Fire Frogs Still Hopping

You might try posting a synopsis if you're trying to start a discussion. Just a suggestion.
 
Thoughts on Fire Frogs

Here are some key paragraphs in the above story, and my thought that follow:

From 2017-2019, the Braves high Class A affiliate played in Kissimmee, Fla., at the site of the Astros old spring training home. That is not an option for 2020, as Osceola County Stadium has been converted to be a soccer stadium.

ME: Surprised it wasn't converted into an Olympic-sized pool the way it retained water.

As the winter meetings get set to begin, the Fire Frogs have yet to find a new home.

ME: The Braves would be better off with checkbook in hand to buy a franchise, than hat in hand.

Ideally, the team would move to the Braves brand new North Port facility where the club’s MLB team will train during spring training and where its extended spring training and Gulf Coast league teams will be housed and train.
But North Port is just six miles from the Charlotte Stone Crabs park, which means it is squarely within the Stone Crabs territory. So to play there, the Fire Frogs owners would have to get an agreement with the Stone Crabs ownership to waive the territorial rights. As of now, that has not happened.

ME: I don't get why this is an issue. MLB allows, what, six teams to be based in metro Phoenix, and I know firsthand a few of them are no more than six miles apart. Why do Florida teams have different rules for territory?

The other option is for the Fire Frogs to find another facility somewhere in Florida that is outside of the territorial rights of any current Florida State League club. There are a few former spring training facilities available–Space Coast Stadium in Melbourne for example–but none are an ideal fit, and attendance, much like it was in Kissimmee, would likely be minimal.

ME: Would Disney take them? Probably.
 
Article from MLBTR throws water on MLB/MiLB discussions.

"The relationship is strained and tensions are rising between Major League Baseball and its minor league affiliates. Negotiations between the two sides have failed to find middle ground, and both sides have publicly decried the other, per Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Commissioner Rob Manfred is now threatening to walk away completely if the minor league owners aren’t willing to make concessions."

More from article---

"For their part, minor league owners entered negotiations so appalled at MLB’s proposal to cut 42 teams that they have yet to soften their stance. Minor league owners stoked the flames of controversy by going public with their concerns – a tactic that infuriated MLB. But public opinion is very much a part of this debate, as among other things, MiLB blames MLB for misrepresenting their positions to the public."

Read the complete article on MLBTR
 
Here are some key paragraphs in the above story, and my thought that follow:

From 2017-2019, the Braves high Class A affiliate played in Kissimmee, Fla., at the site of the Astros old spring training home. That is not an option for 2020, as Osceola County Stadium has been converted to be a soccer stadium.

ME: Surprised it wasn't converted into an Olympic-sized pool the way it retained water.

As the winter meetings get set to begin, the Fire Frogs have yet to find a new home.

ME: The Braves would be better off with checkbook in hand to buy a franchise, than hat in hand.

Ideally, the team would move to the Braves brand new North Port facility where the club’s MLB team will train during spring training and where its extended spring training and Gulf Coast league teams will be housed and train.
But North Port is just six miles from the Charlotte Stone Crabs park, which means it is squarely within the Stone Crabs territory. So to play there, the Fire Frogs owners would have to get an agreement with the Stone Crabs ownership to waive the territorial rights. As of now, that has not happened.

ME: I don't get why this is an issue. MLB allows, what, six teams to be based in metro Phoenix, and I know firsthand a few of them are no more than six miles apart. Why do Florida teams have different rules for territory?

The other option is for the Fire Frogs to find another facility somewhere in Florida that is outside of the territorial rights of any current Florida State League club. There are a few former spring training facilities available–Space Coast Stadium in Melbourne for example–but none are an ideal fit, and attendance, much like it was in Kissimmee, would likely be minimal.

ME: Would Disney take them? Probably.


Those teams all agreed to waive the territorial rights - with or without compensation from someone, who knows???


New article up on BA discussing the situation further BTW.
 
Those teams all agreed to waive the territorial rights - with or without compensation from someone, who knows???


New article up on BA discussing the situation further BTW.

Betting that the minor league powers that be told Port Charlotte that this was happening on an emergency basis. It has happened before.
 
Betting that the minor league powers that be told Port Charlotte that this was happening on an emergency basis. It has happened before.

Yeah - the article mentions that it's just for this season. Don't see what harm to anyone can come from it - they won't draw 350 people per night.
 
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