Press release<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reported MLB Proposal Revealed +40 Minor League Teams Nationwide May Lose MLB Affiliations, Including Franchises In Binghamton, Batavia, Auburn And Staten Island<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Schumer Recently Met With President Of Minor League Baseball, Pat O\u2019Conner, & Owner Of Binghamton Rumble Ponies, John Hughes, To Seek Constructive Solutions To MLB Plan That Would Have A Devastating Impact On Upstate Communities; Schumer Also Met With Brian Paris, President of the Genesee County Baseball Club<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Schumer: We Stand United In Our Efforts To Rework Harmful Proposal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer recently sat down with President of Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Pat O\u2019Conner, and owner of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, John Hughes, to hear out their concerns about Major League Baseball\u2019s (MLB) reported proposal to restructure the minor leagues and dramatically reduce or significantly restructure a number of Upstate franchises that share an affiliation with an MLB club. The group also discussed ways to alter the plan to reduce its potentially harmful impacts in New York. Additionally, last week, Schumer spoke with Brian Paris, President of the Genesee County Baseball Club\u2014the community ownership group of the Batavia Muckdogs\u2014to hear out his concerns, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was so pleased to have MiLB President Pat O\u2019Conner and John Hughes, owner of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, down to my office in Washington to talk through the MLB\u2019s troubling plan to restructure the minor leagues and strike teams across Upstate New York out of their major league affiliations. The conversation was positive and we all agreed that we must work in lock-step to keep minor league baseball sewn into the very fabric of our state, as it has been since World War II,\u201d said Senator Schumer. \u201cBefore finalizing its plans, MLB must continue its discussions with local leaders, stakeholders and MiLB with the goal of reworking this plan and preventing New York from being left in the dust. MLB threw Upstate New York a biting curveball here, but we are looking to foul it off and get a better pitch to hit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month, news reports revealed that MLB is planning to take 42 teams that are currently affiliated with Major League teams and strip those organizations of their affiliations and reassign them to compete in a newly-formed, lower-caliber league, called the Dream League. Reports indicate that MLB\u2019s current proposal would eliminate the Major League affiliations of four teams across New York State: the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Batavia Muckdogs, Auburn Doubledays and Staten Island Yankees\u2014and drastically alter the business plans of the Tri-City Valleycats, Hudson Valley Renegades and Brooklyn Cyclones. During the meeting, Schumer heard out MiLB\u2019s and the Rumble Ponies\u2019 serious concerns with the plan, and vowed to do whatever he could to maintain minor league baseball\u2019s strong presence in Upstate New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This November, after learning of the proposal, Schumer immediately wrote to MLB to express his serious concerns, push the league to stop playing hardball and sit down with local stakeholders to discuss the plan and search for constructive solutions that would maintain minor league baseball\u2019s strong presence in Upstate New York. In the time since, MLB met with representatives of MiLB and team owners to talk about the plan in further detail. Schumer is now urging those conversations to continue and for the parties to figure out a way to prevent the Upstate minor league teams from losing their major league affiliations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Press release Reported MLB Proposal Revealed +40 Minor League Teams Nationwide May Lose MLB Affiliations, Including Franchises In Binghamton, Batavia, Auburn And Staten Island Schumer Recently Met With President Of Minor League Baseball, Pat O\u2019Conner, & Owner Of Binghamton Rumble Ponies, John Hughes, To Seek Constructive Solutions To MLB Plan \u2026<\/p>\n