This still leaves a lot of questions. Namely, where will they actually play? From the official site FAQ:
*Where will the teams be located?*
The season will take place at one or two venues for the inaugural season. The location will be announced shortly.
So it's possible the two CA teams will still be playing the entire season on the east coast. Or there will be one east coast location and one west coast location and there will be a bunch of games in each. Or their FAQ is out of date.
Also, are there owners or is this a league-run operation for now/ever?
Agreed Seth, still lots of questions! I think the FAQ is out of date, honestly. My speculation is they had a few smaller neutral sites in the northeast in mind, but perhaps were impressed enough with the interest and coverage they were getting and decided to go bigger. I hope/assume even more details will be published before the draft.
In terms of ownership, this article is a few weeks old, but: "Keith Stein, the WPBL’s CEO, told The Tribune that the league will operate under a single entity ownership model, with all teams participating."
This is interesting! I thought they’d go more regional with lower travel costs, but this sounds like more of a commitment to being a major league. Hopefully expansion phase one will be Toronto and Chicago! 🙂
Agreed on both fronts! I am surprised at the announcement, but I think it is a good sign. Fingers crossed the Midwest gets love if/when the league is successful.
Justin...I am happy for the league and understand their decision-making, but there are some other losers.
For one...Washington, D.C. I've seen a handful of comments online from people who live there that can't understand why they didn't get a team after hosting the tryouts. It feels like a slap in the face to the city, and I don't blame them for being disappointed.
In addition to that...I consider myself one of the losers.
Episode 9 of "The Happy Chasers" goes into more detail, but I now have serious doubts about whether I can ever do play-by-play for the WPBL, for real.
I have reached out to the league to ask if the four teams are hiring any broadcast talent, so I will hopefully get an answer to that question, at least.
I hear you on D.C. - my guess for the signed ball contest included Washington and Philadelphia. Both seemed like good choices with the tryouts connection in D.C. and the Mo'ne connection & excitement for Unrivaled in Philly. Ultimately, it looks like the league decided to "go big or go home", and if they find success in these mega-markets it's bound to have sticking power and more teams before long.
I'm sorry to hear about your understandable disappointment... dreams take interesting turns sometimes and don't always follow a linear path. Fingers crossed some doors open up for you! Keep poddin'.
This still leaves a lot of questions. Namely, where will they actually play? From the official site FAQ:
*Where will the teams be located?*
The season will take place at one or two venues for the inaugural season. The location will be announced shortly.
So it's possible the two CA teams will still be playing the entire season on the east coast. Or there will be one east coast location and one west coast location and there will be a bunch of games in each. Or their FAQ is out of date.
Also, are there owners or is this a league-run operation for now/ever?
Agreed Seth, still lots of questions! I think the FAQ is out of date, honestly. My speculation is they had a few smaller neutral sites in the northeast in mind, but perhaps were impressed enough with the interest and coverage they were getting and decided to go bigger. I hope/assume even more details will be published before the draft.
In terms of ownership, this article is a few weeks old, but: "Keith Stein, the WPBL’s CEO, told The Tribune that the league will operate under a single entity ownership model, with all teams participating."
https://www.sanluisobispo.com/sports/mlb/article311896299.html
This is interesting! I thought they’d go more regional with lower travel costs, but this sounds like more of a commitment to being a major league. Hopefully expansion phase one will be Toronto and Chicago! 🙂
Agreed on both fronts! I am surprised at the announcement, but I think it is a good sign. Fingers crossed the Midwest gets love if/when the league is successful.
Justin...I am happy for the league and understand their decision-making, but there are some other losers.
For one...Washington, D.C. I've seen a handful of comments online from people who live there that can't understand why they didn't get a team after hosting the tryouts. It feels like a slap in the face to the city, and I don't blame them for being disappointed.
In addition to that...I consider myself one of the losers.
Episode 9 of "The Happy Chasers" goes into more detail, but I now have serious doubts about whether I can ever do play-by-play for the WPBL, for real.
I have reached out to the league to ask if the four teams are hiring any broadcast talent, so I will hopefully get an answer to that question, at least.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/30vAhIhxtQeG5Rz4GQwr54
UPDATE: they are asking around and will get back to me, they said. We'll see...
A response is a great start :)
Hey Max! Thanks for reading.
I hear you on D.C. - my guess for the signed ball contest included Washington and Philadelphia. Both seemed like good choices with the tryouts connection in D.C. and the Mo'ne connection & excitement for Unrivaled in Philly. Ultimately, it looks like the league decided to "go big or go home", and if they find success in these mega-markets it's bound to have sticking power and more teams before long.
I'm sorry to hear about your understandable disappointment... dreams take interesting turns sometimes and don't always follow a linear path. Fingers crossed some doors open up for you! Keep poddin'.