Indians Perhaps Looking To Bolster Ohio Fanbase

In an attempt to bolster their fan base stretching deep into central Ohio, it would only make sense for the Indians to move their AAA operations to Columbus in 2009.

The Columbus Clippers have had an interesting run, that’s for sure. After beginning as an affiliate for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1975, the Clippers would become the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees four years later, in 1979. It wasn’t surprising, given George Steinbrenner’s deep ties to Ohio and Columbus in particular (fun fact: Steinbrenner actually served as a graduate assistant at Ohio State under Woody Hayes). It only made sense that The Boss wanted to keep a pipeline for himself between Ohio and New York, and Columbus was more than happy to be associated with such a storied franchise. For 26 years Columbus fans got to watch the likes of Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera and the like play their minor league baseball before coming megastars at the next level.    

In 2006, though, Steinbrenner and the Yankees wanted their AAA affiliate to be closer, to better serve the needs of the franchise. See, long gone were the days of the Yankees using their farm system as nothing but trade fodder to bring in the latest power bat or impact pitching arm. Instead, the team was now choosing to focus on actually building through their minor league development, and so to better facilitate these needs, the Yankees wanted to move their top prospects closer to home, and Scranton-Wilkes Barre provided just that for them.

From the beginning, the subsequent Clippers affiliation with the Washington Nationals, which began in 2006, was nothing more than a marriage of convenience for both sides. It was probably never destined to be a long term solution for either Columbus or Washington, but more of a situation of buying time for 2 years while both cities found a more natural fit.

This is where the Cleveland Indians come into play. The Indians’ contract with Buffalo, their current AAA affiliate, expires after this year, which happens to coincide with the completion of the new $56 million 10,000 seat Huntington Park being built in downtown Columbus in the Arena District right next door to Nationwide Arena. This is interesting to note, too, because the Indians had previously always extended their working agreement with Buffalo on opening day of the expiring year. That didn’t happen this year, which has led to much speculation.

Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News wrote that the Indians moving to Columbus is all but a done deal, saying,

“No one will talk on the record about any potential move of Tribe prospects from Buffalo to Columbus. Memos have been sent from the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues to all minor-league teams, warning that any statements about affiliation changes could be construed as tampering and subject to fines.

But the Tribe’s move to Columbus is the International League’s worst-kept secret. Buffalo will thus be home to prospects likely from either Toronto, the New York Mets or Washington in 2009.

“The process has been outlined, we’ll go through September and then people will talk,” IL President Randy Mobley said here recently. “But I would have my head in the sand to think there aren’t some back-channel things going on.””

This would be a marriage made in heaven for the Indians if this is true. Columbus is the largest city in Ohio and the 15th largest city in the country. With almost 750,000 people, Columbus is located centrally in the city being fairly close to halfway between Cleveland and Cincinnati (it’s actually a bit closer to Cincinnati). Columbus is a huge pool of people whose professional allegiance can be split geographically between two MLB teams.

Moving their AAA affiliate to Columbus would greatly increase the Indians exposure in the Columbus market, leading to logos being plastered everywhere in the city and a general increase in the awareness of the players who are playing in Cleveland. As a resident of Columbus myself, it has always amazed me how many Yankees fans are in this city, and a lot of it has to do with having 26 years of seeing Yankees players up close and personal. Without even trying, a minor league affiliate can easily bridge a connection between parent franchise and local affiliate. When trying, though, the results can be very impressive.

Geographically the move isn’t a huge deal. It’s 193 miles from Dunn Tire Park in Buffalo to Jacob’s Field in Cleveland, and it’s 142 miles from Huntington Park in Columbus to Jacob’s Field. So it’s a little closer, which would be nice for the team to be able to scout their prospects and also for calling up and sending down players, but really, with private jets the difference is minimal. Where the true benefit to the Indians will be, though, is in gaining a stronghold on the large base of fans in the central Ohio market. While Cincinnati has always been able to expand their fan base south into Kentucky, the Indians have had lesser success in pushing their fan base east due to the close proximity of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Having a minor league team in Cleveland, though, would finally allow the Indians to expand their fan base outward to the south.

From Columbus’s point of view, it would be beneficial as well to become affiliated with Cleveland. Granted, in a city that is still doing well economically, it would be no problem to sell tickets initially to a luxurious new ballpark in a beautiful downtown location. But what happens after that initial excitement wears off? After just two years, you’re already seeing interest in the Clippers and the Washington Nationals fading. Being affiliated with an in state franchise, though, would easily allow Columbus to maintain local interest, and it could potentially even draw interest from Cleveland itself, as Indians fans could conceivably look to make a weekend trip to Columbus to visit and take in a Clippers game.

Despite the Buffalo News saying this is pretty much a done deal, you won’t hear anyone speak on the record about it just yet, and that’s probably why the major newspapers in Ohio have been quiet about it as well. You start throwing the word ‘tampering’ around and people close their mouths. But clearly this could be a move that would make a lot of sense and be mutually beneficial to 2 different Ohio cities. Buffalo has been nothing but great to the Indians for the past 13 years, and we would certainly hope they are able to bring a different affiliate in to replace the Indians if they do, indeed, leave, but looking at this both selfishly and logically, it’s a move that makes a lot of sense.