Thread by @jjcoop36

1. Read @Travis_Sawchik 's story about the minor leagues from yesterday and I had a few thoughts....

Here's the link to the full story of Travis's before I dive in.

fivethirtyeight.com/features/do-we…

@Travis_Sawchik 2. Yes, the number of minor league teams has increased since the late 1970s. That's a period of time when the avg MiLB was struggling just to keep the lights on. In the late 1970s there was no Arizona complex league (1988) and there was no Dominican Summer League (1985).

@Travis_Sawchik 3. But virtually all of that growth (since the 1990s) has been by adding complex teams (which are very low cost). The amount of teams in ticket-buying leagues has remained largely fixed. Full season ball (LoA/HiA/AA/AAA) has been a 1-1 relationship with MLB teams for years.

@Travis_Sawchik 4. Even the short-season/paid admission rookie league teams (Appy and Pio) have remained largely fixed in their number of teams.

@Travis_Sawchik 5. So throw out the massive growth in the number of DSL/AZL/GCL teams and the number of MiLB teams per affiliate has remained largely static for the 21st century.

@Travis_Sawchik 6. MiLB attendance did decline in '18, as Travis noted. It's also back up this year (41.5 million). Attendance has hovered in the 40.5 million - 42 million range for MiLB for the past 15 years or so. MiLB has drawn 40+ million fans for 15 straight seasons.

@Travis_Sawchik 7. And that is the number/fact that I think also gets overlooked in the MANY discussions I hear about reducing the number of MiLB teams/leagues. MiLB is the perfect vehicle to develop fans of baseball, especially among kids.

@Travis_Sawchik 8. If you do not live in a major city, going to an MLB game is difficult and expensive. But most people in the U.S. have a MiLB team not too far away. MLB game = special event. MiLB game = take the family on a Friday night. Costs are also (significantly) lower.

@Travis_Sawchik 9. And that's often how the next generation of fans are born, because they had fun going to games. My kids have gone to one MLB game, because the nearest MLB team is 5+ hours away. But they enjoy going to one of the numerous MiLB teams around us.

@Travis_Sawchik Whether you are in a still big city (Raleigh/Durham area) like me. Or in a much smaller city with a short-season/rookie level team (like Great Falls, MT), MiLB baseball is one of the most accessible ways to enjoy baseball, which is very beneficial for baseball as a whole and MLB.

@Travis_Sawchik 11. I'm not saying that college baseball, HS, amateur, summer college leagues, etc. can't help build fans as well, but there is something about going to an MiLB game and seeing a future MLB player (which is going to be true in most MiLB games) that is special.

@Travis_Sawchik 12. That's not really aimed at Travis' story to be clear. He was focused on "what's the most efficient way" and my point is a different one. I think in this case efficiency (even if true) may be short-sighted when looking at the long-term success of baseball.

@Travis_Sawchik 13. Btw, not the biggest expert on European soccer, I know I have followers who understand it more in depth than me. But from my limited understanding, I see zero reason why baseball would want to move closer to the European soccer models of development.

@Travis_Sawchik 14. I should also note that MiLB baseball fits very much in Commissioner Rob Manfred's ideas of "One Baseball" and growing the game at every level from rec ball/grass roots to the majors (and internationall).

@Travis_Sawchik 15. Started reminiscing about taking my kids to games...doesn't happen all that often because I'm usually working at games. But I remember going with another dad to a game years ago with my oldest and his oldest (who were toddlers).....

@Travis_Sawchik 16. Kids loved the first 2 innings. Wool-E-Bull and the on-field promos. The snorting bull above left field. Then it rained. And so we fed them ice cream....they loved the first 40 minutes of the rain delay. But then they started to wear out. Game resumed.....

@Travis_Sawchik 17. We watched 2 more innings then left. With 2 pre-schoolers, that was their limit. If that had been an MLB game, that would have been a disappointment. Long car ride, expensive tickets and we didn't see the whole game. For a MiLB game? It was great. Short drive to the park...

@Travis_Sawchik 18. Kids had a great time. Tickets were cheap ($7 each for me and my daughter). Free parking. And leaving early was no big deal at all. My daughters aren't big baseball fans, but what fans they are is more to do with MiLB games than our one trip to an MLB park.