Longtime Norfolk Tides (Class AAA: International League) executive Dave Rosenfield has teamed up with John Traub to produce a new book, “BASEBALL … One Helluva Life.” The 263-page book encapsulates the life story and baseball career of Rosenfield, who has worked in the minor leagues since 1956. The 83-year old Rosenfield is currently Executive Vice […]
Tag Archives | pacific coast league
Isaac forces Zephyrs to shift series
An upcoming series between the New Orleans Zephyrs and Round Rock Express (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) has been moved to the Dell Diamond because of Tropical Storm Isaac. A state of emergency has been declared in New Orleans, in anticipation of the tropical storm potentially arriving on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Zephyrs will travel to […]
Tucson Padres battle lame-duck status, indifferent community
Though there was little chance the Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) would be a long-term tenant at Kino Stadium, the city’s lack of support for the team is still troubling. The team should end up drawing around 200,000 fans this season, good for last in the Pacific Coast League. With it being an […]
Effort to thwart new El Paso ballpark falls short
A petition drive to put the issue of a new El Paso ballpark directly to voters — and changing the deal with the potential owners of a Triple-A team retroactively — came up short. Organizers, who also put together an “Occupy City Hall” movement in recent days to also express their displeasure, needed to come […]
Rosenblatt Stadium demolition proceeds; press box taken down
The demolition of Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium continues, as explosives are deployed in an effort to bring down the press box behind home plate. Yes, we have video. The former home of the College World Series and the Omaha Royals (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) is coming down this summer to make way for an expansion of […]
Protesters to “Occupy City Hall” over new El Paso ballpark
Upset that city voters aren’t being asked to approve a $50-million ballpark for a Class AAA team, El Paso activists are planning an “Occupy City Hall” protest for next Monday. The issue: the city went ahead and negotiated a new downtown ballpark for a local group buying and relocating the Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific […]
Hotel tax on El Paso ballot; no direct choice for voters
The El Paso City Council voted to include a provision on the fall ballot to raise the hotel tax to pay for a Class AAA ballpark, but voters will not directly vote on whether a ballpark should be built. The plan all along was to ask voters to approve a two-percentage-point increase in the city’s […]
Sky Sox, Keys hit attendance marks
The Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) and the Frederick Keys (High Class A; Carolina League) both hit attendance milestones over the weekend. On Sunday, the Sky Sox welcomed 10-year-old Granger Kinne of Divide, CO through the front gates of Security Service Field as the six-millionth fan to attend a regular season […]
Will El Paso ballpark spur downtown development? Insiders of mixed mind
One rationale for building a $50-million ballpark in downtown El Paso for the relocating Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League): to spur economic development. Will it work? The city is moving ahead with a plan to build a new ballpark at the current City Hall location and finding a new home for local government […]
Book news 2: A tale of Shammies and Smoke Eaters
Another book worth checking out: Tim Hagerty, the voice of the Tucson Padres (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), has authored an entertaining overview of unusual team names and their histories. Root For the Home Team: Minor League Baseball’s Most Off-the-Wall Team Names and the Stories Behind Them (Cider House Press; $12.95) covers unusual team names from […]
El Paso opponents: We want ballpark on fall ballot
Opponents of a new El Paso ballpark for a Triple-A team want to force approval of the project on the fall ballot, as they’ve gathered over 2,300 signatures on the issue. The ballpark is already tentatively on the ballot in the form of a proposal to raise the city’s hotel/motel occupancy tax by two percentage points […]
The Week That Was: August 5
The World Baseball Classic, El Paso, new Yankee Stadium and the future of the Tampa Bay Rays were on the minds of Ballpark Digest readers this week. The most popular stories on Ballpark Digest, as measured by page views. Israel preps for WBC PCL approves El Paso purchase of T-Padres New Yankee Stadium less intimidating? […]
PCL approves El Paso purchase of T-Padres
This pretty much wraps it up: the Pacific Coast League has preliminarily approved the purchase of the Tucson Padres by MountainStar Sports Group, which plans on moving the Triple-A franchise to El Paso in 2014. The ownership group received approval of its Preliminary Application Review (“PAR”). Branch B. Rickey, president of the PCL, sent a […]