2019 Affiliate Dance

There are three new ballparks opening in the minor leagues next year - Amarillo TX, Las Vegas, and Fayetteville NC.  Normally new ballparks means parent clubs jockeying for new affiliations, and that will certainly be true in 2019:

• San Antonio Missions moving AA team to new Amarillo ballpark, name and affiliation TBD
• Colorado Springs Sky Sox moving AAA team to San Antonio, retaining the "Missions" name and its Brewers affiliation
• Helena Brewers moving Rookie League team to Colorado Springs, name TBD.  Expected to remain a Brewers affiliate but not confirmed.
• New York Mets purchase Syracuse Chiefs (AAA), moving from Las Vegas
• Oakland A's switch AAA affiliate to new Las Vegas ballpark, moving from Nashville; name TBD
• Houston Astros switch AAA affiliate to Round Rock Express, moving from Fresno
• Texas Rangers switch AAA affiliate to Nashville Sounds, moving from Round Rock
• Washington Nationals switch AAA affiliate to Fresno Grizzlies, moving from Syracuse
• Buies Creek Astros (high-A) moving into new Fayetteville NC ballpark, name TBD

This sort of thing happens every even-numbered year, as typical parent-affiliate contracts are signed in 2 and 4 year cycles.  What is notable to me and the reason I'm writing about this is the surprising signing of the Brewers with San Antonio.  The Round Rock Express are partially owned by Nolan Ryan's family, who is also a special assistant to the Astros.  So, when the Express announced they would not be renewing with the Rangers next season, it was all but a foregone conclusion that the Astros would sign with them and the Rangers would switch to San Antonio.  I don't think anybody including the Brewers were expecting to get into such a great situation in San Antonio.  It's not the best ballpark in the country - almost 25 years old and 8 miles from downtown - but it a fantastic market in one of the largest cities in the country.  It'll be easier for the team to travel, in the same time zone as Milwaukee, and certainly a better situation than the likely alternative of Fresno, which is one of the worst parks in the circuit.  Between the upgrades being made to Wolff Stadium and the talks of a new ballpark, it was enough to sway David Stearns.  It's only a 2-year deal, so if San Antonio has not broken ground on a new park in the next two years, look for the Brewers to push hard to move to the new Wichita stadium in 2020.  Either way it's great to get out of the 6000+ ft altitude of Colorado Springs, at least on the AAA-level.  I'm not too concerned about the results of our Rookie League team being affected by the move.  At that age you're looking more at raw ability than ERA and homeruns allowed.

Hopefully the Brewers can bring the same excitement to the Missions as they did the Sky Sox this year, who narrowly missed a division title by one game on the last day of the season.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 09.19:

Brewers 86-66, -3.5, +2.0 WC #1 (3 v. Reds, 3 @ Pirates, 3 @ Cardinals, 3 v. Tigers)

Reds 65-87, -24.5, eliminated (3 @ Brewers, 4 @ Marlins, 2 v. Royals, 3 v. Pirates)

Twins 70-81, -14.5, eliminated (3 @ Tigers, 3 @ Athletics, 3 v. Tigers, 4 v. White Sox)

2018 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 15 (+17 worked)

Peter - 22