There Will Be Baseball in Ogden
First, a look back at baseball in Ogden which has maintained a small town atmosphere. The Ogden Raptors are the Dodgers’ Rookie League team in the Pioneer league. The Raptors are an advanced rookie team that became affiliated with the Dodgers in 2003. Prior to that, the Ogden team was an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. Ogden, with a population of about 83,000, claims to be the oldest settlement in
First, a look back at baseball in Ogden which has maintained a small town atmosphere.
The Ogden Raptors are the Dodgers’ Rookie League team in the Pioneer league. The Raptors are an advanced rookie team that became affiliated with the Dodgers in 2003. Prior to that, the Ogden team was an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Ogden, with a population of about 83,000, claims to be the oldest settlement in Utah dating back to 1845 and has a long history with minor league baseball of over 100 years.
The Raptors are blessed to play in one of the most beautiful settings in professional baseball. In fact, Lindquist Field, which was built in the heart of downtown Ogden in 1997, was named the “Best View” by Baseballparks.com – not just in the Pioneer League but in all of Baseball. Digitalballparks.com gave Lindquist Field the same honor and also awarded it the 2007 Ballpark of the Year. Not alone in their assessment, a staff writer for Grand Slam Enterprises, Inc. also named the view beyond the fence as the best in professional baseball. The outfield fences are set against a breathtaking panoramic view the Wasatch Mountains, which majestically stand at 9,000 feet above sea level.
The Raptors have led the Pioneer League in attendance every year since 1997 and did so again in 2019 with an average attendance of 3,951. The continued yearly attendance is due to the historically strong fan base and is buoyed by the ownership’s efforts to thank the fans in a variety of creative ways. Since 1997 upwards of one million free general admission tickets have been given away at local restaurants, thus supporting the team and the restaurant industry.
“There’s a million of them (tickets),” said Raptors president and general manager Dave Baggott. “That’s a lot of them. It’s an unprecedented program. No one has ever done it. I challenge any other company to donate $5 million (worth of product) to their communities.”
Baggott made another strong commitment to the fans way back in 2013.
“We want to celebrate the history of baseball in Ogden, and there is quite a history here,” Baggott said. “Our goal for our 20th year is to increase that fan experience and thank our fans for the support they’ve always given us.”
Two events of note were part of the 2013 Ogden Raptors promotions. One was to honor and recognize the Dodgers’ first stint in Ogden, then called the Ogden Dodgers. The Raptors had a poster giveaway night to honor members of the 1968 Ogden Dodgers team that included Steve Garvey, Bobby Valentine, Bill Buckner and manager Tommy Lasorda, who were part of a run that saw Ogden sweep four consecutive Pioneer League championships. Tommy won three of those championships with the Raptors from 1966-68 and 14 of the players he managed in Ogden went on to play at the MLB level. In 2009 his Ogden jersey, number 4, was retired, and Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey proclaimed July 10, 2009 “Tommy Lasorda Day” in the city.
The second event is a bit off topic but demonstrates the family-like atmosphere of baseball in Ogden. The Raptors honored Robbie Parker, who more than a decade ago served for three seasons as “Oggie,” the Raptors’ lovable dinosaur mascot. Perhaps it was not so much to honor Robbie but to help him and his family through a very trying time. Our hearts all broke with the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, none more so than that of Robbie Parker and his family.
A decade ago Robbie Parker in his worst nightmare could not have ever dreamed of the horrific tragedy that his family would have to endure. On that fateful day last December, Robbie, his wife Alissa and their two other little girls would lose their adorable daughter and sister, 6-year-old Emilie, forever. On July 20, the Raptors remembered and honored Emilie and the Parker family by holding a special night in her memory.
