Posted Jul 2, 2012, 1:46 pm
Southern Arizona will still have minor league baseball in 2013, the Tucson Padres announced Monday.
"We are thrilled to announce we will be back next year," Mike Feder, the team's general manager, said in a news release.
The team originally was set to play one year in Tucson, with the option for a one-year extension. 2013 will mark the San Diego Padres' Triple-A affiliate's third year at Kino Stadium.
"Not a day goes by that I'm not asked about next season on the concourse at games. It's nice to finally give our fans an answer. We are now pleased to be able to offer this positive news," Feder said.
A plan by investors to move the team to Escondido, Calif., fell apart when a stadium deal didn't move forward. Another investor group is making a play to move the minor leaguers to El Paso.
The announcement "gives us great enthusiasm for the remainder of this season, with our fans coming to the ballpark knowing they will be back in 2013," Feder said.
"The Tucson ballclub is a historic member of the league and once again has demonstrated that it can perform successfully as a place we can count on for a quality field, a quality operation and good connectivity to other PCL markets," said Branch B. Rickey, president of the Pacific Coast League.
1 comment on this story
As happy as I am about the Padres staying around another, I have to take issue with this particular statement. My understanding is that Tucson’s ballclub moved to Reno, and this one was another that moved in. So, it’s really not the same thing. And, the fact that this isn’t “really” Tucson’s ballclub, and just kind of hanging on year-by-year, detracts further credibility from this statement. I mean, it’s not they’re house, they’re just crashing on the couch until they get on their feet then they’re outta here, right?
If I had my druthers, the year-by-year stuff would become permanent, and they would take the Toros name and colors. The Toros were Tucson. When they changed to the Sidewinders, it wasn’t Tucson anymore…it was an extension of Phoenix. Then when the Toros were independent or whatever, they were mismanaged an no one cared anyway.
What I would love to see is somehow, someway, the Tucson Toros AAA team return home.