Could Tampa be part of a new Florida International League?

Friend of the site Ben Hill of MiLB.com wrote an interesting article last week about the possibility that Cuba could get an Minor League team in the near future. Ben's article was inspired by a recent New York Times article on Lou Schwechheimer, a long-time Minor League Baseball front office administrator and proponent for normalized baseball relations with Cuba.

The NYT piece does a great job talking about the political hurdles Schwechheimer faces: from large-scale distrust between Cuba and the US to the bureaucracy of Cuban politics and the difficulty arranging a meeting with a high-level official. But Schwechheimer has decent political clout on his side in several former US diplomats and people knowledgeable about the US-Cuban relationship.

Although good, the article lacks any description or links to when Cuba did have a minor league team. From 1946 to 1953 Havana was host to the Havana Cubans of the Florida International League and from 1954 to 1959 the city hosted the Havana Sugar Kings in the International League.

While most administrators might want Havana to resume its spot in the AAA-level International League, which is still going strong, what if they shot lower and Havana rejoined a league with a Tampa minor league team? What if the Florida State League went international?

A quick bit of history: Although Tampa has had a minor league presence for most of the last 100 years, the team hasn't always been in the Florida State League. Tampa started in the Florida State League from 1919 to 1927, but joined the Southeastern League from 1928 to 1930. The Southeastern League consisted of teams in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, to include Tampa, Pensacola, and St. Augustine.

After 16 years without organized baseball, Tampa again joined the minor leagues when the Tampa Smokers became part of the Florida International League in 1946. At the time, the Florida International League included Tampa, St. Petersburg, Miami, Lakeland, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm. The Florida State League also continued operations in Florida in cities such as Daytona Beach, DeLand, Gainesville, Leesburg, Orlando, Palatka, Sanford, and St. Augustine.

So the Florida International League was central/southern Florida and the Florida State League was central/north Florida. Although the locations have changed, the 14 Florida teams that played then is the same amount of minor league teams the state is home to in 2015 (12 FSL teams and Jacksonville and Pensacola in the Southern League).

While in the Florida International League, the Tampa Smokers did well on the field. They were two-time league champions, had a winning record every year, won over 100 games in 1947, and had the league's best record in 1951.

So could a new version of the Havana Cubans or Sugar Kings join the Florida State League and could the league be re-branded as the Florida International League?

There are benefits to doing so for the Cuban team. For one, travel is a lot less in the Florida State League than in the International League, which stretches from Gwinnett, Georgia to Buffalo, New York. Second, with several million Cuban-Americans in Florida, the Cuban team and players would have a more built-in fanbase in Florida and attract more fans than in the northeast.

For the Florida State League, going international might help attendance and reduce market saturation, especially in Tampa Bay or south Florida. Right now, four teams call Tampa Bay home and they all compete with the Rays. Two teams call south Florida home and they compete on a nightly basis with the Marlins. Moving any one of these teams to Cuba might be beneficial for the team and the league.

Attendance-wise, Havana was once the biggest draw in the Florida International League. According to Steve Treder of The Hardball Times,

Attendance in the FIL boomed, peaking at over 900,000 in 1949. But then it swiftly declined. By 1953 it was less than 300,000. In 1954, the flagship Havana franchise moved up to the “real” International League (class AAA), and the Florida International League — no longer “international” at all — was doomed. On May 6, 1954, two of the league’s remaining six franchises folded, and by July 27, 1954, the entire league had collapsed.

Today, the Florida State League is one of the worst attended leagues in Minor League Baseball. While Minor League Baseball saw its third highest attended season ever in 2015, Florida State League attendance went down 5.4%, with Tampa Bay area attendance dropping 10%.

While the decline might be attributable in part to both the continuous rain Tampa Bay had throughout the summer of 2015 or the fervor of the Tampa Bay Lightning playoff run, a team in Havana would not have the same obstacles. They would be the only affiliated team on an island full of baseball fans. Odds are, they would break the Florida State attendance record of 202,383 set by the St. Pete Cardinals in 1989.

If the political suns align, moving a Florida State League team from either the Tampa area or south Florida to Havana is a low-risk, high-reward opportunity for Minor League Baseball. It is win-win for everyone. The Florida State League should become a new Florida International League.

Florida State League attendance declines in 2015; Tampa Bay area teams fall most

Earlier this week, attendance totals for Minor League Baseball were released. According to MiLB.com, 83 of the 176 teams in MiLB saw attendance increases and overall attendance was the third highest total ever. In 2015, 42,561,445 fans saw Minor League Baseball. That's an average of 241,826 per team.

