Minor League Notebook
Minors still a major bargain for fans and families
Posted: Thursday June 11, 1998 09:03 PM
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Come back: Pulsipher, who pitched with the Mets in 1995, is 7-3 with a 3.71 ERA in 12 starts this season with the Norfolk Tides
(Stephen Dunn/Allsport) |
By Scott Silverstein, Sportsticker NEW YORK (CNN/SI) -- It has
long been accepted that minor league baseball is not only a great form of
family entertainment, but extremely affordable. Recently, the National
Association of Professional Baseball Leagues wanted to find out just how
true that is. So the NAPBL, the governing body of the minor
leagues, polled 158 teams in the United States and Canada to find out what
a trip to the ballpark costs. And while major league prices climb even as
teams dump salaries, prices in the minors have remained relatively stable
for two decades. The numbers are even more staggering than one
might imagine as 90 percent of the Class AAA and Class AA teams have adult
tickets for $6 or less and 95 percent of Class A teams have tickets for $5
or less. And just about every team has reduced prices for children.
Meanwhile, if one hopes to take in a game involving the Oakland Athletics,
Arizona
Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins or Florida Marlins, four
of the losingest teams in baseball, they will pay on average of $13.60 per
ticket. The 1998 average for a family of four to attend a major
league game is $115, with the New York Yankees
($149) the most expensive and the Cincinnati Reds ($90) the
cheapest. Using the same standards, it would cost the same family
approximately $70 to attend a game in Class AAA. And don't forget,
minor league baseball offers such attractions as dizzy-bat races, numerous
program giveaways and personable players. ... Bill coming
due? Norfolk Tides left-hander Bill
Pulsipher is making a serious pitch for a return to the major leagues.
The only problem is, the parent New York Mets do not
appear to have room for him. Pulsipher, who is working his way back
to the majors after an elbow injury sidelined him for the 1996 season and a
portion of 1997, was named the International League (AAA) Pitcher of the
Week after winning both his starts last week. He allowed three earned runs
in 15 innings for a 1.80 ERA, including an eight-strikeout performance in a
complete-game victory over Buffalo on Sunday. Pulsipher, who went
5-7 with a 3.98 ERA for the Mets in 1995, is 7-3 with a 3.71 ERA in 12
starts this season. But with New York's recent trade for Hideo Nomo, the
Mets have added quality to a team with baseball's best ERA. It will be
interesting to see if Pulsipher is used as trade bait as the Mets battle
for a wild card... Relief in sight Since its inception in
1989, no player has won the National Association Rolaids Relief Man award,
given to the top reliever in all of minor league baseball, more than once.
But Jay Tessmer of the Norwich Navigators (Yankees), the 1996 champion, is
attempting to become the first. Tessmer is 2-0 with 17 saves and
leads the Eastern League (AA) and is fifth overall with 55 points. He
trails first-place Brett Black of the Piedmont Boll Weevils (South Atlantic
League/A) by just seven points. Tessmer, who struggled last season
with a 5.31 ERA, has recaptured the form that saw him go 12-4 with a 1.48
ERA and 35 saves for Class A Tampa in 1996. The sidearming right-hander has
allowed just one earned run in 26 1-3 innings with 30 strikeouts this
season. Mark Eichorn, an 11-year major league veteran who appeared
in two World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays,
leads the Rolaids Relief Man race in the International League. The
right-handed Eichorn, who appeared in 563 games dating back to 1982, has a
4-0 record and nine saves for the Durham Bulls, a Devil Rays affiliate.
Eichorn has a 48-43 career record with 32 saves and a 3.00 ERA in
the majors. His best season came in 1986 when he was 14-6 with 10 saves and
a 1.72 ERA for the Blue Jays. He led the American-League with 89
appearances the next season. ... O’s may be seeing Bennett
The journey to the “bigs” has been a long one for Rochester Red Wings
(Orioles) right-hander Joel Bennett. With four Baltimore pitchers on the
disabled list, including starters Jimmy Key and Scott
Kamieniecki, one more injury could land Bennett in the majors for the
first time in an eight-year minor league career. Bennett is 7-0 for
the first time in his career that started in 1991. A breaking ball
specialist, Bennett is believed to be the active career minor league leader
with 1,012 strikeouts. Bennett pitched in the Independent Northeast
League in 1996 with the Newburgh Nighthawks and went 6-0 with a 0.79 ERA in
just under half a season. He posted the only no-hitter in league history
when he blanked the Adirondack Lumberjacks on July 10, 1996. In
1997, Bennett led Bowie and was third in the Eastern League (AA) with 146
strikeouts, the second best mark in Baysox history behind Jimmy Haynes
177 in 1994. He was second to Nerio
Rodriguez (160) among all Orioles minor leaguers.
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