What's a Blue Wahoo? Might Want to Find Out

[MN_ExPat]

Haven't seen an official news release yet, but just looked at the Wahoos MiLB website and it shows Twins AA affiliate on the main page.

[caninatl04]

Last week, in a discussion on minor league prospects, I enthusiastically predicted

 

"Lookouts 2019 AA Champions"

 

When man plans....

[nowheresville]

 

I'm curious, from a business standpoint, which prospective partner has the most leverage when it's down to just one MLB team and one MiLB team. I'm not even sure what recourse they each have, if the relationship starts out on an unhappy note - the other 29 teams respectively all have signed contracts for the upcoming season.

 

Neither partner really has any leverage in that situation, and the recourse is to sign a 2 year deal and to try again for a better partner during the next dance. Generally speaking, the milb team that's last to pair up is the team in the least desirable location with the worst facilities, so they're probably going to be cycling through teams more often.

 

In this case, it seems clear Pensacola was the first choice, and Amarillo was the last choice. When the Reds felt like they weren't going to get to stay with the Wahoos, they jumped on the Lookouts to avoid being stuck in the Texas League. I'm guessing the only reason we haven't seen an official announcement from Pensacola yet is because the Twins might be working on a 4 year deal, rather than just 2 years.

 

The better example might be in AAA this year. The final 2 spots were Nashville and Fresno, and when Nashville picked Texas over Washington, the Nationals were left with no choice but to sign a 2 year deal with Fresno. You can be sure than 2 years from now that Washington will be trying hard to get a AAA team that isn't on the opposite side of the country. Of course, Washington had been in Syracuse prior to this year, and the Mets, who had been stuck in Vegas, were so desperate to get a team back out east that they actually bought the Syracuse team to guarantee themselves a spot closer to home.

[ashbury]

I seem to have "Jacksonville" in my post, where I meant "Pensacola". Clearly spell-correct was the culprit here!

[nowheresville]

The Official News Release: https://www.milb.com/pensacola/news/blue-wahoos-announce-new-affiliation-partnership-with-minnesota-twins/c-296809140

 

The interesting tidbits: it's only a 2 year agreement, I would have guessed 4 - although with the larger change in the MLB/MiLB agreement coming in 2020, it's not a shock. 

 

Also, they did say the reader poll was a factor in the decision (although the fact that the Twins took 75% of the vote does make it easy to say that after the fact).

[Guest]

 

The Official News Release: https://www.milb.com/pensacola/news/blue-wahoos-announce-new-affiliation-partnership-with-minnesota-twins/c-296809140

 

The interesting tidbits: it's only a 2 year agreement, I would have guessed 4 - although with the larger change in the MLB/MiLB agreement coming in 2020, it's not a shock. 

 

Also, they did say the reader poll was a factor in the decision (although the fact that the Twins took 75% of the vote does make it easy to say that after the fact).

Suppose they'll figure out that most of the votes for the Twins were from TwinsDaily readers? 

 

It would be interesting to know whether one side or the other wanted to limit the deal to just 2 years. Certainly could be that someone is looking at this as a "trial period" of some sort. Or maybe the Twins want to step back and see if a broader re-arrangement of their affiliates makes sense. Cedar Rapids and Rochester both expire after 2020, as well.

 

Regardless, give Bill Vilona (@billvilonaPNJ) a follow on Twitter. He's the local beat reporter for the Pensacola News Journal who covers the Blue Wahoos.

[ashbury]

I'll let it go, after copying from the press release: "This is a rare time when there are no losers." Having spent significant time in marketing organizations.... I have nothing left to say.

 

Looking forward to making up an excuse to visit JacksoPensacola for a baseball roadtrip some season real soon! And I'm hoping that both organizations look back on this somewhat awkward courtship as leading to a really good and long-lasting relationship.

[lamiwe21]

Wahoos did a good job keeping us season ticket holders aware of everything but I imagine the amount of backlash they received over this change was surprising to them. I am happy.I cant wait to share some stories about Kohl Stewart with all of you. 

[etwinsfan]

Ugh!!! Now that all the other levels are confirmed, now they got to get Elizabethton locked in. Guess we will see what happens.

