Menendez, Bipartisan Group of Senators Urge MLB to Reconsider MiLB Contraction

MLB has proposed eliminating or demoting 42 teams

NJ home to two MLB-affiliated teams: AA Trenton Thunder, A Lakewood Blueclaws

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez today joined a bipartisan group of senators including Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) to introduce a resolution supporting Minor League Baseball (MiLB) and their efforts to fight Major League Baseball’s (MLB) proposed elimination or demotion of 42 MiLB clubs.  New Jersey is home to two MiLB teams: the Trenton Thunder (Class AA Yankees) and Lakewood Blueclaws (Class A Phillies), though neither has appeared on any reported lists of teams slated for contraction.

“New Jersey has a rich and celebrated history with America’s pastime beginning with Hoboken’s Elysian Fields serving as the Birthplace of Baseball.  Storied franchises like the Newark Bears and Eagles, legends of the game like Yogi Berra and Larry Doby and more modern greats like Mike Trout and Todd Frazier all called New Jersey home,” said Sen. Menendez.  “Our minor league teams continue to entertain families, inspire young people and contribute to the local economy.  For the sake of their fans, players and employees, I join my Senate colleagues in encouraging Major League Baseball to recognize the indispensable role their affiliates play in our communities and to reconsider its plans to eliminate or demote any minor league teams.”

The resolution calls on the U.S. Senate to:

·       Support the preservation of Minor League Baseball clubs in 160 communities across the United States;

·       Recognizes the unique social, economic, and historical contributions that Minor League Baseball has made to the lives and culture of the people of the United States; and

·       Encourages the continuation in 160 communities across the United States of the 117-year foundation of Minor League Baseball through the continued affiliation of the Minor League Baseball clubs in those communities with Major League Baseball.

The resolution is cosponsored by Sens. Menendez, Blumenthal, Capito, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).

The full text of the letter of the resolution is below:

Whereas, each season for 15 consecutive years, more than 40,000,000 fans have attended a Minor League Baseball game;

Whereas Minor League Baseball provides wholesome, affordable entertainment in 160 communities throughout the United States;

Whereas, in 2018, Minor League Baseball clubs—

(1)  donated more than $45,000,000 in cash and in-kind gifts to the communities in which those clubs were located; and

(2)  completed more than 15,000 volunteer hours;

Whereas the economic stimulus and development provided by Minor League Baseball clubs extends beyond the cities and towns where Minor League Baseball games are played to a wide range of diverse geographic areas in which 80 percent of the people of the United States are located;

Whereas Minor League Baseball is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion through—

(1)  the Copa de la Diversio1n initiative;

(2)  the MiLB Pride initiative;

(3)  the Fostering Inclusion through Education and Leadership Development Program (commonly known as the “FIELD Program”); and

(4)  the Women in Baseball Leadership initiative;

Whereas Minor League Baseball is the first touchpoint with the “national pastime” for millions of youth, and the only touchpoint for youth located in communities far from cities in which Major League Baseball clubs are located;

Whereas Congress has enacted numerous statutory exemptions and immunities to preserve and sustain—

(1)  a system for Minor League Baseball; and

(2)  the relationship between Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball;

Whereas the proposed abandonment of 42 Minor League Baseball clubs by Major League Baseball would devastate communities, bond purchasers, and other stakeholders that rely on the economic stimulus that those Minor League Baseball clubs provide;

Whereas Minor League Baseball facilities not only house the affiliated team, but also serve as venues for community events and other sporting competitions;

Whereas Minor League Baseball clubs enrich the lives of millions of people in the United States each year through economic, social, cultural, and charitable contributions; and

Whereas the preservation of Minor League Baseball clubs in 160 communities across the United States is in the public interest, as those clubs will continue to provide affordable, family-friendly entertainment to those communities: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1)  supports the preservation of Minor League Baseball clubs in 160 communities across the United States;

(2)  recognizes the unique social, economic, and historical contributions that Minor League Baseball has made to the lives and culture of the people of the United States; and

(3)  encourages the continuation in 160 communities across the United States of the 117-year foundation of Minor League Baseball through the continued affiliation of the Minor League Baseball clubs in those communities with Major League Baseball.