Picture above: OKC Dodger pitcher delivering a pitch in a game in OKC; Photo Credit; Fred Pahlke
Commentary
Minor league sports, especially baseball, is one level of that game I detest. I don’t know why they take score quite frankly. Why they even have wins and loses, especially for league standing purposes. Ok, I guess you need to have the individual statistics of the ball players and the pitchers need win/loss records. But the smell of “why would you care about the score” is valid as the AAA game is not for anything but to hone the skills of the players and get them ready to jump to the major leagues; or flame out and send the various player home to mother.
This past season the Oklahoma City Dodgers, the AAA farm team of the Los Angeles Dodgers, made 334 player transactions through the season, then after the OKC version of Dodgers won it’s Division in the Pacific Coast League, the big club, as many major league teams do, called up almost the complete starting line-up just before a playoff series that would determine the PCL’s champion. Follow a team for five months and then break up the team….and then care about the “team concept?” Not for me. Baseball must not be a team sport but more of a statistical mathematical sport. To top it off, a week after the season the Dodger organization fires the OKC manager and his right hand hitting coach “to go a different direction?” Well if you win your division the only way to go is down. Am I missing something here?
The PCL championship, and regular season, and the total concept of minor league AAA baseball is awash in a system that I again would comment, “why would I care?” No, I don’t attend minor league baseball as I don’t have a need to sit in 90 degree heat most often, watching a game that is set up to feed ball players to the major leagues on their whim. Not that I am against these players getting the chance to play on a major league team, but at the expense of any true team concept and league championship at the minor AAA level? No I pas. I don’t need that “thrill” to watch the future stars of the Majors. I especially do not need to put my time, effort, and conscience thought in whether Oklahoma City might win a PCL title. They don’t really care about the minor league city, they being the LA Dodgers. The PCL title is not significant, much less worthy of the big clubs effort to need to win at this level. The Major League doesn’t care and I don’t either. I’ll wait for the Thunder season to begin.
You live in a minor league city. That’s how baseball goes and has gone for almost 100 years. Maybe you need to move to a major league city. I’m loving my Texas Rangers right now. I live just 4 miles from the ballpark in Arlington.
Rick, I totally understand that. I would think that came through. No, I live in a major league city, abet just one sport, the NBA. The Rangers are my baseball team and visit the Metroplex when I can. My personal joy among a couple of historic games I have viewed live was Kenny Rogers perfect game, the first by a left hander in American league history. I got the pleasure to watch Goose Gossage break the American League record at the time for appearances in league history at a game in Seattle when the Goose played for the White Sox. Also watch Nolan Ryan in Arlington often and saw him go 7 and 2/3 perfect. Your post is appreciated….
by the way, the record by the Goose was for appearances by a pitcher….I didn’t make that clear Rick. So sorry.