Mayors Berke, Whaley, Benjamin to Announce Mayors’ Task Force to Save Minor League Baseball

VIA MILB

Group seeks to protect America’s beloved Minor League against MLB’s

devastating plan to eliminate 42 hometown teams
 

WASHINGTON – Mayors of Chattanooga, Tenn., Dayton, Ohio, and Columbia, S.C. tomorrow will announce the official formation of the Mayors’ Task Force to Save Minor League Baseball.

The Task Force will be co-chaired by Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, and Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin.

The mayors will host a telephone news conference at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22 during the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C.  

Major League Baseball (MLB) in November proposed a dramatic restructuring to cut 42 of the 160 Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams. Should the plan move forward, it would devastate communities across the country and have negative impacts for all affiliated minor league clubs, as it would decrease the value of the entire league. 

Among the 42 teams targeted to fold is Mayor Berke’s hometown Chattanooga Lookouts. The team, with roots dating back to 1885, has been an integral part of the community for generations.  

The mayors will discuss formation of the Task Force, which follows on a Congressional Task Force established in December, and the strategy to continue the momentum on this issue before taking questions.

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