Graphic: MiLB.com
Tuesday is the day, an Opening Day like no other. What was called the California League will shake off a one-year hiatus and get back to business as the Low-A West following MLB’s takeover/shakeup of MiLB. It’s still an eight-team league but things are quite different.
The Lancaster Jethawks are no more, victims of MLBs decision to trim 40 teams and drop down to 120 total. In their place are the Fresno Grizzlies, now a Colorado Rockies affiliate, who had been in AAA since the team’s inception in 1998.
And the Grizzlies aren’t alone in dropping levels as the league as a whole has been moved from the old Hi-A to the new Low-A West.
There are some new experimental rules in play for the 2021 season, with Low-A West being the testing ground for limiting the number of times a pitcher can step off the rubber or try a pickoff to two per plate appearance. That’s right, two. I’m curious to see how this plays out. There will also be a timer for limiting time between pitches, innings and pitching changes.
These are all things we’ll have to get used to and we certainly will. The ballpark experience is going to be a little different at the start with teams limiting the number of fans and other pandemic-conscious precautions in place.
But professional baseball is back in the ballparks and in the communities, just a few days from now, and the fans are ready. The Visalia Rawhide held a season ticket pickup event this past Monday and drew a large crowd of enthusiastic fans. The rest of the league’s cities undoubtedly have this same energy as the season approaches and teams prepare to take the field for the first time since 2019.
Speaking of the Rawhide, they appear to have the title of Reigning California League Champions for eternity.
So, here we are. No more trips to The Hangar in Lancaster but the Grizzlies will join the fray and, while they will have several rivals close to home, the Low-A West folks will have a chance to get a taste of some of their genius marketing events.
The rosters are being released and on Tuesday it’s go time. I’m in Visalia for their first series against Lake Elsinore, not all six games but I’ll hit a few. Then the following week the Rawhide are in Fresno so I’ll be on board for some of that series. Then I’ll be looking to head out into the great wide-open of the Low-A West. I’ll wear a mask, I’ll wear a space suit, I’ll sit on top of the light tower, whatever the rules are, I’ll be in a minor league ballpark this week. It’s time.