“Our players are going to wear pink jerseys, her favorite color, with her name on the backs of their jerseys,” said Baggott. “We’ll auction those jerseys off for $500 each, and all the proceeds will go to the Emilie Parker Fund. We want to pay tribute to a fallen child who did not get a chance at life. This will help raise money for their other two daughters and allow their family to come out and enjoy a night of baseball with us and our great fans. It’s our small way of trying to help them overcome a terrible, devastating tragedy.”
https://www.ksl.com/article/26077647/raptors-honor-emilie-parker-raise-money-for-foundation
Most of the Raptor players don’t live in apartments, hotels or dorms but instead live with a ‘Host Family.’ They move in with a local family while they play for the team. Each player, often more than one per host family, has a home away from home. The host family program gives the young players a stable environment in which they have the security of surrogate parents, eat well, get proper rest and share in household duties. I can picture a host Mom watching over a professional baseball player, seeing the needs of the young man, not the player. One can only imagine the lifetime bonds that develop among the players and their host families with whom they share their successes and more importantly the times when they do not succeed.
The Ogden Raptors do not play in a small town as I remember a small town. The Liverpool Larrupers did play in a small town of about 2,500 people in Nova Scotia, Canada in the 1950’s, a time when young players, mostly from New England, lived with host families. Ogden, with a population of around 83,000, is more of a small city than a small town, yet team management and the people of Ogden have managed to maintain that small town baseball atmosphere that I remember so well. Dave Baggott, twenty-seven years as president and general manager of the team, seems to have a different philosophy regarding the fans that support the team. It isn’t ‘how can I get you into the stadium,’ but rather ‘what can I do for you once you have paid your $9.00 general admission and entered the stadium?’
This is how baseball is supposed to be or how it was in Ogden. The Raptors are an integral part of Ogden and Dave Baggott intends to keep it that way. MLB announced last November that part of a plan to streamline minor league baseball included eliminating 42 minor league teams. The plan would eliminate the rookie level Pioneer League in which the Raptors play.
This brings us back to Dave Baggott who instantly spoke out against the plan.
Baggott said in December 2019 that the idea of increased costs and poor facilities is a “made-up excuse” and said “they would rather disconnect grassroots baseball from millions of Major League Baseball fans so they can save approximately $600,000 per team.”
A congressional bipartisan committee was set up December to go to bat for minor league ball.
Reps. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., David McKinley, R-W.Va., Max Rose, D-N.Y., and Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, announced the formation of the Save Minor League Baseball Task Force, saying they will advocate for communities that stand to be most harmed by the proposal. The lawmakers said they would monitor ongoing negotiations between major and minor league baseball as well as discuss potential legislation if and when it becomes necessary.
Raptors President Dave Baggott was among Minor League Baseball officials and team owners who talked strategy with the task force in Washington. Baggott said in places like Montana and Utah, local minor league teams are fans’ only connection to major league baseball.
“To cut that off at the knees and immediately alienate millions of baseball fans around the country, just doesn’t make any sense to me,” he said. “I just don’t think baseball’s that stupid.”
Baggott said negotiations between major league and minor league officials are still in early stages and nothing has been finalized and might not be for some time. He said he fully intends to have baseball in Ogden next year and beyond.
https://www.standard.net/sports/ogden-raptors/ogden-raptors-team-president-punches-back-against-insanity-of-minor-league-contraction-proposal/article_7aef1eb5-efed-55f1-915a-cdbb923f48a9.html
“We just finished our 26th year in Ogden and I want to have another 26, but I want there to be value in our franchise,” he said. “I want our public, our fan base to confidently know that we intend on going nowhere.”
If the “insanity” plays out as proposed, Baggott said that, aside from lawsuits filed by all 42 teams and their municipalities, the Raptors will play professional baseball at Lindquist Field in 2021 and beyond, whether as an independent team or “affiliated like we all want.”
The Raptors said in a Facebook post:
“We all know MiLB is affordable baseball that allows everyone, not just folks in big cities, to experience everything weird and/or wonderful about this great sport.”
That’s the way it should be.
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Discussion (122)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I have never been to Ogden, but have heard how really cool it is. I too think there will be baseball in Ogden… but maybe not the way it was. Yesterday, I had about an hour and a half drive back from Nashville, Indiana, which is a beautiful, scenic path. I was listening to MLB.Radio and Jim Duquette and his sidekick were discussing MiLB contraction and Ogden came up.
