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

Day 38: Home of the Owlz

All photos of Rocky Mountains and the Home of the Owlz available on Flickr.

The next 24 hours was to be the most brutal and exhausting day of the entire trip, and was very trying on both of us - a Rookie league game in suburban Provo, sandwiched in between two 9 hour drives. We left Colorado Springs around 8:30 AM. The redeeming factor of this long day that kept me sane (and alert) was that the drive through the Rockies was gorgeous, of which I took nearly a hundred photos through my windshield. We passed through Golden, CO, the home of Coors Brewing Company, and we stopped in Vail for lunch. Vail is a skiing town with nothing but cafes, boutiques, and multi-million dollar condos and timeshares, all made to look like a much younger version of an Alpine village. Although gaudy, it was beautiful in its own way. We proceeded past Aspen into Utah, which was a whole 3 exits in the first 200 miles of the state. Around this time Erik woke up - just in time for a little Utah road construction traffic jam. We finally arrived in Orem, Utah around 5:30.

It was raining upon our arrival, but we were not worried at all, because we had the luck of the tour on our side. In the light drizzle, we walked around the stadium and watched some BP. It was pretty special; all the players were horsing around and it was totally like watching a high school team practice. The "Home of the Owlz," as the stadium is called, is actually on Utah Valley State University's campus and shares use with the Wolverines. After retrieving a few BP home run balls, sure enough the sky cleared, and we set up down a campus path and raised $20. The main reason we chose to visit this park, besides that it was Rookie League ball, was the view. Upon its opening in 2005, I had always read that the Home of the Owlz boasts the "finest view in the minor leagues," and although this is clearly subjective, one can't deny that a Rocky Mountain backdrop is a pretty incredible thing to look at while watching a game. Watching the sun set over the mountains with a stiff wind blowing out made for a very relaxing evening.

The Owlz are the Rookie League affiliate of the Angels, and their opponent the Casper Rockies are obviously affiliated with the Rockies. All teams have either have a Rookie League or a Short-Season A team, which serves as kind of instructional leagues where new draft picks are sent in June when the leagues start. Most players will only spend a year here before moving to A-ball, with the exception of Latin players that are drafted as teenagers. It was a very exciting game to watch, comparable to like a college All-Star game of sorts. Starting pitcher for the Owlz Robert Fish struck out 8, but only lasted 5 innings due mostly to a long 2nd inning that raised his pitch count. The bullpen surrended two runs on a homerun by Christopher Vasimi in the 5-0 loss. Overall, it was a pleasant experience - very cheap concessions and tickets, good weather, good atmosphere, key chain giveaway, and a hilarious mascot.

Immediately following the game, we hit the road for Kennewick, Washington, just over the Oregon border, where we'll be crashing for a few hours at Erik's aunt's house before finishing the drive to Seattle.

park stats and rankings:
aesthetics - 3
views from park - 10 (Rockies)
view to field - 7 (really good, but only 2500 seats, the rest lawn)
surrounding area - 2 (campus is dead in the summer)
food variety - 4
nachos - 4
beer - n/a
vendor price - 10
ticket price - 10 ($3 GA)
atmosphere - 6
walk to park - 3 (campus)
parking price/proximity - 6 (about a 5 minute walk for $2! ridiculous, it's Rookie League)
concourses - 2
team shop - 7 (pretty huge t-shirt and cap selection)

best food - fries
most unique stadium feature - view
best jumbotron feature - strikeout animation featuring Hootz Owl
best between-inning feature - frozen t-shirt race

field dimensions - 305/408/316
starters - Brandon Miller (CAS) v. Robert Fish (ORM)
opponent - Casper Rockies
time of game - 2:48
attendance - 2815
score - 5-0 L
Brewers score that day - 3-2 W