[Part I Link]

Q: As a MiLB affiliate, what kind of MLB team you always want to work with?
  
We want to find a major league team who wants to be a partner with a minor league team and work with us to help us be successful on and off the field. So the major league team would be do things kind of above and beyond the normal affiliate relation to help us be the winning team on the field; help us with attendance and promotions off the field.

Q: MiLB teams want to keep top prospect as long as possible; while MLB teams want promote their impact farmhands as soon as they are ready. Does a conflict exist in the partnership?

 I wouldn’t say that’s a conflict. I would say that as a minor league team, you gotta understand we are here to help to develop major league players. So we take a view that when our guys got promoted, that’s not great for our team. But we are excited because we are here to help guys to get promoted and get them closer to the big league. So we are excited for our guys get promoted.

 Q: Does it matter if a MiLB team is located in other MLB team’s territory? Like your Rockies short season club is located in Mariners territory.

 Yas. The ideal situation is that you can be geographically close to your affiliate. So like here Rancho Cucamonga, we are the affiliate with Dodgers, which is only 40 miles away. There is tons of Dodger fans right here. So that helps bring them out to the Quakes games. So yas, that’s the ideal situation that certainly helps.

 Q: So minor league teams always looking for the closest major league partners?

 Yes, ideally if you are making your list of which you ideally affiliate with, probably you are start with the closest major league team. But, a lot of times there is other minor league teams around like Tri-city; the Mariners has Everett, which is much closer; so makes more sense for them. Then you start to work down the list; try to find good major league partners.

 

About MiLB players
Q: Why some MiLB teams have host family for players to stay, while others don’t?

I don’t know. That’s an interesting question. It’s just kind of how it’s developed in those minor league communities. A lot of times, host family just coordinated and through the booster club. So I think if a team has strong booster club that coordinate that then there is host family. If it has not been host family tradition set up then it’s more likely apartments or whatever.

Q: So lower level minor leagues have more chance to stay in host families?

 I would agree with that. Just because those guys in lower level are a little bit younger, just get going, just out of high school or college a little bit more, and new to be on their own. So host families make more sense. But by the time you get to AA or AAA, you are talking about 26 year old guys; they are married and have kids. The want their own place.

Q: According to your experience, do Taiwanese players have impact on minor league business?

 I would say of the minor league team in a community with strong Taiwanese presents then certainly can be a benefit. Tri-City is probably not Taiwanese people in entire city. So if there is a Taiwanese player that probably doesn’t help with attendance. It’s kind of mean people think that is cool and unique there is an Asian player or Taiwanese player. But you kind of aware what United State cities have big Taiwanese presents.

 Q: Who pays for the MiLB player’s salary, meal money, transportation, and accommodation on road?

 Salary and meal money is the major league team. Transportation and accommodations (hotel on the road) is the minor league team. The minor league team pays meal money first and gets reimbursement for the major league team.

 Q: All partnerships work like this way? Or it’s just the case of your team?

All the teams are the same.

About MiLB front office staff
Q: For the people in the front office, do they have to work during the offseason?

 Yes. They are full-time, year-round jobs. Offseason the hours become more normal business hours, Monday to Friday 8 - 5 as oppose to when we have games, we are here until after the game and working on weekends, typically ticket sales position selling ticket packages and advertising packages to businesses and community.

Q: So during the season they are kind of working like 12 hours in game day?

Yes, in the season definitely 12-15 hours a day in game day, in in the morning and out in the midnight. If you have seven days in homestead, you do that seven days in a row.

Q: But they get paid the same during the season and the offseason?

Right.  

Q: Is it required to have a sports management or a business degree to work in the front offices of a MiLB team?

Not required. I think sport management degrees are certainly helpful, but definitely not required. In our company, we have leaders that have history degree and political sciences degree. So you don’t have to have sport management degree.