The best...and worst of the Minors
The Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, are a Minor League-best 24-7 in 2006. Forty-three miles north of Knights Stadium, the White Sox' Class A club, the Kannapolis Intimidators (6-26), have the worst record in Minor League Baseball.
"This is the youngest team by far that I've seen come through here," said Kannapolis general manager Tim Mueller.
Seventeen players on the Intimidators' Opening Day roster were new to the team and seven were 20 years old or younger.
Mueller, in his fifth year as GM, said the White Sox have been very supportive and several roving instructors have been in town to help the young Intimidators, including the base-running coach on Tuesday night.
"Columbus had a lefty on the mound [Brent Leach] with a nasty pickoff move and a couple of our guys got picked off first," said Mueller. "Next thing you know, here comes the base-running coach down from the press box and he starts talking to guys one at a time."
How can one Major League club have affiliates with both the best and worst records in Minor League Baseball? Easy -- it's called player development.
The goal is to prepare players for the Major Leagues, and if an affiliate wins a championship along the way, great. Rosters are constantly shuffled and rarely remain the same the entire season. The next year several players move up; a few return to the same club to begin the season; and some are released.
Fifteen players from the 2005 Kannapolis club are now at Winston-Salem, while a few jumped a level to Double-A Birmingham.
Eight months ago, the roles were reversed. Charlotte finished its 2005 season at 57-87, the third-worst winning percentage of all full-season clubs. Kannapolis, 74-59 overall, took the second half Southern Division title on its way to winning the 2005 South Atlantic League championship.
"We've done a better job of educating the public about player development and how Minor League Baseball works," said Mueller.
Apparently the message has reached the Kannapolis fan base. Despite losing 10 straight home games after winning their home opener, the Intimidators averaged nearly 200 more fans a game this April than they did last season. Mother Nature aided the bump in attendance as well.
"We were very fortunate," said Mueller. "It was an absolutely perfect April as far as the weather went."
It rained for the first time at a home game this past Sunday. Naturally, that was the day the Chicago White Sox World Series trophy was in town for fans to see.
"It has actually got to the point where it is somewhat humorous," said Mueller. "We got every break last year on our way to winning the league championship. This year every break has gone against us."
However, don't look for Mueller to do what some other Minor League Baseball executives have done in trying to change their luck. He's already refused to shave his head if Kannapolis starts to win.
"I like my hair too much," said Mueller.
Besides, the times they may be a changin'. Last night Kannapolis edged visiting Columbus, 3-2, for its third win this month, matching its April victory total. And 43 miles down the road, Charlotte fell to Indianapolis, ending the Knights 12-game winning streak.
Steve Densa is a contributor to MLB.com.