The AP is reporting that the New York Yankees are planning to drop the Columbus Clippers as their farm team.
For the past several decades, most of the talent dressing in New York pinstripes came from the triple-A Clippers.
It’s interesting timing. The Clippers, once the biggest draw in the minor leagues, are building a brand new stadium in Columbus’s Arena district (near Nationwide Arena). Popularity with the triple-A club is sure to spike during and after the construction of the new $55 million stadium. This should make the search for a new MLB affiliate much easier.
Fan affiliation, however, will probably suffer. Columbus is in an odd place when it comes to MLB. It’s geographically right in between the Reds and the Indians, and the fans are split accordingly. Further complicating matters has been the rivalry between the Indians and the Yankees. Do we support the Ohio team, or do we support the Yankees because those players started on the farm team here in Columbus?
With this move, the latter issue will probably go away, and we’ll be back to splitting loyalties between the Reds and Indians. (Well, whatever little loyalty is left after Columbus’s required Buckeye obsession, that is.)
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