Duquette said he felt very bad for many of the players and some of the teams, but went on to say “Why did this take so long?” MLB is a business and his point was that at least half of the players have zero chance of playing in MLB, so why should MLB waste money on them and why should they not do something with their life that is rooted in reality (his words, not mine).
He said that MLB pays for everything: bats, balls, transportation, meals, uniforms, etc. and gets nothing back except to use that team to grow their players. He said that there has to be a better way. He said that with analytics and many other things, that player development is now much more efficient and all of these teams are unnecessary. “I feel bad for the people affected by this, but it makes no sense to continue on the same path.”
He says the plan is for each team to own their own farm teams – this will prove to be very interesting because I know that teams like Indianapolis have been family-owned by the same family since 1957. I am sure MLB will have to pay a premium. On the other hand, what are their options? Start an independent league? I do thank that will happen, but to what degree?
Duquette says that MLB wants to improve the training facilities and stadiums and pay the payers they keep at a much higher rate. I can see both sides of this debate, but can MiLB survive if they have to buy all their bats, balls, uniforms, transportation, etc. without raising ticket prices dramatically? This is going to prove to be very interesting!
Great blog, Harold!
“There has to be a better way”
I hear that a lot these days.
Baseball will hopefully be made available through independent leagues. They won’t necessarily be professional, but they can be sponsored by local businesses. As I have mentioned, I was able to play in an Over 30 MABL until I was 56. It was competitive, played on excellent fields and it didn’t cost me anything. Sutter Home Winery sponsored us with great uniforms and basic equipment. That will hopefully continue as will youth leagues. As for the pros, 3 development teams are probably plenty and they can afford it. Like most businesses the bulk of the money is at the top. There is no reason MLB cannot help pay a living wage to minor league players. Independent leagues will remain as they are and have always been. And they will be scouted. Young players can play in college as well and maybe, just maybe, more should consider an education at the same time they hone their ball skills.
This will work out exactly as it must. Will it do so with a consciousness for ALL involved? In today’s America I doubt it. But, you never know.
Thank you DC for bringing to light the plight of Minor League Baseball. I have never visited Lindquist Field in Ogden but visited the city many times when I lived in Utah. The minor league field in Salt Lake City had the same majestic views of the mountains. Although the SLC team was situated in a large city, it still had the feeling of a small town atmosphere in regards to their fans and the support they gave.
Dave Baggott was so right when he said in places like Montana and Utah, minor league teams are fans’ only connection to Major League Baseball. Sometimes they are the only connection to any professional sports outlet.
Let us hope the members of Save Minor League Baseball are successful in helping minor baseball and the Ogden Raptors will play next year and many years to come.
I understand the other side of the argument as MLB is a business and as with any business it’s object is to make money. That is, as much as possible for the stakeholders. With MLB teams willing to pay their players millions of dollars per season I just don’t see that $600,000 savings per team is very significant. There is more to it than that. Maybe they are following the Houston model of limiting minor league teams. But, let’s be honest with the motive and don’t try to convince me that you must save $600,000 so you can pay minor league players a decent wage.
Open on fivethirtyeight.comhttps://fivethirtyeight.com/features/do-we-even-need-minor-league-baseball/I am without doubt totally one-sided in my view that sees MiLB as the lifeblood for MLB. Take away minor league ball and what will happen? That will not happen but just highlights the significance of the minor leagues. Players don’t come out of college and go straight to the pro ranks as they do in basketball and football.
The minor leagues are also the grounds for young fans to become baseball fans with a family venue, affordable prices, entertainment for young people. If MLB is less interested in fostering a new generation of baseball fans than saving $600,000 so be it, I guess.
Not sure about the ecosystem of the Minor Leagues and what the future holds. Thank you for that effort.
What I am sure of is I want the Dodgers to slow down the Padre March today. What a great barometer to where we stand. We got to see the bullpen yesterday, Kershaw today. Hope Clayton had his Wheaties this morning.
Shout out to Chris Taylor and Will Smith. They continue to show up and contribute. If we can win THIS series it will be huge. If we have a set back, it gives the brain trust a chance to tweak things. With Baseball, Football, Basketball (and Hockey) all going on at the same time, it’s a mid-Covid dream life for spectators. Tonight, I’m all in on the Dodgers. Beat the Madres!
