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How much would you pay for a team that may not be around next year? If you’re Quint Studer, apparently $9 million is a good market value. In September, that’s what Studer reportedly paid for the Beloit Snappers of the low-A Midwest League. According to Ballpark Digest, much of that sale price will be put back into efforts to build a new stadium, which the Beloit Snappers may need to survive. The stadium situation could be of actual urgency and not just a ploy to create leverage because of the impending negotiations surrounding the Professional Baseball Agreement between Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball. Currently, MLB wants to reduce the amount of MiLB teams by 42 and according to one version of the list, the Beloit Snappers would be on the chopping block. On paper, choosing the Snappers as part of the “Forsaken 42” makes sense. Their attendance was second-worst in the Midwest League at 1,181/game (the Burlington Bees were dead last at 1,053/game). But MLB wouldn’t care about the attendance (and thus, revenue) of teams they don’t own. What most likely defines MLB’s desire to get rid of teams (besides the cynical view of just not wanting to pay as many minor-league salaries), is the quality of the stadiums their cherished prospects play in. It is here that the Snappers suffer. Harry C. Pohlman Field is 38 years old and one of the worst stadiums in the Midwest League. While not every stadium can be the Quad Cities River Bandits’ Moodern Woodman Park, the Snappers may now need to upgrade their stadium situation to remain viable. All parties appear optimistic about the potential of building a new stadium, so potentially the Snappers will be around to see the 2021 season. In the end, Quint Studer will be fine. He already owns the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, who are not on the potential elimination list, and must be having enough success with the Blue Wahoos to try and add another team to his collection. There’s a strong possibility MLB will try to compensate the owners of any MiLB teams that get contracted and if the payout is anywhere close to what Studer paid for the team, he’ll be fine. But let’s be honest, anyone who can pay $9 million for a team that may not exist in 2021 is going to be fine no matter what. In fact, he may be playing with house money at this point.

Bud Selig is set to retire this off-season after 22 years at the helm of Major League Baseball. Rob Manfred has already been voted in as his successor, a position he has been groomed for ever since starting to work for MLB in 1998. The 55-year-old Manfred will have a variety of issues on his plate as he takes over from the 80-year- old Selig. During Selig's tenure as commissioner, baseball has been marked by a variety of ups and downs.A large growth in attendance has increased revenue across the game. This has resulted in some large contracts for baseball's more established players. Besides the positives, there was also a World Series that was cancelled because of a strike and the performance enhancing drug scandal which impacted many parts of the baseball world. For the Minnesota Twins, there have been some positive things that have happened under the Selig regime, even if they can't all be credited to him. The Twins were able to finance a new stadium and Target Field has turned out to be a gem. Increases in revenue allowed the Twins to pay Joe Mauer one of the largest contracts in baseball. The organization also got to host the last All-Star Game with Selig as commissioner. However, the biggest story surrounding the Twins and Selig will always be the threat of contraction made following the 2001 season. Minnesota and Montreal were left on MLB's chopping block after Selig revealed that owners had voted 28-2 to eliminate two teams. Twins owner Carl Pohlad was frustrated with Minnesota's state government for not being able to come up with a deal to replace the outdated Metrodome. Pohlad would have been paid $250 million to close out the franchise he purchased in 1984. There were a lot of things going wrong in the baseball world in the aftermath of September 11th. In an interview with the Pioneer Press this summer, Selig said, "Contraction had nothing to do with Minnesota. Baseball was really struggling at the time, losing a fortune as a sport. There were owners who believed that contraction might help." Luckily for Twins fan, contraction never happened. A Hennepin County judge ruled that the Twins had to honor their Metrodome lease for the 2002 season. The Twins took full advantage of their new life as they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since their 1991 World Series championship. The team won the AL Central Division three straight seasons and six of the next nine years. Minnesota found itself back on the baseball map but not until after dealing with a situation that left more than one scar on the franchise. Selig did some good things for the Twins but his lasting memory will be the fact that he almost stole baseball away from a generation of fans in the Upper Midwest. Click here to view the article

Bud Selig is set to retire this off-season after 22 years at the helm of Major League Baseball. Rob Manfred has already been voted in as his successor, a position he has been groomed for over since starting to work for MLB in 1998. The 55-year old Manfred will have a variety of issues on his plate as he takes over from the 80-year old Selig. During Selig's tenure as commissioner, baseball has been marked by a variety of ups and downs. A large growth in attendance has increased revenue across the game. This has resulted in some slough of large contracts for baseball's more established players. Besides the positives, there was also a World Series that was cancelled because of a strike and the performance enhancing drug scandal impacted many parts of the baseball world. For the Minnesota Twins, there have been some positive things that have happened under the Selig regime even if they can't all be credited to him. The Twins were able to finance a new stadium and Target Field has turned out to be a gem. Increases in revenue allowed the Twins to pay Joe Mauer one of the largest contracts in baseball. The organization also got to host the last All-Star Game with Selig as commissioner. However, the biggest story surrounding the Twins and Selig will always be the threat of contraction made following the 2001 season. Minnesota and Montreal were left on the MLB's chopping block after Selig revealed owners had voted 28-2 to eliminate two teams. Twins owner Carl Pohlad was frustrated with Minnesota's state government for not being able to come up with a deal to replace the outdated Metrodome. Pohlad would be paid $250 million to close out the franchise he purchased in 1984. There were a lot of things going wrong in the baseball world in the aftermath of September 11th. In an interview with the Pioneer Press this summer, Selig said, "Contraction had nothing to do with Minnesota. Baseball was really struggling at the time, losing a fortune as a sport. There were owners who believed that contraction might help." Luckily for Twins fan, contraction never happened. A Hennepin County judge ruled that the Twins had to honor their Metrodome lease for the 2002 season. The Twins took full advantage of their new life as they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since their 1991 World Series Championship. The team won the AL Central Division three straight seasons and six of the next nine years. Minnesota found itself back on the baseball map but not after dealing with a situation that left more than one scar on the franchise. Selig did some good things for the Twins but his lasting memory will be the fact that he almost stole baseball away from a generation of fans in the Upper Midwest.