All the Pulaski news that fits

Instead putting up several posts about the new Mariner affiliate consider this a one-stop clearing house. (Is that repeating myself?)

First the announcement at MiLB.com

Minor League Baseball returns to Pulaski

After a one-year hiatus and a 15-month search, professional baseball has returned to Pulaski, Va. In a press conference on December 21, the Appalachian League announced that the Seattle Mariners will become the seventh Major League team to affiliate itself with the city.

Pulaski Baseball Inc. President and General Manager Tom Compton was elated after the announcement.

"We're excited to have a team back in Pulaski, which has a long and storied history in Minor League Baseball," said Compton. "It happened so quickly that we haven't had time to put much in motion, but we're going to proceed like we always have and meet after the New Year to put a plan together."

Frequent Fox Cities visitor Greg Hunter has a comment or two in this and many of the stories to follow:

"We've been working [on a partnership] since August, so while it may come as a surprise to some, a lot of work has gone into it," said Greg Hunter, director of player development for the Mariners. "The addition of Pulaski gives us a seventh club in the States and allows us to get more innings and at-bats for our prospects at the lower levels. We've been pretty active internationally with academies in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic and this allows us to be more aggressive bringing foreign players to the United States and speeding up the acclimation process. Domestically, it enables us to give players selected in the draft a chance to get their feet wet in professional baseball without exposing them to the more advanced Northwest League if they're not ready."

This next story is important to the folks out in Everett. The Everett Herald has this story about the impact.

AquaSox may benefit from Mariners' new farm team

The Pulaski team will allow the Mariners to better place young players with teams that match their skill levels. It also will allow them to give young Latin players another year to become comfortable in a new country.

For the AquaSox, it means fewer players may be overmatched in the Class A Northwest League.

"It depends on the given situation, but I think you're going to see a more experienced, professional young player once they reach Everett," said Greg Hunter, the Mariners' director of player development. "With the young Latin players or the more crude young high school players, it's going to be less of a jump from Pulaski to the Northwest League. It will mean more at-bats and more innings for guys at the entry level."

Geoff Baker has a story on the new team in the system at the Seattle Times. He also has a different angle.

New M's affiliate will be fast track

The answer to why the Mariners have added a seventh minor-league affiliate won't be found within this country's borders.

Instead, it was mainly the hefty number of international players being signed and developed by the Mariners that prompted them to go beyond the standard six minor-league clubs. Only a handful of major-league teams have seven affiliates and the addition by Seattle on Friday of a rookie-level team in Pulaski, Va., is one they hope will get those international prospects to the United States more quickly.

"This allows us to get them over here a year earlier to the U.S.," said Greg Hunter, recently promoted by the Mariners to the role of director of player development. "It gets them used to playing a longer season up here and helps them with things like learning the language, the culture."

This is the different angle that Baker takes:

Latin American players' adjustment to life in the U.S. is no trivial matter.

Becky Schnakenberg, CEO of Big League Communication, an Arizona-based company used by the Mariners to help their players with language and culture issues, says it's crucial to minor-leaguers progressing on the field.

"I think that, in general, we find the players that adjust to the American culture end up playing at the higher levels," said Schnakenberg, whose company also works with the Angels, Royals, Cubs, White Sox and Brewers. "From my own history, I don't really know that I've really had players who made it to the big leagues without assimilating well.

"They can't take the [on-field] instruction. They don't bond as well with their teammates, they don't bond as well with their coaches."

And here are some other considerations to look at when adding the new team.

The Mariners have tended to fast-track the more-skilled minor-leaguers through their ranks under the current regime of general manager Bill Bavasi. Hunter said he thinks the added affiliate falls in line with that philosophy, allowing hitters more at-bats and pitchers more innings of work than they'd normally get as new professionals before Class A action.

Another consideration is the uncertain political situation in Venezuela. The Mariners have an academy in that country, and — though there haven't been any problems so far — they say it wouldn't hurt to have this rookie-level fallback option in the U.S. if they had to pull out of South America.

How about the local reaction?

Baseball fans dreaming of summer in Pulaski

While historic Calfee Park is closed and locked up for the winter, many people in Pulaski are dreaming about warm summer nights and baseball. Professional baseball has been missing from the field for more than a year. However, some major news about is sure to draw the crowds in again, like they've had here on and off for more than 70 years.

"It's a great place for the young athletes to come," says Lee Landers. "They treat them well here. It fits the demographics of the league. They can commute to Princeton and commute to Bluefield. It's good for our whole league."

Mariners put Pulaski back on the diamond

The Texas Rangers looked liked they were going to be a lock to return a rookie Appalachian League team in baseball-famished Pulaski for the 2008 season.

The Washington Nationals were a natural, just a few hours up the interstate to the home offices.

The Red Sox seemed like they could be a fit, after purchasing the Class A Carolina League club in Salem. An old buddy inside the organization was even available as a potential ally.

A team from the Mexican League was exploring the unheard of possibility of putting its rookies together at an Appy League outpost. League president Lee Landers thought that one was going to have some legs.

Yet near the end, it looked as thought there would be nothing, that there would be another blue Christmas in lonely Calfee Park.

It was enough to make Tom Compton, Pulaski Baseball, Inc., managing partner, want to take down the Christmas tree and go feed his cattle.

"It's been frustrating," said Compton, who has had no baseball product to sell since the Toronto Blue Jays hauled their rookies out of town for the last time following the 2006 season.

That's why he was reluctant to say anything at all this week about a new tenant for the old ballpark until he had something on paper.

Hold the ink for now, but hello Seattle Mariners.

Here is a link with some pictures of Calfee Park. The website is Mike Castro's Fields of Dreams.

In case you are wondering where Pulaski, Virginia is, just follow this link.

No website yet for Pulaski, but the first home game for the Pulaski Mariners will be June 20.

Welcome to the system, Pulaski.