This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

EUGENE, ORE – On March 23, when the Eugene Emeralds announced their Exploding Whales alternate identity, they figured it would create some regional buzz. Those expectations were immediately blown out of the water. The Emeralds, High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, sold out their first batch of Exploding Whales

A version of this story originally ran on MiLB.com in 2019, at the time of the I-Cubs' inaugural appearance as the Caucuses. On Sunday, the Iowa Cubs are assuming an identity that checks off all the boxes. The Cubs, a Des Moines-based Pacific Coast League entity, are celebrating their state's

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

Garrett Spain grew up playing hockey in the United States, where baseball is the national pastime. These days, he's playing professional baseball in Canada. It's funny how life works out. Spain, an outfielder selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 15th round of the 2021 Draft, is currently in

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

TACOMA, Wash. -- When Mike Ford told his current manager, John Russell, about his 2022 season, Russell had an apt response: "That's not a season. That's a career!" That about sums it up. Ford, a heavy-hitting first baseman and designated hitter, is currently a member of the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.

HILLSBORO, Ore. -- Dylan Ray and Conor Grammes have a lot in common, at least superficially. They're both right-handed pitchers in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization who currently play for the High-A Hillsboro Hops. They both occupy a spot on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 D-backs prospects list. And, most importantly for

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

EUGENE, OREGON -- Jill Cole didn’t apply for the job and had no prior experience. So how did she end up as public address announcer for the Eugene Emeralds, spending her evenings behind a microphone in the PK Park press box? It's kind of a weird story. “I came here

Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Stitcher and other

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE. Subscribe HERE.

"It was my fault, because it was my idea. I suffered the consequences, so there you go." We've all expressed such sentiment during our lives. In this particular instance, the person speaking was Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp promotions director David Ratz, and the idea gone wrong was to spend three innings

Jerry Springer, daytime TV talk show trendsetter, died Thursday at the age of 79. Springer was a huge baseball fan -- he loved the Yankees, and for a time, had season tickets for the Florida State League's Sarasota Red Sox. In 2012, he made what may have been his only

This article is excerpted from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, which you can subscribe to HERE. Each Thursday brings a new installment filled with Minor League Baseball business and culture news.

In Minor League Baseball, the players come and go. The mascot remains. Mascots are beacons of stability and bringers of joy, and the combination of these two durable traits make them universally beloved. Picking favorites is a thankless task, and while no one has to do it, this writer will

(This article first appeared, in modified form, in the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter. Read it here, and subscribe here to have all the fun of the Minor Leagues delivered to your inbox each Thursday.) You may have read Tuesday's MiLB.com article on 2023 concession stand debuts,

Erik Bremer, broadcaster for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, says the team tries "to stay at the forefront of what people are talking about online." On Tuesday evening, that meant removing people themselves from the equation. It was "Artificial Unintelligence Night" at Blue Wahoos Stadium, during which the Double-A Marlins affiliate

Hungry? If not, you probably will be after reading this appetizing article. What follows is a by-no-means comprehensive roundup of notable concession items debuting in the Minor Leagues this season. There's more where this came from, so there'll be a second course if the public is hungry for it. For

Throughout the history of Minor League Baseball, shifting affiliations, locations and team names have been commonplace. Nonetheless, hallmarks of consistency can be found. This article highlights the 10 longest affiliations between a Minor League team and its parent Major League club. To be included on this list, the Minor League

The majority of Minor League Baseball ballparks were built in the 21st century. Six debuted in 2021 alone, and many more are likely to appear as the 2020s progress. But what about the ballparks on the other side of the spectrum? Those that have been around the longest? The top

When it comes to Minor League Baseball games, are you more likely to attend for the prospects or the promos? While these pursuits aren't mutually exclusive, many fans find their greatest ballpark joys within the latter: the cornucopia of theme nights, giveaways and celebrity appearances that take place at ballparks

From rugged mountain landscapes to calming expanses of water to gleaming city skylines, Minor League Baseball stadiums offer a wide variety of scenic and often truly stunning surroundings. Picking favorites is a thankless task, but what follows is this writer's level-by-level attempt to do so. Click on each ballpark's name

If you're anything like us, you're excited the Minor League Baseball season is finally here. And if you're not excited, maybe it's time to rethink that position. The joys of Minor League Baseball are many and varied, a veritable "choose your own adventure" when it comes to the ways in