Updated 5:45 p.m. Friday
GREENSBORO — So long, Marlins. Hello, Pirates.
After 16 years as a minor-league affiliate of the Miami Marlins, the Greensboro Grasshoppers have changed teams, agreeing to a new two-year Player Development Contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Hoppers will still play in the Class-A South Atlantic League and still keep their green-and-orange team color scheme and unique branding.
All that will change is where the players come from.
Donald Moore, the Hoppers' president and general manager, announced the deal Friday morning. He sent a letter to the team’s ownership group Thursday to inform each stakeholder of the change.
Moore said the long relationship with the Marlins was “very positive overall,” but it was time for a change.
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“We have seen a lot of future Major Leaguers play here,” Moore wrote. “We also dealt with a lot of great people in the player development side of the business, most of whom are no longer with the team.”
For the last 10 years, the Pirates were affiliated with the West Virginia Power in the Hoppers' league. Pittsburgh leaves behind a market in its own backyard to come to Greensboro.
“The Pirates,” Moore said, “tell me they think they have hit the jackpot.”
Larry Broadway, a former All-America infielder at Duke, is Pittsburgh’s senior director of minor league operations. The 37-year-old executive, whose own playing career was derailed by knee and shoulder injuries at Class-AAA, said the opportunity in Greensboro was too good to pass up.
“The location in the center of the league is great from a travel perspective for our players,” Broadway said. “It’s a little more southern, so the weather is better. I’m getting to know Donald and Katie (Dannemiller, the Hoppers vice president) and the rest of the group, and they’re good people. It just feels like a really good fit.
“I know it’s a well-run operation. I’ve been in there over the years and so have our people, and you can’t help but notice how well the stadium is run and what a first-class facility it is.”
And Broadway noticed the crowds, too.
Greensboro just finished its 11th losing season in 16 years as a Marlins affiliate. Even so, the Hoppers led the South Atlantic League in paid attendance for the second consecutive year, selling 322,156 tickets.
That’s about 210,000 more than West Virginia drew last season.
“You see the crowds there, and I think that’s huge for player development,” Broadway said. “It’s always a benefit to play in front of more people. That’s what you’re expected to do in the Major Leagues, so the more experience you can get with that in the minors, the better. A fuller stadium is nothing but a benefit. It adds stress. It adds pressure. And it adds energy to the game. You want your players to experience that.”
In all, 12 big league teams had low Class-A operating agreements expire this month. Most of them had conversations with the Hoppers.
“Several MLB clubs expressed an interest in coming here,” Moore wrote to the Hoppers ownership group. “We feel that Pittsburgh is the best choice for many reasons, including their geographic proximity to us, their commitment to doing things in a first-class manner, and the quality of their player development personnel.”
The Pirates were affiliated with West Virginia since 2009, and notable alumni from those years include Pittsburgh starters first baseman Josh Bell, outfielders Starling Marté, Gregory Polanco and Austin Meadows, and pitcher Jameson Taillon.
Pittsburgh’s search for young players goes beyond on-field skills, Broadway said.
“First and foremost, that Class-A roster is going to change over every year as it should,” Broadway said. “But at the root of everything we do is who you are as a person. That matters here. We look for kids we can bet on as men. We’re looking for high character as well as high talent.
“It’s a holistic approach to player development, and a big element is our Pirates Community Commitment Program. That’s a continuation of the legacy of Roberto Clemente, and every player from our Dominican Academy up through the minor leagues and on into Pittsburgh knows there’s a community service component every year. So we’ve grown to have really good relationships with our affiliates. … Developing guys who are willing to serve makes them better teammates.”
Greensboro’s affiliated minor-league history dates to 1932, and the 16-year run with the Marlins was the longest consecutive stretch with the same parent club. The Hoppers made the South Atlantic League playoffs four times, winning the 2011 league championship.
Since the team moved into the downtown ballpark in 2005 and became the Hoppers, 82 alumni have reached the major leagues including NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton; NL rookies of the year José Fernández and Chris Coghlan; and All-Stars Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, J.T. Realmuto and Brad Hand.
