Pawsox now the Provsox?? (Pawtucket: sales, layoffs, ticket)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But being close by has been an advantage for the Red Sox; they can call a player up on a moment's notice. At least once, a player has played for both teams the same day - in 1989, Carlos Quintana was called up while playing in the first game of a day/night doubleheader at McCoy. He was driven up to Boston, swapped his P hat for a B hat, and played at Fenway that night in his Pawsox uniform!
It's true that a lot of minor league teams are disconnected geographically from their parents. I think the Red Sox would be more willing to consider a farther location for an A or AA team. Often it's the presence of a team that gets established in a locale, and the affiliation doesn't matter so much. Some of these minor league teams have changed their affiliation a LOT of times. And we forget that there are a lot of places in the country where a visit to a major league park could mean a day's drive or more, so you'll go see the local minor team, no matter who they represent.
However, the Red Sox have gotten pretty used to having their triple A affiliate 45 minutes away - makes it really easy to call up someone for a game the same night, and easier to check on their progress. And the BoSox are popular enough in New England that the two markets don't undercut each other - you go to the minor league team to see who might be on the main stage one day, at least as much as you go to see the PawSox on their own merits. But I don't think you'd find the same people filing into McCoy to watch the Marlins minor league team. That disconnection may work in other parts of the country but here you identify strongly as either a Sox or Yankees fan and you have the option of seeing either of those teams - so you'd pay to watch their farm teams, but not just any farm team.
It strikes me that Worcester is the size city that the Red Sox are looking for, but I'm not sure they have the kind of property and attractions they're looking for. Also, it seems to me - correct me if I'm wrong - that the area surrounding Worcester is comprised of a lot of very small towns. In terms of population, it's nothing like being next to Pawtucket, Cranston, Woonsocket, Warwick, etc.
It's true that a lot of minor league teams are disconnected geographically from their parents. I think the Red Sox would be more willing to consider a farther location for an A or AA team. Often it's the presence of a team that gets established in a locale, and the affiliation doesn't matter so much. Some of these minor league teams have changed their affiliation a LOT of times. And we forget that there are a lot of places in the country where a visit to a major league park could mean a day's drive or more, so you'll go see the local minor team, no matter who they represent.
However, the Red Sox have gotten pretty used to having their triple A affiliate 45 minutes away - makes it really easy to call up someone for a game the same night, and easier to check on their progress. And the BoSox are popular enough in New England that the two markets don't undercut each other - you go to the minor league team to see who might be on the main stage one day, at least as much as you go to see the PawSox on their own merits. But I don't think you'd find the same people filing into McCoy to watch the Marlins minor league team. That disconnection may work in other parts of the country but here you identify strongly as either a Sox or Yankees fan and you have the option of seeing either of those teams - so you'd pay to watch their farm teams, but not just any farm team.
It strikes me that Worcester is the size city that the Red Sox are looking for, but I'm not sure they have the kind of property and attractions they're looking for. Also, it seems to me - correct me if I'm wrong - that the area surrounding Worcester is comprised of a lot of very small towns. In terms of population, it's nothing like being next to Pawtucket, Cranston, Woonsocket, Warwick, etc.
I agree that it mostly doesn't matter the affiliation of the minor league team, but I think that the Pawsox are an exception. For one, they've been the Sox affiliate for 40+ years. They've been in the heart of Red Sox country, 45 minutes from Fenway, for 40+ years. As an adult, I've gone to catch a Sox player rehabbing or a promising prospect. I think it's part of the appeal. If they became the Tampa Bay Rays affiliate, I think you'd see a dip in interest. Definitely a dip in merchandise. The ties to the Red Sox are definitely a major part of the appeal. It's not as if nobody would go if the Pawsox became an affiliate of another team, but you'd see interest wane to a notable extent. This isn't as true in minor league cities that are further removed from major league markets (i.e. Vegas, Omaha, Oklahoma City, etc).
Worcester has the same population as Providence if you quickly glance at the city-limit population, but that number is irrelevant for getting a feel of city size. Worcester has about double the land area that Providence has. It's also the anchor city of a metro area that's about half the size of Providence's metro area. Greater Providence has about 1.6 Million people. Greater Worcester has about 900k. Everything about Providence is much bigger including look, feel and regional importance. They're definitely different size markets.
I am a firm believer in the philosophy: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it",
but if the Red Sox farm team owners want public funds, then they can
stuff it. Move the B-Team to Fall River, who cares anymore ?
Fall River is getting a large 1,000+ jobs Amazon presence.
If they're dumb enough to consider messing with a successful franchise in the first place, they're dumb enough to do anything.
I agree.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