But there is an untold story in Minor League Baseball's good news. Simple math says that if 83 of 176 saw increases, then 93 either stayed the same or decreased. That's not good. That means growth was not equal across the board, but occurred in only a few key areas. Perhaps new teams or perhaps at new stadiums.

Meanwhile, in the Florida State League, there was more bad news than good in 2015. On the positive side, the Fort Myers Miracle set a new franchise attendance record with an 11% gain and over 133,000 fans in attendance.

And that wraps up the good news.

Overall, Florida State League attendance declined 5.4% from 2014. The follow chart depicts the increase or decrease of each team and the league total.

There is a lot of red on that chart.

Even worse for the purposes of this blog, of the 10 teams whose attendance declined, the top 3 were Tampa Bay area teams.

• Tampa Yankees: -20.2%
• Dunedin Blue Jays: -14%
• Clearwater Threshers: -11.9%

The Bradenton Marauders only declined by 1.6%, which was the second smallest decline of the 10 teams.

Regionally, Minor League attendance was 422,651, the lowest regional total since 361,200 in 2010. 2015 was the first regional decline in attendance since 2009.

A lot more work will have to go into seeing how the Florida State League and its teams stack up to attendance trends across the country. Are there other teams that saw double figure declines? Are there other regions that saw attendance drop across the board as bad as the Tampa Bay area did?

In the next few weeks, I am also going to dive into the attendance of the local Minor League teams. There were a lot of factors that could have played a role in Tampa Bay's regional attendance decline. By looking at monthly trends against past years' attendance, we can try to isolate when the declines occurred.

Were the declines in July and August during the 30-or so days of continuous rain and flooding throughout the Tampa Bay area?

Or

Were the declines during April and May while most area eyes were on the Tampa Bay Lightning?

And what, if any, role might the Rays have played in the decline of Minor League attendance in the Tampa Bay area?

To date, Rays attendance has declined 13%. Not as much as the Tampa Yankees or Dunedin Blue Jays but more than the Clearwater Threshers and Bradenton Marauders.

Are any of these declines related?

Could the regional Minor League teams face the same market obstacles that the Rays do? Are they a canary in the coal mine when it comes to market circumstances?

Hopefully, one day I will be able to answer these and many other attendance questions.

Hardball Times discusses Florida State League attendance

I am a longtime reader of The Hardball Times. A few years ago, I wrote a piece for them on the career of Florida State baseball coach Mike Martin. They are one of the best in-depth baseball publications on the web. Highly recommended.

Yesterday, The Hardball Times posted an interesting piece on the Florida State League entitled "Blame it on the Rain". The article, written by Chris Gigley, focused predominantly on the difference between the FSL and other leagues across the US - especially in regards to attendance.

According to Gigley,

it’s one of the truly unique minor leagues in baseball, home to lonely outposts such as Roger Dean Stadium that offer the most relaxed, laid-back fan experiences you can find in baseball. Parking is free or cheap. No crowds clog aisles and concourses. No long lines snake from concession and souvenir stands. Seat assignments are optional. Sit wherever you want. There’s always plenty of room.

This was also an interesting comment:

all but four (Fort Myers, Brevard County, Charlotte and Daytona) of the 12 FSL teams, the Cardinals and Hammerheads are owned by their parent organizations, which aren’t really worried about attendance and fan atmosphere. They’re more interested in player development,

While this might be true in many cases, I think the Clearwater Threshers are an exception. They are consistently the best drawing team in the Florida State League. They put on post-game concerts that nearly par the Rays' concert series and their mascot won Minor League Baseball Mascot of the Year. But overall, yes, Florida State League attendance is not the main focus of these teams and facilities.

Gigley continues:

But those crowds are pretty small, even compared to the two other High-A leagues. Last year, the average game in the California League drew 2,359 fans. The Carolina League packed them in even more, with an average crowd of 3,811. The Florida State League’s big ballparks, on the other hand, welcomed an average crowd of just 1,593.

I really liked Gigley's inference that market saturation is a problem, even if he didn't state it directly.

That feeling is especially acute at Hammerheads home games. Despite having its parent club just a couple hours south, Jupiter is one of the lowest draws in the league, averaging fewer than 1,000 fans through its first 39 games this year. (Mike) Bauer (GM of Roger Dean Stadium) said part of it has to do with two teams diluting the product.

“When we had one team, we averaged around 1,600 fans,” he said.

Gigley then tries to connect the Major League teams in Florida and their attendance issues. He quotes Bauer again, who cites other venues and demographics as a problem. Unfortunately, neither Gigley nor Bauer make the connection that maybe the Minor League teams and their Spring Training predecessors could be saturating the market and hurting the Rays and Marlins. I've often said on this site that the Tampa Bay area doesn't have to economic capacity (even with tourists) to support one Major League team, four Minor League teams, and all the other sports the region hosts. South Florida could have the same problem.

Maybe Florida has too much baseball.

Economics and personal platforms aside, given his tour of the Florida State League, Gigley did a great job capturing the league's uniqueness. Definitely worth the read.

Blame it on the Rain - The Hardball Times

When well-attended exhibitions do not lead to relocation rumors

Years ago, the powers that be moved a baseball team from a historical location, leaving the town baseball-less for the first time in decades.

Since 2014, games featuring professional baseball talent have been held in the old stadium. These annual games have drawn very well and have been glowingly publicized.

Meanwhile, there is a current team in the league that has struggled with attendance, finishing last five years in a row. Despite their struggles at the gate, this current team finished with a higher attendance than the historical team when baseball was played at the historical location. This current team is also involved in stadium negotiations with the city government where they play.

So where is this historical location?

Here's a hint: Jackie Robinson played here.

If you guessed Montreal, you would be wrong.

The location I am talking about is Vero Beach, home of Dodgertown. On April 15th, 2014, Dodgertown hosted the first Jackie Robinson Celebration Game, drawing over 4,000 fans to Holman Stadium to watch the Brevard County Manatees and the Lakeland Flying Tigers. On April 15th, 2015, the Manatees took on the St. Lucie Mets at Dodgertown for the second Jackie Robinson Celebration game, an event that drew 5,915 fans.

Despite the great turn out, no one is advocating the Dunedin Blue Jays move to Vero Beach, despite the Blue Jays consistently low attendance and despite the fact their stadium lease with Dunedin expires in 2017. Moving to Vero Beach hasn't even been an option for the Blue Jays, who initially explored moving to a new facility in West Palm Beach before entering "closed door" negotiations with the City of Dunedin.

The big knock against Vero Beach is market size. Although Dunedin is one of the smallest towns in Minor League Baseball with only 35,321 residents, Vero Beach is even smaller, with only 15,220. And Vero Beach does not have bigger metro area such as Clearwater from which to draw attendance.

But that there isn't even one op-ed advocating the return of Minor League Baseball to Vero Beach is surprising. Not one sports editorial in the TCPalm about how attendance at the two Jackie Robinson Celebration Games is indicative of a passion for baseball in Vero Beach that was ripped away. Not one column about how Vero Beach would embrace the Dunedin Blue Jays and their attendance would be much better at Holman Stadium. It's as if the people of Vero Beach are accepting of their status as a place for baseball exhibitions.

Meanwhile dozens, if not hundreds of articles have been written about the same amount of exhibitions in Montreal.

Ben's Biz visits Tampa Bay Minor League Baseball

A few years ago, I wrote for a Minor League Baseball blog called "Bus Leagues Baseball". In the years I wrote for them, I had the chance to meet with several important movers and shakers in Minor League Baseball. Few were more important than Ben Hill, purveyor of all that is Minor League business and promotions.

Every year, Ben leaves his home and ventures across the highways and bi-ways of America to visit a different minor leagues. This year, his journey includes the Florida State League. As is his routine, he chronicles each location with a short review, some interesting tweets, and vine video or three. Then, when he returns to his home, he writes full reviews of his journey.

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

While in the Tampa Bay area, Ben visited Bradenton, Tampa, and Dunedin. He did not visit Clearwater, as he saw the Threshers in a previous visit a few years ago.

On Saturday, Ben visited McKechnie Field in Bradenton, home of the Marauders.

On Sunday, he visited Steinbrenner Field, home of the Tampa Yankees.

On Monday, I met Ben as well as former Birmingham Barons employee and local resident Jeff Perro at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin to see the Blue Jays take on the Marauders.

Due to health concerns, Ben usually has a volunteer sample some of the stadium food for his ballpark reviews. After the first recruit passed, I gladly stepped in.

Thanks, Ben!

With my background in Minor League writing, I like to keep an eye out for folks visiting the Tampa Bay minor league scene. Every year, there is always someone of interest. Last year, Professor Steven Ericson of the University of Alabama swung through and wrote about his experiences. This year, it was the great Benjamin Hill.

I'll be sure to link to Ben's further writing on his visit.

