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The 2020 minor league season is very much in doubt, so teams have to figure out how to get by economically. Some are hosting drive-in events at ballparks, others are selling food to go. The Tulsa Drillers, the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate, is using their ballpark to host a completely different team.
ONEOK Field will host a team in the Texas Collegiate League, a summer league for college prospects whose alumni include Paul Goldschmidt, Brandon Belt, Jake Arrieta, and several other future major league players.
The Tulsa team that will play in this collegiate league will also be called the Drillers, and will play a 30-game season in 34 days beginning June 30 and ending August 2.
That’s as good a sign as any that affiliated minor league baseball won’t happen this year, or at least not until August at the earliest.
Longtime Oklahoma State pitching coach Tom Holliday was announced Tuesday as the Drillers manager. His staff is headlined by Mickey Tettleton, a 14-year major league veteran catcher who hit 245 home runs, and also includes Randy Whisler and Cody Semler.
The TCL Drillers are in the northern division of the 10-team league. Playoffs consist of a best-of-3 series between the top two teams in each division, with the winners facing off in a single-game league championship hosted by the team with the best record.
Links
- Included in Kiley McDaniel’s assessment of the Dodgers’ draft at ESPN, he wrote fourth-round pick Carson Taylor is “a switch-hitter with some offensive upside who is good enough to stick behind the plate.”
- Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic wrote that commissioner Rob Manfred has no choice: “Strike a deal with the union and salvage the 2020 season, or ruin his legacy as commissioner of baseball.”
- Christian Red and Teri Thompson at USA Today reported on the rampant corruption by MLB clubs in Latin America, exploiting prospects as young as 12 years old, for which there is an ongoing FBI investigation.
- Ben Clemens at FanGraphs continued his series reviewing tactical decisions in the World Series, and his latest post covering 2017-19 has plenty of Dodgers moves worth scrutiny.
- Thanks to the oddsmakers at BetOnline, you can bet on whether there will be a 2020 MLB season. Yes is -250 (meaning you have to bet $250 to win $100), and No is +175 (a $100 bet would win $175).