Finally, a BIG series to test us! 3 games in San Diego vs the hot Padres. Granted, we won’t face Cleavinger, but let’s go take 2 of 3 and show them who’s boss in the NL.
Also interesting how, if playoffs started today, we’d have to face SF and then SD in the first 2 rounds. This next 6 weeks is going to be a wild ride, kids!
Great article Harold. Of course I saw the LA Angels, and the Hollywood Stars when I was a kid. But LA has never had a small town feel. When I was in the Army, and stationed in El Paso, we went to the AA games there. But again, El Paso feels nothing like a small town. The first real experience I had like that, and so far the only one, was when I laid over on a run in Fredericksburg Maryland. I had nothing to do on a Sunday, and the Fredericksburg ball park was right across the street from the truck stop. Fredericksburg at that time was an Oriole farm team. High A ball. The park itself was very nice, and very affordable. I got a box seat for 7 dollars. The food was not over priced, and it was pretty good. They were playing a Pirate farm team. About the only names I recognized were a couple of the coaches who had big league time. I think contraction will come. But most of it in the form of the rookie leagues. The AZL will continue, but the Dodgers will probably field one team instead of two. And since there is so much talk of reducing the amount of players selected in the draft, not sure the need would be there anyway. It is a little weird to talk about reduction of the minors. I do not remember those days, but at one time, The Cardinals had 22 teams and 800 players. Baseball needs small town America to be part of it’s baseball family. And they had an event that was postponed by Covid that proved that point. There was supposed to be a game at the Field of Dreams between the Yankees and the White Sox I think. They had even erected some 5,000 portable bleachers for the game. And Iowa City is definitely small town America.
The Dodgers and Padres are in a dead heat in runs scored. The Padres are 6 runs ahead but have one more game played and the Dodgers average about 6 runs a game.
The Dodgers still are the class of MLB in pitching with a 2.97 ERA. The Indians are second at 3.24 and the closest NL team is St. Louis at 3.80.
The Dodgers bullpen is 2nd to the A’s with a 2.71 ERA. The Braves are next at .5 runs more a game. The Dodgers are 5th in Bullpen innings.
Among starters, the Dodgers are 2nd in MLB to the Indians in Starter ERA (3.22 to 3.09).
Now, they have to execute!
A couple of things about last nights game. A-Roid does talk too much. He seems to not have any humility, and he is probably POed that MLB did not take his bid for the Mets. But his eval of Bellinger’s stance and swing was spot on. I noticed quite a while ago that Belli has been stepping in the bucket a lot. And he does look off balance when he swings. Congrats to Albert Pujols who hit # 660 last night. Tying Mays for the 5th spot. His next target is 36 homers away…..A-Roid. Gonzalez is the new Vulture. He swooped in and got the win last night. His 3rd. Which means he has more wins than Gonsolin, May and Buehler combined. The bullpen as a whole did a great job, and the solo shot Springer hit off of Floro was a non factor. The Bazooka is a real weapon! And ya gotta love the kids exuberance. I thought for a few he was going to throw an immaculate inning. But 3 K’s I ‘ll take that anyday. Kenley actually had a clean inning. With a 7 run lead and no pressure, he just attacked the hitters. Lamet, and Davies the Pads starters for game 1 & 2. No starters listed for the Dodgers, but Roberts said May will start one of the games. Max Muncy should never hit 4th again this year. He now has 50 strikeouts. His OBP is way down, and his slugging pct is at .333. Also he should not play 3rd ever again. Turner will most likely be activated Tuesday. I know Mark loves the numbers, but the Mets have the best team BA at .278. And MLB rates offenses by OPS, not BA, runs scored or anything else, and by that standard, the Braves are # 1 with an OPS of .834. The Dodgers are at .814. Padres come in at .827. The Dodgers have the largest run differential at +103, SD is second with a +78. The Dodgers bludgeon the opponents. But, they are not very good in close games. In one run games they are 5-5. They might be the quote ” Best team in the league” And they lead the league in many categories, but they had better start playing like one really quick or they could be in second place by Thursday morning.
