It was a busy day, but yesterday’s biggest news was probably the announcement that the Chicago Cubs are officially moving their High-A minor league affiliation from Daytona to Myrtle Beach. When the Cubs’ player development contract with the Daytona Cubs expired last week without a renewal, it became clear that a move was possible. And, then, when the period to negotiate with other teams opened up, the Cubs almost immediately announced the move.
With all due love to the Daytona Cubs and the Florida State League, clearly the Cubs were looking to go elsewhere.
In a statement about the transition to Myrtle Beach, Cubs VP of Scouting and Player Development Jason McLeod said, “We are excited to reach an agreement with Myrtle Beach and begin working with Chairman Chuck Greenberg and General Manager and Vice President Andy Milovich. Myrtle Beach is a well-respected franchise that will serve as a beneficial destination for our young players. We look forward to developing a successful relationship with the franchise and community. We would also like to thank Daytona for the organization’s dedication and professionalism in the past 22 seasons. We appreciate all their efforts and have the utmost respect for Andy Rayburn, Josh Lawther and the entire Daytona front office.”
For their part, the Pelicans are excited to be paired up with the Cubs.
In the same release from the Cubs, Pelicans GM and VP Andy Milovich said, “The Cubs are an iconic national brand. The success of our business is determined by fan interest, the quality of baseball and the impact on Myrtle Beach from a tourism perspective. In each of these instances, the Chicago Cubs clearly offered the most upside. The Cubs strengthen the Pelicans brand in a way that few, if any, other major league franchises could. Cubs fans can now visit their future stars in one of the iconic vacation destination spots in the U.S.”
From a fan perspective, that’s certainly all spot on – even as you understandably feel for Cubs fans in the Daytona area who are now left without a nearby attachment to the Cubs.
Much more on the new High-A digs:
Iconic Team Moves Affiliate to Iconic Destination. Full Story: http://t.co/fzqvobboVr @Pelicanbaseball @Cubs pic.twitter.com/4kbTPYjUSw
— MyrtleBeachPelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) September 16, 2014