×

McKinley swings at MLB pitch

WASHINGTON — A West Virginia congressman is going to bat for minor league baseball teams that could be eliminated under a realignment plan by Major League Baseball.

Forty-two minor league clubs would be impacted, including three in West Virginia and one in Ohio.

Major League Baseball and the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, also known as Minor League Baseball, are in negotiations for a new agreement for the minor leagues. Major League Baseball has concerns with outdated facilities, travel time because of the distances between clubs and salaries being too small because of so many players.

“Minor League Baseball teams have had a major impact on small communities. These teams provide an enormous cultural and economic benefit to the communities they call home,” Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., said. “The goal of our involvement in this fight is to ensure a level playing field in the negotiations between Major League Baseball and MiLB.”

McKinley, a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and U.S. Reps. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., Max Rose, D-N.Y., and Mike Simpson, R-N.Y., are co-chairmen of the Save Minor League Baseball Task Force. The resolution is to show that the sense of Congress is for Major League Baseball to maintain its existing minor league structure.

Eliminating 42 teams is not a reasonable solution, McKinley said.

“We are hopeful that (Minor League and Major League baseball) can find a compromise that will preserve the 42 MiLB teams and address MLB’s concerns,” McKinley said.

A 30-year agreement between Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball ends with the completion of the 2020 season.

Major League Baseball issued a statement.

“MLB is confident that we can modernize our minor league system, improve playing conditions for our players, and protect baseball in communities across America. However, doing so is best achieved with Minor League Baseball’s constructive participation, and a recognition that they need to be part of the solution,” the statement said. “So far their approach has been neither constructive nor solutions-oriented. The most constructive role Congress can play to achieve these goals is to encourage Minor League Baseball to return to the bargaining table so we can work together to address the real issues impacting minor league players and communities all across the country.”

West Virginia has four minor league teams, West Virginia Power in Charleston, the Morgantown Black Bears, the Bluefield Blue Jays and the Princeton Rays. All but the Black Bears are on the cut list in the minor league reduction proposal, according to published reports including The New York Times.

Ohio has six minor league teams, the Dayton Dragons, the Akron Rubber Ducks, the Columbus Clippers, the Lake County Captains, the Toledo Mud Hens and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. The Scrappers from Niles are on the list.

The resolution says “preservation of Minor League Baseball in 160 communities is in the public interest, as it will continue to provide affordable, family-friendly entertainment to those communities.”

More than 100 members of the House of Representatives on Nov. 19 sent a letter to Major League Baseball expressing opposition to the plan to eliminate teams.

The governors of both West Virginia and Ohio also have come to the defense of the teams intended to be cut.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was in contact with Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball, in December and in a press release said he “had a very positive conversation” about the impact upon West Virginia with the realignment of the teams.

A request for comment about any further contact between the governor and the commissioner since then was not immediately available Wednesday from the governor’s press office.

Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio this month also sent a letter to Manfred about the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, a club founded in 1999. The franchise employs about 200 people, said DeWine, whose family owns a Class A club in North Carolina that is not among the 42.

Jess Mancini can be contacted at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today