Mets Triple-A affiliate coming to Syracuse in 2019!

[Benjamin Grimm]

New York Mets will buy Syracuse Chiefs, bring its Triple-A team to Syracuse

The New York Mets have reached an agreement to buy the Syracuse Chiefs and make the International League baseball team its top minor league affiliate, according to two sources briefed about the deal. Under terms of the agreement, the Mets will acquire ownership of the Triple-A Chiefs from the Community Baseball Club of Central New York Inc., and continue to play its games at NBT Bank Stadium starting in 2019, the sources said. The Mets would own and operate the Syracuse Chiefs, the sources said, bringing in the resources necessary to build a franchise that struggled in recent years with its finances.

The Mets have tried since 2009 to consolidate their minor leagues team in New York state and promote their brand statewide. The team's Double-A affiliate is the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. The Mets also briefly had their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo at the start of the decade, but did not own and operate the team.

[Ceetar]

Boom.

[Centerfield]

Wow! Terrific news!

[Fman99]

.



[bigpurple:thfbkfwc]WHOA[/bigpurple:thfbkfwc]

[Benjamin Grimm]

I figured Fman would be happiest of anyone about this.

[Benjamin Grimm]

What's especially nice is, since the Mets will own the team, they won't have to play that game of musical chairs every two years. They can settle in at Syracuse for the long term.

Now, hopefully, the Nationals will end up getting shunted to the Pacific Coast League.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Cool, we have family there we're feuding with so I won't have see them
when we go on a road trip.

[Edgy MD]

Just fantastoricially fantastic news.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

ROAD TRIP!

[Benjamin Grimm]

So... does this mean that in 2018, the Mets will own the Nationals' affiliate? Or will they have to wait until after the season to officially close the deal?

[Edgy MD]

That's a worthy angle.

[seawolf17]

I hope we keep the Binghamton connection too.

[Frayed Knot]

The Wilpons looked into trying to buy the Syracuse affiliate back in whatever year it was they first moved to Buffalo.
IIRC, they were deciding between Buffalo & Syracuse at the time. They wound up choosing Buffalo because they preferred their stadium and would have only moved to Syracuse if they could buy the team,
but either it wasn't for sale or they couldn't strike the right deal. Then the whole Madoff thing hit and spare cash for buying assets wasn't exactly lying around at that point.
That they're in a buying mode now I suppose says at least some things are looking up on the financial side of things.
Hey, maybe that's all the saved money from the Granderson/Bruce/Walker/Reed trades being put to use. Fuck you Yanquis and your unwillingness to pick up contracts!!!

So... does this mean that in 2018, the Mets will own the Nationals' affiliate? Or will they have to wait until after the season to officially close the deal?

Not sure how that'll all be handled.
Minor league agreements are for two year increments (or in multiples of two) so you'd think that means the AAA Nats are there for next season. And of course the Nats would still control the players
even if the new owners who are running the stadium, ticket sales, promotions, etc. just happen to be part of the enemy.


The Braves are the only team I know of who currently own their AAA team. There may be one or two others but usually it's at the lower levels where you find the parent club as the owner.
The 'Pons own or partially own the teams in Brooklyn, PSL, and lower level GCL and Kingston (Appy Lg) clubs; not AA Binghamton or low-A Columbia

[ashie62]

Fman hit the lottery.

[Edgy MD]

Point of clarification. Is this the Mets buying the team, or the Wilpons/Sterling?

[Fman99]

We should have CPF "Bush League" night sometime in 2019, here in the 'Cuse. I know this park inside out; I'd be happy to host.

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: Point of clarification. Is this the Mets buying the team, or the Wilpons/Sterling?

Is there a meaningful distinction?

[Edgy MD]

I think so. I think their creditors think so.

[Guest cooby]

Fman99 wrote: We should have CPF "Bush League" night sometime in 2019, here in the 'Cuse. I know this park inside out; I'd be happy to host.

I'm in!

[MFS62]

Great news. The radio in my latest vehicle can't get the Buffalo station (1520 AM) that used to carry their games.
My ride home late at night on Rte 684 was perfect signal skip distance to pick up that station.
Later

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

Can we bring back the SkyChiefs name, I always thought that was cool?

[RealityChuck]

Now there will be two Mets farm clubs within two hours of me. Not that I'm likely to go, but who knows?

[batmagadanleadoff]

The Mets have come full circle. Their original 1962 AAA affiliate was also in Syracuse.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Mets Willets Point wrote: Can we bring back the SkyChiefs name, I always thought that was cool?

If we use Binghamton as an example, they'll probably change the team's name to something stupid, like "Pocket Jockeys" or "Fancy Boys".

I don't really know anything about Syracuse, so I looked at its Wikipedia page:

Jesuit missionaries visiting the Syracuse region in the mid 1600s reported salty brine springs around the southern end of "Salt Lake", known today as Onondaga Lake. The 1788 Treaty of Fort Stanwix, and the subsequent designation of the area by the state of New York as the Onondaga Salt Springs Reservation provided the basis for commercial salt production from the late 1700s through the early 1900s; brine from wells that tapped into halite (common salt) beds in the Salina shale near Tully, New York, 15 miles south of the city were developed in the 19th century.[4][5] It is the north flowing brine from Tully that is the source of salt for the "salty springs" found along the shoreline of Onondaga lake. The rapid development of this industry in the 18th and 19th centuries led to the nicknaming of Syracuse as "The Salt City". In 1847, the city was officially named after Syracuse, Sicily, which at the time was also famous for its salt mining industry.

If "Chiefs" is determined to be politically incorrect, maybe they can give the team a salt-related name. Like the "Salty Parkers", perhaps.

[Edgy MD]

It'd be nice to choose a name that is majestic and Hellenic, as ancient Syracuse was celebrated in its time as perhaps the greatest and loveliest city of ancient Greece. It is also the birthplace of (Metly coincidence) St. Lucy, who is patroness of the city.

[MFS62]

Edgy MD wrote: It'd be nice to choose a name that is majestic and Hellenic, as ancient Syracuse was celebrated in its time as perhaps the greatest and loveliest city of ancient Greece. It is also the birthplace of (Metly coincidence) St. Lucy, who is patroness of the city.

The Syracuse Togas?
Later

[Edgy MD]

Not particularly majestic.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The Syracuse Orange 'n Blue Men.

[Frayed Knot]

According to Wikipedia (so you know it's true) the Syracuse Chiefs has existed in some form since 1934, starting as a AA team (1934-1945), for two seasons as a Single A team (1956-1957), and the
remainder at the AAA level (1946-55; 1961-present) which leaves only 1958-60 unaccounted for.

The name has been Chiefs since 1934 except for their fling with Sky Chiefs from 1997-2006. No reason is given for either the switch or the switch back.
But given both the trend towards the corporatized double names for minor league squads these days* and the Wilpon's penchant for latching onto already well-worn trends, a name/logo/mascot
"re-branding" certainly wouldn't come as a surprise.




Recent changes, most of them courtesy of 'Brandiose', the California based rebranding company.
New Orleans Baby Cakes - formerly Zephyrs
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp - formerly Suns
Down East Wood Ducks - name changed after relocation
Florida Fire Frogs - cuz who doesn't like a frog on fire
Hartford Yard Goats
etc.

[Benjamin Grimm]

How about the "Majestic Helens"?