[jamisea]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a Pensacola resident, a Blue Wahoos fan and my husband and I are a host family for the players! (I am also the volunteer coordinator for the host family program). We've been hosting players for the past 3 seasons and are going to continue next season too. Usually we have anywhere from 2-4 players at our house, and as they rotate through the season, by the end we've had as many as 7-8 players per season. Mostly we have hosted international players, as we live closer to the stadium and know these guys usually don't have a car so they drive my "beater."

While, we are sad to see our Reds "sons" leave, we are thrilled to have the Twins come in. I'll be following the forum over the offseason so I can get to know who's who in the Twins organization.

Pensacola is a great place to visit and our waterfront stadium, (which was built in 2012) and the Blue Wahoos staff are top-notch. The view is beautiful, the breezes are usually good and it's a great place to visit for some baseball.

Weather, usually a pop-up thunderstorm can cause delays of games at times, but last season we only had one game cancelled due to rain.

 

The heat: Yes, July/August tend to be warm. BUT our games are at 6:35 CST and by that time it's usually cooled off. 

Ft. Myers is a 10 hour drive from Pensacola. But we can finally go see some Spring Training games! The Reds ST was in AZ and that was just not going to happen for us.

 

So hello to all the Twins fans and welcome to Pensacola!

 

If you have any questions, shoot me a message.

WAHOOOOO!

Jami Sanderson

Here's a photo of the stadium:

 

 

[ashbury]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm a Pensacola resident, a Blue Wahoos fan and my husband and I are a host family for the players! (I am also the volunteer coordinator for the host family program).

Welcome to the site! I hope we see a lot of good insights from you as we go forward in this new affiliation.

 

A few years ago, we got occasional posts from a woman who had hosted players for another affiliate (Ft Myers I believe). "Madre Dos" had some fun observations about Miguel Sano, for example, and she really enjoyed him. It'll be great to get your views.

[jamisea]

Oh I’ll chime in. Just realize I do not know much about the actual GAME! I hear stats & my brain malfunctions!

 

You’ll be glad to know our video feed is superior to the other teams and Tommy Thrall, our announcer is really fantastic! His sidekick is Chris Garagiola ... yes, Joe’s grandson and they really do a fine job.

 

If you have the MiLB app, you can enjoy the games wherever you are.

 

Later.

Jami

 

PS husband just ordered a book about the Twins so we can get up to speed!

[AZTwin]

Oh I’ll chime in. Just realize I do not know much about the actual GAME! I hear stats & my brain malfunctions!

 

You’ll be glad to know our video feed is superior to the other teams and Tommy Thrall, our announcer is really fantastic! His sidekick is Chris Garagiola ... yes, Joe’s grandson and they really do a fine job.

 

If you have the MiLB app, you can enjoy the games wherever you are.

 

Later.

Jami

 

PS husband just ordered a book about the Twins so we can get up to speed!

The team should be quite good next year. Could have 2 top 10 prospects in all of MLB with Royce Lewis (former 1st overall pick) and Alex Kirilloff

[etwinsfan]

Welcome to the site! I hope we see a lot of good insights from you as we go forward in this new affiliation.

 

A few years ago, we got occasional posts from a woman who had hosted players for another affiliate (Ft Myers I believe). "Madre Dos" had some fun observations about Miguel Sano, for example, and she really enjoyed him. It'll be great to get your views.

 

Madre Dos was in Elizabethton and sadly she passed away after a battle with cancer.

[ashbury]

Madre Dos was in Elizabethton and sadly she passed away after a battle with cancer.

I clicked "Like" only because I am so grateful for the information, even though I'm saddened. She is missed.

[70charger]

 

Madre Dos was in Elizabethton and sadly she passed away after a battle with cancer.

 

I wondered why we hadn't seen any posts from her. Sad, but thanks for telling us. We always appreciated her insights and anecdotes.

 

And welcome to jamisea.

[Nine of twelve]

 

Hi Everyone,

I'm a Pensacola resident, a Blue Wahoos fan and my husband and I are a host family for the players! (I am also the volunteer coordinator for the host family program). We've been hosting players for the past 3 seasons and are going to continue next season too. Usually we have anywhere from 2-4 players at our house, and as they rotate through the season, by the end we've had as many as 7-8 players per season. Mostly we have hosted international players, as we live closer to the stadium and know these guys usually don't have a car so they drive my "beater."

