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Yankees' minor league reshuffling comes to surprise of another affiliate
By Ryan Gaydos
Published November 09, 2020
The New York Yankees’ reshuffling of their minor league affiliation over the weekend came to the surprise of another affiliate – the Staten Island Yankees.
Will Smith, the owner of the Class-A New York-Penn League baseball team, said in a statement Monday that the major league behemoth’s decision to cut ties was shocking.
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“The Staten Island Yankees made every effort to accommodate MLB and New York Yankees requirements, including securing a commitment from New York City for ballpark upgrades. However, MLB and the Yankees chose not to engage in any discussions with us. We were unaware of the final decision and learned about it by reading the statement on Yankees social media,” Smith said.
“After careful consideration of locations in New York City, our ballpark was approved by the New York Yankees and built in St. George, Staten Island, by the City of New York. It was planned and agreed-to in 1999 for the express purpose of hosting New York Yankees professional Minor League Baseball. We are shocked at the developments from this past weekend and we believe what has happened to our organization is unacceptable.”
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Smith said the team will look for alternatives to have a 2021 season.
His statement came after the Trenton Thunder learned they would be left without a team as well when the Yankees said they were picking up the Somerset Patriots as their Double-A team and dumping Trenton. Thunder owner Joseph Plumeri called it a betrayal.
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A source told the New York Post that both teams were informed of the decision before the announcements were made.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/yankees-minor-league-reshuffling-surprise