New MiLb designations

[Spicygar]

I know this doesn't effect sox fans mostly but the new reduction in MiLb teams sucks. My announcer buddy went from a high A team to a low a team overnight. Feels shitty that they can do this to players and staff. Love to hear your thoughts. 

[caulfield12]

2 hours ago, Spicygar said:

I know this doesn't effect sox fans mostly but the new reduction in MiLb teams sucks. My announcer buddy went from a high A team to a low a team overnight. Feels shitty that they can do this to players and staff. Love to hear your thoughts. 

Yeah, it’s a changing of the guard, a reflection of consolidation and cost cutting excused by Covid-19, and the death of small town baseball forever in places like Clinton and Burlington.

https://www.amazon.com/Class-Baseball-Everywhere-Lucas-Mann/dp/0307949753

Working in sports is such an unstable career, where changes in ownership or, conversely, being in the right place at the exact right time send you off in completely different trajectories.

Making it to the big leagues as a broadcaster is about as easy as becoming a Senator or Representative.  Or lasting an entire lifetime doing sports radio, for that matter.

https://qconline.com/sports/professional/former-qc-baseball-announcers-see-careers-go-different-directions/article_3c2f40e0-9f9a-52ab-9209-d64a8c467009.html

And, when you get to the top, it’s even harder to stay there.  One of my dorm-mates at the University of Iowa made it all the way to the Astros, but broadcasting during a prolonged rebuild is never easy and now he’s doing University of Arkansas athletics broadcasting.   Mario Impemba did QC River Bandits games three decades ago, then eventually worked for the Detroit Tigers for almost twenty years before losing it all due to a fight with his broadcasting partner.

[Quin]

3 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Yeah, it’s a changing of the guard, a reflection of consolidation and cost cutting excused by Covid-19, and the death of small town baseball forever in places like Clinton and Burlington.

https://www.amazon.com/Class-Baseball-Everywhere-Lucas-Mann/dp/0307949753

Working in sports is such an unstable career, where changes in ownership or, conversely, being in the right place at the exact right time send you off in completely different trajectories.

Making it to the big leagues as a broadcaster is about as easy as becoming a Senator or Representative.  Or lasting an entire lifetime doing sports radio, for that matter.

https://qconline.com/sports/professional/former-qc-baseball-announcers-see-careers-go-different-directions/article_3c2f40e0-9f9a-52ab-9209-d64a8c467009.html

And, when you get to the top, it’s even harder to stay there.  One of my dorm-mates at the University of Iowa made it all the way to the Astros, but broadcasting during a prolonged rebuild is never easy and now he’s doing University of Arkansas athletics broadcasting.   Mario Impemba did QC River Bandits games three decades ago, then eventually worked for the Detroit Tigers for almost twenty years before losing it all due to a fight with his broadcasting partner.

One of my friends from college was supposed to debut last season as the new radio announcer for the Red Sox AA team, but that obviously got delayed.

They were previously the announcer for a Royals affiliate for two seasons, but that team lost affiliation. That could have derailed everything.

[South Side Hit Men]

It’s 100 years overdue for both Congress and the Supreme Court, representing a “free” and “capitalistic” society, to end MLB’s farcical anti-trust exemption.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/64094/with-antitrust-exemption-mlbs-power-grabs-difficult-to-challenge/

Quote

If not for the existence of the antitrust exemption, MLB probably isn’t in a position to stage a hostile takeover of the second-largest professional baseball league in the United States.

 

[pcq]

Shout-out to Fresno who went from AAA to Low A ball while the Sugarland Skeeters went from Indy to AAA. 

[pcq]

2 hours ago, South Side Hit Men said:

It’s 100 years overdue for both Congress and the Supreme Court, representing a “free” and “capitalistic” society, to end MLB’s farcical anti-trust exemption.

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/64094/with-antitrust-exemption-mlbs-power-grabs-difficult-to-challenge/

 

Marvin Miller never wanted complete free agency.  He thought it would suppress salaries of many average guys. 

[CentralChamps21]

8 hours ago, Spicygar said:

I know this doesn't effect sox fans mostly but the new reduction in MiLb teams sucks. My announcer buddy went from a high A team to a low a team overnight. Feels shitty that they can do this to players and staff. Love to hear your thoughts. 

Players and coaches are going to be placed at the appropriate level regardless of where the teams are. As for the stadium staff, I don't understand how switching from High A to Low A will impact them.

[Sleepy Harold]

1 hour ago, pcq said:

Shout-out to Fresno who went from AAA to Low A ball while the Sugarland Skeeters went from Indy to AAA. 

St. Paul Saints made the jump too, although they've done great attendance-wise for the last number of years.

[southsider2k5]

7 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Yeah, it’s a changing of the guard, a reflection of consolidation and cost cutting excused by Covid-19, and the death of small town baseball forever in places like Clinton and Burlington.

https://www.amazon.com/Class-Baseball-Everywhere-Lucas-Mann/dp/0307949753

Working in sports is such an unstable career, where changes in ownership or, conversely, being in the right place at the exact right time send you off in completely different trajectories.

Making it to the big leagues as a broadcaster is about as easy as becoming a Senator or Representative.  Or lasting an entire lifetime doing sports radio, for that matter.

https://qconline.com/sports/professional/former-qc-baseball-announcers-see-careers-go-different-directions/article_3c2f40e0-9f9a-52ab-9209-d64a8c467009.html

And, when you get to the top, it’s even harder to stay there.  One of my dorm-mates at the University of Iowa made it all the way to the Astros, but broadcasting during a prolonged rebuild is never easy and now he’s doing University of Arkansas athletics broadcasting.   Mario Impemba did QC River Bandits games three decades ago, then eventually worked for the Detroit Tigers for almost twenty years before losing it all due to a fight with his broadcasting partner.

I had four job offers in broadcasting coming out of college and took none of them, just because of how hard it is to make in the field.  

[oldsox]

2 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

I had four job offers in broadcasting coming out of college and took none of them, just because of how hard it is to make in the field.  

Especially if you are not an ex-player.  I'm just an observer, but it always rankled me that ex jocks get those plum broadcasting gigs, and they usually aren't better than the non-jocks.  Of course, I loved Hawk and have high regard for Stone, so there you go.  

Rockies have certainly had their share of ex jock dodos on the mic.  So many non jock broadcasters added so much to the game over the years, including Vin Scully, Ernie Harwell, on and on.  Put Harry Carry in there, too.

[caulfield12]

2 hours ago, oldsox said:

Especially if you are not an ex-player.  I'm just an observer, but it always rankled me that ex jocks get those plum broadcasting gigs, and they usually aren't better than the non-jocks.  Of course, I loved Hawk and have high regard for Stone, so there you go.  

Rockies have certainly had their share of ex jock dodos on the mic.  So many non jock broadcasters added so much to the game over the years, including Vin Scully, Ernie Harwell, on and on.  Put Harry Carry in there, too.

Yep, mostly play by play.  Analyst positions are almost impossible for non players.  So that really cuts down the odds even further.  Not many can afford to spend 10-25 years in the minors and raise a family on relatively low salaries unless they can go offseason sales and marketing/promotions equally well.

The times that produced those radio voices/storytellers whose game calls traversed the country on AM radio simply no longer exist (Cardinals had almost twenty states in their network at one point).

Edited February 17, 2021 by caulfield12