Fish Stripes - 2021 Marlins minor league affiliates announcedCovering the Marlins every day in our own wayhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52814/Screen_Shot_2018-12-07_at_12.32.35_PM..png2021-01-12T17:00:04-05:00http://www.fishstripes.com/rss/stream/219299572021-01-12T17:00:04-05:002021-01-12T17:00:04-05:00Batavia Muckdogs join Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League
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<figcaption>@BataviaMuckdogs/Twitter</figcaption>
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<p>It had seemed inevitable for more than a year, but Tuesday’s announcement officially slams the door on their affiliation with the Marlins.</p> <p id="lhSxBq">The Batavia Muckdogs <a href="https://twitter.com/SamDykstraMiLB/status/1349098850141822977?s=20">announced</a> Tuesday that they will join the <a href="http://www.pgcbl.com/">Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League</a> for the 2021 season (h/t Sam Dykstra, MiLB.com). </p>
<p id="31coJn">As the name would suggest, the PGCBL operates using players who still have college eligibility remaining. This transition marks the end of <em>long</em> tradition of professional baseball in Batavia which dated back to the founding of the New York-Penn League (NY-P League) in 1939.</p>
<p id="HqahLE">For the seven most recent Minor League Baseball seasons (2013-2019), Marlins prospects played for the Muckdogs at the Short Season A level. The lower rungs of the Fish farm system were bereft of talent for most of that span, and especially after ownership change, the franchise was reluctant to assign early-round draft picks to play there. </p>
<p id="PFc6jO">With that in mind, the Muckdogs’ overall mediocrity was unsurprising.</p>
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<p id="nkxK9l">Dwyer Stadium attendance had been in steady decline, perennially drawing the smallest crowds of any NY-P League team. And Marlins players told Fish Stripes that the <a href="https://www.fishstripes.com/2018/5/22/17003298/batavia-muckdogs-2018-season-dwyer-stadium-upgrades-marlins-prospects-interviews">field conditions were unacceptable</a>.</p>
<p id="aHlJyI">But new general manager Brendan Kelly was just beginning to lead a Muckdogs resurgence. The team refreshed its approach to promotions and social media, invested in improvements to the outfield fences and seating areas and hired a talented young groundskeeper to maintain a safer and more aesthetically pleasing playing surface. Hence, the 48.6% average attendance boost from 2018 to 2019.</p>
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<cite>@Coach_Hellwig/Twitter</cite>
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<p id="8z8CNu">Alas, those steps did not curry enough favor with Major League Baseball to secure Batavia one of the 120 full-season affiliates available under the new Professional Baseball Agreement. In June, NY-P League president Ben Hayes said he was hopeful that Minor League Baseball’s restructuring could be delayed by a year to allow teams on the chopping block to celebrate an official “<a href="https://www.thebatavian.com/howard-b-owens/ny-penn-league-president-hopeful-the-muckdogs-will-take-the-field-at-dwyer-again">goodbye season</a>.” <a href="https://www.thebatavian.com/press-release/nypl-commissioners-makes-it-official-the-era-of-professional-baseball-in-batavia-has">That request was denied</a>.</p>
<p id="YUrwRF">Even if the Muckdogs had retained their MiLB status for 2021, odds are they would have partnered with a different MLB franchise. The restructuring sought to align as many affiliates as possible according to geography. Miami and Batavia, New York are separated by 1,400-plus miles.</p>
<p id="MnnfDJ">More than a dozen alumni of the 2013-2019 Muckdogs rosters have since reached the major leagues, including <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=anderbr06,anderbr03,anderbr02&search=Brian+Anderson&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Brian Anderson</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/germado01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Domingo Germán</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/willitr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Trevor Williams</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garcija04.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Jarlin García</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wallach01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Chad Wallach</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=deanau01,dean--001aus&search=Austin+Dean&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Austin Dean</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/riddljt01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">JT Riddle</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/richatr01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Trevor Richards</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/peterdi01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Dillon Peters</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kinlety01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Tyler Kinley</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mejiahu01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Humberto Mejía</a>. Other former Muckdogs—<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=cabrer004edw&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Edward Cabrera</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=encarn000yer&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Jerar Encarnación</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=nunez-000nas&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Nasim Nuñez</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=burdic000pey&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Peyton Burdick</a>, <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=robers000jos&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Josh Roberson</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lee---001dyl&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-">Dylan Lee</a>—are still highly regarded prospects who could soon be making their own Marlins debuts.</p>
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<cite>@BataviaMuckdogs/Twitter</cite>
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https://www.fishstripes.com/21560429/baseball-news-batavia-muckdogs-announcement-perfect-gameEly Sussman