Former Southern League president, Huntsville Stars owner and Major Leaguer Don Mincher passed away last night after a long illness. He was 73. Mincher retired last fall as president of the Class AA Southern League due to the health problems. The league is still searching for a replacement. A Huntsville native, Mincher began his career […]
Tag Archives | oakland athletics
It’s Truck Day — and the first day of workouts
We have a weird situation this year in spring training: it’s Truck Day for the Boston Red Sox and the reporting date for the Seattle Mariners. In other words: baseball season has officially begun. Normally we don’t see Truck Day for most MLB teams so close to a reporting date. But this is a weird […]
Oakland bows out of Victory Court site for new A’s ballpark
Faced with a lack of redevelopment funds seized by the state, Oakland is dropping its plans for a new Athletics ballpark at Victory Court — leading the way for a move of the team to San Jose. Regular readers of Ballpark Digest have followed the issues posed to professional sports by the decision from the […]
Bud Selig: Commissioner for life?
Bud Selig is set to sign another two-year extension to serve as MLB commissioner, despite promises he would retire this year. Why is he sticking around? To settle some loose ends, we’re told. Not many in baseball were truly surprised when MLB owners unanimously voted to offer a two-year extension to Selig; there had been […]
Oakland contemplates foreign investments to help fund A’s ballpark
With no redevelopment money available for a new ballpark, Oakland officials are floating a plan to use foreign investments to pay for new sporting facilities — including a new Athletics ballpark. It’s a wonky plan, to be sure. The federal EB-5 program basically allows foreign investors and their famlies to buy a green card if […]
Court ruling clarifies San Jose, Escondido ballpark statuses
With the California Supreme Court ruling yesterday that the state can indeed eliminate city and county redevelopment agencies, the fate of new ballparks in Escondido and the Bay Area became clearer. The California Supreme Court not only ruled that the state can eliminate redevelopment agencies — and recapture locally generated revenues in the process — […]
Oakland negotiating move to Mesa’s HoHoKam Park
The Oakland Athletics have entered into an exclusive negotiating period with the city of Mesa for a move to HoHoKam Park in 2015, once the Chicago Cubs shift to a new facility. The Athletics currently play spring matches at Phoenix Municipal Stadium and train at nearby Papago Park. Neither set of facilities approaches state of […]
San Jose to sell A’s ballpark land at a huge loss
San Jose officials are so eager to land the Oakland Athletics that they’re willing to sell Lew Wolff land for less than half it’s worth on the open market. The deal would sell about five acres of prime downtown land for $6.9 million. San Jose paid $25.1 million for the six parcels of land over the […]
Oakland player plan depends on new ballpark
It will be an interesting offseason for the Oakland Athletics, as the fate of a new ballpark will determine whether the team goes into rebuilding mode or brings back established players to spiff up the franchise for a sale. The backstory, for those living in a cave the last few baseball years. Like many fans […]
Final days for Marlins at Sun Life Stadium
We’re guessing there will be very few tears shed on Wednesday when the Florida Marlins play their last game at Sun Life Stadium, one of the last multiuse venues in Major League Baseball. As a football stadium, the former Joe Robbie Stadium isn’t all that great; the NFL demanded a slew of improvements a few […]
Obstacles to new ballparks in California: not as bleak as expected
When Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law abolishing California’s redevelopment agencies, many in baseball assumed public financing of ballparks was a thing of the past. Turns out the news may not be so terrible — but the circumstances are still troublesome. Tax-increment financing is a tried-and-true economic-development tool, and it’s occasionally used to build ballparks. […]
Return of MLB to Montreal draws debate — mostly negative
Talk of a return of Major League Baseball to Montreal certainly is drawing a lot of passionate responses, though we’re surprised to hear from many folks who love the city declare the prospect to be a dead issue. Specifically, there are two responses that have been a little surprising. First, the Montral Gazette comes out […]
Marlins shut down upper deck at Sun Life Stadium
Makes sense when you play in the largest facility in Major League Baseball: The Florida Marlins are shutting down the upper deck at Sun Life Stadium for the rest of the regular season save a few special events. The cost of manning operations in the upper level outweighs the number of fans actually buying tickets […]