Canal Winchester Messenger - March 7th, 2021

PAGE 8 - MESSENGER - March 7, 2021
www.columbusmessenger.com
The Clippers and the restructuring of the minor leagues
By Rick Palsgrove
Managing Editor
The Columbus Clippers will face some
new opponents this year following Major
League Baseball’s structural shake up of
the minor league system.
Major League Baseball - in an effort to
streamline, cut costs, and increase revenues
- shrank the number of minor league
teams from 160 to 120. It also revamped its
top level Triple-A by eliminating the names
International League and Pacific Coast
League and creating a new 20 team league
called Triple-A East and 10 team league
called Triple-A West.
The Columbus Clippers are long time
members of the International League, a
league that begin in 1884. The Pacific
Coast League started in 1902. Now both
league names are gone.
However, Clippers President and
General Manager Ken Schnacke said the
quality of baseball being played at the
Triple-A level will remain the same.
“It’s a bit of a change,” said Schnacke.
“But players change every year anyway
and this new format will eliminate some
travel.”
The Clippers’ 2021, 142-game schedule
will include a combination of six game and
four game series against opponents. The
Clippers will compete in Triple-A East in
the Midwest Division along with traditional
rival the Toledo Mud Hens as well as the
Indianapolis Indians, Louisville Bats, St.
Paul Saints, Omaha Storm Chasers, and
the Iowa Cubs.
Schnacke said each six game series will
be followed by an off day, usually a
Monday.
“We lose Memorial Day, Labor Day, and
Flag Day because of that, but we’ve got to
roll with it,” said Schnacke, who said Dime-
A-Dog nights will still be held on Tuesdays
and Dollar Days will be on Wednesdays.
Schnacke said, due to the ongoing corornavirus
pandemic, that, as of now, the
state has instituted a 30 percent capacity
limit at the 10,000 seat Huntington Park.
That number could increase as the year
goes on and the state lifts some restrictions.
The Clippers’ home opener is April 13
against Louisville and Schnacke said pandemic
precautions will include a buffer
area along the dugouts and bull pens and
fan seating of pods of six people or less.
“It’s a lot to get ready for,” said
Schnacke.
Regarding the demise of the name
“International League,” Schnacke said
that, though the name will not be prevalent
this year, there are efforts that the name
be maintained at some point.
Schnacke added there will be no league
all-star game this year nor will there be a
Triple-A national championship game as in
the past.
“These could return in 2022,” he said.
Historical perspective
Author and historian James Tootle, who
wrote the book, “Baseball in Columbus,”
which documents the history of professional
baseball in the city, said it is disappointing
to see the name International League,
with its rich history come to a close.
“The league’s roots go back to the 1880s
and it has produced countless players and
managers who made their mark in the
minor league cities where they played on
their way up to outstanding careers in the
majors,” said Tootle.
He noted that, before Jackie Robinson
broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn
Dodgers in 1947, he prepared for that
breakthrough by honing his skills in 1946
on the International League’s Montreal
Royals.
“Baseball greats Red Schoendienst,
Walt Alston, Jim Rice, Wade Boggs,
Chipper Jones, Columbus’ Billy
Southworth, and others are enshrined in
both the IL Hall of Fame and in
Cooperstown,” said Tootle. “Columbus has
a long history in the International League
with the Jets (1955-70) and the Clippers
(1977-present), and has won many championships.
The history of the IL deserves to
be remembered and preserved.”
Tootle said that, while Columbus may
lose several traditional opponents like
Syracuse and Rochester, this season, fans
will probably not miss playing teams with
geographically ambiguous names such as
Lehigh Valley.
“Columbus will continue to play familiar
rivals Toledo, Indianapolis, and
Louisville,” said Tootle. “These teams are
not only International League opponents,
but also the teams Columbus played
against during the half-century (1903-
1954) when the Columbus Senators and
Red Birds were in the old American
Association with those same cities.
Columbus also resumes playing St. Paul,
another rival from the American
Association era. It is my understanding
that the 2021 schedule, which has
Columbus mostly only playing teams in its
own division, is due to travel restrictions
caused by the pandemic and the Clippers
may resume playing more of the old
International League rivals in 2022.”
Tootle believes most fans will adjust to
the restructuring. To them, a summer
night at Huntington Park with an office
group after work or with family will look
about the same.
“However, to the knowledgeable fan who
keeps a box score and is accustomed to following
the team’s progress in the standings,
the changes will be significant,” said
Tootle. “When we think about why MLB
did away with the historic International
League name, and all the other league
Photos courtesy of the Columbus Clippers
Adam Rosales of the Columbus
Clippers waves to the fans.
names throughout minor league baseball,
we need look no further than the new
name: Player Development League. MLB
seems to be making a statement that the
purpose of minor league games is to develop
the skills of individual players to
advance to the major league level, rather
than for the local team to win games and
league championships. It is always nice to
win, but the main purpose of PDL games
will be to provide an opportunity for players
to achieve individual rather than team
goals. Triple-A games will continue to provide
an opportunity for an established
MLB player to pitch a few innings or get atbats
while rehabbing an injury. Fans may
like this since it is an opportunity to see a
famous MLB player.”
He said none of this is new.
“We have seen this trend in minor
league games for several decades - to give
more attention to preparing individual
players for the majors than building a winning
team,” said Tootle. “When doing
research in newspapers from the early to
mid-20th century, one notices the greater
See CLIPPERS, page 9
Huntington Park, home of the Columbus Clippers.
Teammates mob Columbus Clipper Yandy Diaz as he touches home plate after slugging
a home run.