Twins to Arizona?

by Johnny Safron on Nov 13, 2008 11:06 PM EST Comment 7 comments

With Ft. Myers agreeing to build an estimated $70-80 million dollar Fenway Park replica for the Red Sox, it's evident that at least the city commisioners in Lee County aren't fretting about the current economy.

Debut of that new park - capable of holding about a third more fans than the Twins' Florida facility, Hammond Stadium, will leave the city of Ft. Myers holding the bag on the downtown City of Palms, which the Sox will vacate. (This puts the Orioles in a great situation because both Sarasota and Ft. Myers will be pursuing the O's.)

With the Twins' lease for Lee County Sports Complex ready to expire in 2011, I believe, Ft. Myers might really need to pursue the O's. The Twins would like some upgrades on Hammond Stadium - which is already a jewel - and they will be in great position to have their demands met, even if I'm wrong about the lease expiring in 2011. The Twins are in good shape for demands because of some particulars of the lease.

The Twins only train in Florida because the Senators trained there and Calvin Griffith continued the tradition after the team moved to Minnesota. But Arizona seems at least as logical a spring site, and that state has been pursuing big-league teams left and right in recent seasons.There must be as many of more Minnesotans living or wintering in Arizona and Palm Springs as there are in Florida.

So from a standpoint of facilities the Twins are sitting pretty along with the O's and the Sox, although the location of the new Sox park is going to hurt the Twins at the gate.

Even if the novelty wears off - and there are always enough Red Sox fans in Florida to practically ensure that novelty isn't the main attraction - fans from south of Ft. Myers will flock to the new stadium because of its location. Little Fenway will stand between places such as Naples and Hammond Stadium. People will have to be Twins' fans to want to travel the extra distance to see a spring training game.

By the way, spring training games start damn near on Valentine's Day this year, because of the World Baseball Classic.

The season just keeps getting longer.

0 recs | Comment 7 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

You scared me with the Title Johnny

When you said Twins to AZ i thought that They were Relocating the Team. Thanks for the Near Heart Attack.

by Tony_O on Nov 14, 2008 12:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hammond

I have been there and it is really nice. I hope they don’t move. It is a great setup with accessible practice fields and the airport is near as well. When I go to spring training I like to do things other than baseball as well. I wouldn’t know what else to do in AZ.

by WITwinsfan on Nov 14, 2008 8:51 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Can't see it...

The Twins moved their AAA Affiliate to Rochester several years ago, from Edmonton. In part, it’s logistics. Much easier to fly/drive from New Britain to Rochester. Likewise, I would think the Twins would want to stay on the east coast for spring training and Hi-A ball. They’ll work it out.

by SethSpeaks on Nov 14, 2008 10:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

You answered it all right there

They moved their AAA franchise. And they can do it again.

The Twins, and all teams, move affiliates. It’s nice to have affiliate relationships that are a geographical fit, but these individual arrangements at each level are more driven by leases and the fit with minor league owners.

By most accounts, the Twins have a good relationship with Rochester, although it’s a safe bet all behind the scenes is not as cozy as stated publicly, because there always seems to be some internal grumbling on the part of one side or the other.

Moving to a new minor-league venue is little difficulty for a big-league team. Think of it as a renter letting their lease lapse and moving on. All you do is pack up. And they do a lot of packing up at the end of each season anyway, so no real agony to endure.

And, of course, the ideal situation is to have your minor league teams in the same region as the big-league team. Having a team in Rochester or New Britain does not enthuse fans who can make a once-a-summer migration to see the big boys, and the guys who have been called up from your hometown team.

The likelihood of the Twins moving is slim because they hold a lot of cards in the Ft. Myers arrangement. But a lot of people once thought the chance of Tampa Bay getting to the ’08 World Series were slim, too.

by Johnny Safron on Nov 14, 2008 10:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Rochester

I think they have a great relationship as the Twins are prone to leave there prospects there to play. I remember them being upset cause the team in Rochester before us used to have their prospects skip AAA or have short stays there more times than not.

Plus the Twins are likely to let their prospects play out the season before making them Sept Callups. Not always but more times then not.

by doofus on Nov 14, 2008 4:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Training facility

Right now, the Hammond Stadium complex is the best training facility the Twins have ever had. I wouldn’t rule out some town in Arizona building a $100 million facility (which is what it would take at minimum, to get the Twins). But I don’t think it’s a very likely outcome. The other benefit that the FL has is the FSL, GCL and instructs. It’s tough to replicate that out west. The benefits to AZ are better spring competition and the AFL. But I don’t think those things outweigh what Fort Myers can provide.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Nov 14, 2008 10:57 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

All points, but not dealbreakers

The Twins raided AAA for Perkins, Liriano, Buscher, Macri, Span, Casilla and Ruiz last season. That was pretty brutal. What a big-league club needs, it will always take. Big league clubs aren’t in business for the purpose of keeping players in AAA cities.

Hammond is, by default, the best facility the Twins ever trained in, being the only other spot they trained at was pre-WW II Tinker Field, memorable for the smell of urinal cakes as you walked past the ticket gate.

And the Tinker clubhouses were – no amplifying here – as bad as those seen in the movie The Natural. It was also situated in a lousy part of town with constrained parking, with player facilities worse than Joker Marchant, which was much newer than Tinker but badly dated by the ’80s, a time when the Astros and the Royals were both playing in nice, new Florida facilities that they have since left.

From a fan standpoint, Hammond is the best spring training facility this side of the Cubs’ HoHoKam Park. But it appears the Sox will zoom past that. The Twins will have demands.

As for the Class A convenience, not a big issue. The Cubs and Brewers have teams there but they train in Arizona. It’s not a problem, particularly with such a low classification. The Reds also have an FSL affiliate, but will move to Arizona in 2010 with little regard for where there Class A team is.

That departure from Florida will bring the breakdown to 16 in Florida 14 in Arizona, where the advantage is you have a lot of teams in close proximity.

As likely as the Twins moving is that we will see the Orioles heavily courted for City of Palms, which would present Ft. Myers with a similar enviable situation to the Tempe-Scotsdale-Phoenix area, where many teams are congregated in a small area.

by Johnny Safron on Nov 14, 2008 9:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs