Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

Ask MiLB: Opening Day curiosities

Minor League fans have questions; we've got some answers
April 28, 2011
Baseball fans have a lot of questions about the Minor Leagues, its players and this website. We at MiLB.com attempt to answer some of those curiosities -- no promises, though.

Have a question? Shoot us an email at [email protected]

I was wondering if you have any plans to make MiLB.TV available on the PS3 like MLB.TV is currently. This works really well and would be great for your service. -- Patrice M.

That's probably unlikely to happen for this season -- streaming live games to gaming consoles requires HD video feeds from ballparks, so we'd need to work with clubs on that.

I was wondering if it would be possible to find out any information about team sales that occurred between 2009 and 2010 and what the teams sold for. -- Kyle B.

Minor League Baseball does not release any specifics regarding club sales, as that information is considered confidential. However, clubs are free to release any figures related to their operation at their discretion.

I lost track of Pete LaCock after he left Schaumburg (Ill.). I heard he had gone back to the Tucson Toros, but they are not playing this year. Would you know where he can be found? -- Larry T.

Mr. LaCock and the Tucson Toros are not affiliated with Minor League Baseball. The Toros are an independent league team, so we don't have any information on them.

This is more of a suggestion than a question. I would love to see Minor League transactions on here. Another website does it on a weekly basis but I don't feel they get them all. -- Tammy R.

Do you have a link that I can follow all the Minor League Transactions? -- Bob S.

We do list transactions by league, and we have plans to upgrade that feature in the near-term.

How can I check players in the Angels' farm system, team assigned, etc.? Jim

Search for the player by his last name from the MiLB.com home page, his player bio page will display what team he's assigned to. You can also go to each Angels' affiliate and click on their roster or stats pages.

Or, to get to each affiliate's roster -- abbreviated during the offseason -- select the TEAMS pull-down menu at the right of the masthead, then under "Find teams by:" choose the "MLB Affiliation" option to get a list of Minor League teams for each MLB organization, including the Angels. Follow those links to access the current Roster information.

Marty McLeary ended the year with the Nashville Sounds, where is he? -- Tom A.

He's a free agent.

Hello, I have a quick question. Can you tell me if Minor League Baseball games are broadcast on television? If so, can you tell me where they are carried? A cable network, satellite company, or national and/or local television? -- Marlene S.

Yes, some games are broadcast locally on TV -- those feeds are also typically available via MiLB.TV, our online video streaming service that lets you watch select games online. Occasionally there are games on MLB Network. Each team, if they have a TV deal, has its own agreement with a local cable company regarding games being televised.

Where are the ballparks located? Is there a list somewhere with their locations, in particular for teams in the Rookie-level leagues, especially the AZL? -- Marilyn S.

The GCL and Arizona League teams play their games at the Spring Training facilities of their MLB club. Here's a link to the Arizona League club locations.

I hope you're doing well. My great grandpa played baseball for The Denver Bears back in the early 1900's. I found your article on the team, loved it, and wondered if there is a way to find a roster for the teams? I would LOVE to do something with it for my grandpa. My great grandpa's name was Archie Boyce if that helps at all. -- Michele M.

We don't have rosters for that team -- a good place to look would be a library in Denver that might have some old stories or box scores from that era.

Can you tell [me] what has happened to Angel Villanova? -- Al S.

Do you mean Angel Villalona, the former Giants Minor Leaguer? Not sure who Angel Villanova is, you'll need to be more specific. Villalona was arrested in 2009; he has not played since.

Do you have a current listing of Canadian-born players who are currently active in the Minor Leagues ,or could you suggest a website that might provide that information? -- Robert D.

We don't have that data currently available on MiLB.com. You can check out this site, and there's also a list on Wikipedia.

Hey, my name is Rob Cerda, and I am a current baseball player and I was wondering if you could help with my wanting to get noticed. I currently play baseball and it has been real hard when it comes to getting recognition. -- Rob C.

If you're looking to latch on with a Major League organization, your best bet is to attend some open tryouts or contact a sports management company or sports agent who can help facilitate the process of signing or meeting with a club -- we're a website, we cover the Minors, we don't have any input on who gets signed or drafted. There are thousands of aspiring players out there in your place. If you have a high school or college coach, they would be another person to speak with about taking the next step in your career. Open tryout dates are listed here.

I am 13 years old and a big fan of baseball. If it is possible, could you send me some postcard-sized player pictures as I want to write players for their autographs. -- Randy R.

We don't have any postcards, to be honest. You might want to check out this site for officially licensed prints.

Are the players paid for 12 months, or are they paid only for the season, and how long is that? -- Beverly E.

Minor League players are not paid in the offseason. Most players' seasons end in September. However, some players are invited to participate in their organization's instructional ball camp, or the Arizona Fall League, after the regular season ends. These players get paid until their respective camp or league ends.

I am considering purchasing tickets for the Sugar Land Skeeters. Their official web page indicates they are a Minor League team. However, I am unable to find any affiliation with the Minor Leagues. I am finding they are part of the Atlantic League? How can they state Minor League at the top of their web page? --Diana M.

We've received several emails regarding the deceptive marketing of this independent league club -- they are not affiliated with Minor League Baseball in any way. Check out the Texas League for legit Minor League action.

My name is Shawn. I was wondering if you offered fan packs? -- Shawn C.

MiLB.com and Minor League Baseball does not offer fan packs from our offices, although some of our clubs do. Club contact information is available on their respective websites.

I'm looking for the mission/vision statement of Minor League Baseball. In particular, the Jackson Generals. -- Jennifer J.

You'll want to contact Jackson, in that case. Each club is responsible for its own mission/vision statement.

On MiLB.com, the EVENTS and OFFICIAL INFO pull-down menus provide links to a great deal of information about Minor League Baseball, including many off-the-field activities it is involved with.

One of our prospects got some big game action. It was pretty cool. -- Paul J.

That's typically what happens during Spring Training, yes.

Dumb question, but can you name some peanut companies dealing with MiLB? -- Dave W.

No such thing as a dumb question. The Minor League office does not have any relationships with peanut vendors. Here's a link to the 2010 Baseball Trade Show exhibitors' list, which contains food and beverage companies.

If you know of a peanut company interested in sponsoring MiLB.com, you can find more information here.

I am interested in purchasing MiLB.TV, but I had a question. Is there a schedule of upcoming games that will be shown? -- Travis R.

Yes, go to MiLB.TV and click the "Open Schedule" link to view each day's schedule for the remainder of the season. We hope to continue adding more clubs to the service this season and in the future.

I would appreciate it if you would please provide information on how to access my bookmarks. -- Randy S.

We got about 347 emails about bookmarks, and we're glad you're using the feature. You can find a link to them on the bottom of MiLB.com, click on Keep track of top prospects with Player Bookmarks. It's also available in the "Fans" menu in the top navigation.

Just wanted to know if you have 2011 pocket schedules for any of your baseball leagues. -- Clovis L.

Sorry, we don't. At least none of the leagues mailed us any. Feel free to contact the leagues you're interested in. If any leagues have them, I'm sure they'll be happy to send you one.

With the MLB 2011 At Bat app being one of the best selling and highest rated iPhone and iPad apps, I would love to see a tie in with MiLB. -- Jeff V.

An MiLB.com mobile app is currently being created. We hope to launch it sometime this season. It will likely offer MiLB.TV video streaming, but beyond that, we're not totally sure on the details of it yet.

I am trying to sign up to receive radio broadcasts of Minor League games, and it won't accept the e-mail address and password I have been using for two years. -- Bob P.

Bob, you don't need to login or sign up for anything to listen to Gameday audio broadcasts -- they are free.

Do you end up broadcasting [on MiLB.TV] the national anthem at the beginning of the games and the seventh-inning stretch activities during the game? Or are those edited out? -- Stacy N.

We (the MiLB.com editorial staff) don't control the cameras or the editing of the live games -- they're the live feeds from local TV stations or the team that is broadcasting the game, so it's basically up to their discretion whether they'll televise the anthem and that kind of stuff.

Will there be BTS (Beat the Streak) for 2011? -- Mike S.

Yes, sir.

Hi! I was wondering if there are iCal versions of the Minor League schedules available? I follow the Iowa Cubs and it would be great to easily import the dates into my calendar. -- Mike E.

We don't, but that would be a fine question to ask the Iowa Cubs.

Is there a way to find MiLB teams by geographic locale? I like going to Minor League games when I'm traveling for other reasons. Can teams by found by searching by zip codes? --Rob C.

Yes, click on "Geography" under the teams link on MiLB.com. You can also find an interactive map on the tickets landing page.

Are all Double-A games available to be watched? -- Robert P.

Currently, you can watch Texas League games from Double-A Corpus Christi on MiLB.TV -- we hope to add additional clubs in 2012 and beyond.

Can you give me any information on trying out for walk-ons for MLB without college ball.

Playing college baseball is not a requirement for trying out. Tryout camps are open for all players at least 16 years of age. There is no fee. Registration will be done 30 minutes prior to start of camp. All players must bring their own equipment. Here is a link to tryout camp information.

Why isn't the Mexican Baseball League in your radio list? --Manuel R.

We don't have any online links for Mexican League game live audio broadcasts, so that's why they're not listed. This page on the Mexican League site lists radio stations and broadcast info.

