National Hat Day. My 10 favorite MLB/MiLB hats

Today it is National Hat Day in the USA (who comes up with days like this anyway?). Here is a list with my 10 favorite MLB/MiLB hats. 10. Ogden Raptors Many don't like this cap but I think this is a great one. This cap is way better than the previous home cap the Raptors …

Baseball related songs: “America’s Favorite Pastime” by Todd Snider

In today's episode of Baseball related songs, we pay attention to America's Favorite Pastime performed by singer-song writerTodd Snider. For this song, Snider, who fought drug addiction several times, was inspired by Dock Ellis' 1970 no-hitter that he threw after he took LSD.   In June 1970, Pirate righty Dock Ellis threw nine innings of no-hit …

San Diego AA affiliate named Amarillo Sod Poodles

The AA Texas League franchise of the San Diego Padres presented its new name and logos, today. After a long search during a name-the-team contest, five names were picked. Of those five names, Sod Poodles prevailed.  Sod Poodle is a name for a prairie dog. The name was used by the pioneers that moved west …

Padres active on PDC front

As we reported earlier today that the Padres extended their PDC with the former San Antonio Missions, their A Advanced farm team, the Lake Elsinore Storm announced through Twitter both teams extended the PDC with two more years through the 2020 season. The Padres also extended the PDC with their A Short Season affiliate, the …

Twins and Blue Wahoos team up, Padres signs deal with Amarillo

Even though there is no official announcement yet, the website of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos shows the logo of the Minnesota Twins as its parent club. And with the San Diego Padres signing a deal with the new Amarillo Texas League franchise, the Twins and the Blue Wahoos are the only teams left in AA. …

Athletics sign two year PDC with Las Vegas

With a new ballpark for the upcoming season, Las Vegas (Summerlin to be exact) became a very attractive location for the Oakland A's to locate their AAA team. Las Vegas is much closer to home than Nashville. Last year it was announced that the New York Mets would leave Las Vegas as they had bought the …

Angels and Bees extend PDC

The Los Angeles Angels and their AAA minor league club, the Salt Lake Bees have extended their Player Development Contract. The new contract will run through the 2022 season. The new extension comes at a time that the current one was far from expired yet as it ends after the 2020 season. But apparently, the …

Padres may return to brown unis

Good news for those who always loved the brown/yellow seventies look of the San Diego Padres. The club's owner says research shows brown uniforms are most popular "but it's a minority" that think so, current look is next most; may switch to brown full-time in 2020. One of the club's executives, executive chairman Ron Fowler, stated …

Life as a minor leaguer

You may all know by now I am a big minor league fan. Always wondered what life in the minor league is like? I bumped into this Youtube channel by accident.  This is the channel of San Diego Padres farmhand River Stevens. IMO his clips show the life of a minor leaguer pretty accurate. River …

TinCaps extend PDC and have special promotion

The Fort Wayne TinCaps and the San Diego Padres have extended their Player Development Contract with two years. The new extension will stretch the affiliation between the two ball clubs to twenty-two years. The affiliation with the Padres dates back to 1999 when the team sported the Fort Wayne Wizards moniker. The history of the …

PDC/affiliation news

Yesterday, two minor league clubs announced the extension of the Player Development Contract (PDC) with their parent club. The El Paso Chihuahuas extended the PDC with the San Diego Padres and the Harrisburg Senators did so with the Washington Nationals. The San Diego Padres extended the contract through the 2020 season. A major reason for …

Ballparks around the world: Petco Park

In Ballparks around the world, it is time to pay attention to the final venue of the 2017 World Baseball Classic: Petco Park in San Diego, home of the San Diego Padres. This modern ballpark is situated right next to the famous Gaslamp Quarter. The construction of the ballpark started in 2000 and the ballpark …

Wednesday, El Paso Diablos day

The El Paso Chihuahuas, AAA Pacific Coast League affiliate of the San Diego Padres will have a special themed Wednesday during the 2017 season. The team will look back to the past of El Paso baseball and wear jerseys in accordance with the themed night. The Chihuahuas will wear complete El Paso Diablos uniforms, referring …

51s celebrate 35th anniversary

The 51s landed in Las Vegas 35 years ago. To celebrate the feat, the club has revealed a special anniversary logo which refers to the current moniker but also the previous one. AAA baseball landed in Las Vegas in 1983 when the AAA Spokane Indians moved to the city of light and became the affiliate …

D-Backs leave Mobile and look for greener pastures in Jackson

The Arizona Diamondbacks have announced that they have left the Mobile BayBears to look for new AA partner in the Southern League. During the last decade, the team was linked to the Mobile BayBears, but after ten years the club has decided to sign a player development contract with the Jackson Generals, who were the AA affiliate …

More holy PDC news

The San Diego Padres have been pretty active with signing PDC extensions this week. Not only did they extend the deal with their A Full Season affiliate, the Fort Wayne TinCaps, they also signed a new extension with the Lake Elsinore Storm, one of the eight remaining teams in the California League in 2017. The …

Holy PDC extension

More PDC news today from San Diego. The Padres extended their player development contract with their A Full Season farm team, the Fort Wayne TinCaps. The two clubs extended their cooperation for two more years through the 2018 season. TinCaps president Mike Nutter  led off the praising with the following words: “We’re truly thrilled to …

Rangers and Indians extend PDC

The Texas Rangers and the Spokane Indians (A Short Season, Northwest League) have extended their player development contract with two more years through the 2018 season. The cooperation between the two clubs started in 2003. Since the two clubs became partners the Indians have won three Northwest League titles. One in the inaugural year of …