Things are Different in the Show
Minor League Affiliates

During an opening day telecast, Dodgers GM Ned Coletti answered questions about losing Nomar Garciaparra to an early and unexpected DL stint by saying the team had the benefit of calling up a player and playing him on the same day by virtue of being geographically close to their AAA affiliate. Additionally, a recent article discussed how some teams keep their young backups in AAA to get them more playing time as a strategic move so they are ready to play if the starters get injured. With the Twins 1073 miles away from Rochester, their AAA affiliate, I couldn’t help but thinking that some teams get a competitive advantage out of carrying a 25th player the same day they call him up whereas others have to wait a day for their player to get to the majors. Thus, I asked a series of questions leading to a possible radical and idealistic realignment of minor league teams closest to various major league cities.

-What is the distance in miles between the Major League city and its AAA affiliate?

-What possible AAA cities are closer to the Major League city?

-Without upsetting any better affiliations, can the Major League team align itself with a closer minor league affiliate? Keep in mind that this is basically a logical set problem, where some possible affiliations look good in isolation but upset the broader scheme. For example, since Seattle and Tacoma are locked together, Portland isn’t particularly close to a Major League city, so it is an exercise in balancing risk.

-Do any teams have historical affiliations with importance greater than travel distance? (Note: I found the answer to this question to be “no.”)

I tried to maximize the teams with very close proximity for two reasons. First, the obvious advantage of minimizing travel, but also the possibility of keeping fans within a day trip of seeing the AAA club. Living in Washington, I would never travel to New Orleans to see a prospect or any other reason, but I might find a way to check out a team in Norfolk or Richmond. With those principles in mind, here are the affiliations I maintained and those I changed.

Stayed the same:
Texas-Oklahoma City, Seattle-Tacoma, Oakland-Sacramento, Anaheim-Salt Lake City, Kansas City-Omaha, Detroit-Toledo, Boston-Pawtucket, Los Angeles-Las Vegas, San Francisco-Fresno, Arizona-Tucson, Colorado-Colorado Springs, St. Louis-Memphis, Cincinnati-Louisville, Houston-Round Rock

Changed:
Minnesota-Iowa, Chicago(A)-Indianapolis, Cleveland-Columbus, New York (A)-Rochester, Toronto-Buffalo, Baltimore-Durham, Tampa Bay-New Orleans, San Deigo-Albuquerque, Chicago(N)-Ottawa, Milwaukee-Portland, Pittsburgh-Scranton-Wilks Barre, Florida-Charlotte, Atlanta-Nashville, New York (N)-Syracuse, Washington-Richmond, Philadelphia-Norfolk

Some of the current affiliations make very little sense to me, such as the Twins with a team in Rochester, New York, especially while the Yankees partner with a team in the Midwest (Columbus). Even more perplexing is putting Florida with Albuquerque when there are a bunch of International League teams in the Deep South. But before I go any further, here are some numbers legitimating my calculations.

Current Average Distance: 374 miles
Revised Average Distance: 215 miles
Current Average Distance of teams in second group: 567 miles
Revised Average Distance of teams in second group: 385 miles
Average Distance Saved: 182 miles

Sure, my orientation is not without its flaws. The Portland conundrum has no good solution (current affiliate San Diego is in the same time zone, but is still 928 miles away), and Milwaukee takes the brunt of the punishment. And that time zone concern is a legitimate one, as players getting called up from west coast teams lose time before the first pitch that night when the have to go eastward.

Alas, I still think my method has its advantages. For one, four natural affiliations are born where fans would have the opportunity of making a daytrip to see their team’s AAA games (CHA-IND, CLE-COL, TOR-BUF, WAS-RIC). Also, the ridiculous affiliations of 700 miles or more goes from four to one (MIL-POR), and I have reduced the medium range distances of 400-700 miles from seven to five.

And if you think teams do not consider the travel distance, keep in mind that Baltimore made five call-ups from nearby AA Bowie, Maryland, including Chris Ray twice. To put that in context, the Twins made zero call-ups from AA. While some of the difference probably has to do with organizational philosophy, I have to imagine that the distance plays a major factor.

Obviously, such a change is not going to happen, if only because it would be a marketing disaster to have the Twins’ AAA affiliate be named the Cubs. But that does not make it a bad idea, and as long as we all play fantasy baseball, we might as well play fantasy organization as well.

P.S.- If anyone wants a deeper look at the numbers, I have an Excel spreadsheet with all of this data and a few more categories for all 30 teams, but I cannot post it as an attachment through this server. E-mail me a request and I can send you the spreadsheet.