After the Houston Astros announced they would drop their AAA affiliate Round Rock Express in favour of the then independent Sugar Land Skeeters, the question arose who would fill the void the Astros left. Several sources are saying that the Texas Rangers are close to hammer out a deal with the AAA Pacific Coast League …
What will the future of the Texas League look like?
With the current affiliation dance, a lot is unclear how the minor league landscape will look like. Dance is definitely the wrong word as MLB decides and minor league teams have to accept. But what will the future of the Texas League look like. This is really drawing my interest as the San Antonio Missions …
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Dramatic Changes in Minor League Landscape become clear
Even though no new deal is in place yet, several changes in the minor leagues slowly become clear. Not only will some clubs move to different levels, even complete leagues will switch to different levels. Especially at the various A ball levels, there will be quite some changes. The California League and Florida State League …
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Origin of Minor League Team Names, a Reprise: S
Back in 2014, I wrote a series of blog posts about the origin of minor league team names. Since then, the minor league landscape has changed a lot. Clubs moved, adopted new names. All reasons to have a new series in which the new names are added and explained. This time the letter: S Sacramento …
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Sod Poodles “unveil” home jersey
In a Tweet, Chris Creamer of Sportslogos.net showed a big part of the new Amarillo Sod Poodles jersey. Unlike the name, the jersey isn't that outrageous. In fact, it is on the sober side. Naturally, the home jersey is white. It sports the name Sod Poodles on the front in a blue font with a …
Helena Brewers/ Colorado Springs SkySox rebrand
Ever since the Elmore Sports Group initiated one of the biggest overhauls in Minor League Baseball, three teams traded places. The AAA Colorado Springs SkySox moved to San Antonio to become the Missions. The AA San Antonio Missions moved to Amarillo to become the Sod Poodles and the Helena Brewers (Advanced Rookie) has replaced the …
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More minor league name/logo changes to come
With the presentation of Amarillo's team name, the Sod Poodles, the tsunami of new team names/logos for the 2019 season is far from over yet. At least three are about to come. Two teams are about to change their name and one is about to change its logos. The two teams that will change their names …
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Twins and Blue Wahoos team up, Padres signs deal with Amarillo
Even though there is no official announcement yet, the website of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos shows the logo of the Minnesota Twins as its parent club. And with the San Diego Padres signing a deal with the new Amarillo Texas League franchise, the Twins and the Blue Wahoos are the only teams left in AA. …
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Former Helena Brewers sign PDC with Milwaukee name sake
The Helena Brewers that will play under a new moniker in Colorado Springs next season has agreed on a Player Development Contract extension with the Milwaukee Brewers. The new deal will run through the 2020 season. The former Helena Brewers (Advanced Rookie, Pioneer League) will head to Colorado Springs as replacement of the SkySox (AAA, …
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Brewers stay with Elmore Sports Group
Yesterday you could read here about the signing of several AAA player development contracts. In that blog post a possibility about the Milwaukee Brewers to stay with their AAA team that will move from Colorado Springs to San Antonio next year. Well, that is what happened. As many experts expected the Texas Rangers would leave …
Affiliation news
The Washington Nationals, who were forced out Syracuse, will place their AAA team at the other side of the United States. The club signed a two-year deal with the Fresno Grizzlies. A surprising move by the Texas Rangers, who were expected to sign with the AAA San Antonio Missions. After the New York Mets bought …
San Antonio Missions: An era comes to an end
With the 3-0 sweep by the Tulsa Drillers in the championship series, a Texas League era in San Antonio comes to an end. An era that began in 1888 and with some hiatuses, the city was a long-lasting member of the Texas League until yesterday. Until yesterday as the AA San Antonio Missions are no …
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Upcoming changes in Minor League Baseball
With the MiLB season nearing its end, there will be several changes for the 2019 season. Of course, there will be some affiliation changes as many PDCs expire after the 2018 season but there will several moves of teams due to the big overhaul by the Elmore Sports Group. And another team will move into …
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Name-the-team contest in Colorado Springs
With the Colorado Springs SkySox moving to San Antonio and the Helena Brewers filling the void in 2019, the owner of both teams, the Elmore Sports Group, has organized a name-the-team contest for the new Colorado Springs team. There is only one catch; to participate you have to be a Colorado citizen. So with a …
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Final 5 names for Amarillo baseball team unveiled
After an overwhelming response to the name-the-team contest, the future Amarillo baseball team has unveiled the five best names. Fans can vote for the very best name from May 30 through June 13. The future club is looking for a name that is telling the story of Amarillo and perfectly captures everything that makes the …
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Amarillo name-the-team contest
As Amarillo will be home to a new Texas League (AA) team starting 2019, a name is needed for the new franchise. Therefore the management is running a name-the-team contest. If you have followed this blog, you will have read about the major changes in the minor league landscape that are coming up in 2019. …
Colorado Springs SkySox go out with a bang
The Colorado Springs SkySox, the AAA farm team of the Milwaukee Brewers in the Pacific Coast League, are in their, what's called lame duck season. After the 2018 season, the club will move to San Antonio. Their final season will be also the celebration of 45 years of professional baseball in Colorado Springs. The SkySox' …
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Stadium lease deal in place in Amarillo
Earlier this month you could read a post about an eventual move of the San Antonio Missions to Witchita even though very unlikely. Well, we can scratch Wichita as possible Texas League city as the Elmore Sports Group has signed a stadium lease deal with the city of Amarillo. The Elmore Sports Group committed to …
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