The Masters of Minor League Media
The 2006 MLN Ralphie Awards™

The movies have Oscar®. Television has Emmy®. Broadway has its Tony®. For media relations people in sports, there is only one coveted honor: The Ralphie™. MLN presents to you the top five out of more than 800 minor and major league media relations people in baseball, hockey, basketball and football who make their corners of sports shine. [Feature]

218 Flavors of Vanilla - To BAM or Not to BAM - That is the Question of the Minor League (MiLB) Winter Meetings

The biggest buzz at the Minor League Winter Meetings was about Baseball Advanced Media (BAM), the folks behind MiLB.com. Are they helping prop the minors, or promote MLB? [MAJOR BLOGS]

MLB Rule V Draft 2006

Results from the Major League Baseball Rule 5 Draft that concludes business at the Winter Meetings. Round by round and (exclusive) by minor league club. [Chart]

Mutt's Edge
Sent into the Saint Paul Saints as a character assassin by Rolling Stone Magazine, gunning for Bill Murray and Darryl Strawberry, author Neal Karlin finds a bit of his own character in the characters of indy baseball's most unique Saint Paul Saints. [Article]

Minor League Baseball
Winter Meetings
from
Walt Disney World

MLN brings you the interesting tidbits from the minor league side of the 2006 Winter Meetings.

A Tale of Two Hotels at the Major League Baseball (MLB) Winter Meetings
The Swan and Dolphin hotels host different sides of the event. MLN Sr. Editor Brian Ross checks in from the 'media bench' on the minor side at the Swan. [MAJOR BLOGS]

The Details are in the Devil Rays
Vero Beach Will Host the Return of the Devil Rays to the Florida State League, but will they be the Port Charlotte D-Rays in 2009? [Article]

Fishwrap Pyschoses - The Season is Lost if the Big Dollar Players Don't Get Signed
If you want to know why MLB owners spend insane amounts of money on players that aren't worth it, meet the press that drive them to do it. [MAJOR BLOGS]

 

Longoria

Tampa Bay Devil Rays prospect Evan Longoria blew through the minors to AA Montgomery this season. Is he that good? Damn straight. [Article]

A Minor League Momento

Jon Hooker pitched for the indy Fargo-Moorhead and the Joliet Jackhammers and died in a tragic airplane crash on Sunday August 27th. Joe Thurston spent this weekend breaking into the Philadelphia Phillies lineup. Stephen Drew breezes through the Diamondbacks organization. What do these three players all share in common? [MAJOR BLOGS]

Kid in the Candy Store
The MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006 - A Tribute to Minor League Fans

Sure, August may be hot enough to melt Pam Anderson's rack, but the new rack of top shelf baseball players flaunted in the FAB50 put the 'pop' in the pop stars that will be the future of pro baseball. MLN senior editor Brian Ross comments. [MAJOR BLOGS].

Minor League News
MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006

The most powerful list in baseball presents top performers to mid-season with the means, motivation, and opportunity to make their moves to the majors. Now with Ones2Watch™ up-and-comers and even bigger photos!
[Feature Section]

The Futures Is Now

Is the MLB showcase for minor league talent killing off the minor league all-star game? [Article]

The Doubleday Code
So Dark the Con of MLB

Luke Hochevar's No. 1 pick in the June MLB Draft 2006 exposes an old, dark secret of Major League Baseball. If the independent pro leagues outside the MLB system can be home to the draft's top pick for a season and a half, who is a pro, and who is an amateur? Will there be more? [Article]

The Dead Brain Era

For future historians seeking a name for this whacked-out period in baseball history, MLN's senior editor Brian Ross has come up with the perfect moniker: The Dead Brain Era. [Blog]

MLB Draft 2006

Who will be picked as No.1? Everyone will report. Who will be priming the 10th round? The 20th? MLN will give you the blow-by-blow as we go through the two days of the Major League Baseball Draft 2006.

Line Call

As the minor league umpire strike continues, Major League umpires make a stop on the minor league picket lines to show their support. [Article]

Over Friggin' Nickels

In a world of $3.00 gas and $10.00 burgers, can minor league umpires live on $25.00 a day? While the Minors burn, with stats dropping and fights causing teams to be pulled from the field, Minor League Baseball and the umpires union try to make a line call on what's a living wage.
[Article]

Some Strange Umpiring

If the replacement umpires in the Triple-A are the best that Minor League Baseball has to offer, fans in the Class A leagues should be truly worried. Dan Hickling, the Guerrilla Stringer, calls 'em like he sees them. [Blog]

MLN Top Ten Minor League Ballparks

The Stockton Ports make the grade in the derby for best ballpark. MLN takes you to 10 great places to watch a ballgame, along with places to stay, and eat while in town. Pack your bags! [Article]

33

The longest game in baseball history featured rising stars Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken Jr., and one for the record books that the Rochester Red Wings' Dallas Williams wishes wasn't in his name. [Article]

The Green Cap

What screws up Major League Baseball most? It's not steroids. It's not the "dilution of talent" because major league baseball has more teams. It's the officially licensed product of moneyball... Sr. Editor Brian Ross examines how the Green Cap keeps mediocre players in the majors, and traps talented newcomers in the minors.

[Blog]

MLN Spring Training Report 2006

As Spring Training draws to a close, MLN begins a series of reports from around baseball on the players to watch both on the fast track to the majors, and the developing talent on their way to new home towns in the minors. [Feature]