PDC) with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bristol joins the organization’s system as a ninth MiLB affiliate for the 2014 season. It becomes the Bucs’ second rookie-level team, with the Gulf Coast Pirates. The agreement […]
A bus transporting the Elizabethton Twins (rookie; Appalachian League) from Florida to Tennessee for the home opener was involved in a crash this morning, which killed the driver of the other vehicle. The bus was on the road near Jacksonville when a driver came down I-295, going the wrong way. The bus driver attempted to […]
The Greeneville Astros (rookie; Appalachian League) updated the team’s logo and branding for the first time since entering the Appy League in 2004, matching the look of parent Houston Astros. The new look, based on a blue and orange color scheme — the same colors that will be worn by the Houston Astros. — was […]