Great article Harold. If minor league teams are contracted, MLB should be able to pay the players on the minor league teams that still remain a living wage. For the guys who would normally have been playing ball and who won’t have those teams any longer, maybe independent league expansion will be the answer.
2020 has been a crazy year, but at least we have baseball.
Just came across this stat comparison for this year:
MVP Cody Bellinger 174 ab 10 HR 22 RBI .218 bat avg .295 OBP .420 slug $11.5M sal
Joc Pederson 103 ab 6 HR 12 RBI .184 bat avg .282 OBP .398 slug $7.75M sal
Fat, Washed Up Matt Kemp 103ab 6 HR 21 RBI .252 bat avg .325 OBP .456 slug $ 1.0 M sal
Kershaw tonight, biggest series of the season, no excuses. Let’s see what happens.
Badger. The F35’s never came to Boise. They were a finalist, but another air base was given the contract. We have the Warthogs. They fly over the city, but very quietly, until they get away from the city.
This is the high point of the season. I suggest Roberts do this:
Nothing would break their spirit like a good, old-fashioned beat-down!
If you told me the numbers of Belly, Muncy, Joc and Lux In mid September before this season began who would have thought we’d have the record we have! Wow! Still don’t have a lot of confidence heading into the post season tho!
Max Muncy is the one that concerns me the most, when he was in Oakland he was not good and then he came to the Dodgers and for two years he was quite good, but now he is performing very similarly, in general, to when he was in Oakland.
My question is which is the real Muncy, the one in Oakland or the one in Los Angeles?
But can we beat the AL champion and win a WS. The AL is much stronger than the NL this year.
It makes me very funny to read that everyone is very concerned about the series against San Diego, they are the ones in second place, they are the ones who made a lot of changes, they are the ones who try to reach first place, they are the ones who want to to win, they are the ones with the pressure …. They are very lucky so far. Also I do not understand why many consider the stupid clown Tatis as the future MVP of this year….
If the admiration for SD is so great, then off this blog, this is for the LA Dodgers…I just hope Jensen doesn’t come in to pitch!
Just doing the Math it doesn’t seem like many people want to go to the games. Average attendance 3,951, but $5,000,000 in tickets given away? Seems like there must be lots of free tickets that are never used.
Good article and good comments today. Here’s my take:
1 – On minor league ball, the minors exist for one reason – to get talent to the majors. I enjoy going to minor league games too (in Sacramento, the AAA River Cats), but MLB has no responsibility to continue any minor league franchise. It’s totally wrong to require a business to operate a franchise in a given location because it has operated there in the past. I question how this will hurt MLB in the long run but don’t believe that any one has the right to require MLB to keep operating a minor league franchise anywhere.
2 – ARod is spot on with Bellinger. He is too close to the plate causing him to pull off of the ball, open his right hip, swing off balance and on his heels, slowing his bat speed and reducing his ability to make contact. It’s a minor miracle that he has done as well has he has. If ARod has figured it out (and several others who have posted here) then surely the Dodgers’ coaching staff has also, which raises questions in my mind as to Bellinger’s coachability. If this isn’t fixed by the post-season then Belli will have yet another ugly playoff performance.
3 – While the Dodgers have a very good record, they still have several glaring problems:
a – Problems hitting LHP – (.722 OPS against vs .847 against RHP)
b – Innings pitched per game started – 4.7. They will expose the bullpen and lose games that they should win. Buehler didn’t show up ready to pitch and Roberts has babied the young starters all year long.
c – The black hole that is 2B.
d – Surprisingly, given the team’s advantage against RHP, the inability of the LH power hitters (Bellinger, Muncy Pederson) to hit their weight.
This looks like the year that the Dodgers can finally win it all – but I’m concerned that they don’t seem to be addressing the obvious problems that need to be addressed so that they can do it.
Fun article about Don Drysdale’s exploits with a bat in 1958 – 7 HRs hit in 24 AB!