Interviewed by the Extra Point Sports Show

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of talking with Tom Chang of SportsTalkFlorida on his podcast, the Extra Point Sports Show. Tom and I talked about several topics in the 15 minutes he had me on, including:

• The scope of this website
• How I define the Tampa Bay Baseball market
• Comparing Tampa Bay spring training to Phoenix area spring training
• The impact of the Florida State League on Tampa Bay baseball
• Rays corporate ticket sales
• Thoughts on the Rays marketing efforts
• The Rays and Marlins disadvantage in Florida demographics
• Would the Rays have been better off in the NL East?
• The knowledge level of Rays fans
• Thoughts on Kevin Cash

Skip to the 11:30 point to hear my interview. Check it out!

Minor League Shuffling and the future of the Tampa Bay market

Starting on September 11, several Minor League teams have been participating in the annual "affiliation shuffle". This "shuffle" means teams, cities, and Major League parent clubs change and rearrange minor league squads from the ranks of one parent club to another. With over 160 minor league teams across the country, the "affiliation shuffle" is a usual occurrence and some Minor League websites not only look forward to it, but excel in covering it.

While many cities and towns see their local squad change parent team, and sometimes even name and uniform, the Florida State League has stayed static. At least until this year.

For the first time in several years, a Florida State League team is changing affiliation. On September 18th, the Cubs left Daytona. According to Baseball America,

Twenty-two years as Chicago’s affiliate came to an end when the Cubs bolted for Myrtle Beach (Carolina) on the first day of the affiliation shuffle on Tuesday. Daytona found an eager partner in the Reds

Of course, the Reds will eventually change the team name (perhaps something race track related?). The Reds are also no stranger to Florida, having played in Sarasota for many years and in Tampa at Al Lopez Field for many years before that.

Of the 12 Florida State League teams, 8 are owned and operated by the parent club. Only the Rookie-level Pioneer League comes to close to the FSL's ratio of parent ownership, with 6 of 10 teams in that league owned by the Major League club.

The four privately owned teams in the Florida State League are:

• Charlotte Stone Crabs (currently a Rays affiliate)
• Brevard County Manatees (currently a Brewers affiliate)
• Fort Myers Miracle (currently a Twins affiliate)
• Daytona Cubs (formerly a Cubs affiliate, now a Reds team)

While a former Tampa team moves back to Florida, the current residents of the Tampa Bay area are set for quite some time. At the present moment, all of the Tampa Bay area minor league teams are owned by their parent club. The Tampa Yankees are owned by the Yankees, the Threshers are owned by the Phillies, the Marauders are owned by the Pirates, and the Dunedin Blue Jays are owned by the Dunedin Blue Jays.

There is one date the local minor league teams do have to consider - the date the city lease expires on their stadium. Once the lease expires, teams are free to move to another location.

Currently, the Tampa Bay area Minor League stadium leases are as follows:

• Dunedin Blue Jays: 2017
• Clearwater Threshers: 2023
• Tampa Yankees: 2027
• Bradenton Marauders: 2037

The City of Dunedin and the Blue Jays are in talks and there are rumors the Blue Jays are exploring other options after the lease expires in 2017, although the Palm Beach location rumored to house two of either the Blue Jays, Nationals, or Astros is currently facing a few legal hurdles.

(Note: Both the Astros and Nationals, neither of whom have a Minor League teams in the Florida State League, have their leases expiring in 2016. If the two teams leave Kissimmee and Melbourne Viera, respectively, then the Blue Jays will have to re-sign with Dunedin or look elsewhere.)

I think the most interesting of the Tampa Bay team lease situations will be the Tampa Yankees in 2027. Because that date is so close to the end of the Rays' Tropicana Field lease, if the City of Tampa clears area for the Rays to move across the bridge, would they let the Yankees go? Would the Rays make moving the Yankees a condition in moving to Tampa? Would the Yankees willingly move?

Or would the Tampa Sports Authority try to have their cake and eat it too, balancing both the top drawing Spring Training team and a Major League team who, by the way, are division rivals? Would they keep the Rays in a crowded market?

I wouldn't be surprised if as we get closer, Rays ownership mentions this to the Tampa Sports Authority, if not in public, at least behind closed doors. The Rays might not have the ability to push the Clearwater Threshers or Bradenton Marauders out of the Tampa Bay market, but they might flex their muscles at Tampa's relationship with the Yankees.

Forcing Minor League teams to move is not without precedent. The Marlins forced the Miracle from Miami and the Florida State League Yankees from Fort Lauderdale in 1992.

Because the National League awarded an expansion team to the Miami area, the Miracle moved across the state to Fort Myers this year and the Yankees are dropping their Fort Lauderdale team next year. Both teams have played in the Class A Florida State League.

"We are prohibited from playing there because of the Marlins," (Yankees' vice president and general counsel) David Sussman said.

Something to think about for the next 10 years as we watch the local squads take on the new Daytona team and the rest of the Florida State League.

