Monday, December 22, 2008

No More Hawaii Winter Baseball

Major League Baseball has decided consolidate its fall and winter minor league off-season developmental leagues and locate them in Arizona.

For Hawaii, this means the Hawaii Winter Baseball league will shut down, as its three-year contract with MLB will not be renewed. The decision was made at the baseball winter meetings in Las Vegas.

This is the second time HWB has shut down. It operated from 1993 through 1997, then went on hiatus until 2006 when it kick-started once again. Twenty-three major league clubs participated, along with half (6) of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, and Lotte of the Korea Baseball Organization.

I enjoyed going to the Sunday game at the University of Hawaii at Manoa stadium with my son, munching on roasted peanuts and washing it down with Diet Pepsi. I used to bring half of the bag home to share with my wife. We’re going to miss that, all of us.

1 comment:

Montee said...

I'm sorry that you won't be able to enjoy Winter Ball in Hawaii any longer. I guess baseball is trying to cut back too, unless you're the Yankees. the Yankees spending all that money does not guarantee a World Series ring. Sometimes it backfires on you. I think a team that can gel, came up through the Farm System together and play well together is more promising. There will be too many egos on that Yankee team.