64.01 Blazers Unveil Total Makeover of Minor League Affiliates
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 8:48 pm
Montreal, one of three Canadian BBA clubs, announced today that they are relocating all of their minor league affiliates. Currently, two of their minor league teams call the United States home, one is located in the Bahamas, and the other two reside in Canada. After the reorganization, four of the five will hail from Canada; the Bahamian squad will relocate to Grenada in the Caribbean.
General Manager Bob Breum said that the primary goal of the move was to align all of the club’s minor league ballparks with Ubisoft Field in Montreal. “We want our young players to acclimate to the dimensions and playing experience of Ubisoft Field as soon as they join our organization. When a player graduates to the next level, the one thing that we can control for them is the home field. Stepping into any of our parks should feel the same. The instincts that they have developed fielding their position(s) will carry over.
“I anticipate that this will greatly assist us in the evaluation of our young players. No longer will we have to attempt to discern how much effect their home park had on their performance. The young prospect who hits doubles or home runs – those numbers won’t need to be park adjusted. The outfielder who posts a positive zone rating – that shouldn’t change too much.
“Some have asked why it was necessary to relocate our teams? Couldn’t we have just rebuilt the ballparks? That was our initial thought as well, but unfortunately, we were unable to reach agreements with the cities involved. It turned out to be less expensive to move; it seems that there are a lot of places eager to welcome a baseball team.
“We believe that Quebec deserves a professional baseball team. We moved our flagship AAA affiliate there. We think the people of Quebec will enjoy watching future Blazers play.
“We had two teams in the greater Toronto area, Mississauga and Oshawa. It doesn’t make sense to try to support two teams in one city, however large Toronto may be. Both of those fan bases can now consolidate behind our new Hamilton team. It’s only 40 km from Mississauga to Hamilton.
Our Single-A affiliate is just moving across the Detroit River. We think our fan base there is going to love the new waterfront park.
“As much as we wanted all of our teams to play in Canada, it made zero sense for our short season A affiliate. They are part of the Angela Drake League that has teams all across the Caribbean. We’ll miss the Bahamas but they have several other baseball teams there. We are delighted to welcome the people of Grenada to our fan base.
“Our rookie league team will play in Sault Ste. Marie. The town welcomed us with open arms and we are very excited to open a new market.
“This has also given us an opportunity to rebrand our affiliates. We expect to see sales of minor league merchandise increase considerably.”
| LEVEL | OLD AFFILIATE | OLD LOCATION | NEW AFFILIATE | NEW LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | New Jersey | New Jersey | Quebec | Quebec |
| AA | Mississauga | Ontario | Hamilton | Ontario |
| A | Dearborn Heights | Michigan | Windsor | Ontario |
| S A | Nassau | Bahamas | Grenada | Grenada |
| R | Oshawa | Ontario | Sault Ste. Marie | Ontario |
“I anticipate that this will greatly assist us in the evaluation of our young players. No longer will we have to attempt to discern how much effect their home park had on their performance. The young prospect who hits doubles or home runs – those numbers won’t need to be park adjusted. The outfielder who posts a positive zone rating – that shouldn’t change too much.
“Some have asked why it was necessary to relocate our teams? Couldn’t we have just rebuilt the ballparks? That was our initial thought as well, but unfortunately, we were unable to reach agreements with the cities involved. It turned out to be less expensive to move; it seems that there are a lot of places eager to welcome a baseball team.
“We believe that Quebec deserves a professional baseball team. We moved our flagship AAA affiliate there. We think the people of Quebec will enjoy watching future Blazers play.
“We had two teams in the greater Toronto area, Mississauga and Oshawa. It doesn’t make sense to try to support two teams in one city, however large Toronto may be. Both of those fan bases can now consolidate behind our new Hamilton team. It’s only 40 km from Mississauga to Hamilton.
Our Single-A affiliate is just moving across the Detroit River. We think our fan base there is going to love the new waterfront park.
“As much as we wanted all of our teams to play in Canada, it made zero sense for our short season A affiliate. They are part of the Angela Drake League that has teams all across the Caribbean. We’ll miss the Bahamas but they have several other baseball teams there. We are delighted to welcome the people of Grenada to our fan base.
“Our rookie league team will play in Sault Ste. Marie. The town welcomed us with open arms and we are very excited to open a new market.
“This has also given us an opportunity to rebrand our affiliates. We expect to see sales of minor league merchandise increase considerably.”