Baseball at Al Lang Stadium Closer to End

Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg is a monument of baseball history. Originally built in 1947, Al Lang Field replaced Waterfront Park and became the spring training home of the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees. In those days, those teams were manned by Hall of Famers Stan Musial and Joe DiMaggio, respectively. These legends and many, many players since called Al Lang Stadium their spring home.

(For a great video showing the opening season of Al Lang Stadium, click here.)

In 1976, Al Lang Field was renovated to become Al Lang Stadium to fit the then needs of its residents, the Cardinals and the New York Mets. After the Cardinals and Mets left, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays moved in. After the Rays moved spring training to Port Charlotte in 2008, Al Lang was no longer used for professional baseball.

The old stadium was no longer good enough for Major League spring training.

In 2010, I interviewed the President of Minor League Baseball, Pat O'Conner. I asked him about St. Petersburg as a Minor League location. He told me:

St. Petersburg, because of the Rays, it’s not a good Florida State League market. It’s tough enough now competing with Dunedin, Clearwater, Tampa, Sarasota, and Bradenton. You know, the Rays owned the club and decided to sell it and you know it wasn’t a good marketing initiative for them to have it.

So Al Lang Stadium was not a good place for Minor League Baseball either.

From 2008 to 2010, Al Lang Stadium was used by college teams and amateur tournaments. There was even talk the Rays would try to build a Major League ballpark on the location, but that was quickly nixed.

Then in 2011, the Tampa Bay Professional Soccer Club began play at Al Lang Stadium. As the popularity of the Rowdies has grown, so to has their desire to have their own facility, and not share one with baseball. The easiest solution for a permanent Rowdies home is to permanently transform Al Lang Stadium into a soccer pitch, cede control of the facility to the Rowdies, and close the door on ever playing baseball in the old field again.

Yesterday, the City of St. Petersburg moved closer to that option.

According to the Tampa Tribune, Rowdies principal owner Bill Edwards will soon assume control of Al Lang Stadium and convert the field for soccer use. In exchange, Edwards will give up control of the Walter Fuller Complex, and the field there will be used for the amateur baseball games once played at Al Lang.

While there is some legal wrangling that still needs to happen, and the deal could possibly be voted down, the mayor of St Pete and people on the city council have said it would be a good move for the Rowdies and the city.

While sad, baseball stadia do come and go. But unlike other historical parks, Al Lang Stadium will still exist and hopefully the Rowdies will acknowledge the facility's rich history. But downtown St. Petersburg stopped being a home for Major and Minor League Baseball years ago. With bars such as MacDintons and the gathering of the local Ralph's Mob, soccer culture is growing in downtown St. Pete.

It is best for the city and the Rowdies to give the soccer team their own home.

Bradenton Florida State League All-Star Game Attendance Highest Since 2006

On Saturday, the Florida State League played their annual All-Star Game pitting the North Division vs South Division. The North Division won 6-4, thanks to a 4-run ninth inning comeback.

But more importantly to the focus of this website, this year's game was played in the Tampa Bay area. It was the first Florida State League All-Star Game played at McKechnie Field, home of the Bradenton Marauders.

The Florida State League All-Star Game is a frequent visitor to the Tampa Bay Area. Previous area all-star games since 2007 include 2013 in Dunedin and 2011 in Clearwater.

From a scheduling perspective, the 2014 FSL All-Star Game was unique as it was the only baseball game in the local area. Both the 2011 and 2013 games coincided with Tampa Bay Rays games. As a matter of fact, the only other sporting event in the Tampa Bay area yesterday was the US Women's National Team soccer match versus France at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

With conditions in their favor, it is no surprise the Florida State League All-Star Game drew well. According to the boxscore, 5,882 fans came to the game. While many fans travel far distances for all-star games, and the stands are littered with jerseys and hats of all the Florida State League teams, I would guess most of the attendance is from Bradenton Marauders fans or local baseball fans eager to catch a glimpse of the stars of tomorrow.

The 5,882 fans in attendance is not only good news for the Bradenton Marauders, but also good news for the Florida State League. The attendance for the 2014 Florida State League All-Star Game was the highest for an All-Star Game in eight years and according to a tweet by John Lembo of the Bradenton Herald, it was also the 3rd highest attendance in the All-Star Game's 53-year history.

Here is a chart showing the year, location, host team, and attendance of Florida State League All-Star Games since 2006.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, the Marauders, and the City of Bradenton have invested a lot of money and effort into the McKechnie Field experience. Lights were installed in 2008; a wrap-around concourse, outfield tiki bar, and upgraded seating were added in 2013; and a new clubhouse building is planned for 2015.

