WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH)  joined a bipartisan resolution supporting Minor League Baseball (MiLB) and their efforts to fight Major League Baseball’s (MLB) proposal to contract 42 MiLB clubs from its MLB team-affiliated minor league system, including the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

“As a lifelong baseball fan, I know what the sport means to our state and how proud we are of our Ohio teams as we rally together to support local clubs like the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. For 20 years, the Scrappers have been a staple of summers in the region, launching the careers of MLB stars and bringing Valley families together. I will continue to call on MLB to do the right thing and work with state and local leaders to keep baseball in the Valley and in local communities across the country,” said Brown.

Last week, Brown and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) wrote a letter to MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred regarding a New York Times report from November that revealed that the Mahoning Valley Scrappers are one of the 42 teams that MLB has identified for contraction from its club-affiliated minor league system as part of its negotiations over an updated agreement with the MiLB. The Scrappers are a focal point of summer entertainment in the Mahoning Valley, connecting the fans to America’s pastime who may not have the time or income to drive more than an hour each way to Cleveland or Pittsburgh for MLB games. Read the Senators’ full letter here.

The resolution calls on the Senate to:

  • Support the preservation of Minor League Baseball clubs in 160 communities across the United States;
  • Recognize the unique social, economic, and historical contributions that Minor League Baseball has made to the lives and culture of the people of the United States; and
  • Encourage the continuation in 160 communities across the United States of the 117-year foundation of Minor League Baseball through the continued affiliation of the Minor League Baseball clubs in those communities with Major League Baseball.

Along with Brown, U.S. Senators cosponsoring the resolution include: Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Tom Cotton (R-AR).

 

 

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