By Francis Ferry, NLN baseball beat writer
November 7, 2029: Asheville, North Carolina – As the Evil Evas of Shin Seiki were wrapping up their second title in three seasons, a major presser happened today with PEBA Commissioner ‘Harry’ Castle addressing the collection of writers, bloggers and PEBA GMs (yes, Aurora GM Will Topham and our colleague Ray D. Enzé were in attendance). Let us just say that what Castle had to announce was not a State secret by any stretch of the imagination – as a matter of fact, many teams had already made announcements regarding how today’s news would effect their organizations.
After the obligatory congratulations, with Evas GM Kevin Vail tipping his cap in return to the Commish, before returning to his cell phone – seemingly already in trade mode, Castle got down to business.
“The past two seasons have seen amazing growth within the PEBA community – first fending off contraction, and standing in it’s wake, we, expanded. And now, for PEBA’s 24th season, we look forward to expanding again – in a sense.” The collective, drawn into the Commissioner’s words, thinking the unthinkable, came to attention. “But not expanding in the manner we did this past offseason, welcoming back Manchester and Charleston. Instead, we are sanctioning an expansion that many of our member owners and GMs have been calling for.” Even the Brothers Vail, hidden in a corner, whispering amongst themselves, looked up. “I am here to announce that the Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance has struck a multinational deal for what we will call the Intercontinental Baseball Coalition - our new, lowest level, minor league which we will refer to as a Rookie League, that will serve our youngest players – specifically those 18-20 years of age.”
Had this announcement been a complete secret, the applause would have been more vibrant than the polite applause that followed. “The IBC will be located around the globe. With four divisions, which will act as four independent leagues, with just interdivisional play, we will see teams stationed in South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, East Africa and the Caribbean.”
The Coalition has already seen a number of their locations appointed, with word leaking about this addition months before the season ended. Canton (Melbourne), London (Sunshine Coast) and Okinawa (Wagga Wagga, AUS) quickly announcing their intent to get a foothold Down Under. As of this moment, Aurora has made no formal announcement, other than they intend to be a member of the Paradise Division – the division aligned with the Caribbean Islands, which will include Charlotte Amalie (Yuma) and Punta Cana (Bakersfield). The clubs located in Australia and New Zealand will occupy the Tasman Division, those in Korea will make up the Hanguk Division – which will include Suwon (Duluth) and Daegu (Neo-Tokyo), and those in East Africa will make up the Red Sea Division, including Khartoum (Scottish) and Mogadishu (Crystal Lake).
The IBC will be arranged such that rosters will be allowed a max of 35 players, with the previous low-level league, the Surf and Snow, seeing their roster limits dropping to 27 – falling in line with the Global Baseball Brotherhood, the Great Northern League and the North American Farm Team Affiliation. The Short A season will expand by three weeks, with 20 games added to their schedule, upping it to 110, while the new Rookie League will play a 90-game season. The amateur draft will also be increased to 20 rounds, though there’s no word if this will be a permanent change.
Many owners and GMs have been calling for this new minor league level, with there being a consensus that young high school draftees and international free agents were suffering from competing with their collegiate peers. It took many years of convincing, led by West Virginia GM Greg Abcarian and Kentucky GM Duane Rudis, but the timing finally felt right for the majority, as Short A offensive performances by high school draftees had begun to diminish significantly – look no further than Aurora’s #1 selection, 3B David Simmons, who hit .154 at Mokule’ia.
The addition reflects the positive climate around the PEBA, but it will also be awhile before we see the inaugural class make an impact at the Big League level. But as a sure fire way to expand baseball globally, and into markets not familiar with the game (Africa), the Intercontinental Baseball Coalition has the looks of a winning proposition.