Open on www.sbnation.comhttps://www.sbnation.com/secret-base/21222742/don-drysdale-los-angeles-dodgers-home-runsNice comfortable win last night
* Good for KJ getting right back on the horse and having a clean inning. I haven’t changed my thoughts on his role in the future but I admire his fortitude. I certainly don’t want him to fail.
* A-Rod – I can’t stand the guy but he was spot on his analysis of Belli’s swing woes. Badger, Bear, me and others have all pointed out the same things: head movement causing pulling off pitches, severe bucket foot, poor balance and standing on the plate. All of this causes timing issues and lack of consistency. For starters, bend your knees into an athletic position and Get OFF the plate.
* I haven’t talked at all about next year. I’m concerned about now. But I will say that if the DH stays, and I think it will, I would like to see a permanent DH weapon in that role and not just a player who isn’t on defense that day. An Edgar Martinez type. That might be JT. A right hand bat with power as DH would help. The last 2 games had Joc and Lux in the 8 or 9 holes and they were 0 for 8. A total waste of a spot that should be a weapon.
* Cool article on Joe Davis today in the Athletic. Joe pulled off an unusual double header Saturday calling a college football game from the Fox studio followed by the Dodger game with Smoltz.
* DBMom mentioned Smith Field in SLC as another park like Lindquist Field with a great view of the Wasatch Mountains. Salt Lake has had baseball at that spot where Smith Field is since 1915. It was Derk’s Field forever until the rebuild. U of Utah plays there along with the Bees. Besides Lindquist Field in Ogden, BYU has a baseball complex just up the street in Provo. Utah Valley U has a great park close by in Orem that they share with the Orem Owlz in the Pioneer League. Lots of quality baseball and facilities all close by.
* Absolutely great article and pictures today Harold. Terrific work. You touched a hot spot with me on the contrition of 42 minor league teams. Your comments about the importance of affordable, family-friendly baseball for the grass roots baseball fan is spot on. The spin that MLB can’t afford to increase minor league salaries and afford the $600,000 to support the 42 teams is bullshit. Manny Machado makes $51,000 every at bat. 12 at bats would support the 42 teams on the block. Manfred, the puppet for the owners , is bound and determined to make this happen which has been made easier by the pandemic.
* Mark mentioned listening to Duquette on the radio where he said that MLB pays for everything: bats, balls, transportation, meals, uniforms, etc and gets nothing back except to grow their players.
I don’t believe that’s true:
MiLB teams pay for a portion for bats and balls. MiLB pays for transportation (air and ground) for MLB employed players and staff. MiLB pays for batting cages, batting practice equipment and maintains the ballparks to MLB standards. MiLB pays all the uniform costs and frequently picks up the tab for housing and cars for the coaches and support personnel.
As part of the current agreement MiLB annually incurs expenses in excess of $60 million in cash, goods and services tied to players, coaches and staff
In addition, over $20 million a year is paid by MiLB to the Commissioner’s Office in a “ticket tax” to pay nearly 50% of player salaries below AA levels.
* many have mentioned a “Dream League”. Basically, independent teams and leagues not supported by MLB financially, just verbally. When looking a sustainability of independent baseball, a 20:year look (1999-2019) at independent baseball’s 5 largest leagues shows that just over a 100 teams participated and just 11 that started in 99 still exist in 2019. Local communities and local owners can’t make it without MLB financial help.
Again, great stuff Harold. Thanks for the post.
In 2019, Cody Bellinger was the NL MVP. Watch this video and tell me that his swing is much different and see where he is standing:
It’s always easy to figure out other people’s problems. If A-Rod saw where he set up last year, he would have told him to move. A-Rod is a blow hard!
This has nothing to do with anything, but it popped up on my YouTube Feed today and I felt compelled to share it:
Today vs Lamet:
Mookie
Seager (DH)
Joc (LF)
Muncy (1b)
CT3 (ss)
Belli (CF)
Rios (3b)
Lux (2b)
Barnes
Kersh
I love bellinger but I cannot hardly watch him bat at this point. He is way over swinging. He will end up with back problems if he continues this out of control off balance swing. He reminds me of a pitcher who gets men on base and try’s to throw a 105. Calm down get a base hit. This is so obvious surely the decision makers can see.