Will you root Oakland A's players in Beloit?
Professional baseball games will be played again next summer at Beloit’s Pohlman Field. Those players, however, no longer will be affiliated with a team from the Midwest. Instead, they’ll be part of the Oakland Athletics.
For many years, the Beloit team was linked to the Milwaukee Brewers, giving local fans glimpses into players who eventually would play for the big-league club. Do you remember when now former Brewer sluggers Prince Fielder and Greg Vaughn played in Beloit? How about current Brewer players Yovani Gallardo, Manny Para and Rickie Weeks?
Citing weather and facilities, the Brewers dropped their affiliation after the 2004 season and moved their Class A club to West Virginia. The Minnesota Twins picked up the ball in Beloit, however. Now, the Twins are gone, too—to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Blame it on a stadium that has hosted Class A ball since 1982 but is ancient by Midwest League standards. Blame it, too, on unfortunate circumstances. Talk has gone on for years about building a new Snappers stadium. Officials thought they had a plan in place in 2007, before the economy tanked.
The deal with Oakland will last just two years. Who knows if Beloit’s ownership team can rebuild plans for a new stadium before Class A ball vanishes. One report suggests the Beloit franchise’s owners are looking to sell the team.
Will you visit Pohlman Field next year to root on players tied to the Oakland Athletics?
We’ll share our perspectives on this stadium dilemma in our editorial Friday.
Greg Peck can be reached at (608) 755-8278 or gpeck@gazettextra.com. Or follow him on Twitter or Facebook


Sep 30, 2012 at 9:05 p.m.
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I couldn't tell you what Rockford charges because it's an inferior product that I won't pay money for, certainly not when there is real minor league baseball in Beloit. I'd take a guess that it is maybe a couple dollars more than the Snappers, but still probably quite affordable in the big scheme of things.
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The reality is simple: Without change, the Snappers will be gone in a few years. Pohlman Field is the worst facility in the Midwest League, it isn't even close. Even Burlington and Clinton's fields are dramatically better than Beloit.
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You can't keep Snappy as is, at least not after 2020. The Snappers have to change or they will die. Unfortunately, that is a concept people in Rock County just can't grasp, and its a huge part of why the entire region is suffering, far beyond the minor issue of minor league baseball.
Sep 30, 2012 at 5:34 p.m.
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Usingthebrain.
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Take a look at the new minor leauge facility in Rockford...
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How much are tickets, parking and consessions?
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I'm saying... maybe others agree... Let them go if we can't keep Snappy as is.
Sep 30, 2012 at 1:08 p.m.
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lar80 - very well said !
Sep 30, 2012 at 11:38 a.m.
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Don't build a new stadium, or spend millions to dramatically upgrade Pohlman and everything evaporates because major league teams will refuse to send their prospect to such outdated facilities.
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A new facility doesn't have to mean the end of all the good things that are Snappers baseball, but refusing change will certainly bring the end of it all. Its hard to have a dollar beer night or $8 front row seats, when there's no team to watch.
Sep 30, 2012 at 8:50 a.m.
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Keep it the way it is!!!!!
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Free Parking
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$8 front row seat
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Dollar dog and dollar beer nights.
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Excellent prospect talent.
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This is EXACTLY what minor league mid-west baseball is supposed to be.
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Build a new stadium... all the above points evaporate and it's another high dollar wallet suck that I won't put a dime into.
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If prices go up.. I"ll stick to fishing
Sep 30, 2012 at 7:46 a.m.
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The loss of a midwest mlb team is disappointing, but its certainly not a reason baseball can't still thrive. There are 16 midwest league teams and most of them do not have a nearby affiliate. Cedar Rapids, where the Twins just left for, was an Angels affiliate for 20 years. Clinton Iowa is much smaller than Beloit, hasn't had a local major league club in 35 years, and is still successful. Realistically, the idea that only true baseball fans will see Oakland come play is backwards. Only die-hard baseball fans will really care, as most people who go to Snappers games are just people and families looking for a good night of entertainment.
Oakland also probably won't be the last mlb team in Beloit. The Snappers have been lucky to have such a stable situation with the Brewers and then the Twins, as most teams switch affiliates every 6-8 years. The bigger issue is that in 2020, Beloit's contract with Baseball expires and its quite possible that the franchise will be taken away if there isn't a modern ballpark.
I don't think its nearly as important to cast blame as it is to find a solution, but if you're going to point a finger at who should be blamed it should probably be the culture of baseball itself. The reality is that 30 years ago, Pohlman Field was an acceptable minor league facility. Today, nearly every city has its own mini-version of a major league park and converted city parks just don't cut it anymore.
A new stadium doesn't come cheap. Its going to require millions of dollars, and that's not easy to come by, especially in a place like Rock County that's got problems so much bigger than baseball. The Snappers, from my understanding, are staying in the black, but don't make nearly enough money to finance anything of that size. Taxpayers will scream bloody murder if you try to build a stadium on their backs.
There are no easy answers, but the community is going to have to come together and figure out a solution, and they have to do so soon, or the community is going to lose yet another asset.
Sep 29, 2012 at 2:19 p.m.
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I lived in Beloit when the Brewers left town and now they have another midwest club leaving?!? The Twins stated pretty clearly that the facilities are not up to standard.
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Beloit will indeed lose affiliated baseball and Oakland is likely the last MLB team to be there.
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I wonder who is ultimately to blame. Is it the city of Beloit? Pohlman Field is a city park and the place is a dump.
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Is it the Rock County Board of Supervisors? They voted down a $10m donation and free land on the interstate that could have built a new stadium.
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Is it the Rock County 4-H Fair Board? They too rejected a gift of a new fairgrounds alongside a baseball park.
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Is it corporations in Beloit and the greater stateline area? They have not offered anything by way of naming rights on a new stadium, and all the other sponsorships that professional sports have come to rely on.
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Or is it simply mismanagement of the Snappers by their own Chairman/Board of Directors? Their finances must be deeply in the red if they have been unable to reinvest profits in the facility - or save in escrow for the new stadium.
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Beloit will lose their claim to professional baseball, just as we did in Kenosha, Wausau and Madison has twice.
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Without the familiarity of a Midwest MLB team (Brewers, Twins, Cubs or White Sox), only true baseball fans will attend. And as every other city that has lost their affiliation will tell you, teams cannot survive with just baseball fans.
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The fan base and generating revenues and sponsorships must be broader than those of us who read the Baseball Almanac.
Sep 29, 2012 at 9:46 a.m.
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Snapper games are an excellent value for a modest price. Of course I'll be there.
Sep 28, 2012 at 12:46 p.m.
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hey kenny_powers, you're f#ng out! obviously others need to watch the show to know what that's about. If you like to watch the Orioles play, you should think about watching the Milton Raptors play sometime. Good team with a bunch of good guys....oh yea..free beer
Sep 28, 2012 at 8:07 a.m.
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Because of the way Oakland handles the minor league system we may see more Beloit players in the majors.
The Snappers are a value no matter the affiliation. They play good baseball, have a great atmosphere, and sometimes you see players that go on to be major league stars.
Sep 27, 2012 at 11:36 p.m.
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couldn't agree more... for baseball fans it's worth every penny!!
Sep 27, 2012 at 9:15 p.m.
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Absolutely, best bang for your buck in the area...aside from the Orfordville Orioles of course.
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Good baseball and cheap tickets.
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Moneyball comes to Beloit!
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