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My old pal writing in the snooze journal has the scoop:
Blue Rocks eye move to Double-A next season
Kevin Tresolini, The News Journal 8:39 p.m. EDT April 11, 2015
The Wilmington Blue Rocks' home opener next Thursday night at Frawley Stadium may be their last as members of minor league baseball's advanced-Class A Carolina League.
Wilmington could be the home of a Double-A Eastern League franchise as early as 2016, a possibility revealed earlier this month because of a legal matter involving the potential sale of the Binghamton Mets.
The late Matt Minker, who founded the Blue Rocks and built Frawley Stadium for their 1993 rebirth, long envisioned Wilmington's location and metropolitan population as ideal for an Eastern League franchise. He nearly secured one for a move several years before his death in 2007.
Now his son Clark, who is Blue Rocks managing partner and minority owner, along with majority owner Main Street Baseball, seems poised to make that move.
According to an injunction filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in New York citing breach of contract, Minker and Main Street Baseball's David Heller had an agreement with Binghamton Mets president Michael Urda to buy that franchise for $8.5 million. They then planned to move the team to Wilmington while selling their Carolina League franchise for $12.5 million to the Texas Rangers, who would relocate it.
The sale of the Carolina League franchise to Texas is conditional upon the purchase of the Binghamton club, so Wilmington will not be left without a team.
"Our goal is to provide fans with the best possible baseball experience," Minker said Friday, adding that, because the matter is in litigation, he cannot comment further.
In the Class AA Eastern League, players are two steps from the majors, so fans would see a higher level of play than they've been accustomed to. In addition, there's the possibility of developing rivalries with nearby teams such as the Reading Fightin' Phils, the Yankees' Trenton Thunder and the Orioles' Bowie Baysox.
The Blue Rocks have been affiliates of the 2014 American League champion Kansas City Royals throughout their modern existence, except for the 2005 and 2006 seasons when they were in the Boston Red Sox organization. They have spent that entire span as the northernmost member of the Carolina League, in which players are typically three steps from the big leagues. With the exception of the Blue Rocks and Frederick (Maryland) Keys, the other six Carolina League franchises are located in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
In their first life, the Blue Rocks dwelled from 1940-52 in the now defunct Interstate League.
"The community has strongly supported Class A baseball," said Mel Gardner, who stepped down after 30 years as William Penn High baseball coach in 2010 and has been an avid Blue Rocks supporter. "I think it's a good time for a move up and the community would embrace it even more. The Eastern League is just a natural fit and, with Double-A ball, we'd see more talented players closer to the big leagues.''
In addition to Binghamton, New York, the 12-team Eastern League presently has teams in Pennsylvania: Reading (Phillies), Harrisburg (Nationals), Altoona (Pirates) and Erie (Tigers); New Jersey: Trenton (Yankees); Maryland: Bowie (Orioles); Virginia: Richmond (Giants); Ohio: Akron (Indians); Connecticut: New Britain (Rockies); New Hampshire: Manchester (Blue Jays); and Maine: Portland (Red Sox).
As part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area, Wilmington would draw from the second-largest population among Eastern League locations behind Trenton, which is considered part of metro New York City. Baseball's territorial rules state the Phillies, because of their proximity, must approve any change in the Blue Rocks' classification. Court documents reveal they already have.
Minker and Heller were motivated to seek an Eastern League team, legal paperwork states, by the economic advantages of being in closer proximity to opposing teams and the ability to attract rival fans while feeding this area's "appetite for baseball."
Having a Double-A team, it reads "will generate equal or better profits for the team while delivering higher quality baseball and greater prestige to the Wilmington community.''
According to the legal record, there was a written agreement and financial deposit on a transaction that would transfer the Binghamton franchise to Minker and Main Street Baseball before Binghamton officials reneged, began shopping the team and another potential buyer came forth.
According to the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, Urda had frequently denied reports the team was for sale and pledged to keep it in Binghamton while he was actively seeking buyers. He'd first spoken with Minker and Heller, documents reveal, last August. Their deal was consummated at baseball's Winter Meetings in December.
Urda, in a statement to the Press & Sun-Bulletin, said the legal action brought by the prospective buyers was groundless and pledged to keep the Mets and Eastern League baseball in Binghamton.
Earlier this month, a temporary restraining order was granted preventing Urda and Beacon Sports, which brokered the transaction, from discussing the sale of the team with other potential buyers. The parties return to court for the next step Wednesday in Utica, New York, as Minker and Heller seek a preliminary injunction with the same goal – to stop the sale of the team to anyone else. Ultimately, a judge or mediator will make a final ruling.
The Binghamton Mets were an appealing target for the Blue Rocks owners because they're portable, meaning they are not bound by a lease to remain at their present location, and have not drawn particularly well. Last season, the Mets ranked last in the Eastern League with 2,676 in average home attendance at NYSEG Stadium despite winning their first league title in 20 years. Richmond's 6,336 average was the league high.
This week, the Mets extended their Player Development Contract with Binghamton, which had been slated to expire after the 2016 season, through 2020. That would not change should the franchise move to Wilmington and is another attractive aspect of the deal.
Blue Rocks average home attendance was 4,349 per game in 2014, which ranked third in the Carolina League behind Frederick (4,991) and Winston-Salem (4,540). It was actually the second lowest figure in club history.
In December, in announcing the new ownership alliance with Minker and Main Street Baseball, the Blue Rocks also revealed plans to enlarge and modernize Frawley Stadium, which presently has a seating capacity of 6,532, by 2016. A wrap-around concourse is featured in the planned makeover.
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. |
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