The Marlins, meanwhile, were sold after the 2017 season to a new ownership group including CEO Derek Jeter, and the Miami organization has been in a state of top-to-bottom transition for the past year.
This year, Greensboro was a revolving door as players came and went during a 60-76 season. The Hoppers, who field a 25-man active roster each game, used 31 position players and 29 pitchers in 2018. Greensboro used 10 first baseman, nine right fielders and 13 starting pitchers.
Jeter, a 14-time All-Star with the Yankees who played in Greensboro as a minor leaguer, visited in July along with a group that included Michael Hill, the Marlins' president of baseball operations; Caroline O’Connor, the team’s vice president and chief of staff; and 27-year-old Geoff DeGroot, manager of player development and scouting.
“It’s a relationship,” Jeter said that night, “we would like to continue for years to come.”
Instead, the Marlins have landed in Iowa with the Clinton LumberKings of the Class-A Midwest League. Clinton’s last tenant, the Seattle Mariners, moves to Charleston, W.Va., to replace the Pirates with the West Virginia Power.
Posted 11 a.m. Friday
GREENSBORO — So long, Marlins. Hello, Pirates.
After 16 years as a minor-league affiliate of the Miami Marlins, the Greensboro Grasshoppers have changed teams, reaching a new two-year Player Development Agreement with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Hoppers will still play in the Class A South Atlantic League and still keep their green-and-orange team color scheme and unique branding.
All that will change is where the players come from.
Donald Moore, the Hoppers' president and general manager, sent a letter to the team’s ownership group Thursday to inform each stakeholder of the change.
“We have seen a lot of future Major Leaguers play here,” Moore wrote. “We also dealt with a lot of great people in the player development side of the business, most of whom are no longer with the team.”
The Pirates were formerly affiliated with the West Virginia Power in the Hoppers' league.
“The Pirates,” Moore said, “tell me they think they have hit the jackpot.”
Greensboro just finished its 11th losing season in 16 years as a Marlins affiliate. And yet the Hoppers led the South Atlantic League in paid attendance at 322,156.
That’s 210,000 more than West Virginia drew last season.
“Several MLB clubs expressed an interest in coming here,” Moore wrote to the Hoppers ownership group. “We feel that Pittsburgh is the best choice for many reasons, including their geographic proximity to us, their commitment to doing things in a first-class manner, and the quality of their player development personnel.”
The Pirates were affiliated with West Virginia since 2009, and notable alumni from those years include Pittsburgh starters first baseman Josh Bell, outfielders Starling Marté, Gregory Polanco and Austin Meadows, and pitcher Jameson Taillon.
Greensboro’s minor-league history dates to 1932, and the 16-year run with the Marlins was the longest consecutive stretch with the same parent club. The Hoppers made the South Atlantic League playoffs four times, winning the 2011 league championship.
Since the team moved into the downtown ballpark in 2005 and became the Hoppers, 82 alumni have reached the major leagues including NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton; NL rookies of the year José Fernández and Chris Coghlan; and All-Stars Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, J.T. Realmuto and Brad Hand.
The Marlins, meanwhile, were sold after the 2017 season to a new ownership group including CEO Derek Jeter, and the Miami organization has been in a state of top-to-bottom transition for the past year.
This year, Greensboro was a revolving door as players came and went during a 60-76 season. The Hoppers, who field a 25-man active roster each game, used 31 position players and 29 pitchers in 2018. Greensboro used 10 first baseman, nine right fielders and 13 starting pitchers.
Jeter, a 14-time All-Star with the Yankees who played in Greensboro as a minor leaguer, visited in July along with a group that included Michael Hill, the Marlins' president of baseball operations; Caroline O’Connor, the team’s vice president and chief of staff; and 27-year-old Geoff DeGroot, manager of player development and scouting.
“It’s a relationship,” Jeter said that night, “we would like to continue for years to come.”
Instead, the Marlins have landed in Iowa with the Clinton LumberKings of the Class A Midwest League. Clinton’s last tenant, the Seattle Mariners, moves to Charleston, W.Va., in a deal with the West Virginia Power.