Mayor, GM react to Wind Surge becoming Twins’ Double-A team: ‘An unbelievable partner’
The Wichita Wind Surge received an invitation Wednesday to become the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, a move first reported by The Wichita Eagle last month.
While some minor-league baseball franchises were hesitant to accept the invitations presented by Major League Baseball on Wednesday, Wichita mayor Brandon Whipple and the Wind Surge front office all indicated the franchise is more than excited to be affiliated with the Twins.
“Knowing what our future is going to be like and knowing affiliated baseball is coming back to Wichita and with an incredible partner like the Twins, and knowing how many great memories will be made at our brand new stadium, this news made my day,” Whipple told The Eagle.
Under the new structure, Wichita will be awarded a 10-year player development license with the Twins that will secure the Wind Surge as an affiliated franchise for the next decade. That agreement has yet to be finalized, although Wind Surge general manager Jared Forma told The Eagle that “it looks like we’re headed in the right direction.”
“We are beyond excited to receive an invitation to join the Twins’ family as one of their four minor-league affiliates,” Forma said. “The Twins are truly a first-class organization both on and off the field.
“This is the first step for Wichita to start looking forward to baseball in 2021. This is an exciting day and we’re very fortunate to be included in baseball’s 120 invitations, and when this becomes a finalized agreement, we are getting an unbelievable partner in the Minnesota Twins.”
Some fans have voiced their displeasure because the Wind Surge were originally slated to be a Triple-A farm team for the Miami Marlins. Triple-A baseball was a big selling point in bringing the team to Wichita and for building a new, $75 million ballpark, Riverfront Stadium.
Whipple said he understands those frustrations.
“I know there are people who had their hopes set on Triple-A,” Whipple said. “But if you listen to people who really follow baseball, they have a lot of great things to say about Double-A, particularly if you’re with a great franchise like the Twins. A lot of pro players skip Triple-A, so we’re going to be seeing a lot of future major-leaguers in Wichita. I know the people who really follow baseball are excited about this move.”
Whipple said he hopes that Wichita fans don’t get too caught up in the drop from Triple-A to Double-A.
In the end, he said, it is about the fan experience.
“When our staff got informed there might be a shake-up, we looked a lot of numbers between Triple-A and Double-A attendance and they were hitting similar numbers,” Whipple said. “It all comes down to fan experience. And we have one of the best stadiums in minor league baseball and our fan experience will be second to none.
“And people need to remember it’s not just about baseball. We’re going to be having 150 events throughout the year at the stadium. This is going to be a place where families can come and put a blanket on the lawn and watch a movie on the big screen. This is going to be a community gathering spot.”
Major League Baseball took control of Minor League Baseball this summer, which led to the massive shake-up in the structure of affiliated baseball. Spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, which canceled the 2020 minor league season before Wichita could play a game as a Triple-A team, MLB teams made it a priority to regionalize its farm system to reduce travel.
Under the prior arrangement, the affiliated status for a minor-league team came up for renewal every two or four years. The Wind Surge’s player development contract with the Miami Marlins expires at the end of this year.
That paved the way for a major shake-up this offseason. The Marlins looked to lock up farm teams in Florida and succeeded in landing Jacksonville as their Triple-A team and Pensacola — previously the Double-A team for the Twins — as their Double-A team. That left the Twins with an opening for its Double-A team and Wichita made geographical sense.
Since the deal has not been finalized, Forma could not specifically talk about what Double-A baseball with the Twins would look like. But the general manager could speak generally about the differences between Double-A and Triple-A baseball.
“Personally, I don’t foresee too much of a difference,” Forma said. “I could even argue that Double-A is a better quality of play than Triple-A. I believe we will receive the top prospects for a longer length of time than if we were a Triple-A team. I’ve been in baseball for 20-plus years and if you put a Triple-A team on one side of the field and put a Double-A team on the other side, I’m not sure you would be able to tell much of a difference between the two.”
When the agreement becomes official, Wichita is expected to re-join the Texas League, where the Wichita Pilots and Wichita Wranglers played from 1987 to 2007. Wichita hasn’t seen Triple-A baseball since 1984, when the Wichita Aeros wrapped up a 14-year run as a Triple-A franchise.
The Wind Surge were scheduled to play their home opener at the new ballpark in downtown Wichita on April 14 before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
This offseason has also been marked by the death of Wind Surge owner Lou Schwechheimer at age 62 because of COVID-19 complications before he ever saw his franchise play a game in Wichita. Schwechheimer was responsible for bringing affiliated baseball back to Wichita when he agreed to move his franchise, the New Orleans Baby Cakes, to Wichita in 2018.
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