Not again.
And certainly not the Chattanooga Lookouts. It was one thing for our town to lose Spring Fling. And the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball tournament. And the NCAA Division I-AA (FCS) football national championship game. And the U.S. Cycling Championships. And the Gold Cup golf tournament. (OK, never mind the Gold Cup).
But hearing late Sunday evening that Major League Baseball in all its infinite selfishness and greed intends to strip the Scenic City of its ageless minor league baseball franchise is undoubtedly the cruelest cut yet, assuming it happens.
In case you missed it, both Baseball America and the New York Times reported that MLB is proposing that the nation’s minor leagues be reduced from 160 teams to 120 by the start of the 2021 season.
MLB deputy commissioner Dan Halem told Baseball America, “From the perspective of MLB clubs, our principal goals are upgrading the minor league facilities that we believe have inadequate standards for MLB players.”