Allison McCague – Baseball Prospectus ($): Whether you call it the Houston Plan, the Manfred Plan, or some other iteration makes no difference when it comes to Major League Baseball’s proposal to eliminate 42 Minor League Baseball teams. What does matter is that it is a terribly thought out plan that is choosing short term gain over the long term prosperity of affiliated baseball. Rob Manfred has never tried to hide his corporate vulture true colors, but to see such a plan that so brazenly discounts lower-income communities and the fans of tomorrow is a startling move all the same.
Ben Clemens & Meg Rowley – FanGraphs: What makes the move so startling is how it is equal parts callous and stupid. That this will impact a certain type of community the most is not an accident. MLB does not care that this is known nor do they care that the Houston Plan will cost fans in the now and immeasurable fans for years to come. This is the end result of an organization that has completely sold out to its corporate nature. The game of baseball no longer matters to MLB, don’t ever let them tell you that anything other than increased profits are king.
Richard Sandomir – The New York Times: That baseball is a male-dominated world comes as no surprise to anyone with even a tiny amount of interest in the game. I’m well aware that I get more chances than other writers simply because I am a guy. We have made great strides at including more female, transgender, and other voices. There’s a long way to go, but at least in this day and age, it’s my hope that the next Dorothy Seymour Mills will get proper credit for the work she is currently doing to enrich the baseball community.
Lead photo courtesy of Marc Serota – The New York Times
