The Eastern League

I was always a fan of the Eastern League.

I probably never knew it's history well enough, and still don't. But I grew up in a city that had an Eastern League presence for many years, with the Binghamton Triplets a feeder team into the New York Yankees. That went away for a long time, until the return of the AA Binghamton Mets (now Rumble Ponies) for the past nearly 30 years.

With MiLB's new realignment, the Eastern League is no more. There is something called Double A-Northeast, with a few of the familiar teams. But there's no more Eastern League.

I saw many great players over the years, both on the home team and visiting teams. I enjoyed going to the game and watching the pros. I remember how different it looked when they threw the ball across the diamond, with the ball randomly rising and dipping in mid air. Regular people couldn't make a ball do that.

I was recently reminded about the Eastern League when Kin of Bean's Ballcard Blog DM'd me on Twitter and said he had a Tino for me that I didn't have. He was right! I indeed did not have this card of Tino on the Williamsport Bills, when he was in the Eastern League as a Mariners farmhand.

Tino was drafted in 1988 and played for Team USA in the '88 Olympic Games, so AA was actually the beginning of his pro career in 1989. That doesn't really happen now, even for advanced hitters.

He hit .257 with 13 homers in 137 games. The next year, he made his MLB debut, although shuffled between AAA in both 1990 and 1991 before sticking for good. But it's cool that he spent a full year in the Eastern League, a few years before a team even returned to Binghamton.

It's sad that the EL is no more, but hopefully we can find a way to have a somewhat normal minor league season, despite the changes and contractions. It's part of the fabric of many small cities and towns, and crucial for the development of prospects.

Thanks, Kin, for thinking of me with this card.