If the 2014 Florida State League All-Star Game is any measure, the investment is paying off and baseball is doing well in Bradenton area.

(Note: Past All-Star Game attendance data acquired through various boxscores. See 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. I might be the only looking for such data, but there is no central depot for Minor League All-Star game archives and available data only goes back to 2006.)

Tampa Bay Baseball Attendance - June 14, 2014

Tampa Bay baseball attendance for Saturday, June 14, 2014:

Florida State League All-Star Game:

• Location: McKechnie Field, Bradenton
• Attendance: 5,882
• Teams: Florida State League North vs Florida State League South
• Starting Pitcher: Jose Berrios (Fort Myers Miracle)
• Starting Pitcher: Taylor Cole (Dunedin Blue Jays)
• Avg Attendance in Bradenton to Date: 1,505.33
• Bradenton Season High: 4,774
• Other Factors (conflicting events, etc): US Women's Soccer Vs France, Raymond James Stadium (Attendance: 9,799)

No other area games.

Daytona Cubs employee bashes Rays attendance

The Rays play in a very unique situation. They are one of the few teams in Major League Baseball surrounded by four Minor League teams. Although they compete for the same entertainment dollar, the Rays and the teams of the Florida State League usually co-exist in an awkward harmony.

On Wednesday night however, an employee of the Daytona Cubs took an unprofessional swipe at the Rays' fanbase. While visiting Tropicana Field following a day game against the Bradenton Marauders, Daytona Cubs Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations Robbie Aaron commented on the Rays attendance.

(click to enlarge)

There was no reason for Aaron to make that comment and even less reason for the Florida State League's official Twitter account to retweet Aaron.

(click to enlarge)

Granted, the Daytona Cubs draw well for a Florida State League team. The Daytona area is a solid minor league market. The Cubs finished second in attendance to the Clearwater Threshers in both 2013 and 2012. They also set a team attendance record last year with an average of 2,518 fans per game and 146,079 total.

But the 2,895 the Cubs are currently averaging (as of 5/21/2014) is still far below the 18,367 the Rays are currently averaging. Aaron should know better than to make a statement like that, even in jest.

Professional sports teams and their employees usually don't say anything critical about the business affairs of other franchises. It is surprising to see Robbie Aaron comment on the Rays affairs and even more surprising for the Florida State League to retweet it. Would either dare comment on the attendance of the Dunedin Blue Jays, a team consistently on the bottom of the Florida State League?

Although the Rays probably won't make a big deal of it, they should request an apology from the Daytona Cubs, their Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations, and the Florida State League. While they compete for dollars, all teams in the Florida baseball market should be working together. To do otherwise is bad for the business of baseball.

Dunedin Blue Jays probably not moving to West Palm Beach

While I am still setting up shop here and researching for future posts, here is another bit of news that caught my eye.

According to the Palm Beach Post (h/t MetsBlog), the Palm Beach Gardens City Council ordered the end of construction on a new spring training stadium. The proposed stadium would have be a new spring home for the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros and possibly new home for the Dunedin Blue Jays.

From the Palm Beach Post:

The motion by council member Joe Russo in a city hall auditorium packed with 250 people, passed 4-1 with council member David Levy in the minority. Opponents of the stadium location, wearing red shirts, gave Russo a standing ovation.

Had the move happened, it would have spread out both the Grapefruit League and the Florida State League, which are both very Tampa-centric, to the dismay of teams on the east coast who have long travel times. Dunedin is also near the bottom of Florida State attendance, both in total attendees and per game average. A change in location might change that.

Tampa Yankees probably not moving to Ocala

I didn't want to get into too much news just yet as this site hasn't been on its feet for very long, but this is kinda important. According to the Citrus County Chronicle, the Tampa Yankees will probably not be moving to Ocala, Florida after the 2016 season. In October of 2013, the City of Ocala and the Tampa Yankees had revealed a plan to move the team an hour north and build a new stadium off Interstate 75.

The Chronicle states opposition grew for the project, which would have meant building not only a stadium, but access roads, ramps, and other construction.

At a work session held at the Ocala Livestock Pavilion, an overwhelming number of speakers were in favor of the project, with members of the business community and Chamber and Economic Partnership leading the way.

However, at almost all the subsequent County Commission meetings, the feelings tilted the other way, with the majority of speakers talking against the project.

Looks like the Yankees are staying in Tampa and Ocala Yearlings of 1940-1941 will remain Ocala's only representation in the annals of Minor League Baseball.