Can I still hear radio broadcasts at MiLB.com? -- Aaron R.

Yes.

I have a request for the MiLB.com website. Is there a way that you can make the game Recap and Box Score printer friendly? -- John S.

We're looking into adding that functionality, but it is not currently available.

I was wondering what the status was of Nolan Gallagher, the right-handed pitching prospect in the Seattle Mariners organization? -- Stacy B.

He's likely in extended spring training, although that's just a guess.

My fiance and I just started our own online dog clothing website. We contacted our local Minor League team, the Hudson Valley Renegades, to see if we could sell their apparel on our site. However, they and we can only sell licensed MiLB apparel. We would be very appreciative of hearing back from you on this. -- Linda M.

Sounds cool, dogs dressed up for the game. You can refer to our licensing page for more info.

I know that the Major League rule is that there is a designated hitter in American League games and not in the National League. When AL plays NL in an Interleague or World Series game, the DH or no-DH option follows the home park. In MiLB, how does this work? Does it go by Major League affiliates of the Minor League teams or by something more mysterious? --Yehoshua F.

Pitchers only bat at the Double-A and Triple-A levels. You can find rules regarding when there is a designated hitter in Minor League Baseball games on our FAQs page.

Either give me the option of opening box scores and Gamedays in another tab or window, or stop popping up ads every time I go back to the main MiLB.com web page. It's driving me CRAZY trying to check box scores at night and is unnecessary. -- Dennis T.

You can, in fact, open up box scores and Gameday boxes in separate tabs, just right-click on the "Box" or "Gameday" links under a linescore and select "Open in new tab/window."

When will Minor League stats for 2011 be online? -- Duane W.

Hello. Where are the batting stats? Regards. -- Art

Stats have been available since Opening Day. Click on the STATS pull-down menu on the left side of the masthead.

When will Arizona League stats be updated? I see no 2011 stats for the Dodgers AZL team. -- Duane W.

The Arizona League doesn't begin play until June 20.

Could you please alert the announcer "Richie" on the Norfolk-Gwinnett game that he leaves his mike on at all times. We hear him talking to his engineer, yawning, etc., between innings. -- Sallie L.

"Richie," if you're reading this, consider yourself alerted.

My question is, will you be adding anything on to your site that would make it easy to find prospects who are in the top 150 or so, and follow which teams they are playing with as they move around in the Minors? I think more people would go to Minor League games if they knew they'd be seeing the most talented future Major League players. -- Post

Yeah, you've pretty much just described the function of MiLB.com. We've been informing fans of notable prospects and rehabs, etc., for a while now. Click here for a list of Top 50 Prospects.

I recently went on to your website to check out the current stats for Francisco Peguero, and there are none. Is he on the disabled list? Please inform me on what is currently going on with this highly valued prospect. -- Robert S.

Peguero is in extended spring training.

Dear Minor League historians, Do you have any info on a player named Cecil Gill Smith who would have played sometime right before World War I? -- Sara S.

We don't, sorry. We haven't actually got any historians on staff. Some of the individual leagues do. And, while the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is primarily devoted to Major League players, they might also have some information about Cecil, or be able to suggest research sources.

I was wondering who I would need to contact about finding out if The Owens Outlook, which is the Owens Community College newspaper, would be able to get press passes. --Josh W.

Clubs issue press passes at their discretion, so you should contact the club directly to see if they would issue them to your paper.

Hola amigos de Milb, revisan un cordial saludo desde Barranquilla, Colombia. el presente correo es para pedirles si era posible, que me enviaran las medidas oficiales de un campo de béisbol para niños de categoría infantil (de 11 a 13 años) estamos gestionando en nuestra comunidad un campo de béisbol menor y queremos conocer las medidas oficiales para la construcción del mismo. les agradezco toda su colaboración, muchas bendiciones. --Jose Luis Barraza

According to Google Translate (we can't read Spanish very well), you're asking about the size of playing fields? It sounds like what you really needs is the Little League dimension, which is 200 feet minimum. According to Official Baseball Playing Rule 1.04, a distance of 320 or more down the lines and 400 or more in center is preferred for MiLB and MLB parks.

How much do you think it would cost to start a Minor League Baseball team? -- Jake

A city or group cannot start a Minor League Baseball club. Since there are no plans for Major League expansion at this time, there are no plans for Minor League expansion. The only way for a person, or group, to own a Minor League Baseball club currently is to buy an existing one. Minor League Baseball clubs are worth anywhere from $3-$25 million, based on several variables.

Have a question? Shoot us an email at [email protected] or leave a comment below, and please be as specific as possible so that we can accurately respond to your inquiry.