Sapakoff: Winners and losers in the SC secondary league baseball shuffle | Minor leagues

Opening Day is almost here …

OK, so we’re still not sure when the Charleston RiverDogs or Columbia Fireflies or any of South Carolina’s five professional baseball teams will celebrate the season’s first opening ceremonial pitches that may include Bill Murray, Darius Rucker, someone wearing a green jacket amphibians from Ripley’s Aquarium.

That’s because the Major League Baseball, having canceled the entire minor league season of 2020 because of the coronavirus, has yet to release the 2021 minor league schedule.

ETA: Pre-Valentine’s Day.

But the smell of spring flowers and fried turkey legs from Riley Park is almost there. It is not too early to take stock of how the Major League Baseball has reshaped the minor league deck with a radical change out of the season for affiliations and leagues across the country.

Classifying how the five SC secondary league teams compare post-realignment:

Affiliations

1. Augusta GreenJackets (from San Francisco Giants to Atlanta Braves)

2. Greenville Drive (Boston Red Sox as before)

3. Pelicans from Myrtle Beach (Chicago Cubs as before)

4. Charleston RiverDogs (from New York Yankees to Tampa Bay Rays)

5. Columbia Fireflies (from New York Mets to Kansas City Royals)

The gap between number 1 and number 2 in this category is a canyon. The GreenJackets, who play at the three-year SRP Park next to the Savannah River in North Augusta, SC, have won the lot by closing a Braves deal between Braves fans at a time when the Braves are again contenders for the World Series .

“There is a buzz in this community that, with the exception of the new stadium, did not exist in my over 15 years with this franchise,” said GreenJackets President Jeff Eiseman.

In Columbia, Mets’ stuff can move better than Royals gear inside Fireflies Stadium’s gift shop, The Jar.

It is safe to say that the Charleston market includes more New York transplants than Rays fans. The Yankees’ connection also meant some legal rehabilitation assignments, including the great Alex Rodriguez and former College of Charleston star Brett Gardner.

Then again, the Rays during their first affiliation with Charleston (1997-2004) brought Wade Boggs, Fred McGriff and Jose Canseco to an exhibition game at Riley Park in 1999.

Yankees in Charleston? Only in the stands.

Prospect watching

Class-level changes or not:

1. Greenville Drive (from the Class A South Atlantic League to the newly formed Class A Middle Atlantic League)

2. (tie) Charleston RiverDogs, Columbia Fireflies and Augusta GreenJackets (all remain in the South Atlantic League)

5. Pelicans of Myrtle Beach (abandoned from the extinct Carolina High Class A League to the South Atlantic League)

There is a better chance of seeing the stars of the important league at each step on the secondary league ladder.

“We have a 16-year partnership with Red Sox,” said Greenville Drive general manager Eric Jarinko. “We are excited that this will continue into the 2021 season and beyond, now as a High-A affiliate.”

The talent gap, however, from Low A to High A is difficult for the casual fan to notice. The South Atlantic League featured stars like Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Bob Gibson, Dale Murphy and Chipper Jones.

Oh, and Tim Tebow.

Talent of the agricultural system

This is how mlb.com experts Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Mike Rosenbaum assessed the overall talent of the MLB agricultural system in September:

1. Rays (Yankees in No. 19)

10. Royals (Mets at No. 20)

15. Braves (giants at No. 13)

25. Red Sox

26. Puppies

Some points here: general classifications do not necessarily translate into Class A quality; things change with big negotiations and each MLB draft.

Also keep in mind that, although the best teams – Yankees and Braves, for example – have later choices, they can still carry international free agents who turn into Class A jewelry. For example, the recent ex-RiverDogs who became Yankees Luis Severino and Gary Sanchez.

City rivalries

1. Low A South Atlantic League

2. High A Mid-Atlantic League

Not only does the South Atlantic League add Myrtle Beach to a circuit of 12 teams, including Charleston, Columbia and Augusta, but it expects a new emphasis on regionalized programming, said RiverDogs President and General Manager Dave Echols.

Greenville’s shortest road trips in the 12-team Mid-Atlantic League are Asheville, Greensboro, Hickory, Winston-Salem and Rome.

“On the one hand, we are extremely excited about the start of the 2021 season,” said Jarinko. “On the other hand, it will be different to play in a league in which Columbia Fireflies, Charleston RiverDogs and Augusta GreenJackets are no longer our opponents.”

MLB rivalries

1. Before

2. now

The discussions between Yankees-Red Sox, Yankees-Mets, Mets-Red Sox among fans at the games in Charleston, Columbia and Greenville are gone.

Replaced by the hope of a World Series Braves-Rays.

Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

Total home and away matches completed or planned for each secondary league team by season:

1. 2019: 140

2. 2021: 132

3. 2020: Zero

Yes, four games at home less a year means not so many opportunities for stadium drinks, watching big league talent, pet maneuvers, hot dogs, stupid promotions, homers and sunsets.

But I hope that 2021 surpasses 2020 to have fun in baseball.

Follow Gene Sapakoff on Twitter @sapakoff