New post on the Tampa Bay Rays on DRaysBay.com

I pitched an idea to the editors of DRaysBay.com, one of the biggest online websites covering the Rays. Although I have written for Rays Index.com, I like to stay in good terms with everyone and write a feature for other sites when possible. And the guys from DRaysBay have always been nice, and have provided me opportunities on other occasions, such as last year's piece: The Quest for 2 Million: 12 Ways to Market the Rays.

The year's article also explores the Rays from a business sense. Instead of proposals, however, I examine one of the Rays competitors in trying to attract fans: the five Florida State League minor league teams in the Tampa Bay area. This was a tough piece to write, not from the research part, but because I really do enjoy going to minor league baseball games and have written so much about the teams, the players, and the experiences. But I think the presence of those teams and the league is hindering the Rays ability to draw butts in the seats.

So check it out and if you like it, please let me know:

Does the Florida State League Hurt the Rays Attendance? - DRaysBay.com

(Quick update: this post was linked on twitter by a sports economics professor. I think that's pretty cool.)

Dropping the ball at Space Coast Stadium

Ever since my nephew was born, I've wanted to take him to his first baseball game. His father is not much of a baseball fan, so I felt it was my duty, as a big baseball fan and frequent writer of things baseball-related, to take the little guy when he was old enough to his first game. Whether he wanted to go to more games afterwards, well, that would be totally up to him. But Uncle Mike wanted to take him to Game 1.

A few weeks ago, I learned my nephew’s pre-K day care was taking the kids, including my nephew, to a Brevard County Manatees game. I absolutely had to be there. So I made the trip from Tampa to Melbourne, Florida to at least take some pictures of my nephew at the ballpark.

Although it was his first trip to Space Coast Stadium, it was far from mine. I’ve been dozens of times since I saw my first game in the stadium's first year in 1994. I’ve been walking the halls there for almost 20 years.

My latest visit to Space Coast Stadium before the game with my nephew was for the 2010 Florida State League All-Star Game. And like my write-up for that visit, I am using several graded categories, in an attempt to break down the entire experience.

Ticket Prices: B

The game my nephew’s day care brought him to was on 2013 Camper’s Day at Space Coast Stadium. According to the promotional flyer, kids were charged $4 to attend instead of the normal $7. For $4 dollars more, they got a hot dog lunch with a Capri Sun and an oatmeal cream pie. And chaperones got in for free. Not bad. The end result was a few hundred attendees and probably 2/3 were kids of various ages.

Parking: A

Parking was free. I am not sure if this was because it was a day game on a Tuesday, or because it was a kids' promotion, or if the Manatees have instituted a “free parking” policy in the last few years. But I can’t argue with free.

The Game: B

It was a good contest between the Manatees and the Dunedin Blue Jays. Not a lot of runs, but the home team did end up winning 3-1.

Merchandise Stand: D

As it was a sparsely attended day game in the middle of the week, Space Coast Stadium didn’t have their primary merchandise store open. But they did have open a small merchandise stand. And I needed a new hat.

In the middle of the fourth inning or so, I walked to the small merch stand hoping to buy a hat. There were two guys in the booth standing around. I waited for a few minutes before one finally asked if I needed anything. Not “Can I help you?”. Strike 1.

I told the merch stand guy I was looking for a hat. I don’t wear fitted hats. I like my hats adjustable. Unfortunately, all the non-fitted hats on the racks at Space Coast Stadium look like old man fishing hats. Not good. The merch guy didn’t seem willing to help me find a new hat nor did he suggest I go to the Manatees website – maybe they have them on there. He didn't bring any to me to try on, to take a closer look at, or anything. Like I said, I was there to buy a hat. Strike 2.

Then I asked the merch guy if they carried shirts for kids – such as one I might buy for my little nephew. I couldn't tell from on the other side of the counter if the smallest ones on the rack would be small enough. He told me all they had there was all they sold. Again, he didn't point me to the website or anywhere else. Strike 3 for the merch stand.

I walked away empty handed and frustrated.

Food: B+

I had only one visit to the concession stand for a drink. It was 2 for 1 day. Drinks are always pricey at the ballpark, at least today it was less so.

Mascot: F

Considering there were a few hundred kids in the stands, the person in the Manny the Manatee suit did a horrible job. Absolutely terrible. Manny stood by the Manatees dugout the entire game and never once wandered the concourse. He participated in a few between inning contests, but that was it. Otherwise he just stood there. It would have been nice for the mascot to visit each of the day care or summer camp groups that were in the crowd. The kids would have been happy and it would have made for great photo ops.

I get that it is 90 degrees in the day time in Florida in the summer. But that is the price for putting on the mascot suit. The mascot has 9 innings worth of time to visit different parts of the park. Manny the Manatee did nothing.