While, we are sad to see our Reds "sons" leave, we are thrilled to have the Twins come in. I'll be following the forum over the offseason so I can get to know who's who in the Twins organization.

Pensacola is a great place to visit and our waterfront stadium, (which was built in 2012) and the Blue Wahoos staff are top-notch. The view is beautiful, the breezes are usually good and it's a great place to visit for some baseball.

Weather, usually a pop-up thunderstorm can cause delays of games at times, but last season we only had one game cancelled due to rain.

 

The heat: Yes, July/August tend to be warm. BUT our games are at 6:35 CST and by that time it's usually cooled off. 

Ft. Myers is a 10 hour drive from Pensacola. But we can finally go see some Spring Training games! The Reds ST was in AZ and that was just not going to happen for us.

 

So hello to all the Twins fans and welcome to Pensacola!

 

If you have any questions, shoot me a message.

WAHOOOOO!

Jami Sanderson

Here's a photo of the stadium:

This photo is beautiful. If I lived there I'd be there regularly. But even an ugly baseball stadium is still prettier than a beautiful football stadium.

[jamisea]

 

This photo is beautiful. If I lived there I'd be there regularly. But even an ugly baseball stadium is still prettier than a beautiful football stadium.

Ha! FOOTBALL. Uggghhh. One of the challenges of footballs season, is that currently the local University NCAA D2 program—which is only in it's 3rd year, plays football on the baseball field. They set up bleachers in the outfield (from rt. to center filed). They don't start converting the field to football until reg. baseball season ends. It's gotten dicey 2 of the last 4 seasons when the Blue Wahoos made the playoffs and the baseball playoff schedule overlapped a football game. The staff works very hard to convert the field to football—pulling "all-nighter"  and then converting it back for baseball! The University is building their own stadium though it's not supposed to be finished for 2 more seasons.

On a brighter note, The University of West Florida Argonauts went to the D2 National Championship game last year on their second season of existence.
 

[Monkeypaws]

I'd watch a game at their stadium.

 

http://www.tripensacola.com/site/1462279463cmpa-3_original.jpg

[bird]

 

I'd watch a game at their stadium.

 

http://www.tripensacola.com/site/1462279463cmpa-3_original.jpg

 

Holy moly! Gotta get me my very own host family...

[jamisea]

My husband had to get into the swing of things with the Twins. He ordered a license plate for his antique" Vespa. "Kazoo" is the mascot for the Blue Wahoos.

 

[Squirrel]

Hi Everyone,

I'm a Pensacola resident, a Blue Wahoos fan and my husband and I are a host family for the players! (I am also the volunteer coordinator for the host family program). We've been hosting players for the past 3 seasons and are going to continue next season too. Usually we have anywhere from 2-4 players at our house, and as they rotate through the season, by the end we've had as many as 7-8 players per season. Mostly we have hosted international players, as we live closer to the stadium and know these guys usually don't have a car so they drive my "beater."

While, we are sad to see our Reds "sons" leave, we are thrilled to have the Twins come in. I'll be following the forum over the offseason so I can get to know who's who in the Twins organization.

Pensacola is a great place to visit and our waterfront stadium, (which was built in 2012) and the Blue Wahoos staff are top-notch. The view is beautiful, the breezes are usually good and it's a great place to visit for some baseball.

Weather, usually a pop-up thunderstorm can cause delays of games at times, but last season we only had one game cancelled due to rain.

 

The heat: Yes, July/August tend to be warm. BUT our games are at 6:35 CST and by that time it's usually cooled off. 

Ft. Myers is a 10 hour drive from Pensacola. But we can finally go see some Spring Training games! The Reds ST was in AZ and that was just not going to happen for us.

 

So hello to all the Twins fans and welcome to Pensacola!

 

If you have any questions, shoot me a message.

WAHOOOOO!

Jami Sanderson

Here's a photo of the stadium:

Thank you for this most excellent post and information! Hope you can give us personal perspective throughout the season!

[Squirrel]

Madre Dos was in Elizabethton and sadly she passed away after a battle with cancer.

Thanks for this update. Very sad news. May she Rest In Peace.