Stadium Staff: D

I am not sure if there was any pre-game discussions, but I never once saw any of the Space Coast Stadium staff engage any of the groups of kids or their day care/camp leaders. The staff are the hosts of the ballpark. They should offer to take the kids around the park, show them around, or at least see how they are doing. Maybe even asked them as a group how many are there for the first time. They did nothing as well.

PA Announcer: C-

The PA announcer is saved only because he did announce the kids’ groups, but did that so fast I barely could hear each specific name. It would have been nice if he made a big deal out of each group and made them feel special. Talk to the kids as a group. Teach them how to cheer. Start chants. And maybe only announce one day care/camp per inning. At least he acknowledged them, I guess.

Music: D

It was Campers Day and not one kids’ song was played. I heard Jimmy Buffett and other traditional stadium songs. The only song the kids danced to was Gangnam Style. Not even the chicken dance. Music is tough, but when you have a crowd full of kids, maybe play the Spongebob Squarepants Theme Song or something else they might all know. After all, Spongebob lives in the water and so do Manatees.

Post game: F

Although my nephew’s day care left in the sixth inning as many of the kids were getting tired and bored, I didn’t see any kids  from the other camps who made it to the end of the game running the bases after the game. That’s easy to do. Or run them from the center field wall to home plate. Too easy.

Overall experience: A

The only reason today’s trip to the ballpark gets an “A” despite all the poor grades for Space Coast Stadium, is because my little nephew said his visit to the ballpark was awesome. And because one of the players tossed me a game-used ball and I gave it to my nephew after the game.

However, as I wrote on twitter during the game, if you can’t keep a group of 5-year olds entertained for 2.5 hours you need to improve your in-game entertainment. The Manatees are not only selling baseball, they are selling an experience. That’s a Mark Cuban theory that I think even applies to Minor League Baseball.

We in the sports business don’t sell the game, we sell unique, emotional experiences. We are not in the business of selling basketball. We are in the business of selling fun. We are in the business of letting you escape. We are in the business of giving you a chance to create shared experiences.

Especially when kids are involved. Those kids are future fans. Those kids are the ones who will campaign their parents to come back. Even kids who are too young to follow the game can at least have a great experience.

My nephew is 5 years old and showing interest in baseball. I am sure we will be going to another game the next time I am in town. I only hope the Space Coast Stadium staff has their act together by then.

Brewers to stay in Viera, whither the Nationals?

A quick bit of news coming through Our Sports Central's Florida State League feed. According to OSC, the Milwaukee Brewers have renewed their player development contract with the Brevard County Manatees through the 2014 season. The Brewers have used the FSL Manatees franchise as their High-A Florida State League team since 2005. Via OSC, 27 ballplayers have made it to the Major Leagues after playing with the Milwaukee farm club, including Ryan Braun.

Viera's Space Coast Stadium is unique among FSL stadiums, hosting one team during the spring (the Washington Nationals) and the other during the FSL season (the Brewers). The Brewers oddly opt to spring train in Maryvale Ballpark in Phoenix despite a 600 mile difference between the drive from Pheonix to Milwaukee (1,882 miles and 30 hours by Google Maps) and the drive from Viera to Milwaukee (1,297 miles and less than 22 hours by Google Maps). Meanwhile, the Nationals have located their High-A minor league franchise, the Carolina League's Potomac Nationals, play in Woodbridge, Va., much closer to Washington DC than anywhere in Florida.

(That, by the way, seems to be a trend for the Nationals, who opt to keep most of their teams close, being second only to the Braves in the NL East in closest farm teams. Maybe it's a way to keep costs down in order to move some of the admin costs to player retention or actual development. Meanwhile, the Brewers are last in the NL Central with an average distance of 970 miles from their developmental teams and the big league club.)

Perhaps the Brewers could combine their overhead and look to Florida to spring train as the Nationals have been eyeing other training locations, citing long travel times between their Viera location and other Florida spring training stadiums. In recent years, most spring training teams have colalesced around the Phoenix area in the Cactus League and the Tampa area in the Grapefruit League. A trip from Viera to the Red Sox/Twins spring training location of Fort Myers, for example, is over 200 miles and takes over 4 hours. Moving to Viera if the Nationals leave would allow the Brewers to lean on the Brevard County staff for spring training administration, possibly minimizing costs. Although they might incur longer travel times and pay more for gas and busing traversing the state of Florida during March and April.

So would staff pay and the reduction of their trip from spring training to Milwaukee outweigh the cost of traveling around Florida for a month? To be honest, I am not sure.

Either way, Space Coast Stadium was where I saw my first ever Minor League game and I am glad someone is going to keep playing there.